Axle Removal With G80

nubuilder · June 26, 2010

My right rear tire started leaking diff. fluid last Saturday. Since then, my truck has been parked so that the tire was in a certain spot so the fluid didn't leak out so fast. And yes, the position mattered. I tried two different spots; one leaked like a sive and the other hardly lost a few dribbles.

I have the cover off, the bolt holding the pinion pin (the solid, huge pin) in place, and I can slide the pinion pin out easily.

My problem is that I can't find the mysterious C-clips that are holding the axles in.

As stated in the title, I have the G80 so all the locking mechanism is there. It seems to me that the mechanism is getting in the way when I try to push the axle in. It doesn't budge.

Has anyone been sucessful at doing this?

If so, how the heck do you do it/what am I doing wrong?

Any pics that you might just happen to have would be extremely helpful.

I need to get this done this weekend so I can drive my truck again (been sitting for 6 days now ).

oldschool327 · June 26, 2010

http://forums.trailvoy.com/archive/index.php/t-47393.html

nubuilder · June 26, 2010

The link posted inside the link you have posted has a great write up, but all the pics are gone!!!

I can't even get my axles to slide in.

Does it take quite a bit of force or should it just slide in?

I know that I have to get the axle in before I see the C-clip.

Before I quit to go to work this afternoon, I slid the pinion pin back in and rotated the carrier 180 degrees. On the other side is a large silver block.

Do I or can I remove this block somehow? - might be what is in the way, but again others have done this without removing anything

I'm stuck right now.

EDIT:

I found a mention (here; post #12) of removing the C-clip from the opposite side of the "governor". Would that be the side that I see the metal block from?

Here's another site I found.

This is exactly what I was trying to work with (not my truck). You can see two semi-circle things that are between the axle splines.

oldschool327 · June 26, 2010

Remove the clips from the governer side. The large block side like you spoke of. The axles will push in after that. They will require a bit of pressure but nothing too great. rotate the diff 180 degrees to get a good look at everything if you can not see it at first.

nubuilder · June 26, 2010

I guess I'll be trying it again, but this time from the "block" side.

nubuilder · June 26, 2010

Turned the diff 180 deg. to see the big metal block. I can now see the C-clip partially. The axle is definitely hitting the block. However, I'm gonna try a magnet to pull the C-clip off or else just let it fall down into the housing.

zedbear · June 26, 2010

I took both of mine out for the first time a couple weeks ago to replace the seals. I messed around with it for awhile and finally oriented the carrier so that the side the clips will come out of was facing almost straight down. The shaft pushed in easily and the clip(s) fell right out. I did one side at a time.

nubuilder · June 26, 2010

I had to pound the axle in just a hair more. I used my little 1/4 inch telescoping magnet that I got at NAPA for $5. Worked perfect. C-clips slide right out.

My axle that was leaking is now out. The problem now is that it isn't a factory bearing or seal. It is a "repair" bearing meaning that the bearing is now riding 1/2 inch farther out towards the end of the axle SO it has a different seal. I found the entire bearing/seal assembly at an autoparts store and bought it for $60. I'm gonna try to get the seal out of the old one first and see if they have anything close in size since going that route would be a lot cheaper ($10 compared to $60). If I can't get the seal out and find a matching one, I'm gonna have to pull the old bearing and put pound in the new one.

nubuilder · June 27, 2010

Put the new bearing/seal assembly in. Now the axle won't go in far enough to get the C-clip back in. After looking at the old one, it appears that the previous owner hammered the axle in farther to get the C-clip in. By doing so, they left grooves/marks in the (at the time) new bearing. This is how they were able to get the C-clip back in.

I now have to pull the new assembly back out.

I'm going to put a factory style bearing and seal back in. If it leaks, then I have to buy a new axle.

oldschool327 · June 27, 2010

I really hate when you find out that the previous owner did "shady" maintenance on a vehicle. It does not take that much to do the job the right way the first time. Sorry to hear you had this much trouble when it was a simple repair. Good luck with the factory parts, hope he didnt screw it up too much!

nubuilder · June 27, 2010

All I care is that I get a factory bearing and seal in with NO LEAKS. If not, it will cost $132 to get a new axle, bearing, seal, studs, and nuts.

Can anyone tell me how long the axles themselves are?

(I can't measure it right now, raining)

nubuilder · June 28, 2010

Finally done!!!

I ended up ruining the brand new $60 bearing assembly while trying to get it out. First a small piece of plastic came out that goes between the bearings (at the time I had no idea where it came from). From there, it was all down hill. The bearings started falling out. I also ended up going to AutoZone to "rent" - you buy the tool and get your money back when you return in; $58 - their bearing puller. It worked great and I had the now useless bearing housing out in a matter of minutes.

I then used the useless housing to pound the new, factory style bearing and seal back in. It worked really good (it better for being a $60 bearing seating tool).

With the factory style bearing and seal, the axle can go in WAY farther than need be. If I would have had a factory setup to start with, I would have been done in a day. Got the C-clip back in, pinion shaft, and locking bolt back in easily and quickly. Put the cover back on with a new gasket and filled it up using the fill plug.

NOTE: for anyone using the fill plug, you'll need to buy 3 quarts of fluid (it takes 2.5 anyways) because you can't get all the fluid out of the bottle by squeezing it.

I drove it 15 miles and it is parked in the driveway for now. Tomorrow I will take the tire and drum back off to see if it is leaking. Hopefully it isn't, but if it for some damn reason it is, I will be ordering a new axle ($130 shipped).

In summary, DON'T EVER USE A REPAIR BEARING!!!!! If your axle is bad, spend twice as much and fix it the right way. You'll thank yourself later.