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Diff Differential Bushing Install Removal

87K views 104 replies 33 participants last post by  D3l7a3ch0 
#1 ·
This job isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Except for the metal sleeve removal. Brian's (PISINUOFF) is ESSENTIAL for this.

You need the following tools:

Extractor tool (contact PISINUOFF)
21mm gear wrench (diff bolts)
21mm socket (bolt head on bushing bolt)
3/4 sockets (for extractor tool)
8mm allen wrench socket (driveshaft bolts)
Blue Loctite (to use on driveshaft bolts)
Wrenches for your exhaust bolts (Mine were 11/16" and 5/8" for B&B exhaust)


The diff does NOT have to be removed in order to get old bushing out/new bushing in. I drove mine up on ramps, and it gave me enough room to work on it.

Remove the exhaust.

Then remove the 6 bolts on the driveshaft where it connects to the differential pinion. They are 8mm allen head bolts. Once the bolts are removed, prop the driveshaft up with a jackstand.

Jack up the differential enough to let the weight off and and remove the front diff bushing bolt. This is with the UUC bushing in, but you can see bolt I'm talking about.



Then remove the rear passenger side bolt #15 from the diff. Again you might have to move the jack up or down to let the pressure off the bolts to make them easier to remove.



Loosen but don't remove the rear driver's side bolt. #16 in pic



The diff will be suspended, but keep jack underneath it for support. The diff will drop low enough to get to the bushing and here's where it gets fun.

Here's the old bushing we're going to be removing.



PISINUOFF's extractor tool.....admire the beauty.



Attach the tool on the differential like so:



At the instructions of Brian, I jammed the two nuts together on the left, and torqued on them that way. Or, you can put a nut on either side of the spacer. You have to lock it down so when you torque on the nuts, they move the bolt with it. You are going to actually torque on the nuts themselves....the wrench on the front of the diff was just to move the bolt out a little so I could have more room on the backside.

I couldn't get the metal sleeve pressed into the diff to budge, so I took the spacer off the extractor, and just used the small washer to push the old rubber portion out of the sleeve.



Once the rubber portion was out, you can see the sleeve still in the diff.
Back view:



Front view: Notice the flange. This prevents you from extracting the sleeve from behind.



This is where I ran into trouble. I couldn't make the sleeve budge no matter what I tried. I tried heat, liquid wrench, breaker bars, all of it.
Note: it's been 20 degrees here for 2 months, so I think if it was warmer, I wouldn't have had as hard as a time

So what I did (with help from Brian's over the phone) was took a punch and tapped on the edge of the sleeve in order to make it curl in so the spacer on the extractor tool had more material to grab.
The spacer on the extractor tool is made out of aluminum, and might get a little chewed up torquing on the sleeve. Brian was thinking of making this part steel which is a great idea.
Note: earlier I had jammed the two nuts together for torquing. Brian also suggested that I try a nut on each side of the spacer as well -> as seen in the pic



Other methods to try if you are stuck (all of which were tried be me):

Try a hacksaw blade off saw to cut thru the sleeve. (wear gloves)

One person heating the case (propane/bernzomatic) other person torquing the extractor. Only works if you have a helper obviously.

A dremmel on the sleeve. So I made a couple lines in the sleeve itself so maybe the sleeve would buckle a little bit when extracted. This worked the best, but you have to be VERY careful not to go too far and get into the aluminum case.

Pray.

After all this I FINALLY got the sleeve out. You can see my two litte cuts



It took a breaker bar to get enough torque on the bolt to push it out. I didn't have a lot of room between the car and the ground, so get a inch or two cranked down, and then remove the breaker bar and start again. Tedious, but it finally came out. I was pretty scared at first, but the case held up thank God.

The hole in the diff where metal sleeve used to be....



Install the pretty red UUC bushing.



Now jack up the differential and get the holes lined up and reconnect your bolts. They are all 21mm.

When reinstalling the driveshaft bolts, make sure you use Blue Loctite on the threads so they don't work themselves loose. Also, at ewills suggestion, make sure you tighten the bolts in a star of david pattern. This will help distribute the torque evenly.

Reinstall your exhaust, and pull your V down from your ramps and go enjoy your V!

Thank you to Brian (PISINUOFF) for the great working tool, and for the help over the phone!!!!!


I did this job in february, and I think the cold weather made it harder on me trying to get the bushing out. Do yourself a favor and do it in warm weather, or if you are lucky enough to have a heated garage (or access to one) leave your V in there a few days before attempting this.
 
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#3 ·
If you are trying to install a Creative Steel diff bushing, and do not have a press, the easiest way to go about it is with a 36mm spindle socket and a mini sledge. It will take 2 people, one to center the bushing and hold the socket CENTERED on the bushing and then one to hit with the hammer. The Creative Steel bushing is physically identical in the outside diameter to the stock bushing
 
G
#4 ·
Nice writeup Lollygagger, again.

All spacers are now steel instead of aluminum and are thinner. One of the two extractors left in circulation has been shortened and more threaded material has been added for strength. The combination of shorter base and thinner spacer leaves more room for the bolt to protrude through the bushing. If you've used the tool, you'll know what I mean.

Also, you don't have to remove your exhaust. You can get the driveshaft out of the way of the pinion without going through the hassle of removing the exhaust.

This might help also:
 

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#8 ·
Nice, lolly! Glad you're (still) around here!

Now, do this for me. Can you listen to your diff and tell me if you hear anything "new?" When I had my bushing done, I started to notice my diff putting out a low warbling sound. I notice it a lot at 27 MPH, 4th gear; even my wife can hear it. Go slightly on and off the throttle, and you might hear it better.

However, I've come to the conclusion that the bushing is transmitting noises that I'm thinking were already there, just weren't audible before with the OEM bushing.
 
#9 ·
once again... I find another great thread to add to my library ! I will definately use this in the next couple weeks. I got the tool on order.
Questions:
1 does his tool also extract the sleeve or only the rubber insert or is the sleeve removal "to each his own"?
2 I have the CS bushing.. do I still need to remove the sleeve? Above it says that the OD of the CS bushing is the same diameter as the current bushing (or current bushing with sleeve?)
3 i confused.. did skullV remove the sleeve with a socket and mallet pound that $hit out and not use Piss's tool? Is his method an alternate? I will be using Brian's tool (that sounded not-hetero)..I hope it removes all including the sleeve
4 are all the sleeves steel?

Shibby.........!
 
#10 ·
I used Brians tool. It took out the sleeve and rubber together and I didn't need to fold or damage them at all. I needed the sledge and socket to install the NEW bushing which is the same thing you are going to need unless you have the diff out and can press it in. You must remove the sleeve. I did the first ever install on this particular product so someone may have come up with a better idea since I did mine. Here are some comparison pics:



 
#11 ·
hey skull
what about a c clamp and the socket (you said 36mm wow!) to act like a press? is there room under the car for that? Any worries about the sledge breaking the aluminum on the case from a mis hit or breaking the bushing flange? Any type of lube around the CS sleeve help and not attack the eurathane?
 
#13 ·
Lube wouldn't work since it is press fit the lube gets scraped off the sleeve before it ever gets into the hole (that's what she said). I didn't have time to worry about the sledge/socket method since it was my only option. The stock bushing was out and the car had to be out my buddy's garage an hour later!
 
G
#15 ·
All this talk about my tool is making me uncomfortable!

Lolly - You and I had such a difficult time using my extractor because the spacer was aluminum and the OD was about 1mm too small. It's steel now and the diameter is perfect.

If someone tells me the outer diameter of the inner metal sleeve of the CS bushing, I can have a spacer made to fit over it and you can pull the bushing into the casting from the other side using my extractor/installation tool.
 
#19 ·
never had em'.
i have a CS bushing at home. I can measure it and provide the ID and OD of the CS sleeve around the eurathane. Also I head of aluminum and steel sleeves in the diff. anybody know when this changed? I have an 05 and am praying it is steel. I will be recieving Brian's tool shortly (ooph tool and shortly.. WOW). I "could" chuck up the SC bushing in a lathe and emory the OD a bit at work.

now I'm getting worried... how bad is the noise? I live in PA where eurathane "no likey cold" and it was so properly put. On the side note.. what you think a gen 1 diff with 18K pampered miles would bring in?
 
#23 ·
Tried it, left it in the freezer over night.
I even hit it with a wire wheel to get it nice and smooth before I frooze it.

No chance in hell.

I should Of shaved it down , But once i got it a quater ways in I kept hammerin.
When I should have stoped , pulled the bushing out and shaved off it
 
#22 ·
that's a great point.. could heat gun the case bore as well... I also have Spekter rear cradle bushings to do.. Should I plan this at the same time? Are there parallel tasks in these jobs? or should thay be done entirely seperately?

BTW the OD of the CS bushing i have is consistantly 1.900" - .002 at some places
 
#24 ·
has anybody had good luck with the CS diff bushing going in, does max know ofhte troubles? anyone know the nominal diameter of the diff bore?

Brian.. as mentioned above the OD of the CS bushing sleeve is 1.900

again any parallel tasks in this bushing and the cradle bushings?
 
#25 ·
I told Max how difficult it was when I installed the first one. He said he would shave off some of the material but I don't know if it happened. It is not really a problem with the design of the mount, as the mount is designed exactly like the stock mount which would need to be installed in the same manner (using a press or hammering it in).
 
#26 ·
The first bushings were 1.900" +/-.001. The wall thickness of our bushing is about .075", keep in mind that different room temperatures will make this thin of wall tubing expend and contract dramatically when compared to the diameter. What I mean is that .002" is more critical on a part that is 2" OD than .002" on a part that is say.....14" OD. After the last go-round of feedback that our bushings were too difficult to install I shaved them down to 1.898" +/- .001. I can shave them down another .002" to 1.896" but I'm afraid we'll start running the risk of them going too easy and being loose in the bore. .004" smaller than stock on a less than 2" OD is a bunch.

Brian, it's your tool, but I would think that if your disc that pulls the sleeve out was 1.875" +/- .002 it would give you a minimum of 8 thow of clearance to the OD of the sleeve, to get maximum surface area on the edge of the bushing sleeve.


In closing, we are walking a fine line between a press fit and a slip fit.
 
G
#28 ·
Brian, it's your tool, but I would think that if your disc that pulls the sleeve out was 1.875" +/- .002 it would give you a minimum of 8 thow of clearance to the OD of the sleeve, to get maximum surface area on the edge of the bushing sleeve.


In closing, we are walking a fine line between a press fit and a slip fit.
I have the OD of the bushing and the OD of my sleeve is 46mm (+0,-.5). What I need is the OD of the inner sleeve of your CS bushing so I can make a spacer with a pocket in it so it only contacts the outer sleeve of the CS bushing and doesn't pull on the center risking pulling it and the rubber through of the outer sleeve.

BTW - all of the dims on the casting are metric. I've seen the drawings and may even still have a copy somewhere at home.
 
#27 ·
bneal, if you haven't left your car in a heated garage overnight to warm up the diff, try heating up the diff itself. It might help expand the aluminum case a little. Just a thought.

As far as doing the diff bushing and the cradle bushings at the same time, that's up to you. There's no real parallel tasks between the two. If I were you, I'd do em seperately so you can get a feel for the new diff bushing, then add the cradle bushings later.
 
#31 ·
Well. did my diff bushing today - almost. Got stuck. I ran into just about every problem. Had to cut the sleeve out and I can't get Max's grey bushing in. So car is in driveway on ramps with bad weather coming and i can't get it back into garage with diff and drive shaft hanging. I will do a pictorial write up when i am complete detailing my troubles and perservereance.

Question - Best way to get max's bushing in? I do not want to hammer the hell out of it for fear of getting stuck partially inserted and can't remove it.
Option 1 - use a flapper wheel on a drill motor to remove aluminum from the diff bore
option 2 - try to remove material from the bushing - maybe use expanding chuck ona drill press and emory the OD
Option 3 - give it the stink-eye and yell at it
Option 4 - an idea from one of you

Someone tell max the damn things are too big.... Spent 4 hours getting to this point. I figure if i can get the bushing in, should only take about 2 hours to re-bolt diff and drive shaft and fiddle with exhaust pipes..

help ! thanks - I did skin at least 1 knuckle - my first blood spilled in mod hell - i wiped it on the diff.
 
#32 ·
Wow ^^ g/l getting it in. Did you try the freezer idea? Did you get one of the originals or one that Max has already dropped the OD on?
 
#33 ·
yeah it was in the freezer i lent my heat gun so the hair dryer isnt good enough to heat the bore.. I really do not want too much stress there when temps stabilize.. So i will likely briefly use a flapper wheel to take out a thou or so. I suppose it was the lower OD? it measured what max says he makes it to.. but i know i'm not the first to have trouble getting his diff bushing in. I'd been done if it fit before it got dark and COLD. It was nice today and i though it would not take all day so i worked in the driveway - now snow freezing rain.

It is still too tight a fit - and like i said, i don't want to hammer it in and get stuck. i'll measure my diff bore tomorrow and give that info to max as an fyi
 
#34 ·
The bushing is not too big it is EXACTLY what it is supposed to be..a factory press fit bushing, it is just not something the the average guy can install in their driveway easily. The only way to do it is to use the diff bushing removal tool as an install tool, or to hammer it in using a large socket.
 
#35 ·
Hammer idea scares the shit outta me. Not to talk bad about it at all, but if it needs pressed in shouldn't that be included in the directions?
What if you ground/filed/chamfered the edge to get an angle on the edge of the bushing? Maybe if you get it started that way, the rest will go in with the diff bushing tool. I don't think the cold is helping you either.
 
#36 ·
It's an OEM style replacement bushing, what directions should be included? Are directions included when you buy an OEM replacement bushing from GM? You don't need to chamfer it to get it started and centered. You can do it with the diff bushing tool as it sits.
 
#37 ·
i could not figure out how to use Brian's tool as a press tool? I stared at it for a while trying to figure it out. it only fits on the front side of the diff and the bushing needs drawn front to rear. there is nothing to react against the back facing side of the diff bore to draw it back. A threaded block that spans the bore on the back of the diff with his insert "could" do it.

Skull, Lolly, Thanks for chiming in, always appreciate your prompt advice.. I understand that it is a factory press fit but with the solid eurathane insert, does it need to be? I wouldn't think so. It is trapped pretty well and I may remove only enough to get it in with some love, not a metric ton of drawing force. It shouldn't hurt anything anyway. this was just unexpected.. like much of mod hell.

woohoo
 
#48 ·
What are the toque for the 2 diff mounting bolts? The bolt that retains the bushing? And the driveshaft bolts? Thanks!
 
#49 ·
Whelp..........It sounds like it's time to build a F'in tool to put these bitches in.
I'll crawl under the car (wait a minute.....I have a lift now) revision: I'll walk under the car tomorrow to get some ideas on how to build a "pull it out and push it in" gizmo. Or, maybe I should cut the bushings down 50 thow, then include some epoxy......kidding.

I'll keep you posted
 
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