can somebody give me a good step by set on removing the rear end out of my so i dont end up blowing my head off w/ a flying spring.....i have to completely remove it and remove one out of a 96 to put back under my car......thanks
jack up the rear, support the car by the frame with stands
support the axle with the jack (for the moment
disconnect the brake hose, ebrake cables, and shocks
slowly lower the axle ass'y...with the axle at it's lowest point the springs should fall right out, or at least be able to be removed without any issues (no spring compressor req'd.
now, keep it supported (this is a two man job by the way) and disconnect your upper control arms
then with as much support as you get, jack stands are a good thing here, disconnect your lowers at the axle-when you do this, the axle will try to roll fwd, keep in under control...
then enlist some friends to help you remove it from under the car
install is reverse of removal
of course, i'm assuming you'll already have off the wheels with the first step...and this is merely how i did mine, everyone does slightly different things with this...
First step is to not move around the thing like a programmed android, but use your head and think your way through each step
~Put the cars frame on jackstands and then put the tranny in neutral with the e-brake off once in the air.
~Disconnect the 4 driveline bolts and slide the driveline out of the back of the transmission.
~Put on the e-brake and place tranny in gear.
~Loosen the lug nuts and pull off the wheels.
~Put the tranny back in neutral with the e-brake off again.
~Unbolt any brake lines or cables that are attached to the axle and brake assembly as needed (use your common sense here)
~Place two jackstands under the axle tubes on the rear end in a spot free from obstructing your work.
~Remove the 4 sway bar bolts (2 ea side) and remove sway bar that is bolted to the "lower control arms" (lca)
~Remove all 4 shocks (2 are small and run horizontally)
~Place a good, strong floor jack under the lower control arm where it mounts to the "rear end" (diff) axle tubes.
~(This is where spring load comes in to play) Remove the bolt that connects the lower arm to the diff
~Slowly lower the jack to release the spring tension and then pull the spring outta the way.
~Remove the other sides spring now in the same fashion.
~Remove the "upper control arm" (uca) bolts and take out the 2 uca
~Pull out the diff making sure you disconnected the brake lines and e-brake cables as necessary ...