gc stuck front diff carrier

[ocalajeep]

i have a 2004 gc im doing new inner front seals and mr carrier housing is stuck in my dana 30. tried a ptr bar and got it to budge very tiny amount. any advise to getting it out?

 

[98Chero]

Get a Cliltons repair manual for your jeep.. there might be a snap ring or c ring holding it in place. If you have done all that use WD40 and some time. Welcome to JeepZ.
I hope this helps.


Mike

 

[ocalajeep]

thanks mike. good advice. where would those rings be on the carrier housing? and when you say wd and time, do you mean squirt and and use a pry bar?

 

[TerryMason]

I had a hard time getting the carrier out of my TJ's dana 30. I ended up taking a strap / rope and putting it around the carrier (put in in above, dropping it behind, and pull out the bottom). Then I could stand away from the Jeep and really tug on it. When I did this, I was afraid that the carrier would fall / fly out and land on the concrete, so I left the carrier rings (is that the right term?) installed very loosely, so that I could brake the carrier free, but not have it come all the way out.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

The front Dana 30 axle dosen't have the " C " clip at each axle end inside the differential case side gears like the rear axle does. So , no problem there . As long as the axles were pulled out , which I presume , the only thing that makes it tough to pull out the differential case from the carrier is the shims . BTW , all must go back exactly as disassembled to keep proper tolerance .
Yeah , that ought to be fun , just ask Terry Mason.
Not that everyone has one in their garage but there is a fixture which spreads the differential carrier apart just enough to pull out the differential case . If you've noticed the two circles at either end of the carrier where the tubes install into the carrier , they are where this fixture mounts.
The fixture has a turn buckle or two that is turned out to spread the carrier opening just enough to remove the case from the carrier. You don't want to spread it open too much . You would then back it off when done . You would use it again when time to reassemble .
Don't know that our local harbor freight carries one ( seem to have everything else ) but if you are enterprising and don't mind testing your engineering skills , you could fabri - cobble ( no , that's not a word ) one from a large turn buckle ( or two ) and some 1/4" stock and weld something round to each side to fit in the shallow holes on the case .
I know it sounds like a lot of effort but considering how crucial it is to reassemble properly , it will be worth it .
I do want to say however , Terry Mason reassembled his front axle , without this special tool , very curious how it was done . I don't remember that being mentioned in that thread back then . Also , very well handled Terry , using the caps to hold the case from falling . Good thinking .

 

[ocalajeep]

ok i did the rag trick. stuffed it into the pinion gear and turned the drive shaft with a big screwdriver. i had to feed it tshirt material for a bit it eventually popped out. stuck a wire through the center of carrier so i didnt confuse shims. im gonna try putting the carrier into fridge and heating up the case when i put it back in.

 

[TerryMason]

So, I couldn't remember exactly what I had done to get the carrier out, so I looked through my old photos. The first thing I'd recommend is to use a grease pencil to mark the caps - as Greg mentioned, this all has to go back together the same way, with caps in the same position. Take lots of pictures before you pull it out.

Marking the caps



Using a socket on the ring gear to get it out



A piece of wire around the carrier



Finally, a pry bar (wrapped in a towel) and a BFH

 

[TerryMason]

ok i did the rag trick. stuffed it into the pinion gear and turned the drive shaft with a big screwdriver. i had to feed it tshirt material for a bit it eventually popped out.

That's a cool idea. I've never heard of it.

 

[78cj71ton]

You reminded me why I like my 14 bolt

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