Differential Housing Assembly: Removal
- Raise and support vehicle. Remove rear wheels. Ensure parking brake is released. From beneath vehicle, pull front cable for parking brake rearward approximately 2".
- Carefully clamp cable behind crossmember, ensuring cable coating is not damaged. Remove parking brake cables from equalizer. Compress tabs on retainers and pull parking brake cables through rear crossmember.
- Place jack stands on frame lift points or under rear bumper support brackets. Place reference mark on drive shaft flanges for reassembly reference. Remove drive shaft. Install plug in transmission extension housing to prevent oil leakage.
- Disconnect RABS sensor electrical connector. Disconnect brakeline from junction on frame rail. Support differential housing assembly with jack. Disconnect shock absorber from lower control arm. Lower differential assembly until coil springs are fully extended with no pressure on coil spring.
- Ensure no pressure exists on coil spring. Remove bolt and nut from upper and lower coil spring retainers. Remove coil spring, noting direction of installation for reassembly reference.
- Note direction of upper and lower control arm-to-differential housing assembly bolt installation for reassembly reference. Raise differential housing assembly to normal operating height.
- Remove differential housing assembly-to-lower control arm retaining bolt. Remove retaining bolt and separate upper control arm from differential housing assembly. Place reference mark on bushing and cam adjuster for reassembly reference. See Fig 1
. Lower differential housing assembly and remove.CAUTION: Ensure bushing and cam adjuster are marked for reassembly reference. Components must be installed in original location to obtain correct rear axle pinion angle.