Removing the rear differential (diff)
Removing the rear differential (diff)
Thought I might outline the steps to remove the rear diff for those who want to do this on their own. Did this by myself with no assistance. This differs from the shop manual in that you do not have to remove the nuts on the ball joints that connect to the hub assembly. Having done it the way in the shop manual and this way, the following is much easier!
1. Jack up car and place on jack stands. Be safe. I always get the creeps when my face is 4 or so inches from the bottom of the car. Put the car in neutral to allow the spinning of the driveshaft. Better to do this now than having to do it after you have removed two of the drive shaft bolts!
2. Remove rear wheels and drain the gear oil from diff
3. Remove bolt holding shock to arm
4. Remove bolt on arm holding same arm to the hub assembly
5. Remove the front bolt to the trailing arm
6. Gently pry axles from diff while pulling wheel hub out and up
7. If you do not have an assistant, use jacks to hold the rotors up and out of the way for clearance. If you have ideally two assistants, they can pull the rotors up and out of the way when you drop the diff. Better yet get someone else to go under the car while you supervise and pull on the rotor. Free beer helps this negotiation
8. Zip tie the axle ends closest to the diff to the sway bar. Angle the ends toward the rear to allow clearance to drop the diff
9. Remove drive shaft bolts. Put something under the drive shaft to support it.
10. Remove bolts at the back of diff that connect to the mustache bar. Be careful to use closed end wrench to remove. The one on driver's side is tight and at an awkward angle for most wrenches. When I did this the first time I used an open end wrench and rounded the bolt head (sucks). This time I used a swivel head ratcheting wrench to get that one out. Most wrenches have too much angle on the closed end.
11. Put jack under diff and remove the remaining two bolts to the chassis. Be ready for the diff to move around on the jack as it is hard to balance
Good Luck!
1. Jack up car and place on jack stands. Be safe. I always get the creeps when my face is 4 or so inches from the bottom of the car. Put the car in neutral to allow the spinning of the driveshaft. Better to do this now than having to do it after you have removed two of the drive shaft bolts!
2. Remove rear wheels and drain the gear oil from diff
3. Remove bolt holding shock to arm
4. Remove bolt on arm holding same arm to the hub assembly
5. Remove the front bolt to the trailing arm
6. Gently pry axles from diff while pulling wheel hub out and up
7. If you do not have an assistant, use jacks to hold the rotors up and out of the way for clearance. If you have ideally two assistants, they can pull the rotors up and out of the way when you drop the diff. Better yet get someone else to go under the car while you supervise and pull on the rotor. Free beer helps this negotiation
8. Zip tie the axle ends closest to the diff to the sway bar. Angle the ends toward the rear to allow clearance to drop the diff
9. Remove drive shaft bolts. Put something under the drive shaft to support it.
10. Remove bolts at the back of diff that connect to the mustache bar. Be careful to use closed end wrench to remove. The one on driver's side is tight and at an awkward angle for most wrenches. When I did this the first time I used an open end wrench and rounded the bolt head (sucks). This time I used a swivel head ratcheting wrench to get that one out. Most wrenches have too much angle on the closed end.
11. Put jack under diff and remove the remaining two bolts to the chassis. Be ready for the diff to move around on the jack as it is hard to balance
Good Luck!
Last edited by chmodlf; Sep 14, 2008 at 06:27 PM.
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