Here is my post working on it:
http://gmtnation.com/forums/threads...drivers-differential-seal-drivers-axle.13702/
Two things first off:
Before you start any work in this, you have to pull or at least loosen the big drain plug on the side of the differential. People suggest this because sometimes it can be a real pain to unscrew/impossible. When I did it the first time I had a nice air impact and a 6 point socket that fit it perfect. Was easy to take off.
Next, when you take the CV axle out, start with the rented slide hammer from autozone/wherever. It may be easy, might be hard. I think if I would have started with the slide hammer I might have been good. I stuck mine and spent 6 HOURS trying to get it out. Pounding and pounding.
Here is the roadie's trailvoy post:
http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=63915
It has some nice pictures.
I think I grabbed a seal puller to get it out:
http://www.harborfreight.com/seal-puller-35556.html
You do not want to damage the metal that the seal goes into.
So the only reason I went any further with this is because I had the seal out. The only thing you can pull out of this (drivers) side of the differential is the RACE for the
bearings that are pressed onto the inner shaft. You cannot unpress the bearings without doing a full removal and rebuild of the front differential. If you head over to rock auto and search for Differential Bearing you will see many listings.
The funny part is, they do sell just the race so I am thinking people are replacing it. My race was pretty messed up, folded over metal...really weird.
So you pop the CV axle, remove the seal, unscrew the thing that holds the race in, replace the race, screw the thing it back in (look at the other post that I made for how much to tighten), put the seal back in with a seal installer, put the axle back in, fill the differential until a bit starts pouring out out the top fill plug. You could drain the entire thing and fill it with fresh fluid also. (Synthetic!)
You have to do a decent job of tightening the hold the holds the race in because it keeps forces on things inside of the differential.
I was at about 155k on my vehicle, so if you are at less mileage, I might not deal with the race. If I remember correctly, that race spins all the time because the axle spins with it. I am sure there are forces that work on that race over time and degrade it.
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So it looks like you are thinking about the other side and the fact that the transmission is in the way and stuff. Well, on the other side of the vehicle (passenger) what the axle plugs into is called a front axle disconnect (
). This is a part of the 4x4 system that locks and unlocks the front wheels together for 4WD. If you watch that video you will see that the cv axle on that side plugs into it instead of the differential and that the differential has something going from it to the front axle disconnect. If you ever mess with this side, start with a slide hammer just like the other side.
If you keep watching the video, you can see when you take the disconnect off, there is a male axle that goes from it to the differential.
What I kind of concluded was that there have to be less up and down forces on that passenger side race because the axle is not in it, but in the disconnect. I am thinking I am most likely fine right now on that differential side. You can get a new differential from rockauto for 825.79. At this point and time I do not know how worried I am about it. I do not use the 4WD a lot, but when I do, I do need it.
I actually might post a thread after this about how much it is to rebuild the differentials vs purchase new. I think I will also ask how long they have lasted in their vehicles.
At one point, I had to replace my front axle disconnect early:
http://gmtnation.com/forums/threads...g-foward-at-speed-40mph-2004-tb-lt-4wd.13438/
If you look through there you can see that mine was toast and find the video of what a bad one is like.
