That really depends on what kind of overhaul you are going to do. There is a bearing in the pinion assembly and you have to remove the whole thing from the axle housing to replace it. There is also a pinion support bearing inside the axle housing. The pinion also has to be removed to replace it. If you take the pinion apart the crush sleeve will have to be re-set. This requires a really big vise and a LARGE wrench or breaker bar to crush it, not to mention an inch-pound torque wrench to measure the amount of drag on the pinion. The bearing inside the pinion should be replaced by someone farmiliar with setting up ring and pinions. I tried to replace the yoke on my 14 bolt and was told that even though the crush sleeve had ben set when my gears were done, it would need to be re-set because it will expand back out when you loosen the nut on the pinion. Unless you suspect damage of some kind I would not touch the stuff in the housing. You will need a press to put on the bearings on the carrier, and unless you remember exactly how many turns you turned the adjusters when you took the carrier out, that too might have to be re-set to get the best pattern on the gears. A quarter turn on each one makes a big difference on the pattern. You may be able to remove it by just loosening the adjusters just a litte and prying the carrier out with a pry bar. I had to get new gears so I loosened them alot. If you do decide to take the carrier out MARK EACH CAP for left and right. They do not need to be switched. I went through all of this on my own axle when I swapped my 14 bolt in a couple of weeks ago so I feel your pain. I had a friend set up the gears. If you want to tackle this yourself, there are service manuals that cover ring and pinion installs. I got mine from helm publications. It covers every axle made by or used by chevy in their trucks.
BIGJ
