74 cj5 rear diff disassembly

Hello out there,

The wife is out with the ladies, kids are in bed, finally I get some alone time in the garage!!

Quick Jeep bio on me since I'm new to this forum (sort of). I am nearing the end of the disassembly portion of my first total rebuild. Bought my '74 cj-5 in 2001, have been tearing it down for 8 years now and have moved twice during the process (yikes!) Here's hoping I can get it all back together!

My question: I want to replace all of the axle bearings front and rear and have gotten to the rear differential (Dana 44). Do I really need the "special tool" to get that thing out or is there an insider trick to removing the differential itself?

Remember I am a Jeep rookie, so take it easy on me!

Thanks in advance...

Ben

 

you mean the carrier?

It just needs a little elbow grease. Mine was a tight fit, but I managed to gently pry it out. Make sure you have pulled the axleshafts out far enough to get the case out. Also, upon reinstall, use a brass drift or dead blow hammer to get it back in, dont beat it with a normal hammer.

Also, do you have a press to get the new bearings on to the case? Are you sure they need to be replaced? THis is kind of a "don't fix it if it aint broke" thing as far as I'm concerned.

Nickmil might know better, but without some kind of water damage, its pretty tough to make those carrier bearings go bad.

 

When I did mine,after removing the bearing caps, I just needed a prybar between the carrier and the diff housing to pop it out. Just be sure to be ready to grab the carrier so it doesn't drop on you.