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I finished this install last night, and I just got the jeep back on the ground this morning. I have a brief write-up for the WJ install (the directions that come with the Aussie are REALLY good so I'm just adding a few WJ specific things) and my driving impressions.
Items you will need:
Basic socket set (particulary 6mm, 13mm, 15mm, and 18mm sockets)
Feeler gauge (enough to measure from .006" to .170")
Mallet
Crowbar, Breaker Bar (for those stubborn things...)
Floorjack, jackstands
Gear oil (I used 85w140)
Brake cleaner
First off, loosen the lug nuts on the rear wheels a half turn, raise the jeep, remove rear wheels, place jackstands under unibody, and let axle droop. I disconnected the rear swaybar endlinks to let the axle drop further. Also, place the Transfer Case in Neutral.
Remove the diff cover (held on by 10 - 13mm bolts) and drain fliud. Clean inside of diff with brake cleaner. You should be left with something like this:
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Next, remove the pinion shaft from the carrier. It is held in by a cross pin (a 6mm hex socket will extract the cross pin if you are careful).
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Once you have removed the cross bolt, rotate the rear driveshaft (which will rotate the carrier) and the pinion shaft will fall out. You can now remove the spider gears by hand.
The side gears must now be removed. To remove these, you must pull an axle shaft out about an inch. (I pulled the passenger side). First, remove the caliper from the brake rotor (held on by 2 18mm bolts). Tie the caliper up and out of the way with zip ties - do NOT let it hang by the brake line! Next, the brake rotor must be removed. This will take a good amount of PB Blaster and some good whacks with a mallet. Also, be sure that the emergency brake is not keeping the caliper on.
With the brakes out of the way, remove the 4 15mm nuts attaching the hub assembly to the axle housing (these are on the axle side, "behind" the brake dust shield). The axle shaft will now slide out:
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The side gears can now be removed from the differential.
Items you will need:
Basic socket set (particulary 6mm, 13mm, 15mm, and 18mm sockets)
Feeler gauge (enough to measure from .006" to .170")
Mallet
Crowbar, Breaker Bar (for those stubborn things...)
Floorjack, jackstands
Gear oil (I used 85w140)
Brake cleaner
First off, loosen the lug nuts on the rear wheels a half turn, raise the jeep, remove rear wheels, place jackstands under unibody, and let axle droop. I disconnected the rear swaybar endlinks to let the axle drop further. Also, place the Transfer Case in Neutral.
Remove the diff cover (held on by 10 - 13mm bolts) and drain fliud. Clean inside of diff with brake cleaner. You should be left with something like this:
Next, remove the pinion shaft from the carrier. It is held in by a cross pin (a 6mm hex socket will extract the cross pin if you are careful).
Once you have removed the cross bolt, rotate the rear driveshaft (which will rotate the carrier) and the pinion shaft will fall out. You can now remove the spider gears by hand.
The side gears must now be removed. To remove these, you must pull an axle shaft out about an inch. (I pulled the passenger side). First, remove the caliper from the brake rotor (held on by 2 18mm bolts). Tie the caliper up and out of the way with zip ties - do NOT let it hang by the brake line! Next, the brake rotor must be removed. This will take a good amount of PB Blaster and some good whacks with a mallet. Also, be sure that the emergency brake is not keeping the caliper on.
With the brakes out of the way, remove the 4 15mm nuts attaching the hub assembly to the axle housing (these are on the axle side, "behind" the brake dust shield). The axle shaft will now slide out:
The side gears can now be removed from the differential.
