acomey Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 ok, so don't tow a awd on a tow dolly without disconnecting the drive shaft... thats confirmed.... but how does one disconnect the drive shaft and will that suffice for a 2600 mile drive / tow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 ok, so don't tow a awd on a tow dolly without disconnecting the drive shaft... thats confirmed.... but how does one disconnect the drive shaft and will that suffice for a 2600 mile drive / tow?there are 4 12mm bolts and nuts that attach the driveshaft to the rear diff. take those out and you should be good to go, if you have the rear diff protector that covers the driveshaft just before the diff. Just for the sake of being sure, I would mark with paint the relationship of the driveshaft to the diff (paint a line across the two, then line them up on reassembly). I would say that that should be good to go, as when you release the rear diff from the driveshaft the tranny is not driven at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acomey Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 thought that might be the correct answer. thanks for the reply. there are 4 12mm bolts and nuts that attach the driveshaft to the rear diff. take those out and you should be good to go, if you have the rear diff protector that covers the driveshaft just before the diff. Just for the sake of being sure, I would mark with paint the relationship of the driveshaft to the diff (paint a line across the two, then line them up on reassembly). I would say that that should be good to go, as when you release the rear diff from the driveshaft the tranny is not driven at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 have some supplies ready to hold the driveshaft up and out of the way if you're only disconnecting one side. otherwise just remove the entire driveshaft. typically it's hard to remove all 4 bolts/nuts at the same time. usually have to remove 2 or 3 and then roll the car or rotate the driveshaft (by jacking up one rear wheel) so the other nut or two rotates in view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbey1982 Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 if you totally remove the driveshaft on the transmission side and jack it up too far it will leak out the shaft in the rear....be careful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericcroll Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 have some supplies ready to hold the driveshaft up and out of the way if you're only disconnecting one side. otherwise just remove the entire driveshaft. typically it's hard to remove all 4 bolts/nuts at the same time. usually have to remove 2 or 3 and then roll the car or rotate the driveshaft (by jacking up one rear wheel) so the other nut or two rotates in view. Okay, so I got all of the drive shaft bolts out, but separating the shaft from the diff. is giving me trouble. It's not that they're stuck, but rather that it seems as though the drive shaft is kind of spring loaded toward the diff. I can separate them enough to see between them , but I can't seem to get them to separate to the point where they won't be interfering with one another. Am I just not trying hard enough, or am I missing something? Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 have some supplies ready to hold the driveshaft up and out of the way if you're only disconnecting one side. otherwise just remove the entire driveshaft. typically it's hard to remove all 4 bolts/nuts at the same time. usually have to remove 2 or 3 and then roll the car or rotate the driveshaft (by jacking up one rear wheel) so the other nut or two rotates in view. you can remove the rear portion of the diriveshaft, leaving the front portion in to keep all the trans fluid from leaking out. the bolts are designed to be loosened from the nut side, as the head of the bolt will be stopped in place by the casting of the yoke. you do not need a wrench on the bolt heads until you unthread enough of it that it wiggles past the casting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 you are exactly right, the driveshaft is concave up and the diff is concave in...so to speak so the driveshaft sits inside of the "cup" a little bit. just takes some coaxing to get it out. if it's tricky yank on it and it'll come....just wear gloves, be careful, etc. the diff and driveshaft are all suspended by bushings so they have some "play" in them too. you can remove the rear portion of the diriveshaft, leaving the front portion in to keep all the trans fluid from leaking out. that's what i meant by remove the entire driveshaft - i meant the rear portion. thanks for clarifying, that would be messy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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