OK, i am probably doing something totaly stupid here and am just not seeing it so yall who have done this please chime in.

I am trying to pull the axle shafts out of a 31 spline 9" out of a 79 bronco parts truck and am having great difficulty at getting the shafts to pull out. The carrier and side gears are gone. I have removed the brake drum and taken the bolts out of the rectangular axle retainer and it is loose. The axle shafts turn freely and I can see no other obstructions. I have put considerable force on the axle flange by prying with two crowbars at once and I cannot get the axles to slide out at all.

All the guides I have looked at say that after the carrier is removed and the retainer is unbolted, the damned thing should pop out. What gives?

Suggestions please, thanks.

 

With the 9 inches I have worked on the axles have come out easy after removing retainer. They had tapered roller bearings installed. If you have a true roller bearings on there you may have more difficulty. Try a slide hammer, you can rent one at one of the parts stores if you don't have access to one.

 

use the brake drum as a slide hammer , just mount it inside out put lugnuts on but only a few threads tight then have at it

 

If the carrier is out--you mean the center section of the diff is out? You can look into the housing? If so, they must have stuffed the axles back in after they took it out.


You don't just have a cover on the back, right?

 

Gone as in destroyed or remboved...there is no way to can pull the 3rd member out with the shafts still in... I also use the reversed drum method, workes every time..

 

> The carrier and side gears are gone.

The only way to remove the carrier is with the axles out, UNLESS, the axles broke inside the carrier. If you mean the 3rd member is bad, then try this.

If the housing is still attached to a vehicle, put the rear axle up on jackstands with the jackstands about half way between the backing plate and 3rd member. Remove all the nuts from the 3rd member and lift it up slightly with a floor jack to take pressure off the axles and to align the side gears with the axle shafts.

 

Thank you all for the replys. This is a parts truck that I inherited when I bought my 79 f150. The entire carrier is removed(as well as the front half of the axle housing) as someone else took it a number of years ago and it has been sitting ever since. As far as I can tell the axle shafts are undamaged and just sitting in the axle tubes. I will try to find a slide hammer and use applied violence to nock these damned things loose. I always thought it was easier than this to remove axle shafts!

 

Try to heat the bearing cups with at propane torch. The cups should heat faster then the bearing and axle. This may give you some edge with a slide hammer.

 

No one has asked and I'm gonna stick my head up, but you did remove the 4 nuts accessed throught the hole in the axle to release it, right??

John

 

Yes sir I did take off the rectangular retainer. Thanks for your help. I'm going to try the slide hammer and maybe apply some heat.

Much appreciated!

 

Your axles could be out of line with the bearings, causing a bind.

I used to pound on the end of the axle first, then use the slide hammer, which we fashioned out of a long bolt, washers, nuts and a piece of pipe.

If this thing was ever rolled with the axles in that way, the housing could be bent where the bearings go in.

Good luck.