Trouble removing front axles in 2nd gen

i will second a 36mm.. every vehicle i've worked on its been 36mm.

 

BOOM KID, I finally got that F-ing axle out. I borrowed a slide hammer from O'reilly, but couldn't have done it without a hose clamp to keep that bastard on there. Another score for TacomaWorld collaboration!!! Back to the garage

 

BTW, thanks for all the input. I couldn't find a 35mm socket anywhere. I got a 36 which fit but was a little loose. Good thing I didn't need to remove the axles completely to drop the front diff, eh. I'll be ordering a 35mm from sears though, because I might need to remove those axles yet when installing the new diff or if I follow in the footsteps of Silverback07...

 

HaHa,
I installed the new front diff last night and now I'm having serious trouble getting the driver side cv axle to go back in. I'm probably going to pull the c clip off and squeeze it to be a little smaller. Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks, I was pretty tired last night and just gave up around midnight.

I'm pretty sure I got the shaft past the needle bearings, because when I turned the pinion flange the shaft would rotate.

I'll get back on it around noon when my brother gets into town.

FYI, I actually didn't end up having to totally remove the front axles. I just disconnected the hub from the lower control arm which gave me enough room to maneuver the shafts in and out of the diff.

 

Thanks, I was using a chisel, and the Passenger side went in after a few good hits. This one is being a bitch though.

 

BTW, the ARB carriers don't have needle bearings, just found that out. When I was installing on Friday, I looked inside and didn't see any, so called Chase at ECGS to make sure nothing was wrong. He let me know that they didn't have needle bearings and that if the axle won't go in, I could compress the C-clip with some pliers so it wouldn't be quite so hard to put in. I did and it worked.

Hurray, I have 4WD again.

 

Yeah, I had tried to do it while it was on the axle, but it didn't help at all. So, I pulled it off. Squeezed it down just barely and put it back on. It still wasn't super easy to push in, but it actually went in which is what I was going for.