It was a PITA to get them out. Used a chisel and mini-sledge to bend those tabs back, and then smacked them out while supporting it with wood blocks. Hard part was securing the crossmember to get good hits on it to pry up those tabs. Scrap pieces of 2x6 and some blocks were helpful, but you really need a helper to hold the crossmember. I recommend not asking your wife!(mine is not very helpful and does not take direction well!). If you have a nice workbench and a big vise that would be ideal.

Then cleaned the inside with wire brush, bead-blasted the whole cross member, and used a spraybomb to prime and then paint it. I used a little bit of grease, and some wood blocks again to set the new bushings, and bent the tabs down. And then coated all the rubber with grease (sil-glyde) before mounting it back up.

Hardest part was prying up the tabs. Enjoy!

 

When I had my Race '68 Vette, I swapped differentials quite frequently. What I did to make it easer, I made some small holes below the carpet right on top of where the bolts are that connect the differential to the crossmember. They are not accessible from below. That way, I didn't have to deal with removing the cross member.. Removing the differential was as simple as placing a jack under the differential, removing the u-bolts that hold the half shafts, removing the 4 bolts from top that hold the differential and lowering down the jack.. 15 minutes to pull and 15 minutes to install a differential..

 

Mine has been out for a couple of months. I watched a video online from Gary Vosberg and pretty much followed that. My car is sitting pretty high on wood cribbing stands so I needed to get the jack up high to support the differential. I used a four wheel dolly and put the jack on top of that. After I lowered it I was able to roll the differential and cross member as one unit out from under the car. The bushings came out easy with my 20 ton press.

 

what size jaw puller fits the crossmember? Thought I'd try yto get one at harbor freight but could not find any there.

 

My apologies if I am reviving an old post, but I recently removed the diff from a 79. Here's a few things I did without the use of a bar to seperate the cross beam and transport the unit with little effort.

Thinking if I pre treat the mount bolts with the WD rust release spray it would help. It also helped releasing the cross member from the mount.
If this is something you need to do or planned on doing in the near future, spray the mount area with this stuff around the "cone" shape part.
Now for transport or supporting the diff unit, I used my motorcycle jack vise your standard floor jack. In order for the diff to be supported on the jack, the strut mount has to be mounted. The lenght of that strut mounts is wide enough to seat on the two arm on the motorcycle jack. Use a strap to keep it from moving. I will take photos later to share.

Also, while you have it out. Install a drain plug, using a 1/2" 20 thread magnetic plug you can get from your local parts store. with the crown off the diff, measure 6" from the edge of the diff towards the rear.

 

I happened to have a picture in my phone from when I used my motorcycle jack to mount the rear diff / cross member.

 

I happen to have a harbor freight low lift transmission jack, which made removing and reinstalling the diff a breeze on my '79. It was around $80 with a 20% coupon and I've been surprised at all the different uses I have found for it.

 

CAUTION ----- CAUTION ----- CAUTION

Just in case you're tempted... Some motorcycle jacks (very similar in design to transmission jacks) have a release mechanism that would make them difficult to use for this purpose. The jack I purchased from Harbor Freight several years ago for my bike is one of those. After the jack is up, gradually pressing the release pedal doesn't gradually lower the jack. I know that sounds odd, but the way it works is that pressing the release pedal only a little causes the jack to completely collapse. If you don't want your bike/transmission/whatever to suddenly fall 20" to the ground, you have to stomp on the pedal and hold it all the way down. In that position, the jack stays up. Then, you let up on the pedal just a little and the jack will gradually lower.

There are two problems with this: First, when you stomp on the pedal, it briefly goes through the "collapse" stage, so even if it's done quickly, the jack and everything on it will jerk downward an inch or so. Second, you need to really press it down quickly to prevent full collapse, so you can't do this by hand. It has to be done with your foot while standing up. If the pedal is underneath the car so far you can't reach it with your toes while standing up straight, you're screwed.

Only a Third World design company would make a jack like this, and only Harbor Freight would sell it. You've been warned.

 

FWIW, the trans jack I have isn't hydraulic. You snap a 1/2 drive ratchet to it and crank it up and down. No chance of sudden collapse unless there is a structural failure. It's a pretty simple design.

Not to say everything you said isn't true, but this thing seems pretty good.

 

Yep, that's what I would want - a scissors mechanism. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

Holly crap! I read this post and now I know why I have such a tuff time moving it around the garage. I only weigh a little more than it does!

 

Yes that's what it is: