wanted to change rear axel seal in 04 150. opened diff and unscrewed the bolt that holds the spider gear shaft in ( manual calls it a pinion shaft) the bolt broke off with about half still holding the shaft in. i can't remove the carrier to get a drill in there because the axels are still in. i'm thinking of drilling a 1/4 inch hole alongside the shaft right through the bolt end then driving the shaft out and shearing any of the bolt that will be holding the shaft. then i should be able to remove the c clips and axels, remove the carrier and drill out the broken bolt. any experience or thoughts on this or any other method?

 

You know, I had this same thing happen to me on a 94 ranger. The bolt was coming out fine, then it just snapped half way out. I guess thats why they tell you to replace them when you service them. Anyway... What I did was got a small pick, and spun the bolt. I could get it to spin a little ways, and it just wasnt working. I Took a magnet and the bolt pulled right out. Remember the threads are on the side close to the head, and the rest is just a shaft, so see if you can get a magnet and pull it the rest of the way out.

Also have you tried any easy outs (I know, 2 lies in 1 sentance, never easy, and never out)? But possibly try them at an angle, maybe hooked up to a drill hoping that the friction from spinning in a counterclockwise fashion will grab onto the bolt and pull it out.

 

Have you tried an EZout yet? How the heck did you get the bolt to break off inside of an 04'?? I've heard of it happening on older models, but not anything this new....

 

thanks for the reply, i don't understand it myself, was doing a brake job, removed the rear rotor and found rear axel seal was leaking so i bought a manual, followed the directions and here i am. as to how, well i put a box wrench on the bolt head and unscrewed it, the head and about 6 threads unscrewed, the rest did not. what i am trying to do is remove the bolt so i can get out the spider gear shaft, then the carrier so i can get to the broken bolt with a drill press.

the space between the bolt hole and the right side carrier bearing is about1 and 1/4 inch wide, i could not get my 1/4 inch rachet and socket on the bolt head, because the space is too narrow, even though the haynes manual picture shows a 1/4 rachet and socket in the illustration. i have a small right angle drill with drill bits that screw into the drill, but even that won't fit in there. i'll try removing the bearing cap next week end and see if i can get enough room to get a drill in there.

 

try the pick....i've used a pick to work it out slowly before after breaking those...

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...rear-diff.html

 

Wow, that is awsome BlueOvalFitter! That looks like a pretty solid fix to me.

 

Pinion shaft lock bolt extractor kit. www.fabbriassociates.com, etoolcart.com, skywaytools.com

It's my new favorite tool!

 

Wow that would be nice to have!

 

bought the tool set, it has a foot long drill bit that allows your drill motor to be positioned parallel to the axel outside the differential cover gasket surface, a couple of screw in drill bushings and a couple of ez outs, it worked like a charm. as it turned out my bolt broke off with three threads on the piece remaining in the carrier and a pick would not turn it. after drilling and putting the ez out to work i got it turning about one full turn but was not able to move it more. cleaned out the threads with a bottoming tap, drilled out to 3/16" with an extra long drill bit i bought locally, put a larger ez out in the hole and screwed the broken bolt out. thanks again to all for the help.