Taking out the Third Member (1 Viewer)

[Herb]

I got the axles out, took the bolts off the housing and banged, pryed and cussed at it for an hour. The diff won't come off. Am I missing something??

This is a front end - I'm taking the 3rd out to use in my rear diff.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

*Gently* and slowly lift the diff a tiny bit on the end where you disconnected the driveshaft (not on the flange, but underneath on the diff housing) with a jack to break the gasket bond. It's a HEAVY mofo, so be ready when it breaks loose.

 

[Herb]

That will work when I try to remove the one attached to the truck...but this baby is the donor front end that is unnattached.

BTW - The driveshaft hit me in the head when I removed the last bolt...I am S.M.R.T, I mean S.M.A.R.T!

 

[greytandy]

BTW - The driveshaft hit me in the head when I removed the last bolt...I am S.M.R.T, I mean S.M.A.R.T!

Oh man, I would've sent that to AFV! Good Homer reference, BTW.

 

[Herb]

Yep, luckily the welt was above the hairline. DOH!

 

[Felix]

Yep, luckily the welt was above the hairline. DOH!

Man, I can't tell you the number I've times I've bashed my head on the truck and left a huge mark. And I got no hairline!

 

[Herb]

Right after the thing hit my head, I banged my knee on the rocker panel trying to get out from under the truck. Luckily the stereo was on in the garage, or the kids would have learned some new words.

 

[greytandy]

And I got no hairline!

Oh Felix, that must be awful having no hairline.

 

[greytandy]

Right after the thing hit my head, I banged my knee on the rocker panel trying to get out from under the truck. Luckily the stereo was on in the garage, or the kids would have learned some new words.

My wife complains I swear too much when I undertake any major project. Like father, like son I guess.

 

[Herb]

You know what Dad stands for, right? Dumb All Day.

 

[Herb]

So, any ideas on how to get this 3rd member out??

 

[greytandy]

So, any ideas on how to get this 3rd member out??

At the risk of sounding ham-handed, a gently place crowbar? This of course assumes that it is only held together by gasket, rust, gunk, etc.

 

[Herb]

This thing is soooo tightly pressed together. There is a thin paper gasket in there, but not the spongy cork kind that you can wedge into.
I've tried hammering with a screwdriver to try to wedge it in there....hasn't worked yet. Maybe I need a BFH, but I don't want to break anything.

 

[Felix]

How thin is the screwdriver you're trying to use? Maybe try the thinnest one you have, not to pry - just to open it up a little bit. Then work your way up in screwdriver size until you can get one in there that's big enough to pry with.

 

[Herb]

I can try to get something thinner, good idea. It is just soooo tightly spaced.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Very thin, narrow putty knife. Grind a bevel edge on it if one is not there. Tap. tap, tap. All you want to do is break the gasket bond. Then don't forget to scrape all gasket material away before you reinstall.

 

[OTRAMM]

I've got a really thin gasket scraper I use to pop them apart. Like Dan's putty knife except I can hit it with a hammer.

 

[Herb]

OK, maybe I'll grind down a cheap screwdriver to a really sharp edge, then whack the crap out of it.

Thanks for the ideas gentlemen!

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Howdy Ryan, my putty knife has a solid tang, metal all the way to end of handle. Very hammer friendly. How's tricks?

 

[jhaha]

Take a mallet or a hammer if you are careful and smack the large bolt that hold the carrier on the outmost parts of the third member. That's what I did. Only took a couple of wacks.