Pulling front diff

Dous

Dous

New member
So I've got my front diff with ARB built and ready to go in, I just have to pull out my old one.

I tried doing it this Sunday and failed miserably....the rear stud just wouldn't let it come over the crossmember....are you guys removing that rear mount? I couldn't get those 17mm bolts to even begin to budge...no way to get my impact on them either.

Any tips or anything?
 
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Dous said:
So I've got my front diff with ARB built and ready to go in, I just have to pull out my old one.

I tried doing it this Sunday and failed miserably....the rear stud just wouldn't let it come over the crossmember....are you guys removing that rear mount? I couldn't get those 17mm bolts to even begin to budge...no way to get my impact on them either.

Any tips or anything?
Click to expand...

No doubt it is a pain. I unbolted the motor mounts on my parts truck but I'm sure there is an easier way. Not much help I know and I'll be looking back here for a better answer when somebody posts up.
 
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Yea I didn't expect to have nearly this much trouble. I spent 5 hours underneath the thing on Sunday with the front end torn apart trying to wiggle it out....no dice.

Popping the rear mount off seems like the only way, and those are some tucked away bolts
 
I just got under the truck on a creeper and lifted it up and rotated it forward and over the crossmember.

Make sure none of the breather hoses or electrical plugs are still connected
 
Welcome to the hell I went through 2 weeks ago. You need to either remove the rear mount or pull the flange off so it clears the bellhousing. I pulled the flange off my old one since the mounts bolts were rusted. On my new one I removed the mount and placed it in the hole in the crossmember where it goes. I then slid the diff in and put the bolt that goes in through the top in. Then I put the bottle jack under the diff and jacked it up so I could screw in the other bolt for the mount. If your in Raleigh I might be there this week and could help.
 
4-Ripcord said:
I just got under the truck on a creeper and lifted it up and rotated it forward and over the crossmember.

Make sure none of the breather hoses or electrical plugs are still connected
Click to expand...

As easy as that? lol

rjaudi said:
Welcome to the hell I went through 2 weeks ago. You need to either remove the rear mount or pull the flange off so it clears the bellhousing. I pulled the flange off my old one since the mounts bolts were rusted. On my new one I removed the mount and placed it in the hole in the crossmember where it goes. I then slid the diff in and put the bolt that goes in through the top in. Then I put the bottle jack under the diff and jacked it up so I could screw in the other bolt for the mount. If your in Raleigh I might be there this week and could help.
Click to expand...

Yea I have no rust, but those mount bolts are torqued down good and here is no way to get any torque on them. The flange idea is good, I could try that.

Thanks for the offer, but I am leaving for Arizona on Friday
 
Very possible to do without unbolting anything but the three mount bolts...

You need to somehow first get the centering pin (I'm sure thats not what its called) out of its home, then once its resting on the cross member it needs to go a bit to the drivers side, and rotate forward at the same time.

It is a giant PITA.....

Just keep wiggling it, watch how the flange hits the oil pan, then devise a motion to somehow move it where you want while keeping the flange in a place it can move.
 
You need to take the flange off!!! Maneuver it around and it will eventually come out through the front of the truck. It was a COMPLETE pita to do. I'd say it requires two people. Let me see if I can dig up my pics.

This is the only picture I could find. Maybe it will help show the space you have to work with. All I know is that we couldn't get it past the crossmember and bellhousing with the flange on. Same goes for installing the new one. Once the flange was off, all it took was a little twisting, turning, and pushing/pulling.

8cea8e08.jpg~original
 
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I forgot that I removed the drivers side mount arm off the diff also, but I don't know how much it helped. The old diff was worthless to me so I just yanked the flange off with a puller. You need to get the bottle jack under the middle of the diff and you can get the mount out of the crossmember easy. Once that flange was pulled at the point the diff literally fell out.
 
WOW. You guys are completly crazy.
[MENTION=51127]Dous[/MENTION]:

I didn't pull ANYTHING apart on my diff the three times I had to install it.

Does it take a little wiggling and coaxing to get it in there right? Yes.

One thing I found to help was to put the diff on a jack, and use the jack to get it to lift the thing up and over the crossmember and between the bell housing and steering.

If you want to come down here sunday, I'll be more than happy to help you out with it.

Plus, you can see the work on the roll bar/drawer system I've got going on. :D
 
I appreciate the advice guys! Well I will give it a go again at some point

Doc, I'd take you up, but like I said I am out of town this weekend!
 
Doc2012 said:
WOW. You guys are completly crazy.

[MENTION=51127]Dous[/MENTION]:

I didn't pull ANYTHING apart on my diff the three times I had to install it.

Does it take a little wiggling and coaxing to get it in there right? Yes.

One thing I found to help was to put the diff on a jack, and use the jack to get it to lift the thing up and over the crossmember and between the bell housing and steering.

If you want to come down here sunday, I'll be more than happy to help you out with it.

Plus, you can see the work on the roll bar/drawer system I've got going on. :D
Click to expand...

I don't see how in all honesty.. My buddy and I fought for half an hour trying to get the flange pass the bell housing and crossmember. It seems almost impossible without removing it. Once the flange is off it slides right in/out with a little wiggling.
 
I just wrote this up a while ago in Bandits gear thread...

The best method I found, after playing around with multiple jacks, wood blocks, shims, pry bars, etc, is to just grab a friend, and have two people man handle the thing to get it out, and to get it back in. After about two hours wasted trying to be precise, with four hands and 2 sets of eyes, you can check clearances and get the diff twisted just right to come out. It took me only 2 minutes to put the damn thing back in with that same method. No need to remove the flange.

Grab a buddy and man-handle the diff...
 
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