removing rear 8.8 axles

[smittylopez]

I saw in the removing axle seal insert on the Tech library that the pinion shaft needs to be removed to pull the axles. Is this the actual pinion gear (which includes removing the drive shaft) or something else? I am going to be digging in this tommorow some time.

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

To remove the axles on your 8.8 you have to jack up the rear end so the tires are off the ground. Remove both tires and the brake drums. Remove your rear diff cover and drain the fluid out of the diff. There will be a cross shaft in the carrier case that holds the spider gears in, there will be a 5/16" bolt that holds the cross pin in. Be careful if you have to use a 12 point wrench to remove it as it can be very tight and you will round the head off. The best bet is to use a 6 point wrench or a 6 point socket if you can get one in there. Once you remove the bolt you will be able to tap the cross shaft out of the carrier. Once it is removed grab the axle shaft at the flange with the wheels studs on it and push it in till it bottoms out, remove the c clip that holds it on in the diff and pull the axle shaft out of the housing once you have the clip removed. Repeat for the other side. Remove the old seals, install the new ones and reassemble in the reverse order.

Good luck.

[Hahnsb2]

To answer your question about the pinion shaft, it's actually refered to as many names, cross pin, cross shaft, ect, it's the shaft that the spider gears rotate on and it prevents the axes shafts from moving inwards and the c-clips from falling off.