Front Drivers Side Driveshaft Stuck in Diff - Need Help

[Salonika]

Hello,
I'm in the process of replacing my front drivers side driveshaft. The shaft will not release from the differential. I started out pulling gently, then progressively harder and harder. I removed the inner boot and outer portion of the shaft to get it out of the way. I'm now left with just the inner part now that goes into the diff (see photos). I tried using a hammer puller with a vicegrip bit onto the lip and no dice, it won't even come out with that kind of force (the vicegrips eventually pull off). I'm planning on drilling a hole through the piece that remains and put a shaft through it so I can hit it again with the hammer puller but with a straighter pull. If this thing won't come out, is it possible to remove the keeper clip from the inside end of it if I remove the front differential cover? With the diff cover removed can you even see the inside end of driveshaft?

 

[zerodrift]

That sure is a pain to remove. I ended up using two pry bars and prying about 180 degrees apart. A small pry bar helps get in there. Took a considerable amount of force to remove. Comes out with a good 'pop' and is very satisfying.

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[Salonika]

What were you prying against? The « cup » that’s stuck in there is recessed into a support bracket for the diff, you can’t really get in behind it at all.

 

[zerodrift]

I put the pry bar at the base and the small pry bar barely fit in the cup. The medium sized bar really just countered force of the small pry bar allowing it to pull the cv out.

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[Toasty]

I usually use the cv assembly itself as a slide hammer to remove them, i have had to weld a flange to a cup once to slide hammer one out before. That was because the diff splines got trashed when an axle broke inside it and a new CV was driven back into it.

 

[bikerjosh]

Ok, been here done that. Made a backyard slide hammer. Took a pair of vice grips and got a 3ft section of threaded rod (Home Depot) that was the same pitch as the adjuster on the vice grips. Put a couple washers on one end backed by nuts and put about a 5-6” piece of heavy pipe on the rod. Thread the vice grips on the other end of rod. Put vice grips on the edge of driver side cup, as tight as you can get them. Grab a pair of heavy gloves (don’t catch part of palm between pipe and washers, ask me how I know this) and wack away. ? This technique worked for me years ago when I grenaded an after market CV. Hope this helps. If you search my username in this section I think I posted a pic of my tool; the slide hammer that is.-josh

 

[Salonika]

I have a nice slide hammer but it didn’t do the trick, kept slipping off. This thing is mega stuck. I picked up supplies today to go nuclear on it. I drilled opposing holes in the cup last night. I bought 5/16 grade-8 bolts to attach two lengths of chain, one at each hole I drilled. On the other end of the chain, a few feet away from truck, I’m passing a grade-8 bolt between the chain lengths to provide a flat surface to hit. I’m trying a lightweight piece of rope to this setup and having a friend pull it tight behind me. Then I’m hitting it with a full size sledge hammer. I’ll post results when I have them.

 

[plh]

unclear to me, did you remove the diff cover? I've always found it easier to pry/push the axle out from inside the diff. You might also be able to remove the keeper clip from inside there. Could be that the clip is damaged and partially out of the groove inside the diff, really giving you problems

 

[Salonika]

I have not removed the diff cover yet. I was hoping my chain and sledge method would work but it did not. I was talking to people who told me that I wouldn’t be able to access anything more by removing diff cover. I’m getting mixed opinions on whether I could see or do anything further by removing that cover. At this point one buddy of mine is saying I need a bigger weight to hit it with (use brute force to get it out, period) while others are sounding like it might be possible to get at the clip by removing the cover. At this point I’m ready to pull diff cover just to have a look before I try more brute force.

 

[zerodrift]

The slack in the chain softens the impact. Some bar stock with some holes and a bolt should transfer the energy better (faster).

Any chance of fitting a bottle jack on the assembled knuckle and using chain to pull the cv out?

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[Salonika]

I got it out. The chain method worked but I had to hit it with a much heavier weight, the sledge hammer wasn't heavy enough. I used a 30lb copper beater (2" dia. and about 16" long) on the chain. It needed carbide drill bits to bore through the cup for my chain bolts as the inside is hardened. About 4 hits and it popped out. The ring is still inside so I will have to pop the diff cover off and go fishing, but overall I don't think I damaged anything.

 

[plh]

so I was right

 

[Salonika]

Yes, it was the circlip. The only crappy thing is that after opening the diff cover, I’ve only managed to account for half of the clip. No idea where the rest went. Damn. I turned the gears around a few times, and poked around as much as I could with a magnet and a pick, but nothing.
Maybe it shot out into the air when the cup came out....