Once the bolt is out, the pinion shaft should slide freely out a…

Once the bolt is out, the pinion shaft should slide freely out and down. Mine stopped just short of coming all the way out, so I left it there. If you don't see your C clip as well as mine in the pic, push in on your axle from the wheel side. There is a tiny bit of travel on the axle. Get your fingers on the C clip and turn the open end away from you. Use needle nose plyers to pull the clips out. Once that C clip is gone, simply - and slowly - pull the axle out. Inspect all the gears for wear and inspect the inside of the pumpkin for metal shavings. I had VERY few shavings and everything looked great. Don't mess with the spider gears if you don't want to REALLY get involved.

Owner caption September 2008 · Photo 14 of 62