75Grandville
New Member
- Joined
- August 4, 2010
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Falls Church, VA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '01 XLT 4.0 4WD
Thx and my experience
Many thanks to Gavin and all those who followed up on this thread. I replaced the rear axle seals on my 2001 XLT 4x4 this weekend. Also did the bearings (while I'm in there, why not), and the rear brakes (the leaking seal had led to gear oil everywhere).
Just a few random thoughts and observations based on my experience:
Many thanks to Gavin and all those who followed up on this thread. I replaced the rear axle seals on my 2001 XLT 4x4 this weekend. Also did the bearings (while I'm in there, why not), and the rear brakes (the leaking seal had led to gear oil everywhere).
Just a few random thoughts and observations based on my experience:
- The things that look like the sliders for the rear calipers are actually the bolts that hold them in place. Took me a while to figure that out.
- If you pull too hard on the diff cover, it will pop straight off backwards, you will get gear oil everywhere, and your 4 yr old daughter will laugh at you.
- The bolt that holds the pin in place is really tiny compared to the rest of the parts in the diff. Mine had an 8mm head.
- When your spider gears fall out because you failed to heed the advice, and moved the carrier, keep track of which shim goes with which gear, and where each gear came from. That way you can hopefully put them back where you found them. I used ziploc baggies, and labeled them so I knew where they went. Hasn't grenaded yet (100 miles +/-), so I think I got them back in correctly.
- If you have an Advance Auto Parts store nearby, get their loaner toolkit 41, which contains a slide hammer plus the good pullers. I used the middle sized one, whichever that was. Plus, call the store and make sure they have the tools before you go.
- Read the entire post before getting to work -- there's some really great tips buried in the middle.
- Again, many thanks to everyone who took the time to post to this thread. The local labor rate is $97.50/hr, so with the complete rear break job I figure I saved $500!