mukker

I have a 2003 F150 4x4 lariat supercrew. I had a leaking axle seal, so decided I would change it myself and change the bearing also while I had the rear end apart. Well in my infinite wisdom, I somehow rotated the spider gears out. Problem is now it seems like the side gears are too tight to reinstall them. Do the spider gears compress the rear axles so you can get the locking pin back in? It seems there isn't enough space to get the pin in the way it sits now, without the spider gears. I have a 9.75 axle. If I pull the carriage and make a tool to compress the side gear, how would I rotate the side gears to suck in the spiders?