How do I Remove Drive shafts, and eaton 3rd member

[JimmyFloyd]

Ok, I am looking to get the running gear out of my 1970 Suburban 3/4 4x4. I need to know how to remove the drive shaft and the 3rd member from the rear of the suburban. Might also need to remove the front too.

how do I go about that? Also, how can I tell the gear ratio of the rear end? Thanks.

[68_chop_top]

Here is a quick version (I have not done this on a 3/4 4x4 but have done on my 1/2, hope it is similar)
Drive shaft: Remove the nuts and bolts from the rear U joint, push the driveshaft forward to clear U joint, remove driveshaft.
Third member: Remove rear cover, count gears on ring gear and count gears on pinion, divide the two to get gear ratio. Remove axles, unbolt bearing caps, remove third member, unbolt Eaton from ring gear.
Removal is easy, putting it all back requires special skills and knowledge.

[mrein3]

And if you change the ratio on the rear of a 4x4 you have to do the front too. If you change one and not the other, the first time you put it in 4wd you'll quickly discover the weakest link in your drive train. I'm guessing one of the u-joints, probably one on the front, will break or break the mouting points holding it.

[capev86]

don't forget you have to undo the bolts at the ends of the axle to pull the shafts before you can remove the third member. be sure you have new gaskets AND rtv to seal everything up good when it goes back together.

[hounddogs!]

Does the 4WD have a two piece rear drive shaft? My 3/4T 2WD does. The procedure there was:

Spray all fasteners (cap screws at trans/diff, carrier bearing nut & bolt) with your favorite penetrating oil. I also shot the splined slip joint behind the carrier bearing.

Come back a couple of hours later and break the connection at the rear u-joint. You may need to rotate things to get the back of the drive shaft to drop, so put the back of the truck up on jack stands.

Tape around the u-joint so you don't lose the bearing caps and needles.

Pull the slip joint apart and remove the rear DS.

Loosen the carrier bearing nuts and break the connection at the front u-joint.
Tape up the front u-joint as before.
Remove carrier bearing hardware and slide the front DS forward to remove.

[JimmyFloyd]

Thanks for the replies. I will be giving this a shot this weekend.

No need for installation, as I am removing these items to sell, so I should hopefully not have to put it back together.

How hard are the axles to remove? I will be working on this on the back of a trailer with an immobile truck, so that might make things interesting.

[68_Step]

Originally Posted by hounddogs!

Tape around the u-joint so you don't lose the bearing caps and needles.

Sigh... I unfortunately did not remember this advice a few year ago. You only make this mistake once

[JimmyFloyd]

So those are the 4 bolts I need to remove on the right? And how should I tape around it? Just all over it, or just in one direction? thanks.

[hounddogs!]

It looks like that's a u-bolt top and bottom. If so, you'll remove the four nuts then pull the bolt out. If there's a strap over the u-joint itself, you'll have four nut/bolt assemblies to remove. As soon as you're loose there, the bearing caps on the u-joint are free to move around and make your life miserable. I try to keep everything on the u-joint pinched together with one hand and remove pieces with the other.

Imagine a wedding ring around the drive shaft. That's the orientation of the tape that you're going to put around the u-joint.

[JimmyFloyd]

Ok, and for the rear, to remove the axles, do I just need to remove the center cover here, or does the wheel and all need to be removed?



Basing some assumptions on this page right now: http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl148i.htm

[Longhorn Man]

8 bold on the cap of the axle shaft in the center of the wheel, smack it with a hammer and it'll loosen up, pull it out a few inches and it'll clear the 3rd member. Expect a 1/2 quart of oil to pour out. Repeat for the other side.
To drop the 3rd member, remove the driveshaft as described above, then pull the drain plug out to drain the oil out. On the front side, remove the bold going around the perimeter... can't remember how many nor size off the tip of my head, been a few years. leave one threaded in a few turns on the left and the right. This is to keep the 100 pound 3rd member chunk from falling on your head. A hammer and screwdriver, then pry bar will most likely be needed to seperate the 3rd member from the housing.
No need to set up gears or any thing like that on an eaton. As long as you don't go messing with the stuff in the 3rd member you can just slap it into another rear.

[hounddogs!]

IIRC, just remove the bolts that are threaded into the center hub. No need to remove the wheel since you're not interested in the brakes/seals.

Start with the penetrating oil today; maybe those bolts will be ready to come out by the weekend.

Make sure the vehicle is chocked and keep a pan handy to catch the gear lube living behind the axle flange.

[JimmyFloyd]

Excellent. that's what I wanted to hear. i didn't want to have to remove the wheels to get the axles out as i want to keep it a roller. I will be chalking both sides of the wheel since it is on the trailer still. May hook some straps up to it too.

As for dropping the 3rd member, I am going to try and have a small pallet waiting to set it on, so that whomever wants it will be able to get it fairly easy.

Thanks again for the advice so far. This is VERY helpful.

[Longhorn Man]

if you end up shipping the 3rd member, drop it in a milk crate, use large zip ties to secure it in place, then wrap it in card board. If it is a 4.10, people WILL pay to ship, if it is a locker 4.10, they will fight over it.
I've shipped 3 or 4 like this now.