HELP! differential
 

I accidentally moved the car while fixing my axle bearings and one of the "spider gears?" came out. Not one of the ones that the axle end goes into, but the other ones that are held in by the big pin. I forgot to put it in before trying to move the car. How do I get it back in?

Re: HELP! differential
 

It's all a "timing" thing. Jack the car up so both back wheels are off the ground, yank both axles. Then the trick is to get everything in place and at the correct "time". No secret to it, just trial and error. Not difficult at all, just some "messin" with it. The gear you're taling about is called a Pilot gear. DON'T FORGET them shims behind the pilot gears IF it has any!!!! Some do, some don't!

Once you get everything in time, slide the axles back in, throw on the C clips, BIG pin, little pin, and PRESTO! Done deal. You've accomplished something. :D

Re: HELP! differential
 

I'm so glad to get your imput. The way I did it is that I had to move the car to the other side of the garage. I dropped the car off the jacked and, like a dumbass, started it and put it into gear without locking it all in with the pin. Found the gear on the driveway. Lucky nothing got chewed up. Car is currently jacked off the ground. That differential is a hell of a puzzle. I messed with it a lot by trying to put in one axle, installing drums to hand brake one side in place, wrenches to keep ring gear from moving, putting car in gear to keep other stuff from moving. So, to be clear, I need to keep car jacked up, and remove both axles. Do I keep car in gear? Do I need to remove the "S" spring at this point and try to reinstall later? I've been fighting to keep the "S" in place while moving around the other stuff. I've also put in the large pin back in half way to try to hold the rest together. The other planetary gear and "S" tries to move out without it. Please advise. Thanks a lot.

Re: HELP! differential
 

It's tough to do IN the car, but it can be done. What I normally try to do is put it all together with the pilot gears in the "open" areas of the carrier, then spin everything into place to line up the pin. The S clip doesn't absolutely have to come out, but it's easier to line the gears up if it's not in the way.

Re: HELP! differential
 

When you say spin, does the carrier need to be locked in place so only gears can move? Or do I spin by kicking a wheel?

Re: HELP! differential
 

No, don't move the carrier. And there shouldn't be any wheels on the rear of the car. You can slide the axles PARTIALLY in to help hold the side gears, then all 4 "little" gears should kinda spin together up into the carrier. Boy is that difficult to explain! LOL

Re: HELP! differential
 

OK. Got it all back together. Forget about ever doing that while its in the car. I ended up removing the carrier, "S" spring, and timing the gear back in. I'll update this post after test drive. Thanks for everything.

Re: HELP! differential
 

Test drive went well. Its pretty ingenious how that thing works. For others' reference, to insert the missing planetary gear, the retaining bar has to be all the way out. Spin the unit so that the other small planetary gear tries to crawl out also. It will move towards the open area of the carrier. Get it as far out as possible without actually letting it drop out. If you let it drop out, the other two gears (the ones that the axles go into) will also fall out, creating a mess. With the small gear almost out, insert the other gear through the OPPOSITE opening. Then twist the unit the other way so that the small gear moves back where its supposed to be. Both gears will move together into their respective resting areas. Now the pin should be replaced. If the holes don't line up, back the gears out again and retry on other cogs until they're "In time" with each other like Jester said.