I am trying to remove the axles and replace bearings (too much in-play). So today, I opened up the diff and tried to get the pinion shaft locking bolt off. Won't budge. I started rounding it off so I stopped. It's a tight place so vise-grips won't work. And the 5/16" socket neither, it slips now.

What other options do I have? Can I remove something else in the diff and take the whole ring gear with pinion shaft out or something? Or am I screwed?

I would appreciate any help.
Thanks
Lou

 

The picture does not seem to have uploaded. So once again, this is the opened diff with the pinion shaft locking bolt in the right portion of the picture.

 

This is a closer look at the locking bolt.

 

It seems like mine was metric, but im not certain. Someone will know for sure tho.

 

Yeah ive recently done mine as well. It seem they come with a fair amount of thread locker in them and they are notoriously hard to remove the first time. I ended up rounding it off totally, and had to mig-weld a ring-wrench on to break the thread, then grind it off with a dremel, and undo the rest with needle-nose vice grips.

Once you break the seal/locker its easy as.

Good luck.

Also, when i replaced it i had a new one lathed up with a bigger head for next time. Might be an idea.

 

The bolt is a 5/16".

Next time, use a 6-point tool, not a 12-point. My preferred setup is a box-end wrench, and a tap from a hammer on the wrench (as opposed to a gentle pull). I don't think I've ever had one break or strip in all of the rears I've done that way. A couple of hammer taps on the bolt head itself before you put on the wrench, just to loosen things up, might help too.

You might want to try a 6-point tool.

If that still doesn't work, then welding something onto it to break it loose, might be your only option.

 

Welding? How come I didn't think of it before?? That's a great idea! I looooove welding! I'll try that and hope for the best.

BTW: I used a 5/16" 6-pt socket but even that one seemed a bit loose on the bolt. And 9/32" or 7mm didn't fit. I needed something like 19/64".
And I tapped on the bolt, a lot. But that was no help. I had no idea they put thread lock on them. Ugh.

Thanks guys, hopefully the welding will do the trick!
Lou

 

I needed to use an 8mm 6 point box end wrench on it. Had to order the wrench and can't remember from where.

RBob.

 

I have a 12pt box end wrench but 8mm is too big (5/16" ~ 7.9mm). I might grind down the bolt head a bit to get it to fit into the 9/32" socket. If that doesn't help, I'm reaching for the welder.

 

A cold chisel used in conjunction with a BFH might break it loose.

 

I understand what you are saying about the math. However, the 8mm wrench will be a tighter fit on that pin/hex head. BTDT, just went out to the garage to make sure I wasn't crazy.

The stock carrier is on the shelf with a Torsen in it's original place. So I tested several 8mm and 5/16" wrenches on the original '92 MY pin/hex head.

All three 8mm (socket & 2 box wrenches) fit tighter then the two 5/16" wrenches (one 6-point socket and a box end).

RBob.

 

I have always seen 8mm but, years and changes my leave some with a 7mm

 

Hmmm, strange. The 5/16" socket was tighter on the bolt than the 8mm socket. And the math would explain it. I don't know why the 8mm should be a thighter fit.

Anyway, I would like to thank all of you for your advice and suggestions. I finally did it. Had to weld on a piece of metal three times but finally got it loose (third time's the charm, right? ). Now I need to find shims for the C-pin to take the play out of the axles.
Thanks again!

 

There is no such thing as shims for the axles or the cross pin. There's supposed to be some end play in the axles; usually 1/16" or so. Up to about .100" is OK.

Look at the C-clip, and at the grooves in the axles where the C-clips ride. Make sure they're not worn. You might also want to taks a look at the thrust washers behind the side gears; make sure those aren't worn as well, from excessive one-wheel-peel on the part of a previous owner. If they are worn, the side gears will be too far out to the outside, which will allow the axles to move too far to the outside as well. If they're trashed, you can get new gear sets; but there's also a good possibility the carrier is worn where the thrust washer goes against it. It might be a better idea to get a new carrier at that point.

The bolt is 5/16". Believe it. It's not metric.

 

The grooves for the C-clips sure are wider than the clips. What are the specs on both?
I'll check the thrust washers. How can I get to them? The Haynes and Chiltons manuals don't mention anything, just how to refill the diff. Do I just unbolt the whole assembly, I mean the four bolts on the two vertical brackets on the sides?

Thanks
Lou

 

The grooves usually are considerably wider than the C-clips..... the C-clip only retains the axle from sliding out, by way of the C-clip running into the inside of the side gear; it doesn't stop the axle from sliding inwards, the end of it running into the pin does that.

Look at the grooves for wear. On the surface that contacts the clip that keeps the axle in the housing.

Just take all 4 of the small gears out of the carrier. You don't have to take the carrier out of the housing, which is what the 4 large bolts do.

 

Pardon my ignorance ... but how do I take the four gears out? I actually only noticed two pinion gears, no other small gears. And two springs and some plates between the pinion gears.
I appreciate the help on this because the books I have do not mention anything about the internals of the diff.

BTW: I did not find any metal shavings when draining the diff. Nor is the C-clip scored, shaved, damaged or anything. I'll have to look closer.

Thanks
Lou

 

If you have the springs and plates in there, it's a posi. Those don't come apart so easy.

Id say, if the axle end play is less than about .100" on each side, it's fine. If it's more than that, it's probably wiser to replace the whole carrier, than to try to repair the one that's in there. It's an Auburn, and their support for those is non-existent. Guess how I know that....

 

The play is about 3mm on the left side and 2mm on the right one. 3mm > 0.1" > 2mm. So the right side is ok and the left side not?
From my experience, I'd say both sides have excessive play. I should not be able to feel it with my hands easily. That translates to <1mm, or 0.04".
So should I even try to shim it and see how that works or do I need to shell out big bucks for a new diff (or gears)?

 

All c-clip rears have play in them, so much so that you can grab the rear wheel (with the car in the air) and move it in and out.....and it's noticeable, and perfectly normal.

 

Doesn't sound too bad to me, if it was mine, I'd leave it alone; especially if none of the parts has visible wear. They always have a good bit of slop in them.

Like I said, there's no "shims" made for that. No place to put a shim, except maybe inside the side gear. It's just not an option.

 

Yes, the play is definitely noticeable. More than that, actually, it causes vibration over 60mph. Not fun. I'll be looking into it some more tonight when I get home.