yeah i have the non abs 8.25... Ive never pulled an axle saft, so im a little concerned with that... I need to do some more homework it looks like
Well it is fairly basic, I think the most difficult/time consuming parts are pulling the axle shafts (because it is a c-clip axle, it means to pull the shafts you have to open the differential), and honing out the caliper brackets to get them to fit over the larger axle housing. Other than that the work is simple bolt-on type stuff.
Here, I'll make a rough walk-through based on my (highly suspect) memory:
1. Jack up rear end and support on jackstands
2.remove rear wheels.
3.remove old drums, this may require detensioning the self adjuster (need brake spoon or big flathead for this).
4.remove all old springs, brake shoes, e-brake cables, etc from the inside of where the old drum was. Extreme prejudice and cursing is necessary here so that the drums know how much of a pain they were to adjust and how inadequate they were in the area of slowing the vehicle down. You can remove the wheel cylinders here too, just put something underneath them to hold the fluid that will leak out.
5. now go to the pumpkin on your rear axle and unbolt (mostly) the cover. Leave the top center bolt in so that the cover doesn't drop into the drain pan you put underneath and use a rubber mallet to smack the diff cover off. May take a couple of whacks to break the old RTV/gasket. Let the gear oil drain out well. Inspect it for metal chunks or shavings, then use some brake cleaner to get gunk out of the inside of the diff.
6. Now you'll need a small ratchet or wrench to take a set bolt out of (we're about to enter gearland, where my vocabulary fails me and others) the cylinder that sits between the butts of the 2 axle shafts.
6b)eer. Drink one.
7.you'll have to spin the carrier and gears to get the cylinder to drop out, but it will. Lay it aside and keep it clean. more importantly, make sure all of these parts are clean when going back in, we aren't trying to add grit or contaminants to our hardworking gears.
8. Now push each axle shaft in about 1-2". In the diff you'll see the end of each shaft with a c-clip. All the ones I've dealt with have either fallen right out or come out with hand pressure, but horror stories do exist. If it were me in the worst case scenario, I'd probably be trying to use some sort of little punch to knock the clip off, others probably know of better ways.
9. at this point, I use surveyor's paint to mark a stripe on one hub/axle. With what we have in our shop at work, that was always the way that I thought would best ensure that the shaft made it back to the same side it came from. You can mark/remember it any way you please, but it's a good idea for the shafts to go back on the sides they came from. also put a rolled up bit of paper towl or rag into the open ends of your axle tubes, keep crap out while you're working around it.
10. press out old wheelstuds, press in new. I use a mini-sledge and a vice. Can use any number of methods.
11.unbolt drum bracket from axle flange, bolt on disc bracket. if you want you can now put the shafts back in and seal up the diff and all that. Usually I do it here so that the RTV has a bit of time to set up.
12.bend brake hardlines so they run above leaf springs. Attach softlines and calipers.
13. pads and rotors, and bleed the brakes. Now go test them out carefully.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's at least a summary of the steps involved. If you can change oil and have a good amount of common sense this mod could be time consuming but very within your reach. Once you're familiar with the process, two people can do it in a matter of a couple hours.
