i am removing my rear differential and was wondering if this was just bolted down...i don't see anything else holding it down but don't want to damage it when removing since its on there tight..might just be all the dirt around it

 

sorrry, i couldnt rotate it

 

better image

 

You need to remove the axle shafts that are inside the axle tube.

 

i did that already

 

This.

Unscrew the rear brakelines from the wheel cylinders. Use rubber vacuum caps to prevent fluid loss. Then remove the four bolts holding each axle in place, and slide each out. Be careful not to ruin or chafe the axle seal (otherwise you end up with gear oil leaking).

Once you've removed the axles, pull the ABS (I don't know anything about that as I don't have it), then when you remove the nuts/bolts from the 3rd member it should come out with a few taps of a hammer. (not around the bolt holes)

 

No need to remove the ABS sensor unless you want to. Just unplug it.

 

That's kinda what I thought.its covered in dirt so I will clean it up so I can actually see where to unplug it. Since its stuck on from being old,are there any tools I could use to help?

 

how tight does the drain need to be? i didnt see any torque specs for it but remember it being pretty tight on there when i removed it

 

I had to loosen my sway bar to get the top of the third to slide out. NOTE: USE A JACK!!! That thing is heavy especially when laying on your side and can only get one arm under it to support its weight.

ask me how I know

 

i already did the hard part and resealed it with rtv but wasnt sure how tight the drain plug needed to be before i fill it will oil..thanks!

 

I went hunting for it in the FSM but couldn't find it. But I know I read it somewhere as I did my differentials last year and it was surprisingly little, 19 ft/lbs?

 

i searched through that and my chiltons but didnt find anything...i couldnt imagine it would be too much higher than that. i wish these manuals were more specific

 

36ft/lbs:

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...35differen.pdf

Bookmark this link...it has all the torque specs and everything else you need to work on these trucks:

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-buchanan/93fsm/

 

Somebody took your truck to a "quickie" lube place at some point in its life. The one thing those guys fear the most is having a drain plug come loose, so they use the biggest gorillas with the biggest wrenches down in the pit. And since the drain plug has a fairly large head (24mm?), getting a big wrench is easy.

Don't be a gorilla. Put it back on with the right torque. It won't seem like a lot, but that's how they do it at the factory.

 

thanks!

 

the filler plug is 36ft/lb....couldnt find anything for the drain plug....maybe it just needs to be really snug??

 

Fill and drain plugs are the same torque.

 

alright..good to know!! thanks.