Hi all,
I have 98 Ram 1500 2w/d w/5.2 liter w/171k miles..The rear wheel bearings are HUMMIN on the left side.. With the help of my brother, we attempted to replace them..After removing the diff cover, we or he broke the diff bolt/pin that holds the spacer in place between both axles in rearend..We could not remove that broken piece for the life of us..We bolted back the broken bolt to hold the pin & resealed & refilled the diff..Any ideas to remove that bolt/pin or am i going to have to find another rearend to replace it?

 

Did the entire threaded portion break off, or just the head? If the former, you should be able to get it out with a magnet and wiggling the carrier pin (not a "spacer"). If it broke the head off only, it's gonna be a PITA screw extraction. Or, you can beat the crap out of the carrier pin until it shears the bolt off, then remove the carrier and drill/easy-out the bolt on the bench. I've never seen one break at the head, though, given that the hex is barely bigger than the threaded shank.

 

A trick I have used in the past, is to clear out the hole where the bolt goes with brake cleaner, to make sure things are nice and squeaky clean, then, put a dab of super glue on the end of a finishing nail, and stick it to the remaining portion of the bolt. Let the glue set, (just a minute or three), then use vice grips to pull STRAIGHT back on the nail. Don't twist it, just pull straight out. Works every time.

 

It broke at the end of the threads right at the pin..It does appear that the pin moves side to side as we turned the drive shaft...& we tried a magnet but the magnet was too big-didn't have a smaller one to put down the hole..We also beat the crap out of it but it didn't budge..

 

Hey you,
Going to try your idea w/superglue & nail...Hopefully it'll pan out..If not I'll continue to beat the crap out of it like sixtysixduce suggested..