Dana 44 Disassembly/Cleaning Help

Hey,
I'm disassembling my 44 so I can regear and clean it but I need some help. So far, the brakes are off, shafts are pulled, covers off, bearing retainers are off, pinion nuts gone and the yoke is pulled. Any tips on getting the carrier out? I tried a pry bar but I couldn't get it out. Are they any spots that are good to get leverage off of? Also, there's nasty thick sludge in the axle tubes, what would be the best way to get this out? It seems too think for brake cleaner and stuff like that, it seems like it would just run over the top of it.

Thanks,
Kevin

Getting the carrier out... well you got three choices AFAIK
1. Have it eat a sock
2. Use a case spreader
3. Two prybars and pull it evenly

1. Consists of you bunching up a rag or something and have the ring gear eat it and be pushed out. I tried it and it didn't work too well for me.
2. Didn't try it as many say that case spreaders can do more harm then good.
3. Is the axle in a vehicle? If no, have it mounted fimrly and grab 2 praybars and pull (push) evenly from both sides by the ring gear bolts and it should pop right out: be ready to grab it before it slips back in. If it's in the vehicle, same setup works just as well, but be ready for it to fall out and don't try to catch it with your hands! Have it drop in a basket full of laundy or something

How do I get it to eat the sock, twising the yoke I took off? :x As well, I can put a pry bar on on side on the ring gear bolt, but where does the other go?
Edit: The axle isn't in the vehicle, it's currenty sitting on my work bench partly in a vice.

I´ve never had to use a case spreader myself, always managed with a couple of tire spoons. Took a little wiggleing and feeling to get it out of there, never have looked that close, but always guessed there was a very slight ridge in there someplace, holding things in. Brute force, rarley helped much, was usually a case of finding just the right spot for everything to clear and the carrier just kind of popped out..
I tied a piece of diesel soaked rag to a string and pulled it through the axle tubes, until most of the gunk was out, then washed out the axle tube with a solvent.

Thanks for the tip, its REALLY nasty. I'm guessing the XJ had like 200k miles and then sat in the junk yard for a LONG time I'll see how brute force works after I get off work tomorrow

- Kevin

To defunk the tubes, maybe make a rigid scraper/swabber dealie? Get a 4' long piece of threaded rod, 2 nuts & washers holding a piece of sheet metal ( doubled over soup can lid?) on one end and two hose clamps holding a toilet brush on the other. Use the solvent of your choice... I have found that 'liquid wrench' is an awesome spray solvent.

The two axles I've done I used the 2 prybar method. You would need the yoke on and some way of turning it to try the sock eating method. Either way, be ready for that semi-heavy & slippery/sharp rascal to come out of there.

After trying all of the above mentioned tips I had to try something different.
Build a bridge over the carrier,use a 2x4 or 4x4 or whatever until it is tall enough .Loop a narrow strap(ratchet strap)under the carrier,place a bottle jack on top of the bridge and the strap on the top of the jack,jack ,repeat as needed,may take several tries and strap adjustments.
I hope you can understand my explination.
Do a search,several months ago was a thread with pics.
Wayne

Thanks for the tips, I'll try some more pry barring and see what happens. Your thing with the bottle jack sorta makes sense, I remember that picture but I'll have to look for it after I get off work.

A case spreader helps. I used one without problems. Just watch that you don't spread more than 0.015".

One mod to the rag method is to insert the rag between the ring/pinion and torque the yoke as much as possible. Then pry against the ring gear, attempting to move it in the same direction as it moved when you torqued the yoke. The pry tends to pull the ring gear and its carrier out, and the rag between the ring/pinion does the same as you pry. You get a to-fer-one that is hard for the ring and carrier to resist.

My vote is a spreader by the way.

Seach the form for mhead posts and you'll find additional info.