My Turn To Cry!
 

Doing a job correctly is evidently not enough. In my 18 years as a Mechanic I never had the below problem happen.
I also do not know how to prevent it from happening again!

Apparently when I drove the new Seal into the Differential the Seal Lip Spring popped out.

I did not see it until I was about to install the Differential.

I tried all kind of ways to try to get the Spring back onto the Lip and ended up damaging the Spring.
The Spring in the picture is on from the Old Seal I removed. Removing the Seals destroys the Seal.

After having welded up my Cracked Rear Cross Member I had just enough time this Weekend to get my Car back on the Road.
To add to that yesterday I cracked a piece off of one of my Front Teeth. I had to stop working on the Car get cleaned up and went to the Dentist only to find they were closed. More time wasted!

So it is clear I cannot finish the Car this Weekend.

Monday I start Jury Duty; so cannot plan on being able to fix the Car during the work Week.

I a curious to see if this has happened to anyone else and how they got the Spring back on.

Sorry to hear of your problems. I wish I could help as your advice to others is usually most helpful. :(

I have not had this problem (yet). I assume there is little to no room behind the seal. Is it possible to find a washer the size of the ID of the seal (when the spring is in it), stretch the spring over the washer, push the assembly through the hole diagonally (maybe tape it with a few retrievable strands of masking tape), then pop the spring up in its home position?

Time to get creative.

Hey, didn't you buy a USB borescope? Looks like there's a view hole behind it...

Thanks.
There seems to be only likely 2 solutions I can think of. One is to find a way to safely remove the Seal with out damaging it. Maybe if I think on it long enough I can find a way to do that.

The other is to buy a new Seal and start again. The only place I might be able to get one right away is the Dealer or maybe NAPA (and only possible because I have the Box with the part Numbers on it).

There is 1/16" between the Lip and a big Snap Ring. If the Lip is compressed you gain another 1/16"

I did buy the $18 Borescope from eBay; but it will not help with this.

I thought about taking the Differential apart but the Snap Ring that holds that side together is under the Seal.

Sorry to hear about it. $hit happens.

Look at it this way. If it can be solved with money then it is not a problem. Have a beer, relax and enjoy. In my case, I just go to play golf.

Seriously, I have done the seals before on a diff. It should be an easy tap in, prying it out was a PITA.

Yes, the shock from the hammer will jar the garter spring loose. Real seal install tools have a tube the expands the lip so the spring won't pop out. ( same dia as the shaft to be installed )

Without a seal tool, packing the back with grease keeps the spring from pooping out.

To fix, get some paperclips or slightly stronger wire, bend one end into a 90 a space then almost a 90 again. The spacing should allow the hook to slide over the outside of the seal, down the face then under the lip. Make 2 of these.

Take a third and bend it into a nearly 180* .

The goal is to use the first 2 of these clips held at 90* angles to keep the spring in place as a the third works the spring around. The spring won't stretch as much as you will be folding the lip in slightly. The end of this 180* wire will push the spring, the seal lip will be in the V of the 180* bend, this way you can stretch the spring if you go in one direction and pull the lip to the center by pushing in the opposite direction.

You may have to re bend the paperclips / and or have a second person hold the stationary wires.

The process does not require great force, it is a exercise in balance and finesse. Go to the bathroom _before_ starting this process as it reduces tension. ( really, it works great for removing auto glass too and no, don't go on the car )

Some front transmisson seals ( GM ) have a lip that curls back around to prevent the garter spring from popping out.

If it makes you feel any better I KNOCKED MY 2 Upper front teeth out when I was putting a Banks Exhaust System on my 06 Duramax. The old muffler fell & knocked them out

I now have a partial plate.

I've seen this many times and never had any trouble putting the spring back in it's place.

Yes, that is worse.

I just got back from the Dentist and for now the Tooth is fixed.

I have driven in a lot of Seals with the wrong Tools and this is a first for me. If I had know it could happened I could have stuck a socket in the Middle or as you said greased the Spring.
In this case I used a 2-3/4" Socket and a 2 Pound Hammer to drive it in.

Hey 911,
Dont despair !!
i have stuffed up like this a few times especially with real big seals, one was 12" diameter.
Your biggest problem will be if the old spring has stretched over time. On a few occasions I have very carefully undone the spring ~ it has a cone ending where it screws into itself to make the circle. undo that & you can cut 1/4" off the spring & screw it back together. That way the spring will be tight on the seal.
To put the spring back in, best get one bit of it in place & then gradually work it back into place from both sides. A bit like putting a tire on a rim. Jewelers screwdrivers are good. So are dentists tools ( not having a go at you ~ they are great for fiddly work like this).

Well, I decided to go ahead and try something.

I rooted around my Tools and found a bunch of what I call "Heel Bars" that I used to use to remove direct Injection type Injectors.

I found one that seemed to fit best and pried carefully. It turned out not to be very hard to pry the seal out; certainly not like the original that I had to destroy to get out.
See pics. I circled the Tool in Red that I ended up using.

I guess it helped that when I installed the Seal I used a rubber type Gasket Cement on the edges.

Once out the Spring was easy to put on and I followed advice and stuck a Socket in the Center to keep the Spring under Tension so I would not have a repeat of the issue.

More pics
In the last pic you can see the Groove where the Spring is supposed to go; a very small target when there is no room to get the Spring on.

Good job getting the seal out. Rubber gasket cement? How did that help in getting the seal out? I woulda guessed it made it harder.

Did you drive the seal in with a series of small taps or a few big wacks? I think big wacks would put more acceleration on the spring, along with the unsupported lip, makes it more prone to popping off.