Rear Axle Takedown

OK, I can't put it off any longer... time to take the rear axle apart.  It's a messy, icky job, but somebody's got to do it.  And since I don't see anyone else around, it's going to be me.

Here's what I started with.  This was clean and shiny not too long before I took the car off the road.  It doesn't take much, I guess.  Heck, my workbench is cleaner.

I removed the differential...  And it's a 4.22 ratio (9 pinion teeth and 38 crown teeth... 38 / 9 =4.22).

 

Most of the small stuff came apart easily and the halfshafts came out without a problem.

A couple of pictures of the handbrake linkage to help me put this back together...

 

And it's time to remove the hubs.  I KNEW I had bought that big socket for something!  It turns out it was for the hub nuts.  1 7/8".  That's a Big Socket.  I've used it for so many things besides its intended purpose, I had forgotten what it was for.

  

Once the nut was out of the way, a homemade puller using a 21mm socket and a 3 arm puller did the trick.

After removing the other hub, I had a completely disassembled, quite dirty rear axle.

There really aren't that many parts (well, there are, but most of them are in the differential).  I have all new seals and gaskets for the hubs.  The bearings appear to be fine, if I can remove them without destroying them.  The oil seal is inside the hub, so I have to remove the bearing to change it.  After a good cleaning, I should be able to put this back together pretty quickly.

Should.  HAHAHAHAHA.

I'm sure I just jinxed myself.