Rearend issues

[caspear1978]

SO the time has come to replace seals and bearings on my axles in my 99 silverado. 1/2 ton. Figured simple easy job. i figured wrong.

i cant get my alignment shaft out. i pulled the bolt which was only about an inch long or so. Problem number 1 in my eyes. having rebuilt rearends before i know this bolt is not just an inch long. Push on the shaft. Moves maybe 1/16 of an inch. Umm this isnt good. looking over everything i determined it had to be the piece that broke off the bolt. got that pice out with some skill. ok great. shaft will come free now. YEA RIGHT. nope still only moves 1/16 of an inch. ok now im stumped. tap it with a punch and hammer. soild as it can be its not moving.

i have the g80 8.5 in there. is there something im missing or do i have to get a bigger hammer and possibly mess something up getting my shaft out?

[hatzie]

Are you sure you got all of the lock bolt out of the hole?

It sure sounds like she still has a piece inside.

[caspear1978]

i looked at the lock bolt more today. The old one and it looks like part of it did break off. Now im thinking its stuck in one of the flat spots on the shaft. Which is causing it not to come loose.

Any ideas on how to deal with this issue. i was able to install a new bolt last night and it went all the way in, no issues.

[AussieinNC]

Remove the new bolt you installed....
Rotate the center section 180 degrees so you can see back of the center shaft...

Tap the shaft out about 1/2"....
Turn the center section 180 degrees again and grab the center shafy with vice grips and pull it out....

Replace the center shaft and most likely the gear set....all four gears...I have seen these gears gall the center shaft bad enough to give the symptons you describe....

Hope this helps...

[hatzie]

If the Spider Gears are spent the Eaton G80 Gov Loc Locker isn't worth dumping any $ into. They have a poor reputation for reliability.
I'd get a Detroit Tru Trac or Auburn Positrac diff and recycle bin the Eaton G80 Gov Bomb locker.

[homemade87]

I had the same problem with a g80 . Got the bolt out and still would not come out . Turns out the spider gear welded itself to the pin . If you inserted a new locking pin all the way in there is no reason the center pin should not come out if no other problem exists . This means the locking pin went all the way past the pin on both sides and should be clear to come out . If not you could have the same problem I had . I hammed on it pretty hard and would not budge . I wound up taking an angle grinder and cutting it in half on both sides to set it out . Even then after cutting the spider gear in half it would not come off the shaft it was welded so hard to it .

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by homemade87

I had the same problem with a g80 . Got the bolt out and still would not come out . Turns out the spider gear welded itself to the pin . If you inserted a new locking pin all the way in there is no reason the center pin should not come out if no other problem exists . This means the locking pin went all the way past the pin on both sides and should be clear to come out . If not you could have the same problem I had . I hammed on it pretty hard and would not budge . I wound up taking an angle grinder and cutting it in half on both sides to set it out . Even then after cutting the spider gear in half it would not come off the shaft it was welded so hard to it .

How did you end up getting the spider gear pieces loose? I probably would've resorted to a BFH and a chisel or a big air chisel at that point.

[homemade87]

Originally Posted by hatzie

How did you end up getting the spider gear pieces loose? I probably would've resorted to a BFH and a chisel or a big air chisel at that point.

Bfh would not even budge it . I was hitting pretty hard and would not move . At that point I was worried of damage to the housing . The OP may have some luck with a hammer . I believe I would try that first .

What I did was take a 4" angle grinder with a cut off wheel and made 2 cuts vertical left and right just at the edge of the pin top to bottom of unit. Rotated to the other side and did the same thing . Got things moving but the spider was welded to to pin even when it was cut in half . Just kept cutting until things come out . Once the pin was out I tried to see if I could get what was remaining of the spider off but could not . Never seen one do that . But I did get it out in about an 1/2 hour of cutting once I decided go at it .

The OP may not have to go to this extreme but it is an option if needed .

[hatzie]

If the spiders are welded to the pin then that diff is shot.

Drastic measures to avoid replacing the whole axle begin to seem a lot less drastic at this point.

The outer housing, brakes, and axles are likely salvageable but the bearings, Ring & pinion, seals, and other service parts are likely not.
The ring and pinion will likely sing and wear rapidly if installed on a new diff even if they're setup properly because they were worn to match the old diff.

Tally the cost of a low-mile axle and a re-build of this one and include your time to do both.
Don't sell your time cheap if you're employed. If a whole low-mile axle, with a warranty, is available for less than the repair parts I'd lean that direction.

[caspear1978]

Ive decided that Im just going to look for another rear end for my 99. Right now it still runs and moves. But with the way the spider gears look. i would have been rebuilding the diff anyways. So in my eyes. Its cheaper to get a different rear end and rebuild that one.
I know of a local that has one for $250. So that wont be to bad if it looks decent inside. At least if the diff looks good then ill just replace the outer bearings and seals since i have new ones to go in already.