Differential R & R w/DTE Diff Brace
All of these installations are to be performed at your own risk!!!!
Step 10 continued :
Remove any clips that hold wires looms or brake line onto the rear crossmember. There are at least two on each side. Some are accessible from the wheel wells. Move all brake lines out of the way. You DO NOT need to disconnect any of the brake lines. Undo the plug from the top of the differential and remove the two 18mm nuts that hold the differential to the rear crossmember. Cup all of the nuts and bolts marking the cup as crossmember.
Some clips are easy to see...
...and some are hard.
Here is the plug on top of the differential:
Step 11:
Once you have made sure that all of the wires and brake lines are out of the way you can now start to lower the rear crossmember down. Before you start lowering you need to place another jack underneath the tranny to support the driveline when you remove the rear crossmember. I used a third jack stand under the tranny because I think this is more safe then a jack that could possibly come down on its own if it malfunctions which would cause some serious damage to your car. Once in the stand is in place you may lower the rear crossmember. Lower it real slow and look all over for brake lines and wires to make sure they are not still clips or hanging up on something. Remove the cradle from under the vehicle. You may also want to pull out the mufflers and pipes to give you more room. My car was high enough to completely remove them. Watch out because the can fall down on you! Ask me how I know that! Remove the cradle from under the vehicle. This is where another person would of come in handy because it is friggin' heavy. Now is a good time to clean if you've ever had that famous diff leak.
Step 12:
Now it is time to drain the differential so get an oil pan out and using a 10mm hex pull out the drain plug.
Step 13 (Differential Removal):
Remove the three 15mm nuts on the sides of the differential and the one hidden one on the bottom. Remove the two 13mm bolts at the top. Put these in a cup and label it diff to tranny.
Put your transmission jack/ATV jack underneath the differential and remove it. To remove it you must lower the drivetrain. Here is where you must be careful not to lower it too far or you might crack your firewall. BE VERY CAREFUL! I'M NOT EVEN SURE HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO FIX THIS BUT IT WOULD BE A LOT! There is a diagram on the torque tube showing you this. If you used a jack stand to hold your tranny you will now need to place a jack underneath the tranny and remove the stand. SLOWLY, lower your driveline constantly checking for clearance in the engine compartment. You do not want your engine to hit the firewall.
Watch all of this area for clearance issues:
