68 rear Diff bushings

[greggome]

Okay, I have the new rear differential carrier to chassis bushing set. This is no where as easy as expected. to remove the old bolt that secures the bushings I sprayed the old bolt good with PB blaster no luck. I cant get the bolt loose it just spins and there does not seem to be any wrench that I can get in on the top bolt, no room, its in a well of the crossmember and the rear diff brackets in the way. I managed to get a grab on the top bolt with a box wrench (sight unseen) briefly but the lower nut is on so tight it wouldnt give and the wrench went flying. Haven't been able to get a grip on the top bolt since. resorted to a torch on lower nut. No luck but the lock washer crumbled when I tried loosening it again. Any suggestions on this?

Also, the drive shaft sits right above where the replacement bolt/ upper cushion goes. Looks like the new bolt is long enough that it wont align with the hole to put it through do to the drive shaft above it. Not sure if this is the case but it looks iffy. Hoping I dont have to remove the drive shaft to get this done.

 

[bill81vette]

can you get a socket with either a ratchet,or a breaker bar on it???(the top)
then try the heat wrench(torch) again..(heat it till the nut turns red and try to unscrew it).

 

[greggome]

thats the problem. The bolt goes through the crossmember of the chassis where the upper bolt sits in an indented part of the frame then it passes through the carrier bracket where the lower nut is The upper bolt cant be seen so I need to squeeze my hand between the the carrier bracket and the car body parts, not enough room for a socket and barely enough for a crescent/box wrench. Since the bolt sits in an indent and the carrier bracket is on an angle I can get the wrench to sit flat on the bolt head to get a firm grip it ends up on an angle.

can you get a socket with either a ratchet,or a breaker bar on it???(the top)
then try the heat wrench(torch) again..(heat it till the nut turns red and try to unscrew it).

 

[bill81vette]

Worst case.. Cut it with s torch and replace it...

 

[greggome]

mission accomplished. thanks for the advice. manged to get it off and on with luck and persistence.

 

[Danny boy]

Glad it worked out for you.
I'm always amazed by the amount and quality of the advice on this forum.