Had a productive day today!
I was determined to get that right side axle out come hell or high water. I ended up resorting to using the 10 lbs sledge and out she came. Now I know why it was being such a pain. Turns out the bearing was stuck to the axle shaft, so I ended up pulling it and the seal along with the axle to finally get it out.
And here's the housing. At least I don't have to worry about getting the seal out as a separate step...
Next came what has probably been the easiest step about this whole project so far, removing the shift linkage.
Time to drain the transfer case and transmission oils.
The is the transmission fluid after only 800 miles since a complete drain and refill. It smelled burned as well. Guess the transmission is getting rebuilt once I get it out.
Next up was removing the rear cross member.
With that gone, and the transfer case separated a little from the back of the transmission, I was able to pull out the front drive shaft. It was stuck in there good.
Back of transmission after dropping the tcase. Rear seal has a slight leak. With the rear of the transmission lowered slightly, I was finally able to pull out the front sway bar.
Tcase and cross-member.
Next I put the front suspension back together and brakes and wheels, so that I could take the truck off the lift and back it up to have room to pull the engine. I wasn't sure if the bearings in the knuckles rely on the axle shafts to keep the in place, so I used dolleys to minimize the stress on them.
Finally it was time to hook up the engine lift and get ready to pull the engine. In this pic, the engine has cleared the motor mounts but I'm unable to pull it forward due to steering rack interference. Clearances are unbelievably tight...
That's it for this weekend. I'll need to study that youtube video some more where they pulled the engine and tranny out as as unit as I just don't see how there is room. I think I can get away with not removing the hood.