The seal on my trucks rear 3rd went out this week. I set out to try and fix it but cant seem to get the 3rd member out. I took off the drive line and removed the 10 or 12 bolts that are holding it on. Is there anything i might be missing that is keeping it from dropping?

 

The axles?

 

yeah, you need to pull the inner axles out lol

disconnect the brake line and take the four bolts behind each drum out and they'll just slide off.

 

You might be able to get away without unbolting the brakelines, just be VERY careful

 

 

Its possible but I wouldn't recommend it.

If you do go that route though, don't leave the inner axles sitting half out of the axle housing, you can mess up the axle seal that way. Slide them out just enough to free the diff, pull the diff out, then push them all the way back in.

 

which seal? pinion seal is the common you dont need to remove the 3rd to replace the pinion seal

 

First off, axles. Also, if gasket maker was used, it sets up pretty strong like glue. Use a floor jack against the pinion flange to break the seal *after the axle shafts have been pulled*.

I do not recommend trying to pull the third wihtout disconnecting the brake lines.