rear axle removal question

[johnnybgood74]

hey fella's, i was wondering, can i get the rear axle out without removing the brakes? can i just get to the four retaining bolts and slide the axle out? i need to replace the axle bearings and seals. not sure if they need to be changed but i know nothing about the maintainence to the rearend. just going to do it for piece of mind. also, all i need to do is just pull the nut and yoke to change the pinion seal right? any advice will be appreciated,

thanks,

John

 

[DRBRONCO69]

You can remove the axles after removing the drums. There is no reason to remove the brakes to change the axle bearings and seals.

 

[Steve83]

Have an assistant hold the brake pedal while you break the pinion nut, and again when you set it. Otherwise, it takes a LARGE tool to hold the yoke since the nut takes ~160 lb-ft.