I bought a used rear end for my 98 and in the inspection I found that one of the clips was damaged so I pulled them out. Well I found that was stupid. Is it possible to replace these clips without taking the whole differential apart? I spoke with the dealership I do my apprenticeship at, and they seemed clueless saying "we've never had one apart" so I'm left with coming here, is it possible to replace these or even put mine back in without disassembling the differential.

 

Axle clips you mean?

 

Yes Sir! check out completeoffroad.com. they sell them individually and their site is so easy to use as well. trac lok clutch clip (ds40835) $2.50 each. you will have to take the spiders out but you don't have to take any bearing caps off sooo no resetting up the rear. I found an online article posted by hotrod magazine I think. just googled a bit and found lots of info. there is stuff on youtube and pavementsucks as well. good luck.

 

If you do mean axle clips, although you shouldn't have been able to pull them out, you have to undo the bolt on the side of the carrier that holds the pinion shaft in (the shaft that the 2 smaller pinion gears ride on, carefully slide the shaft out enough to push your axle in far enough to put the clip back on, and reverse the procedure.......but again you shouldnt be able to remove them without doing what I just described, your axle might have walked itself out of the housing while driving if this is the case......
I can't think of what other clips you would be talking about inside the differential

 

You don't have to take the whole diff apart.
Just take cover off and the cross shaft to get to the c-clips.
Then slide new clips in and put everything back together.
You don't have to pull out a whole carrier.
Should be relatively easy. Change your diff fluid in the process.
Hope this helps

 

On the spiders there is 2 clips to each spider (side gears) they are on the clutch packs, tiny thin clips that are an extreme pain in the ***, not the axle c clips, they are called "retainer clips"

 

pretty sure he is talking about the clutch pack clips found in LSD differentials. also known as a dana trac lok. they can come out and can cause catastrophic rear end failure, however, they should only do so under hard use or many miles. they are wear items. as are the clutches. I for one am a fan of the factory LSD's or trak loc's they are actually tunable by how you build the clutch packs, lots of info online. reread my first post here NORTZY, those are the parts you need, might want to think about putting in a new clutch pack kit as well, I think that's like $80 or so. also Like I said you can make it a little more aggressive by adding one of your old steels and frictions (the best ones) from your old pack.

 

[quote=seabass202;2534958]pretty sure he is talking about the clutch pack clips found in LSD differentials. also known as a dana trac lok. they can come out and can cause catastrophic rear end failure, however, they should only do so under hard use or many miles. they are wear items. as are the clutches.

The factory lsd is nowen to have this problem and can happen at any time. don't forget to add the additive to your diff oil. inspect the side gears carefully for wear. the pac is easy to change preoil everything before assy.

 

Ok thanks a lot guys, so it's recommended to change the clutch packs with a kit and put new clips in, and can you be more detailed on the more aggressive way of doing it seabass202 thanks.

 

And back to my original question, do I have to take the entire differential out of the rear end, like can I do it so that I don't have to re allign the ring gear and pinion