Removing Front Gear Carrier Questions, PICTURES!

[x ReAcT x]

Alright I need everybodys help! I am trying to get the frame rolling by saturday and this is the only thing that is holding me back. I just bought a Surplus axle from www.colemans.com but they come with a horrible gear ratio 3.08 and I had this bright idea of just swapping my gears from my original axle that were 3.42's. Now here is the problem i cant get the gear carrier out! I tried everything I even took my engine hoist chained the gear carrier to it hoping the axle weight would pull down and the hoist would pull the gear right out. Nope. Nada. And even on the surplus axle same thing so its not an isolated incident. Now my good buddy said they are pressed in? My rear gears werent so i have no idea whats going on. Any help would be appreciated. Do they make an axle Spreader? haha so i can spread the sides and pull it right out? Anyways here is some pictures!

[x ReAcT x]

If your curious what shape the surplus axles are in here it is. The website said slight surface rust, and i must warn you there is a little bit more rust than i was expecting.

[v30crewcab]

they are in pretty tight. a case spreader is nice, but you can also get a buddy to help. put a prybar on either side of the carrier, and pry it out of the housing. you'll need a deadblow hammer to get it back in. do you have the stuff to swap the bearings and shims? cause you will need to adjust the shims on the pinion and carrier when swapping housings. they wont be right if you just throw them in.

[x ReAcT x]

Originally Posted by v30crewcab

they are in pretty tight. a case spreader is nice, but you can also get a buddy to help. put a prybar on either side of the carrier, and pry it out of the housing. you'll need a deadblow hammer to get it back in. do you have the stuff to swap the bearings and shims? cause you will need to adjust the shims on the pinion and carrier when swapping housings. they wont be right if you just throw them in.

I havent tried the pry bar yet so I will do that tomorrow. I have a friend who is a mechanic and has a case spreader so if all else fails I'll use that.

Im glad you brought up the shims on the pinion because i was curious about that. The entire gear assembly (rack, pinion, spiders, bearings, ect.) on the new axle are still brand new and never used so ill be using the same gear carrier and bearings. The pinion will be changed though and im assuming the shims on that wont be right. My buddy was telling me that once i get everything back in there should be a slight drag on it, and if there isnt i need to add more shims to the pinion. Is there any special way to figure out how many shims you need. I have all the tools, shims ect. but i didnt realize it would be this difficult ha

[v30crewcab]

if you've never done it before you'll want someone around that has.
Start here:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

[x ReAcT x]

Originally Posted by v30crewcab

if you've never done it before you'll want someone around that has.
Start here:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

That is the by far the most detailed explanation ive ever seen, thank you very much for that link