mayor28

As a follow on to this posthere are some of the pics of my rear yokes......all things bad.....





The bad news :


Left side seemed fine, but that is a moot point since the differential will need to come out to fix the passenger side......

Anyone know if anyone is have some sort of a sale on driveline parts??

Also, any good tips or tricks for pulling out the diff?

mayor28

ttt

jesse10886

if you dont have a trans jack put a ply wood board bolted to regular car car jack and put the board to the diff wrap a rope around the diff to the board. then last take an impact and removed the bolts that hold the cross member out. the cross member and diff come down together once out just drop it down and slide it out.

69 Chevy

Follow the instructions in your Chiltons or Haynes repair manual.

Wuttin

Hi...interesting dilemna indeed

I would guess that the loose yoke is still OK and that the C-Clip is just not in place on the yoke itself... if the yoke had worn to the point where the clip channel was exposed causing the clip to fall out your diff case would be getting damaged on the outside by the U-bolts holding the universal joint on the half-shaft. Looks OK so the yoke may not be too worn.

Tricks/Tips:
You can get into the diff without taking it out if you're so inclined but the cross member has to be lowered so you can get to the four bolts that attach the diff cover to the x-member.

• with the rear in the air take out all the spare-tire housing to expose the x-member
• disconnect half shafts from diff and support; leave attached to trailing arms if you'd like
• similarly remove the spring and disconnect strut support from the base of the diff; may want to disconnect the rods from the diff for more freedom of movement; OK to leave attached to shock mount
• loosen the frame mount at the front of the diff; leave diff attached to drive shaft (sucks to remove and reattach)
• loosen but don't remove the two big bolts holding the ends of the x-member to the frame; support the diff with wood or a stand of some sort
• use a pry bar or tool of some sort to break the connection between the x-member and the frame; it will all slouch down but still be connected
• with the diff still reasonably supported slowly lower the assembly by unscrewing the x-member bolts; once it's low enough for you to reach above you can get a wrench on the four bolts connecting it to the diff cover

Alternative is to disconnect the diff from the drive shaft and remove the x-member/diff intact then play with it all once freed; this is what I did but I had bigger issues and it was much easier to address out of the car.

I'm betting you'll find the residue of a ground up c-clip and decent yoke ends (the ends wear down or get mushroomed...if at all questionable just replace them; replace the case seals as well since you are seeing signs of leakage on the outside of the case where the yokes enter it.)

Smiles and best of luck,
Steve

mayor28

Update:
I got the spare tire, spring, half-shafts, and the strut rod mount removed.......

The last bolt I removed from the leaf spring mount poured the diff fluid onto the floor:



Unless I am wrong, it looks like the end of the suspect yoke is in great shape, just needs a c-clip?





And I think this seal will need to be replaced, but the internals look really clean:





So, I will need a new cover for the diff, unless someone has another idea to repair it (I don't really like the idea of repairing it, but I could be convinced otherwise).......

zwede

Yoke looks pretty good, but before trusting it:

1) Measure from the groove to the end. New is 0.187"
2) Check along the splines and make sure it's not twisting.

I'd replace the cover. They're not that expensive.

You need to take the diff completely apart including popping the pinion out as there is a good chance the missing snap ring is in the pocket between the pinion bearings.

jesse10886

Mine was doing the same thing i am very close to having it rebuilt it has been three long weeks of working a couple hours each weekend on it. I am taking my time cleaning measuring everything. All new seals, bearings, races, clutches, 200lbs posi springs, new new new after getting into it i realized that the previous owner (king bubba the 8th) had been in it before me all new clutches new ring and pinion and newer looking seals. Unfortunatly the previous rebuild was done half assed, the shiiming and bearing preload was not done with any amount of care. This caused me to have a problem very similar to yours and the broken c clip grinding around in their made me do a complete overhaul just for piece of mind (they say that stuff is priceless)


click the link you will see the video. the end of m yoke got bured up from the clip being gone an was stuck where it was i had to hammer it out then had it resurfaced at the end of the yoke. having a master machine shop man at your disposal is truly priceless


pinion rod was bent from the yoke smacking it

AdamMeh

Back to the ignore list with you! Just when I thought it was OK to put up with your crappy attitude you prove me wrong.

Steve2147

Where's Mike Ward and his followers that believe the load never leaves the pin and without the circlip there is no yoke movement other than in extreme situations. I'd say that pic of the bent pin is pretty much proof positive of the yoke movement.

Steve g

Mike Ward

Yawn.

69 Chevy

I don't remember seeing any sage advice from you. But here's some from me: keep me on your ignore list permanently.

mayor28

So, if the measurement is .187, then can I just pull the diff, check for damage, replace the cover & seal and reinstall?
I also want to do the side seals while its out, but do I need to replace the bearings as well?

zwede

No need to replace the bearings as long as they look good. You probably want to replace the posi clutches, can't imagine there's much left if original.

mayor28

Anyone recommend someone for posi clutches?

Mike Ward

Would you mind re-posting your video- the link doesn't seem to work anymore

I'd like Steve to study the video and figure out for himself why the yoke could not have bent the pin. I can think of probably 6 really good reasons why it's not possible, but the video contained the best one.

You've opened Pandora's box now. Even if the yoke is 0.187" or better, there's no guarantee that this will result in acceptable end play once the c-clip is replaced. I'd also want to know where the old clip went and what secondary damage it did.

In for a penny, in for a pound as per the old saying.

zwede

Check with Mike, Tracdogg2, on this forum.

tracdogg2

A few observations:
The diff has been repaired before, badly.
The original stub axle has eaten the case at the seal and was never repaired. Someone just drove a new seal in, which is now ruined and installed a used stub axle. The axle in the pic is from a midyear vette.
The cross shaft was, and still is, damaged by the original stub axle and now the replacement axle has an irregular wear pattern on it. By the looks of everything that was the only repair made so now the pinion cavity is full of metal shavings. Even though the tip of the stub axle has little wear the snap ring groove is well worn and will never hold a snap ring. And then someone used the wrong spring bolts and broke the boss inside the rear cover.
At the very least the diff will need to be stripped and the housing repaired to properly hold the seal. Most likely it will end up being a full rebuild.
Mike

mayor28

I talked with Mike (tracdogg2) the other night for a long time, and he walked me through the options I have once I get the diff out of the car. He also helped me with the next steps of getting the diff itself out.....so here I am with most of the hardware removed and unsure of the next step.....

Do I pound in the fork here?





Or here??????????????????




Thanks for the help!

zwede

The second one.