Got at it early today so i could get the seals replaced in the axle, then we could go to the fair, If i didn't I'd be in the dog house now!
I documented the bearing cap orientation of the differential then pulled the caps and worked the carrier out of the housing, that took a little while. I laid it right into a clean old Tee shirt and wrapped it up tight to keep it clean as possible.
To remove the seals i tried a broom handle first but couldn't get a bite on the seals so looked around and fond a long steel drag handle to my Bulldog floor motorcycle lift, it looked to be my only option and less than ideal but with no other option i used it and popped the seals out, i cleaned up the housing and seal bores and also the axle tubes, then spread a thin film of sealant into the bores then used a large socket to tap the new seals into place, any excess sealant would be left in the dry axle tube.
I got the new seals with the built in axle guide, the seals i removed had no axle guide built in but had a separate steel guide sleeve, i opted to not try and use the steel sleeve with the new seal as they were dinged up pretty bad, but i'm gonna keep then just in case i need then down the road, i hope it was the right choice.
No pic of it but i had some pretty bad wear pitting on one of the races but the bearings looked good, i ordered new races to reinstall the carrier, i know its not ideal but i feel its better than not changing them.
The bearing is one of the wheel hub barrel bearings, my new ones are tapered roller bearings, still looking for some reassurance that its ok to go from one type of bearing to another,
A shameless plug to my dog Max