Doing the TII lsd swap and got stuck at the point where the side bearings are supposed to be removed from it (keeping me from finishing the job). I don't own an SST or whatever the special tool is they indicate in the service manual. Anybody have experience with this??

 

The side bearings are pressed on. Ive always taken it to a local machine shop and they get them off in the press, charge me $5. I suppose it would be possibe to remove them with a gear puller, but Ive never done it.

 

If they are anything like the FWD differentials I've done, it's not too hard. Gear pullers work very well IF you have a way to get the jaws under the inner race of the bearing. Often you can't. A bearing splitter can solve that, but still it sometimes doesn't fit. Cutting them off always works and usually doesn't take much longer.

1) Use a pair of dikes to cut off the roller cage, or just buzz thru it with a dremel cutting wheel. Remove the rollers and cage.

2) Use the dremel cutting wheel or die grinder or whatever you find best to cut thru the cone of the bearing. Don't try to cut it all the way down the the casting - I try for 90%. Cut down as far as you can without nicking any surrounding material. Making a diagonal cut tends to work best.

3) Then set the diff housing solidly on a block of wood or metal surface, and put a cold chisel into the slot and give it some good sharp whacks with a heavy metal hammer. (I use a 3lb mini sledge). After some knocks the cone will crack and easily slide off, or pry off with a pair of flathead screwdrivers.

4) Clean the diff with brake cleaner to get the cutting dust off the diff housing. When doing tranny work I usually take the diff and housings to a machine shop or tranny shop and pay them $20 to run it thru the parts washer overnight.