Broken punch inside carrier

Ok. Got my Aussie for my D44, so it's time to tear it apart and install. Had to remove the carrier because the ring gear is too thick to get the cross pin out otherwise. No problem.

Bought a set of punches to get the roll pin (spring pin, tension pin, whatever you call it - holds the cross pin in place). Used a punch that was slightly too small. I was punching it from the driver's side to the passenger's side, until the punch bottomed out (the thick part at the top of it) and then broke off and not it is stuck inside roll pin which is stuck inside carrier.

What you are looking at here is the roll pin, broke off on the passenger side of the carrier, with the punch stuck in it.


And here is the other side, where I tried to use a drill bit (closest thing I had to a punch) to get it out after the punch broke. It is more or less stuck in there.


What can I do? Starting to look like EDM might be my only option. Otherwise I have to buy a new empty carrier and move my gears over, then pay to get them re-installed and set up. Just wondering what ideas anyone else has. Have tried torching the carrier to heat it up and pounding it out, no success so far but I will probably keep trying that.

buy a slightly larger punch than the one that you broke off, and push the whole thing out?

use the flat end of a drill bit, and use the hammer on the 'drilling end'?

note: there are specific punches that are designed to remove roll pins that have a small nipple on the end, that fits inside the roll pin, and seat on the entire roll pin - they work really well most of the time.

good luck! :thumbup:

Never mind.

The hole you broke the drill bit in is typically the way that I try and knock the pin out.

Here I though I was the only asshole to break a drill bit that way.

Get another punch and beat on the drill bit until it breaks into a bunch of little pieces. Once the hole is clear, use the proper punch and knock the roll pin out away from the ring gear. At this point you've probably mushroomed the end of it so I doubt it'll go the other way.

Damn that sucks Brad Good Luck!

vetteboy said:

The hole you broke the drill bit in is typically the way that I try and knock the pin out.

Here I though I was the only asshole to break a drill bit that way.

Click to expand...

Hah! I was about to say the same thing, my dad walked out as soon as I started hitting it and the bit ended up in his shin, never did that again.

Like they said the proper punch would be best, but I've also cut the end off a similar size screwdriver and used that.

vetteboy said:

The hole you broke the drill bit in is typically the way that I try and knock the pin out.

Here I though I was the only asshole to break a drill bit that way.

Get another punch and beat on the drill bit until it breaks into a bunch of little pieces. Once the hole is clear, use the proper punch and knock the roll pin out away from the ring gear. At this point you've probably mushroomed the end of it so I doubt it'll go the other way.

Click to expand...

Yea that's probably the best approach for where I'm at right now. I have to get the drill bit out sooner or later anyway

Basically the punch that broke off has gone inside the roll pin and expanded it inside the hole, so now it's even harder to get out than it would have been before. Eh, worst case I have to buy a new carrier, in which case I'll get the 3.92+ carrier and re-gear to 4.56s. Would like to avoid that expense for the time being though.

shmoken875 said:

Hah! I was about to say the same thing, my dad walked out as soon as I started hitting it and the bit ended up in his shin, never did that again.

Like they said the proper punch would be best, but I've also cut the end off a similar size screwdriver and used that.

Click to expand...

Ha ha I did that too. Man those things dont just break they shatter :explosion
In the end the extra trip to the hardware store for the proper punch size(3/16 IIRC) was priceless.

Good luck OP eace:

Gawd - never use a drill bit as a punch - they're just too brittle!

Drill bits and punches are hardened, but punches tend to be tempered more afterwards - and it's the tempering that allows you to beat on them with a hammer (still, the process isn't proof against breaking. As you now know. I've had punches explode on me before as well - if you have to whale on the thing with a heavy hammer, do not hold the punch in your hand! Vice grips are good, and there are holders designed to hold punches and chisels and get your hand a few inches away as well!) When a punch fails, it's pretty spectacular.

EDM, or set it up in a Bridgeport and mill the thing out. Don't bother trying to drill - with all the hard bits of metal in the hole, the drill is damned sure going to wander around and move the hole! A mill is what you want to use. Or just EDM (it's too small to try to burn out using an oxygen flame - I wouldn't do that on anything less than 1/2" across. It's doable, but it takes some serious faith in yourself...)

ive done this... ended up junking the carrier... but i needed a new carrier and was installing a locker... this was pre-build up...

the next time i dissasembled a carrier, i went inside to triple check which way the roll pin went... then blasted it w/ PBlaster for giggles....
however, i found a drill bit was sufficient for me... (no fancy punches or bridgeports here) however i hit it with the hard plastic face of a mallet. and it came right out... unfortunately its kinda a lesson on this kinda stuff, dont willy-nilly interior case parts, they bite!

Good advice not trying to drill, 5-90. I tried cobalt bits and they just wandered around on top of the punch, didn't hardly make a dent. I am going to look for a machine shop here that could mill it out, or EDM if the price is right. Basically if I can salvage the carrier then I will avoid paying $60-70 for a new carrier itself, and $200+ for the re-gearing, so it's worth a lot to me to get it out of the current carrier.

Does anyone know what size the roll pin is supposed to be? I will surely have to get a new one, and I would would like to get a correct roll-pin punch with the dimple on the end instead of the flat punches I was using.

You can use a bolt and nut w/ red Loctite also if you don't want to re-use a roll pin.