Front differential removal diy

[austinkwebb]

I ran into the issue of buying a gs350 awd with a front differential exploded. Well, I looked and you guys didn't have any tutorials at all. All of your standard car manuals will tell you to remove the engine. I say that seems a bit excessive and so I did the job today without it.

1. Get a bar (like a handle from a jack, like I used) and put blocks of wood on the ends to hold it up above the intake. There is a picture showing this. Put home made brackets on the header studs and bolt them down. Tie the engine up with the bar.

2. Remove both front wheels and discard them for now.

3. Remove both tie rods, sway bar ends, lower ball joints, and bottom of strut mount.

4. Pull CV axles out.

5. Remove all wires going to steering rack.

6. Remove steering rack bolts.

7. Remove front drive shaft.

8. Drain oil from front differential if you haven't already because I forgot to tell you earlier lol.

9. Remove steering from rack (the spline)

10. Remove bolts from both motor mounts.

11. Stick a jack under the frame and drop the frame with the wishbones on it.

(Optional steps) use these only if the right hand axle is giving you a fit and won't come out.

11a. Loosen tensioner and remove drive belt.

11b. Loosen bolts and move out ac compressor

12. Unbolt the front differential, pull it off and beat the axle out from the left side of the car

----- 

Unoptional 

12. Unbolt front differential and remove from car.

End.

Repeat backwards to go back together.

(End of optional steps)

[Brokeboi]

Hey, great write up! 

I need your expertise, please. I removed the diff but I dont know how to remove the driveshaft. 

As you can see my diff has a part of the driveshafts cv joint, im pretty sure the black part separates from the other rusty looking part coming from the diff(in your pic the diff only has that part) i am not sure how to pry them apart. They seem as if they are a single unit.

[vol96]

Thanks for the write up.  I may have to do this in the next week or so.  I have gear lube leak from front diff on my 2007 GS350 190k miles.

Instead of the bar to hold the engine up, can the engine be supported by floor jack on oil pan with boards to spread the load?

Does pass side cv axle need to be removed?  Wont it pull away from diff when diff removed?

 

[austinkwebb]

5 hours ago, vol96 said:

Thanks for the write up.  I may have to do this in the next week or so.  I have gear lube leak from front diff on my 2007 GS350 190k miles.

Instead of the bar to hold the engine up, can the engine be supported by floor jack on oil pan with boards to spread the load?

Does pass side cv axle need to be removed?  Wont it pull away from diff when diff removed?

 

No, you have to remove both shafts trust me. You won’t have room but if you try and it works let me know. As far as supporting the engine that’s fine, just be safe

[austinkwebb]

On 5/27/2018 at 1:48 AM, Brokeboi said:

Hey, great write up! 

I need your expertise, please. I removed the diff but I dont know how to remove the driveshaft. 

As you can see my diff has a part of the driveshafts cv joint, im pretty sure the black part separates from the other rusty looking part coming from the diff(in your pic the diff only has that part) i am not sure how to pry them apart. They seem as if they are a single unit.

If I remember correctly that stays on the diff but it has been awhile.

[Kiingkong]

It’s possible to remove the differential without taking the passenger axle out. My dad just did the job this week. However, thanks to the original poster, we follow all the step till the end. 

[Connor O'Brien]

Can you remove the front diff completely and run it rear wheel drive