Front Differential Bushing Replacement - the Easy way! (1 Viewer)

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Wow. Bushing isn’t pressing in at all.
Probably some sanding of the mounting surface, some grease and perseverance is called for.
 
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Wow. Bushing isn’t pressing in at all.
Did you grease it and the inside of the housing lightly? You cleaned up the mating surface to ensure there were not burrs that things may get caught on.
 
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Did you grease it and the inside of the housing lightly? You cleaned up the mating surface to ensure there were not burrs that things may get caught on.
Yeah I had greased it and lightly sanded, revisited and tried using a jack to press it in and I think I just about got it
 
IF you are equipped to do so, then 'boring' the center section out first will allow for MUCH easier deformation of the metal shell and removal of the old bushing.

An 1-5/8" hole saw in a 1/2" drill makes short work of it.


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Coring the old bushing is absolutely brilliant. Followed this advice and had the bushing in and out in 30 minutes, including cleaning and polishing the gouges in the housing. Thank you!!!
 
Coring the old bushing is absolutely brilliant. Followed this advice and had the bushing in and out in 30 minutes, including cleaning and polishing the gouges in the housing. Thank you!!!

De Nada. Glad it worked well for you. Good job! 👍
 
Would freezing the bushing help? I may try that today.
Yes. Cold means it shrinks, so slideing it to the arm is bit easy.
 
Would freezing the bushing help? I may try that today.

Marginally. Probably won't make much difference in this case. It is a 'press/interference' fit and designed to be tight. The AMOUNT of interference (as designed) is what would determine if freezing an object will make it any easier to install. With bearing races for instance....it can be helpful. They are a very hard metal and machined to extremely close tolerances.

A differential bushing on the other hand is mostly hard rubber with a thin metal 'shell' around it. It is designed to be TIGHT in the bore and if freezing were to make much difference then freezing weather would affect it too....right?

So....just make sure the bore in the part is smooth, then clean and lubricate the outer shell with a thin coat of grease and press it in.

What causes most folks difficulty is not getting the bushing started 'straight'. If it tilts any.....it will be exponentially harder to install.
 
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Finally after 1 month. Out with the thud in with the no-thud.

Started at 8am was done by 10:30am. Used a cold chisel and a 6lb sledgehammer to slowly pry it out. Took me about 1.5hrs to do it.

Now instead of using the ball joint press that I loaned from O’Reilley’s, I used my hydraulic floor jack to press/push UP the brand new oe cushion bushing on its spot until it snapped (but it still had about 4mm gap and wasn’t fully flushed in). I then further pressed it in the by tightening the bolt until it flushed right.
I might have to try this having a hard time putting the bushing in straight.
 
Basically it is wedged in there so you gotta work it back and forth, side to side. Once she starts coming out you will hit a point where it will be moving along like it has and then suddenly just "fall" out. Clean up the hole with a file so that you don't have any marring spots and you are good to install the new one. I did like @2001LC did and put a schmear of Red Mobil 1 grease around it to help slide it in.

Also note THERE IS ORIENTATION DOTS!!! PAY ATTENTION!!
What are the orientation dots?
 
What are the orientation dots?
'Two Dots' to the front. Single dot to rear. Who knows why....but that's how it is. :confused:

Front diff bushing Orientation (2) (800x632).jpg
 
It was not going in straight and I left it for next morning. It went in like a butter. The key is keep it straight. Using the piece from ball joint press at the bottom helped Thanks everyone for your input.
The vibration is still there when stopped at the light after changing all mounts and front diff bushings. Clunk seems to be gone but we shall see.

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It was not going in straight and I left it for next morning. It went in like a butter. The key is keep it straight. Using the piece from ball joint press at the bottom helped Thanks everyone for your input.
The vibration is still there when stopped at the light after changing all mounts and front diff bushings. Clunk seems to be gone but we shall see.

I am planning to do engine mounts. How easy/difficult of a job is this? The rear transfer case mount is straightforward.
 
I am planning to do engine mounts. How easy/difficult of a job is this? The rear transfer case mount is straightforward.
It is not easy but with some patience should not be a problem.
Make sure do one side at a time.
Watch the fan not touch housing.
Need to maneuver the mount side and up to remove - bit hard to explain. When putting it in, put it an angle and try to make the bolt go into the hole first and then you can turn to the correct position.
I also removed the liner behind the tires on both sides to have better access to the top nut.
 
I replaced all differential bushings in a matter of 2 hours or less!
This thread is for demonstration purposes only:

Used parts are shown in the first picture (bottom for front end of the diff, top left Pass side and top right driver side): OEM and Febest for two arms (332 for Pass side and 331 for driver side)

I jacked up the front passenger end and choke the rear wheels WITH park brake applied.

Removed both skid plates

Placed two jacks under the diff as shown in the picture

Removed all 19 mm bolts and nuts.

Note or mark the orientation of bushings before removal.

KEY STEP: Drove two flat chisels (even flat screwdrivers might work) on exact opposite sides of the front diff housing bushing (spraying some lubricant might help). Tap a chisel little and then do the same on the chisel located on the other side. Continue to do so and the bushing will come out easily. There is absolutely NO need to drill or burn the inner rubber bushing to insert a saw blade. The same process is used to remove the bushing in the arm on passenger side (right side); pretty easy removal.

The driver side (left side) arm bushing came out after removing the inner sleeve/rubber and cutting the outer sleeve.

Applied all mating surfaces with anti-seize and installed the front diff bushing as shown. Used the Bottom washer on the front bushing to keep the ball joint separator tool centered and just turn. The bushing went in without much effort!

I used my 20 TON (10 TON would do) press to install the passenger side and driver side arm bushings

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Do you have the part number for the bushing under the stopper (41653-60020) and to the left of the Febest (Tab-332)
 
It is not easy but with some patience should not be a problem.
Make sure do one side at a time.
Watch the fan not touch housing.
Need to maneuver the mount side and up to remove - bit hard to explain. When putting it in, put it an angle and try to make the bolt go into the hole first and then you can turn to the correct position.
I also removed the liner behind the tires on both sides to have better access to the top nut.
Two questions.

I have engine mounts on order and differential bushings mounts/arms and cover. I also have replacement bushings for the front differential.

If I pull the front differential cover and swap out complete with new, can you just pull the cross member and lower the differential? Or is more work required? Is it easier to change that bushing or the cover completely?

When changing engine mounts where exactly do you support/lift the engine and transmission? Can someone show me with pictures so I don’t mess this up?

Thanks for help.
 
Two questions.

I have engine mounts on order and differential bushings mounts/arms and cover. I also have replacement bushings for the front differential.

If I pull the front differential cover and swap out complete with new, can you just pull the cross member and lower the differential? Or is more work required? Is it easier to change that bushing or the cover completely?

When changing engine mounts where exactly do you support/lift the engine and transmission? Can someone show me with pictures so I don’t mess this up?

Thanks for help.
I can’t speak to differential question. However when changing engine mounts you can jack up the engine by placing a board under the oil pan. This distributes the weight evenly. It’s sounds sketchy as hell, but that is the way. I believe I had a scrap piece of 2x10 or such and it worked just fine.
 
Two questions.

I have engine mounts on order and differential bushings mounts/arms and cover. I also have replacement bushings for the front differential.

If I pull the front differential cover and swap out complete with new, can you just pull the cross member and lower the differential? Or is more work required? Is it easier to change that bushing or the cover completely?

When changing engine mounts where exactly do you support/lift the engine and transmission? Can someone show me with pictures so I don’t mess this up?

Thanks for help.
You can try to remove the cross member, but you'll also need to pull the bolt for the rear diff mount, the breather to lower it down and see if its enough to clear and remove the cover. Not sure how much it will drop when the axles are connected to the diff. I will say that the removal of the puck while diff cover is still mounted is a PITA job- its easy to booger the mounting area. Cover replacement is cleaner- faster but more expensive partswise.
 
Two questions.

I have engine mounts on order and differential bushings mounts/arms and cover. I also have replacement bushings for the front differential.

If I pull the front differential cover and swap out complete with new, can you just pull the cross member and lower the differential? Or is more work required? Is it easier to change that bushing or the cover completely?

When changing engine mounts where exactly do you support/lift the engine and transmission? Can someone show me with pictures so I don’t mess this up?

Thanks for help.
Make sure to change one mount at a time. I think I raised from front diff or oil pan. Basically I raised one side first do to one side and other side for the other side.

Not sure about changing front diff cover.
 
Just completed replacing the bushings, thought I’d share a successful technique I used for pressing the front cushion into the diff housing that I haven’t seen in this thread.

I didn’t succeed at using a floor Jack and didn’t have immediate access to a ball joint tool. As I looked at the bolt, I’m thinking I could use it. So I cut two 3” long pieces of 1/2”x1/2” stl bar and placed it between the diff housing flange and the underside of the cross-member (placed both spacers parallel to the axles, one to the rear of hole the other to the front lip side). The stl spacers will keep the diff aligned and perpendicular to the bolt as it’s compressed. The bolt is long enough that it can be threaded in by hand about 1/4” with the washer and bushing. Once I got it started I used a socket to tighten it by hand, It started in a little crooked so lightly tapped the face of the washer with a hammer to correct its alignment and it kept moving till about an 1/8” from being fully seated. I then switched to an impact and drove it to being fully seated.

Now that the cushion was installed I backed the bolt out, removed the stl bar spacers, installed the top stopper and bolted it back together.

Went really well for me, super easy. I did use grease and made sure to clean the diff housing really well removing any burrs on the mating surfaces. Hope this helps and adds to the quiver of tricks.
 

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