denn69 ! Thanks for popping back in, and thanks for the great advice, I might have read this a bit too late ...I worked on it almost all day today. 2 steps forward and one back, continues to be the theme.

The driver side seal went in pretty easy, it took me a few to figure out how the tool worked. I actually , like an idiot, went after the passeger side seal first...used the tool wrong and the seal looked a bit cocked, so I decided to knock it out and try over, since after I figured out how it worked I realized it would be easy, also I had not reinstalled the diff OR the inner axle, so that side was doomed to be repeated. I bought a seal from the auto store, it didnt seem to mesh with the tool the same way the other seal did, but I gave it a shot, and failed again (still didnt have the other stuff in, so again ..doomed). BUT now I know I just need to buy the more expensive seal (NOK) at Napa and I will be all good. I will wait to attempt it until the rest of the items are in place. LOL

I also have now managed to get the final broken cad bolt out, I had to buy a better torch, $50 for the map gas "max heat" model did the trick. I didnt mess with the axle seal until I had this troublesome bolt out. Bought replacements today. BUT....

The Next big issue, and I could use advice here is the broken bolts in the back of the carrier. Today I did manage to remove 1 of the broken 2, and also replaced it with a new one. However the other would not have it. I attempted drilling it out , but I just kept dulling down the tips of the bits, with no effect on the bolt whatsoever ! The 2 ideas I have are 1. Just leave it in there, move forward and reinstall the diff 1 bolt short on the carrier. Or 2. Remove ALL of the carrier bolts and ring gear, and then try to get the last bit of this bolt out with vise grips. This option is certainly the more professional way to go about it, but getting them bolts off now that the diff is out presents a serious challenge, they are really torqued on there. The main issue here being that I dont have a bench strong enough to set up my vise on. Without a vise or impact tools getting these bolts off is near impossible. So I either need to find someone with a shop vise I can borrow to hold the diff while I remove these bolts, or take it too a machine shop, and pay to have it machined out..... Would putting it back in as is be a terrible idea ?

After much investigation on the ujoints, it does appear as if the spicer joints are cast slightly differently than the originals on my truck. I CAN get the old spiders in between both sides fairly easily, but when I try with the 560x the spider wont fit....I may take a look at a different brand, I will bring my old ones with me when I head to Napa for another axle seal. I have already screwed up the oil seals on 2 of the spicer ujoints during the attempted installations, forcing me to buy whole new joints. Tomorrow I will be buying the 4th ujoint, and 3rd passenger side axle seal so far. Dang it !

Thanks again for the help guys, I still got hope that I get this done ! Hoping to have good news for yall tomorrow

 

See if the parts store will rent you an electric impact wrench.... either that, or pick one up somewhere. As an alternative, if you know someone with an air compressor, and an air impact, use that to get the rest of the ring gear bolts out. (Think I would mark the gear, and carrier, so you could install it back in the same spot....) With the gear out, the broken bolt *should* come out fairly easy.

You might be able to take in in to someplace like Midas Muffler, and have them zip the bolts out for you right quick...... They might even do it for free.

 

Rounding the corner ! Got the ring gear off !! (rigged up my vise on a makeshift bench, had to use wood in between and all sorts of weird moves to get it to work.. but I eventually did !! about to reinstall and torque down using loctite. Found out whats up with the ujoints. Took ALL the parts, axles, ujoints ,yolks to Napa (which I hadnt been shopping at) They had the exact fit ujoints for me, manufactured exactly like my old ones, so fitting the spiders in between the yolks is easy now. Too bad it took 3 spicer joints at 30 $ each to finally get here... oh well its only another hundo ! They also had the correct axle seal, the one that actually fits the tool correctly. About to try putting it all back together. Got my torque specs all ready. Hope to have another positive report this evening.

 

Of course all was not well in dodge paradise. After my last post we went back a bit. I did as recommended and bought some loctite for the ring gear bolts, I went cross pattern and tightened the bolts slowly, a little at a time. However when the time came to torque to spec ...

The "replacement" bolts presented some difficulty. I hadnt noticed at first, but they are a bit longer than the originals. So when I successfully torqued the other bolts the replacements required more effort. I ended up snapping one of the new ones during the torquing effort.. ... This hurt bad. But I decided to re take off the ring gear (lost my placement ..then refound it on my pics!) and attempt to remove yet another broken bolt. This one would not have it. I hit it with the torch, tried using the vise grips right after to no avail, then tried drilling the back to attempt the bolt extractor, again no love. I believe that the intense pressure I was using to torque the wrong length bolt before it snapped has it in there beyond what I can do to remove it this time. So I moved on, I plan on installing it "as is" with the busted bolt in the carrier, and will just repeat the process I started this morning, and re torque the rest of those bolts and reinstall. I dont think that broken SOB will come out of those threads..

After I left the diff alone I did manage to press the new (napa) u joints into place, worked so much easier than those spicers. Perhaps the originals had been replaced with Napa ones previously,making using them easier now... dunno , but it still took quite a bit of working the joints back and forth to not only get the clips in place but also to a place where the joints moved either direction effortlessly without bind.... that was a PIA !!! Was physically shot for the day after that. But..

Managed to get the suspect ,now broken power steering pump disconnected and removed. Again not sure if its the O ring or what..nothing else is seeming to be leaking. Gonna bring it to the store tomorrow to have them remove and replace the pulley ....hopefully.

Starting to see the light on the side of the tunnel but still hoping for more help and feedback from you more experienced fellas on here.

 

So im not sure if I still have anyone checking on me here...but got some stuff to report. 1st I noticed in my previous post, I hadnt mentioned getting the final broken bolt out of the ring gear, which I did. I took off the gear after marking it, then managed to get it out with some vise grips, however after getting it out then re assembling the gear on the carrier is when I broke the replacement bolt which I describe in my last post.

I moved forward today, Brought the p/s pump to the store where they removed the pulley and reinstalled on the new pump. I told them of my situation with this broken bolt. The guy said he understood...been working on this for almost a month now, he said if I decide to reinstall the diff with the broken bolt still stuck in there, I should use some silicone sealant/gasket maker designed for gear oil to plug the hole where the broken bolt is.....in case it decided to back out (I really doubt it after how hard I was torquing) still, I wouldnt want that thing bouncing around the inside of the gear case while im doing 70 with the boat behind me. So I did that and then torqued the rest of the bolts to 70lbs. The service manual specs 70-90, I went on the low end ,and just used loctite on all of them. However I only torqued the 1 replacement bolt to 60#. I was told at the store that max on any #8 that diameter is 50#'s.

Then came the moment of truth, re installing the diff. Wasnt too bad. I did as denn mentioned and lightly greased the outside of the races, got er in place then used a piece of wood on the ring gear and tapped with a deadblow hammer until I was close, then put the bearing caps and bolts back in place and slowly tightened them down til it was all seated in there, then I torqued to 80 lbs as specified. then rotated several times from the yolk, moved just as smooth as it did before I pulled it ! I spent significant time cleaning the pumkin cover and housing surfaces in preparation for the gasket maker sealant stuff I bought. Will probably use the whole tube !

Feeling close now ! Just gotta put the passenger side seal in , then put the rest back togther. Hopefully all goes smooth with the CAD and stuff. Hope to have a good report tomorrow for anyone still checking this out.

 

I'm still reading. Sounds like things are going fairly well, aside from the one bolt...... Not entirely sure how I feel about that, but, I understand just wanting to get this done.

 

Thanks my friend ! Nice to know your still lurking.....and understand my situation. I havent stopped thinking about that bolt situation..... need to just let it go and move on, I just hate to do something hack like this, but especially now that I got it back in there its a done deal. Not about to pull it all back apart. I dont use 4 wheel drive too often , and when I do I take it easy. I almost never use 4 lo....so I should be alright. Hopefully today is a day of glorious reassembly. Like denn said , that passenger side seal is the last hurdle to clear, and I feel pretty good about it right now. Looking forward to a nice positive report this evening, but Im done counting my eggs !!

 

There is a fairly thick cork gasket that goes on the CAD housing. Be sure and put that in there, as it also serves to space things out properly.

 

Ive been following your post.Compilmentfor sticking with it.Look at all you've learned about your truck.It's truly yours now.Good job................

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it, it truly does feel like "my truck" now. Not driving again yet, but shouldnt be long now ! It really is a confidence builder, I mentioned to a friend yesterday that after pulling this off I feel like I could pretty much fix almost anything on her now. Ive replaced engines and tranny's before, I and would say this job was probably tougher than either of those ! VERY physically demanding, especially messing with the press on the ujoints.