Trying to separate propeller shaft from differential..
 

So, I've gotten this far in my quest to remove/replace my rear axles. The driver's side 1/2 axle would not come out of diff, so I have resorted to taking down the differential.

I have the shaft-to-flex disc bolts out (x3), the top of differential-to-subframe bolts out (x4), and the intermediate bearing bolts out (x2). The differential is supported by a floor jack, and the exhaust has been disasembled.

I have loosened the "clamping nut of propeller shaft", but I still can't slide the drive shaft toward the front of the car and detach it from the flex-disc and differential.

As usual for me, I am looking for any suggestions someone might have for disengaging the "propeller shaft" and differential. I have tried a pry-bar without luck so far.

Remove the two bolts holding the driveshaft's center support.

I should be more specific...
 

(1) Does loosening the "clamping nut" more and more increase the likelihood of being able to slide the propeller shaft forward, or is it just a matter of it not being "tight"?

(2) Once the clamping nut is "loose" (I can manipulate it with my fingers) and the center bearing is loose, is there much to harm by continuing to apply more and more pry-bar force?

Thanks.

Thanks for replying Forced...I feel pretty certain that I have those out. That is what I am referring to by "intermediate bearing bolts"; I'm trying to apply FSM language, but may have used the wrong term.

I would take a punch and mark both sections of the DS where they join just in case you pull them apart. loosening the "clamping nut" more wont give more room if the DS is already sliding for and aft.

Are you saying the drive shaft is not separating from the Differential?

I have had a problem with the flex disc sticking to the diff yoke and or driveshaft. use a pry bar, turn the shaft and pry in different places.

loosening the clamping nut it should slide forward on the splines.

Charlie

Thanks, Stevo.

That's sort of where I'm perplexed. I have loosened the intermediate bearing AND the clamping nut, with zero resulting fore/aft movement of the driveshaft. To be honest, it's still not perfectly clear what components are to be moving in relation to one another. It would seem that I can't pull apart at the clamping nut b/c both ends are still attached to flex discs at the transmission and differential, respectively. I want to slide the bulk of the driveshaft towards the front of the car, but can't figure where it's supposed to slide to! I keep getting stuck at what generally sound like the straightforward components of these jobs.

My good pry-bar is too long, and was colliding with the jack stands when I was trying to pry the driveshaft forward away from the flex disc. I bought a slightly shorter one tonight, and will try again tomorrow. I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever get back on the road. Oh well...

That's exactly what's happening, Charlie. The drive shaft will not move toward the front of the car, away from the flex disc that remains attached to the diff.

I will try some more with my shorter pry-bar tomorrow. I almost felt like I was close to making progress with by longer bar tonight, but the jack stands were in the way.

Thanks.

Seperating flex disks from tri-lobes!
 

Flex Disk steel bushing!!


Sent this via email also:

You need to take a screw driver/punch and place it's tip alongside of the drive shaft's three lobes where you've already removeded the bolts from. There is a steel bushing insert in the flex disk which is usually held fast in the corresponding indentations of the drive shaft lobes. With a hammer, strike the edge of the bushing where it extends past the edge of the lobe, put the tip of the screwdriver/punch on it and give it a couple of good whacks. This will seperate the steel bushing from the drive shaft freeing the flex disk from the shaft allowing you to get things out. Good Luck!

I did try it BillyBob...
 

I did; I rushed home from work after I had read your e-mail, convinced that I would have the differential on my work-bench by dark.

Unfortunately, it's still under the car. I went after those bushing edges with my punch (I purchased several last week when I was trying to "punch" the drivers 1/2 shaft out from the passenger side), but to no avail.

I will head back out in the AM with my prybar, punch, and mallet and try again though.

Thanks.

the two halves of the d-shaft assembly should slide relative eachother. I'm betting the splines that connect the two halves together and allow the forward/backward are rusted and preventing any movement. You might try soaking the spline area with some lube over night. Also, try impacts with a hammer as you push/pull on the d-shaft.

I've had some stubborn flexdisc' before, too. I just used a prybar between the flex disc and the 3 winged shaft on the diff. I always left the disc on the driveshaft..

Thanks for the replies. I have also found some useful older theads. I wasn't able to work on things much yesterday, but am hoping to get home early enough today to re-try some of your suggestions.

Thanks. Ross.

Interesting thread; could you post some pictures?

Don't feel too bad Ross. I've removed a couple of driveshafts and I haven't had an easy time with any of the flex disks, getting them popped loose from rear end or tranny. It is hard to believe that the small protruding bushings in the flex disks can hang on so tight!

It's out...
 

Gentlemen (and any ladies that tune in), thank you for your help and indulgence.

I have the differential (with the blasted driver's side 1/2 shaft still in) out, the driveshaft out, and both flex discs off. Here is what I will add to what others have suggested above/what I learned:

(1) I only had success after the clamping nut was completely unthreaded; not just loose and still on the threads, but completely "unscrewed". Now, it was after this that I also got more aggressive with the pry-bar, but when the driveshaft came away from the differential, the clamping nut was "off". I guess I was stuck on the terminology. Others had referred to "loosening" the clamping nut, which I took to mean just "backing it off", but not unscrewing it all the way. I didn't have success until it was unscrewed. I will also say that I was able to completely unscrew that clamping nut, as well as remove the driveshaft from beneath the car, without having the driveshaft separate in my hands. I marked the 2 halves like others suggested, but I was initially anxious that by unclamping that nut I was doomed to having the driveshaft come flying apart (like that snake in the can of peanut brittle); it stayed together.

(2) Separating the driveshaft from the flex discs is not necessarily a quick job. In my thread searches, I read some posters stating that if you couldn't get a flex disc changed in 10 minutes, then you were doing something wrong. My front one went faster than the rear (30 minutes vs. 2-3 days!), but alot of that was due to knowing how much force to apply and where. The suggestions above by Billybob about tapping/(banging) on the flex-disc flange as it extends past the driveshaft lobe were right on. Chrarmalu's advice about pry-bar, rotate shaft, pry-bar, rotate shaft, ... were also key. I was "wailing on it" with the pry-bar, and it finally began to separate.

I didn't take many pictures of the job in progress, as I was too embarassed by my flailing around! However, there were a couple of threads by tobybul in 4/2007 with almost the same problem, and he was smart enough to take some pictures. The DIY wiki article about "W123 differential removal" also has pictures, though not of the stumbling blocks I encountered.

Before I pat myself on the back too much, I still have a differential with a 1/2 shaft stuck in it, which was what started all of this madness. Does anyone know if CVJ in Denver deals in differentials too?! I'm thinking my current diff is not going to be usable, and I'm dreading trying to find a diff from one place only to find that the reman axles I get won't fit in the replacement diff. What a hobby!

Thanks. Ross.