Just as it states... I CANNOT remove my 3rd member. I have removed the axles completely, abs sensor, driveshaft, and 10 10mm nuts and washers, but the thing will not budge. I have hit it with a sledge, and tried jacking on it with a floor jack. There is a thick layer of black caulk around the whole permieter of the 3rd, for whatever reason. Whenever I jack on it a little bit, the bottom cracks very slightly. Is it common to tack some welds around when reinstalling? Any other ideas?

 

take a wire wheel brush attachment onto a drill and clean that outer seam. It should just pop out once you get all the nuts off. Maybe you missed one under all the dirt and grime. Did you remove all the washers as well? Sometimes they get caught at an angle and wedge stuff in place.

 

Mine was a lil difficult coming out(first time it was out in 280K or so). I believe it helped pushing upward while pulling outward(toward the front) as the guides rest on the studs, right?

 

I had the 4runner in the shop a while back trying to track down a vibration. They were going to pull the 3rd, but they said they couldn't get it out either. I know for certain I have all 10 10mm nuts off, and some of them didn't have washers on them, but I got them all off. Tomorrow I willl clean that caulk off and see what there is to see. Every write up I've seen says it should just pull out at this point. Thanks for the suggestions gents.

 

Wow, that IS odd. Well, ....maybe they used the Toyota FIPG..... I know from experience, even on applications I'd only had it on for 5K miles.... IT'S LIKE SUPER GLUE ON CRACK! lol.

Hmmm, curious...it's either welded on or that seal is NOT wanting to budge. Obviously if there's a washer missin.......the nuts have been off, yeah? Grrr, hate working AFTER PEOPLE'S STUPID MESS UPS! lol.

Best wishes, ....and Vitaly is right, get that brush out, we wanna know what the conclusion is! lol.

 

when i used 'the right stuff' to seal one of my diffs i had to pound on it while jacking it up and i only had it on for about a month. i definitely didnt do any welding at all, the stuff was just super strong.

chefyota i had to hammer/pry/bend/cut off an oil pan which i stupidly used toyota fipg on. and it too was only on for about a week. only use fipg if you know absolutely for sure youll never ever need to get it back off. lol that stuff is incredible

 

Hhaahahaha.... Laughing at myself, not you, lol.

I TOTALLY understand that one with Toyota FIPG for Oil Pan/Cam Cover. Had such a time with it the last time I had to remove my pan(1200 miles on there) that it bent the pan when trying to separate the rear where I couldn't get the razor.

I will just say that I think that Toyota FIPG is probably one of the best that I've used... But yes, the Napa-Right Stuff?>>> On a 350 4bolt main pan, a guy I know drove around for 3 days without 10 of the 12 bolts in(Thought the 'other guy did it' kinda thing, lol), .... the 2 in there not even tightened, ..... it took that long, racing around all 3 days, for the pan to fall out! lol. GNARLY stuff! I used it on my timing cover this time.

Sorry Victor, no more rambling from me, i promise!!!! lol...

 

the only thing stronger I know of is the aircraft grade stuff
I know someone who works at the airport and he used that on his car before... sticks like super glue!

 

Someone sealed it well it sounds like.

Hit it with your purse this time.

:wabbit2:

 

if you can break the seal at the bottom why not stick a screwdriver in there and help it along

 

The two thirds that I removed were both seized to the studs from rust, etc. I had to use some heat (small propane torch) on the housing all around each stud and smack it with a sledge & 2x4 from the sides. It worked slowly, but once it got past the part of the studs that were in the housing, it slid right out.

If you have any rust on there and you have all ten studs left in the diff housing, you'll be working on it for a while. The first one I removed, all but three studs came out and it took some sledge work to get it off. The second one had six studs that didn't come out. It took a couple hours of heating, banging, prying & repeating to get it off.

Ruskymx

 

I've pulled a few thirds that rusted to the studs.
WD-40, pickle fork, chisel, big screw driver or a hammer.
Elbow grease.

 

Thank you everyone. And yes, they are 12mm. I misremembered. I used the 10mm for a few bolt when removing the running boards. For everyone suggesting prying it with a screwdriver, pickle fork, etc, should I be worried about damaging the axle housing?

 

i posted about the 12mm than deleted because I had just woke up and than went out to the garage to double check. as mentioned before sometimes a washer will catch. with all the road grime that can be hard to see.

since you can brake loose the bottom just work your way around with a set of pry bars.
the housing are tough..just don't beat the crap out of prybar with your hammer and you should be fine.
I know that your sig says 4.88's but I know my 5.29's catch some time, try rotating your pinion slightly. if you broke something, a piece could be catching.

 

"YOU CAN DOOOO ITTTTTTTTT!" hehe.... No, really, you can!

Honestly? More I think about it, .....I can't see why someone would weld these in like you're thinking might be the case. But I don't know much, so nevermind, lol.

I would be VERY careful sticking screwdrivers, etc., in-between the diff and the axle housing. Maybe a careful running of a razor in-between the studs, from the point you got it to budge, upward? If they've used some SUPER-GLUE type FIPG, .....it could just be, as stated, a really good seal.

But like OCD said, ....the gears can catch up, ...THEY'RE FATTY compared to 4.10's, etc., right? Even my 4.10's did a lil damage to the housing cut outs in the axle when coming out of the rear axle...... pretty tight there. I think you're caught up on the studs. Get it really clean with some brake cleaner and engn degreaser and a brush....then take another look.

 

Ta Da. Rusted studs and FIPG holds like hell, but she's free. The shiny welded looking part (in the first pic) is what made me think someone had welded on this thing. Now I need to have it looked at to see why it's howling and making a cyclic humming vibration at highway speed.

 

Congratz!

 

Backlash and bearing pre-load.

 

That's why it's howling and humming at me? Can this be fixed without getting a new ring/pinion. Factory 4.88s and Toyota wants $1000+ for it

 

Well, part of what he's saying, I THINK, is the preload of the pinion nut that holds in the seal.... It does more than that, obviously, and if it's too tight or loose, you can have issues.