Zack Wenning

I've got everything else off of the car(Thank God, those T/A's were as hard as you had warned). All I've got to do is remove the crossmember and differential. I've soaked the area in and around the cushions with penetrating oil for about a week now. I bent the tabs back on the bottom of the crossmember and tried to clean that up as much as possible.
I've used a 4 foot pry bar and I've used a chisel to try to get it loose. Nothing has worked at all.
Whats next? Torch out the rubber cushions?
Help me!!

Twin_Turbo

Pryed back the tabs??? Didn't you remove the bolts? If you undo the bolts the thing will come down easily (it'll come down like a brick :) ). You're not supposed to take out the cushions unless you're replacing them, either way you have to unbolt the thing 1st.


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 5:22 PM 1/16/2003]

Zack Wenning

Bolts are off, im still :confused:

Twin_Turbo

uhm lower front differential mount loose??, driveshaft loose?

If everything is loose it's time for a huge prybar.

Flareside

Yep, time for a bigger bar!

You can also try smacking the mounts with a hammer to break the rust loose.

Zack Wenning

Yep everything is loose, driveshaft is out and the i can move the front of the diff up and down relatively freely.
Hmmmm a bigger pry bar? Ill see what i can do, im not sure if i have the room to use a bigger one, the garage is cramped as it is

69ttop502

A tip that worked like butter for me to remove the crossmember is use a 2 jaw gear puller with arms at least 5 inches long. Loosen the bolt a few turns but leave it in to catch the crossmember when it pops loose. Just run the jaw puller bolt on the crossmember bolt and it will pop right down. Repeat on the other side. 10 minutes at most.

NHvette

Gear puller - now there's an idea I have not seen yet.
Good thinkin' !!
Damn - I knew I should have added that puller set to my Harbor Freight order. :rolleyes:

ps - I would bend those tabs all back into place. You don't want the cushion
coming out of the crossmember before it is dislodged from the frame mount.
:seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 11:27 AM 1/17/2003]

70BBvert

Took mine out a few months ago also. I Sprayed some super lube in the bushings as best I could for few days. Then used a 5' house wreckin' crow bar :D Put a block of wood on the cross member & stick the crowbar under the lip of the frame mount. Popped free after a few tugs. Leave the bolts in but loose to keep it from crashing down

Jim

BB wowbagger

:withstupid: :withstupid: :cheers:

Stewart's74

Mine was a pain also. I finally got pissed and nailed it with the biggest hammer I could get my hands on. I won. :smash:

rexx78

I took all the bolts out, and like you, the crossmember would not budge. Finally I got frustrated, and left it hanging there supported with a floor jack. The next day I looked at it, and it was out. Gravity was my friend that day.

MN-Brent

Does your friend Gravity do brake work :jester

spokewrench

you have to really yank on that s.o.b. to get it off, I weigh 205 and had to give it every thing I had to get that bastard to pop! But when it did it was like POP! and everything fell to the floor! You can not worry about being gentle in this procedure!

Zack Wenning

Thanks guys, Ill give it another try tomorrow...hopefully gravity did the job for me though.
If not, it looks like I'll be in the market for a huge pry bar and/or a gear puller. The gear puller idea had never even occured to me.
Wait, Do I want the tabs bent back or not? I'm confused

Wish me luck :smash:

BERLINBRIGADE

I had a hard time getting mine off many years ago. I used a long prybar and crunched the fender at the top of the opening so be careful. The metal sort of bonds to the rubber. I did not bend any tabs coming off or going back on. Everyone says put some wd40 or grease on them so they will let go next time.

Zack Wenning

I finaly got it out!!!!!!!! After hours of prying with pry bars and trying to use a chisel to wedge it out, I bought a 2 arm gear puller and it worked with the greatest of ease(compared to the other two ideas at least, I did have to use a breaker bar to turn the gear puller some though)! Thank you all for the ideas , especially 69ttop502.
I would recomend this method to anyone considering this job, it will save a lot of aggrevation and time.
Now, to start cleaning and painting :cheers:

jerryp58

Congrats Zack.

I've been lurking on this thread (sorry, I had nothing helpful to offer) because at this point I've decided to farm out the removal and reinstall of my differential to a local shop (~$375), but I've been waiting on a part and have been getting the urge to try it again myself (probably won't though).

Anyway, glad to hear you finally got it.

bb69

I remembered rwding this post a few days ago, and now I need it. I have tried the pry bar, so out comes the puller. I will also say thanks now. (I'm assuming mine will come out!!!)

Thanks
Ken

'79ProwlerOrange

jeez, after reading this post it makes me happy that mine came out so easy! of course i left the 115lb diff connected to it when i unbolted it. just unbolted, and lowered with a floor jack.