Front Differential

[bbudus]

Trying to knock out the LH axle in the front diff. Won't budge, Mr. Goodwrench told me it had to be cut off, the case cracked open and beat out from the inside out.

I used a slide-hammer for about 30min straight,(very tired, very grumpy) that thing will not come out.

Question is this... What are my options? Is cutting it off the only way?

Bbudus

[ace58]

Keep on with the slide hammer. Three of us kept at it for 15 minutes. Make sure the case is held solid to keep all force on the axle. Good luck.

[JohnC]

Unless it's somehow siezed in there, it's not a timed event. You just need to shock it once hard enough to ge tthe snap ring to come out of the groove. Holding the housing may help as would a BIGGER hammer...


I've never tried in on a GM, but we used to pop them out of FWD cars using a pry bar. Leave an little space between the bar and the driver then "snap" it against the driver hard.

[bbudus]

I beat on that thing until I was exhausted and then beat some more. I am not a small guy so there was considerable amount of force being placed against that stub. In the end it had to be cut out. I spoke with a few shops around town, including the devil chevy dealership. They all said that this was common, and the only way to remove a clip that had become stubborn was to cut it out.

All is well now, I found a used stub, replaced the bearings and oil seal and put the whole thing back together. Now if I could get it to cooperate and go back in the truck. If they had allowed the bottom mounting bracket to come out this would be a snap. But alas they didn't, once again wonderfull engineering on there part(I can't believe they are going bankrupt!!)

Bbudus

[JohnC]

One of the reasons I got rid of my '95 was that the drivers side driver had gotten so sloppy it wouldn't hold oil. I guess all that slop must wear something enough to make it hard to pop out. What I don't understand is what can wear that much without causing catastrophic failure...

(Or how it can wear that much in the first place...)

[bbudus]

Worst part, when I was talking to the dealership, aka Mr. Goodwrench, I asked if they fixed this in the new trucks. Nope, same diff, new look. I couldn't believe it. They did however tell me to throw the retaining ring away when i put the new stub in. They said there was no reason for it unless you have a suspension lift on your truck. Good advice.

Bbudus