Chevy & GMC Vans

Ummm get yourself a universal joint jim, then you will be able to get the angle you need. Or get a socket wrench with a swivel head.

A wobble extension will get-er done too Jim.


Tell you what,go to Sears with a idea as to what you need and buy it.While you have the problem fresh in your mind,your going to buy the right tool for the job.

I don't know if that will help. The biggest problem I faced is that I had no way to get out to get tools. Having said that my wife is home from work, and I will be heading out soon. I'm not sure if a universal joint will help as the problem I have is that the clearance above the bolt is too small. Problem number two is that even the 5/16" doesn't seem to fit as snug as I would like. where 9/32" is too small. Hopefully I can find something that will work here in Exeter.

After a trip to Canadian Tire, I picked up a 1/4" Universal Joint. I don't know if that is a wobble extension or not. It looks like this,

It didn't work. The same clearance problems as I have with the socket. I am out of time tonight, and very frustrated because Canadian Tire doesn't let me browse through the various extension and adapter they have. At this point I will not be able to get to this again until Monday after going to London to Princess Auto to see if they have anything that will help.

Right now my temptation is to take a pair of vice grips to it, but I know that will damage it, and I have no idea where to get a replacement or how much one would cost.

Use a 6 point box end wrench. Maybe apply a little heat to the housing as well. If that doesn't work, use vice-grips. I have rounded them over slightly and still re-used them. Just apply lock-tite to the threads. Once broken free you will get it out with your fingers. Worst case, I can mail you one on Monday.

I finally got it loose. With a little spilt blood. I found a 5/16 socket that was just a tiny bit shorter than all my other ones. With the universal joint it would go on, but all I could do was get the bolt loose. Then I had to tighten it back up just to get the socket off.

The problem is, while I can get is all the way loose and out enough to free up the pinion shaft, I can't remove it. More than that the pinion shaft slides out, and then cannot come out all the way because it hit the differential housing. Here are some pics to show what I am up against.

Ummm...put the center pin back in. Rotate the carrier so you can remove the retaining bolt. Then rotate the carrier so you can remove the center pin. DO NOT ROTATE the carrier after that! You will spit out spider gears. LOL You then push the axle shafts in and the C-clips will fall out.

This is a stupid newbie question, how do I rotate the carrier?

no problem...put the van in neutral.

I knew I would be something obvious. ](*,)

You gotta learn somehow sometime!

And if you do end up spittin the spider gears, don't fret none,it'll just make it easier to install the "Powertrax no-slip" you hav'nt yet bought

So I got it apart, and back together again. Sorry I didn't take pictures of that part as it was rapidly getting dark.

All that is left if putting the cover back on, leveling the van, and refilling the differential.

Having said that, I am now starting to consider a new diff. cover. As I was cleaning off the gasket from mine, I noticed that there are parts where the rust is quite deep, to the point I would be concerned about it rusting through in the not so distant future. Since getting a fancy one with fill and/or drain plugs in it is out of the question financially right now, I am considering seeing if someone has a normal one tomorrow morning. Would a place like Napa or Carquest carry something like that? I would like to avoid the stealership is I can.

Oh no! I just realized that unlike the first side, I didn't put a little bit of oil on the seal on the other side before putting the axle back in. Is that going to be a huge problem?

I wouldn't worry about the lack of oil too much. You can always squirt a few drops from the outside and work the axle back and forth the 1/8" it moves. That will work a little oil in there for the seal.

Cover will probably be a dealer only item, but check everywhere else. It'll have to be ordered most likely.

Thanks. That might just work. It wasn't like there was absolutely no oil left on the axle shaft either, but getting a little in there might just do it.

I will make some calls tomorrow morning. It is now completely dark out, so I will put off finishing until tomorrow. I'm not sure about the stuff that they sold me a Napa to do the gasket. It is a straight black permatex silicone. I would have expected something else. I should have checked before, but I wanted to get home to get to it.