carloS2000

Going 4.57 & reinforced diff so I need to get my diff out to UPS it to the shop. I've never pulled a Honda diff before & see in the Helm manual that the propeller shaft "special bolts" are indicated "replace" during reassembly. I didn't see any reference to replacing these bolts in xviper's most excellent post on diff removal/gear install & wonder if anyone can give me some additional guidance here. Really necessary to replace them, assuming I can twist em off without damaging them? Or not? Thanks! (I'll need to order them.)

AusS2000

If you get them off without damage they are fine. The problem is that they round out pretty easily.

The trick to removal without damage is to loosen them with a quick hard push on a breaker bar rather than slow pressure. I stuffed two before using the breaker bar and the rest were fine.

xviper

As Aus just indicated, I use a quick "snapping" motion to get mine started. They all came out fine and I re-used them. Make sure that the hex wrench is solid in the bolt head, perfectly square before you "snap" it. Although it will make little difference, spray a bit of Liquid Wrench or WD-40 on the bolt head and also where the bolt comes out on the other side and let stand for a few minutes. It might just make all the difference that you need.

Billman250

Get a high quality 6mm socket. Plane the tip of the allen head on a bench grinder, so the edges are square with a sharp edge. It will give you a lil more bite, works great.

carloS2000

Thanks very much for this great information. My car is low miles & very clean underneath so it's got that going for it. I'll give the bolts a wd40 bath and see what happens. Replacement bolts on hand sounds like a good idea. A tip of my hat to you all!

honda9krpm

drain the diff oil as well
a dry s2k diff is around 30kg

cdelena

I think most of the bolts that are spec'd for replacement is due to an expected stretch when torqued, not because of damage. Obviously most of us reuse the bolts but the engineers had something else in mind.

Billman250

I don't think helms is aware of the new bolts. I looked in AP2 book and it says the torque spec is the same at 24 Ft-Lbs...no way.

xviper

But a wet one is still only 31 kg.
However, it is a lot less messy if you drain it while it's still on the car.

carloS2000

Yeah, and take it from me, UPS hates an oily mess! Thanks again, everyone.