attempted to replace rear differential ... failed miserably

[ytsejam]

hello all, today was a nice day so I decided to replace my rear diff. thats been giving me trouble. I got the old one out and got the new one up and the top 2 bolts threaded but I couldn't get any other bolts to line up! I attached the drive shaft and attempted to jack it up and still I couldn't get any of the bolts to line up. Later in the day my jackstands failed and I was almost crushed by my Supra! :shock: So I took that as a sign from god that I had better just have a garage finish the job. Just out of curiousity does anyone know what I did wrong so those bolt holes wouldn't line up?

Scott

[zank]

you bolted up the driveshaft too early

try taking the driveshaft off, and put the car up on Jack Stands

It helps if you have an extra set of hands to jiggle the diffy around so that the other bolts can screw in.

I had to replace the diffy off of my 84 a few months ago and had a Hell of a time doing it by myself :evil:

[Chrisfrom1986]

its not that hard actually, use search, its been covered before. you need to line up the 2 bolt son the top that slide through the top first. everything else will be a piece of cake.

[Dave A.]

One easier way that I've found in the past to install the diff. is to leave the carrier out of the case and bolt the case up into place first and then install the carrier and cover. The empty case is much lighter and easier to line up, and there's sufficient clearance for the carrier to clear the gas tank when you bolt in the carrier and install the cover.

Be careful with your jackstands! Be sure to use stands that can hold the weight and aren't cheapo over-rated sheet metal stampings. Harbor Freight sells a nice set of good solid stands for a reasonable price. Also make sure that you're putting the stands in the right locations! Very important!

[85 rat rod]

watch out for the top front mount of the differential, as this tends to bend upward as you attempt to line up the front of it, (making it hard to get all the bolts to thread, you may have to take one of the wheels off to pry the bracket down alittle to thread the bolts in, (just dont let one of your friends with the ingenious idea to do something stupid like pry off of your brake line (glad i cought that one)

[MK2Racer]

I had this problem as well; read Billys writeup. My problem was that I put the jackstands on the rear crossmember, which the diff bracket is part of. When the weight of the car rested on it, it made the bracket bend enough to not let the bolts line up. I moved the jackstands and it went right up.

[bracham]

I had no problem when I changed out my diff. Had the car on stands or blocks or something...so I had lots of room underneath, then I had a huge jack with about a 6x6 inch lifting pad on it which I used to support the diff. Got it close enough to thread one bolt in from the top, then was able to move it around without fear of it falling on me. Lined up the rest easy enough...bolted it all up...bolted on all three shafts...and dropped the car. Only annoying thing was all the caked mud on the underside of the car that kept falling on me. :mad:
Take it easy, and use your head before you break your back! 8-)

[Chrisfrom1986]

Take it easy, and use your head before you break your back! 8-)
or some ribs :)

[ytsejam]

hello all, well I got the new rear differential in and its working great. Thanks for all the replies and help.

Scott

[trdmkii]

glad you got it going....sucks when your having trouble with something..