I got my new Puddymod diff yesterday and upon looking at my service manual to find a lack of detailed info on the install and removal of the differential I am curious if anyone has a photo by photo DIY of the install and removal of the AP1 Diff, or at best a more detailed explaination, I am very excited and want to get it in as soon as possible.

Thanks

 

There is one over at s2kca.org.

 

Its actually very simple...the first time I pulled my diff I had a how too also but didnt use it. The hardest part is probably to get the ball joints free and to put the diff back in when your laying on your back. if you have any questions PM me I think I could visualize the process

 

If you give me a call tomorrow or this Saturday I can give you the DIY over the phone. You will not have to remove the ball joint my way

 

Please share that trick, Ben!! I've always though you had to pop the ball joint to get the axles to pull free of the diff.

 

You can remove the bolts for the upper control arm, and let the whole thing flop out. If your springs are rotated so that a coil is directly in front of the rear bolt, it will be a pain in the butt to get that one in/out, but that's how I did mine the first time. Now, I just pop the ball joint. I put my floor jack under the threaded portion of the joint after removing the castle nut, so there's no slack in the suspension. Then, I pop the lower control arm with a 3lb hammer. They usually pop free after a couple of tries.

 

Now, since I did 2 diff removals and installs tonight (swapped diffs between 2 cars), here is the procedure:

1. block front tires front and back
2. jack up rear of car and support with jack stands
3. remove rear wheels
4. remove 10mm and 12mm bolts from lower tie bar and set it aside. Also remove the 10mm bolts that hold the bracket for the square filter canister so that you can wiggle it when needed.
5. remove the bottom 3 allen-head bolts that connect the drive shaft to the diff. These are very easy to foul up. A good 6mm allen head driver on a socket is what you need. Mine is a bit long and I have to use a wobble extension in order to connect the ratchet handle. I've also used an impact gun with success, but make sure the allen bit is seated square before using one. It *will* wreck the head if it's not in there perfectly. when the bottom 3 are out, unset the parking brake, rotate the driveshaft 180 degrees, reset the parking brake, and remove the other 3 bolts form the driveshaft.
6. once the 6 bolts are out, pull the driveshaft free of the diff's input flange and let it rest on the metal saftely loop.
7. Remove the 12 bolts and nuts that connect the axles to the stub axles in the diff. These are 14mm heads. Use a 14mm wrench on the nut (inboard side) and a 14mm socket/ratchet on the outboard (bolt) side. I can fit my impact gun up from the bottom and get these off if I use about a 6 inch extension. The impact gun will sit in between the 'legs' of the lower control arm, and you will need to do the bottom most bolt, then rotate the axle to line up the next bolt with the impact gun. A helper makes this easy.
8. Remove the cotter pins and castle nuts from both lower ball joints and pop the ball joints
9. Lift the knuckle so that the threaded portion of the ball joint comes out of the lower control arm. Now the whole thing should just be allowed to sag outward.
10. You now have enough slack to pull the axles out of the stub axles and push them to the rear of the car, behind the stubs.
11. With a 17mm socket and breaker bar, loosen the 4 horizontal nuts on the rear diff mount, then remove them. These are accessed through openings in the subframe between the bottom of the trunk well and the diff. It is a tight fit with the rear swaybar in place. They are the 4 most inboard nuts. The studs will still stick through the mount.
12. Now, use a 12mm socket and a short extension to remove ONE of the two bolts that holds the safety loop for the driveshaft to the transmission tunnel. By removing one bolt, the loop will sag under the weight of the driveshaft and let it drop enough to get the diff out, but still hold it up and out of your way.
13. Use your 17mm socket again to remove the 4 vertical bolts that connect the diff case to the upper mounts. The diff will tip down at the front when you remove the last bolt, but will not fall since the rear studs are still through the rear mount.
14. With all the bolts and nuts out, you will need to make sure your axles are pushed, back, the upper mounts pushed to the sides, and the filter canister pushed to the side. While doing that, pickup on the front of the diff so that it's level with the rear. This will take the twist out of the rear mounts and let you shake/walk the diff side-to-side, while pulling it to the front of the car. You need the rear studs to clear the rear mount. I suggest 2 people -- one at the front of the diff and one at the back, but I've also done fine with a floor jack to support and level the diff and me at the front walking it forward. Be aware, the diff is HEAVY -- 70-80lbs.
15. Once the studs are clear of the rear mount, you can lower the diff to the floor. It's a tight fit with the axles, exhaust, and that filter canister, but it beats removing all that stuff!!!
16. Be sure to change your diff fluid while it's out -- it'll never be easier! Or, if you're installing a new diff, be sure to fill it up with fluid before you install it.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

 

be careful on the allen heads on the prop shaft. Known to strip

 

Well after much trouble having stripped one of the nuts holding the right side of the Axel to the diff, and trying for 2 hours to break it loose, it was smooth sailing after and we finished the swap at 1:45am, I did the ball joints with the special ball joint removal tool from Honda (its nice working beside them) and it made short work of them

Thank you everyone for your input, and most of all THANK YOU BEN! (Puddydad) I must say I love the new diff and feel its more suited to the car and feels more natural, now I just need to do its 12 hour naps and then the long 500 mile night for breakin

 

you can also pull the diff without messing with the axels or pulling the ball joint lol idk i skipped alot of steps and had mine out in about 1hr