What does it take to remove front differential from my 02 gmc 2500 4x4? Any special tools needed? I want to remove housing out of truck.

you need a 32 mm socket (or is it 36mm?) to remove the axles. other than that its easy. just removing a few bolts,driveshaft

Can"t just unbolt the half shafts front the front axle so i can drop it out? What is the 36mm socket needed for?

Yes, you can let the half shafts hang if your not going to drive it while it's out. It's pretty easy to remove.

like said before if your just droping out you can let the shafts hang. but if you wana drive it you could pull the half shafts and front d/s out and drop out the diff. pretty easily

like said before if your just droping out you can let the shafts hang. but if you wana drive it you could pull the half shafts and front d/s out and drop out the diff. pretty easily

That cool 36mm nut and half shaft hold the bearing together under load. Driving it with the half shafts removed is not a good idea.

the hubs are self contained i have the same hubs on my 2wd truck as the 4wd trucks they just don't have axles and a nut in them.

No driving truck it will be on a hoist. So i just remove two half shafts, two bolts on passenger side, two or three bolts in rubber mounts on diff case and driveshaft and un plug 4wd accuator?

if thats all the bolts you can see than yea thats probably about it. there easy to get out really just some elbow grease to wiggle it out if i don't remember correctly

I am getting ready to pull mine out and I saw some people say you have to loosen up some steering parts, is that not true?

you shouldn't have to if anything you may have to leave your steering wheel unlocked so you can turn the wheels but thats about it. its been a while since i did one tho.

Anyone know if a straight centerlink is in the way more than a stock one? I have the power steering pump loosened up and the differential is all loosened up but I can't get it past the centerlink. Tried full lock both ways and one way is better but still not enough. Any tricks I am missing or do I need to pop the centerlink off since mine is straight? I screwed around for about an hour after getting the diff loosened up before I called it quits for the night.

That cool 36mm nut and half shaft hold the bearing together under load. Driving it with the half shafts removed is not a good idea.

Hello- Will the bearings tighten up after axle is reinstalled ? I replaced hub on truck that had been driven with no axle ! Had a inch of play in bearing , thinking back it my have tightened up after new axle was installed !

Hello- Will the bearings tighten up after axle is reinstalled ? I replaced hub on truck that had been driven with no axle ! Had a inch of play in bearing , thinking back it my have tightened up after new axle was installed !

May be. Never tried it myself. I would check the axle nut to make sure it is torqued enough though.

Well got front diff dropped out of truck the top mounting ear was broke off of the diff case and got a bracket from dieselplace member to bolt in place of orignal ear, and then the passenger axle tube where they bolt together was cracked also. Now i have to find a good housing without a crack in it. Yes u will have to drop centerlink off of pitman arm and idler arm to remove front diff.

the hubs are self contained i have the same hubs on my 2wd truck as the 4wd trucks they just don't have axles and a nut in them.
Trying to get someone killed? Unless his truck has very new late model hubs (only available, but not plentiful, since '08), the wheel bearings WILL fail if driven without the half shafts.

GMT900HD (NBS) come stock with gen III hubs which are self retained, so 4x4 does not need the stub shaft to retain the hub. GMT800HD (OBS) came stock with Gen II hubs which for 4x4 means you have to have the stub shaft and hub nut to retain proper retention on the hub, the 2wd Gen II did have a self retention feature but no splines also. Now for service, the Gen III are back servicing, so both in aftermarket and GM you will start to see some GMT800s with Gen IIIs if you have replaced the hubs, however I doubt most know what to look for on the back of the hub.


AND
I tow one a month on average for someone thinking they can do it. Please dont!

All from here http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337555&highlight=2wd+hub

crawled under the truck today and there was alot of grease build up on the front diff. housing, any reasons why its covered in grease? last winter it had trouble engaging 4 wheel drive a couple times.

Well got front diff dropped out of truck the top mounting ear was broke off of the diff case and got a bracket from dieselplace member to bolt in place of orignal ear, and then the passenger axle tube where they bolt together was cracked also. Now i have to find a good housing without a crack in it. Yes u will have to drop centerlink off of pitman arm and idler arm to remove front diff.

i took my front diff out this morning without dropping any steering parts

i was able to do this cuz the half shaft was busted out