HELP! differential

[~The Jester~]

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.

[mpj76]

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?

[~The Jester~]

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

[mpj76]

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.

[mpj76]

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.