D35 removal question?

[jd4242]

for starters i have 5.5 lift and James Duff arms.can you remove just the d35 housing by its self.will the driver side axle have room to slide in and out and will the passenger side have enough room for me to take the clip off ,or do i have to disconnect the ujoints.or is none of it possible with out taking the wheels and hubs and all that off?im about to regear my front end next week and i only have one day and maybe one night to button everything up,so i need to know the easiest and fastest way to remove and install my d35

 

[ranger-93]

iv found the best way to remove the housing is this:
1) take both wheels, hubs, brakes and spindles off
2)pull drivers side axle out
3) take one of the metal clamps that holds the dust boot on the passenger side slip joint off
4) pull passenger side axle out...this could require more pulling than the drivers side but it will come out
5) remove front driveshaft front housing
6) since you have duff arms idk if they allow you access to the pinch bolt that runs up and down on drivers side of housing. if your arms dont allow this remove the arm bracket that bolts to frame and move arm outwards and it should allow access to remove pinch bolt
7) remove front cover bolts
8) remove housing

this is how iv done it for a while now. an extra set of hands can be very helpful if available epecially when putting housing back in and ur trying not to mess up that bead of rtv lol

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah the axle shafts have to come out before you can remove the diff housing from the beam, no two ways about it. The above method should work fine.

 

[jd4242]

I was worried about that.can i leave the passenger in and just pull the yoke apart?

 

[jd4242]

AAlso don't i have to remove the driverside spring out to move the arm

 

[4x4junkie]

Only if the arm is in the way of the housing bolt that's behind there.

Correct, the passengerside shaft can be removed just by separating it at the slip yoke (no choice on that one really... The innermost shaft is retained inside the diff with a circlip).

 

[jd4242]

Yea the top of the arm is in the way.so i can leave all the pass in and just pull apart the yoke.

 

[ranger-93]

Yea the top of the arm is in the way.so i can leave all the pass in and just pull apart the yoke.

you do not have to remove the spring to move the arm. just take the radius arm bracket off where it bolts to frame and kick it out to the side. thats exactly how i did mine.

you can leave all the passenger side stuff in but you might have to fight the housing and axles trying to get it all to line up. its much easier to not have the yoke part connected while installing the housing. i fought the housing and axles for about 30-45 minutes and finally just took passenger side apart and than i had the housing installed in about 5 minutes.

 

[jd4242]

So its not worth the trouble is what your saying.

 

[ranger-93]

exactly, the removal of the spring shouldn't be necessary and just using the time that you would fighting the housing you could have already took passenger side apart. i had the same idea u did about not taking apart that side and ending up having to anyways

 

[jd4242]

exactly, the removal of the spring shouldn't be necessary and just using the time that you would fighting the housing you could have already took passenger side apart. i had the same idea u did about not taking apart that side and ending up having to anyways

Ok so my one day looks like its going to be a LONG DAY!!! thanks for all the help and advic.

 

[ranger-93]

not a problem, iv gotten plenty of advice from guys here and pass on what i know to help someone out. just remember when you put the housing back on and use rtv dont fill it right up or theres a good chance it'll leak. i let mine sit over night and filled it next day, 9 months so far and no signs of leak. if you have to drive it with no oil in there it should be fine provided u make sure axles dont turn

 

[Xeek]

move arm outwards and it should allow access to remove pinch bolt

i have the axle sitting in the front yard atm. do i have to loosen the bolts holding the arm on to the axle to move it? or am i just a sissy cause i cant get it to swing? lol

 

[jd4242]

You might have to remove the whole arm

 

[ZTraz77]

just loosen the bolts slightly to allow the radius arm to move freely and swing it out of the way.. those bolts may be pretty beat up tho, (depending on rust) but i got mine loose ( with copious amounts of aero-kroil and some soak in time) with my impact wrench

 

[Xeek]

i see bolts on the outside and on the inside or the axle arm. loosen just the outside ones? or do i need to put a wrench on the inside and outside nut and do that for the top and bottom?

if im confusing ill try and explain better lol

 

[Tbars4]

...This is for the large bolts on the beam going thru the radius arms..

...The inner nut is actually tack welded in the beam and you can actually break that weld loose by mistake...Don't ask me how I know..

...If they are the original untouched stock bolts and have never been removed, Ford used a commercial red loc-tite on them so using a torch to heat the bolt head which would loosen the loc-tite would be a plus...

..But remember, loosen that bolt as fast as you can because as it cools down the loc-tite will re-bond..

 

[Xeek]

ok. i hope i dont break the nut loose from the weld then. i dont have a torch, unless a bic lighter counts lol

 

[ZTraz77]

...This is for the large bolts on the beam going thru the radius arms..

...The inner nut is actually tack welded in the beam and you can actually break that weld loose by mistake...Don't ask me how I know..

...If they are the original untouched stock bolts and have never been removed, Ford used a commercial red loc-tite on them so using a torch to heat the bolt head which would loosen the loc-tite would be a plus...

..But remember, loosen that bolt as fast as you can because as it cools down the loc-tite will re-bond..

what he said ^ lol if u dont have a torch u can also get a wrench and a BFH and start beating on it til it works itself free

 

[ranger-93]

when i said kick it out to the side i literally meant to kick it lol. i got under truck found something to hold onto and kicked it outwards lol. if u try this and it works a ratchet strap makes pulling the arm back in a lot easier