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