Found loose nuts in the rear end...

[Whiplash]

Well I've been ripping out the trailing arms and rear end on my 71. Thanks Bill75, Coupeman, and Cee for the advice.

Got the trailing arms out last weekend and pulled the differential and crossmember today. For a little humor thought you'd all appreciate the "loose nuts" I found in the crossmember. Imagine having a crazy rattle around turns that you cannot figure out what's wrong. Then pull the whole rear out of your car just to find these loose nuts rattling around in the cross member. :L

Also, for those of you who gave me good advice on pulling the rear out thanks. I broke down and bought the transmission scissor jack. Since the car is so high on the Kwiklift (33 inches) and the jack only goes to a little over 22 inches. I had a problem. I was able to drop the car down about 5 inches but had to make up the difference. In the attachment you can see the wood tray I made to close the gap. While it was good for closing the gap you might also try it on your project to give a solid base for supporting your differential even if you don't have a gap.

I'm not sure how the attachments are going to appear. I hope they're viewable.

 

[GTR1999]

Looks like you're getting it. Those nuts were in the diff crossmember?

There should be only 4 bolts and washers holding the diff to the crossmember, what type/size were they?

That sissor jack will come in handy for future uses too. I'm not crazy about chinese tools but that one is decent.

 

[Whiplash]

Looks like you're getting it. Those nuts were in the diff crossmember?

There should be only 4 bolts and washers holding the diff to the crossmember, what type/size were they?

That sissor jack will come in handy for future uses too. I'm not crazy about chinese tools but that one is decent.

Hey Coupeman,

The pictures must not come out that well. Blow them up. They were a handful of eaten acorns that some rodent must have brought there and eaten.

There were only 4 bolts with washers holdind the diff to the crossmember and they were all easy to get out with impact wrench. No problems.

Yeah the jack is pretty handy. Saved my back. I'm not crazy about Chinese tools either but for limited use items they're cheap and save you a ton on labor. I'm probably going to go buy the 14 ton press they have there for the bearings, u-joints, etc. For $100 it's a good deal compared to the labor and I can sell it in a garage sale this summer once I'm done and get most of my money back.

 

[68Roadster]

Jon,
I only had pine straw in my crossmember! Somewhere there is a ****ed off squirrel looking for those nuts.....
Glad everything dropped out. You've only got a month or two now to get it all back together!
I wish it would warm up a bit, I need to get mine out for a drive.

Have fun!

 

[GTR1999]

Ok it makes better sense now. I too have found old nests there when dropping the differential.

Get a 20 ton press you're going to need it if you rebuild the rear bearings and differential. I woould keep it too, it does come in handy if you're going to be working on cars.

For the U-Joints use a oxy/ace torch if you have one to cut out the old joints. A die grinder will work too. If you use a press be sure to make a backing plate those flanges bent very easily and cost $45 to replace.

 

[Whiplash]

Coupeman,

Can you explain the backing plate? I'm assuming you mean for the rear bearings. and how to cut out the Ujoints? I thought you just press them out?

Thanks,

Whiplash

 

[GTR1999]

The flange has 4 bolt holes that mount it to the spindle flange. These are weak and if someone in the past has worked on it to replace U-Joints you might find it bent already. I made a plate up out of 5/8" steel that has a slight counterbore so the flange will sit flat on it. Then I drilled out 4 holes and tapped them so I can bolt the flange on it then remove the joint. The flange will not distort then.

Look at your 1/2 shaft to see if it has been crushed up by the yokes-common when using a bench vise to "press" them out.When you have the joints installed they should move freely without binding. If you have any binding or you can't get the clips in the grooves you have a problem.

I also witnes mark the clips with a dab of paint so I can check them in the future to see if they moved. I had a clip pop out once on the highway and the cap fell out,not pretty.

I use a torch to cut the cross out (center of the joint) the heat will loosen the caps too. polish the yoke bore with scotchbrite and I use a littel never-seize on the bore, then the cap can be pressed in very lightly in a bench vise until seated and the clips line up with the grooves. I use a punch after the clips are in to stake the outer edge of the yoke to the clip.

 

[Bill75]

Hi Whiplash,

Pictures came out good, looks like you're well on your way. I wish I could open the garage door like your place..........there's 18 inches of snow outside mine.:ugh
Good luck with the project. You might want to replace the tranny seal on the tailshaft and inspect/polish the yoke while it's apart too.

Bill

 

[ed_in_pa]

I can't believe no ones made a joke about the title....

 

[steelblue75]

yea! thats a funny one.

 

[Whiplash]

yea! thats a funny one.

I'm in marketing so I always like a headline that draws readers. Not sure what the title says about the people who clicked the link though:L

I found a link to a company that sells you the spindle knocker tool. Insert your own joke here... then takes the tools back and refunds most of the cost. I'm thinking about this route instead of the press. Also thinking just to bring the half shafts and drive shafts in to a shop and have them do the ujoints there. That way if they goof it up they bought it.

I'm kind of at a standstill until I figure out how I want to move next with taking the trailing arms apart.

Also the tranmission seal is a must. The transmission is the only leak I have left. Not sure if it's just the seal for the output shaft or if I've got more to worry about. The way I do projects I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up pulling the tranmission engine and body just to get the trailing arms fixed .

 

[Bill75]

The way I do projects I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up pulling the tranmission engine and body just to get the trailing arms fixed .[/QUOTE]

Yeah, believe me I know exactly how you feel!! Not sure if you have an auto or std. but if you have a 4 speed, you might be able to borrow a tool from someone that'll remove the tailshaft bushing without removing the trans. from the car. Replacing the seal is prety simple if you do it right (not like me).

 

[Whiplash]

if you have a 4 speed, you might be able to borrow a tool from someone that'll remove the tailshaft bushing without removing the trans. from the car. Replacing the seal is prety simple if you do it right (not like me).

Hey Bill,

Yeah the seal needs to be replaced. Yes it's a 4speed. I wasn't aware there was a special tool. If anyone has info on such a tool I'd appreciate it. I'm going to take a stab at it tomorrow.

By the way. I finally gave up on the idea of doing the trailing arms myself. After pricing out the parts, calculating one time tool costs, and overall getting hearburn about setting them up right I decided to go with Bairs. It'll probably end up costing my around $200 more than doing them myself but they'll be right when I get them back and I'll never have to do them again. Going to send my half shafts in at the same time just for ease.

Last year I did the front suspension, steering, springs, sandblasting, painting, etc myself. I was really proud to say I did it on my own but the project ended up taking 2 months longer than I'd planned. This end of the car is a lot more complicated, doable but complicated. I'm going to punt on this one. I'll take pictures of before and after for anyone interested.

Also, I think I've finally gotten over my NCRS vs updated my way concern. I'm going to go my way. If it was an extremely rare highly optioned car I'd keep it pure. I want to drive this baby and I'm tired of the constant anxiety about matching everything. I'll keep it as right as possible but I'm going to stop worrying and start enjoying.

 

[GTR1999]

You can install a new seal in the tailhousing by removing the driveshaft and using a pry tool to pop out the seal. Getting to the bushing will require removing the tranny and taking off the tailhousing. Then chiseling out the bushing.You can't remove the tailhousing on the car because you have to disengage the reverse fork before removing the housing.

Too bad you weren't close to me I'd do the arms and ujoints for you. Use spicers for the joints.

Build the car the way you want,forget about NCRS. The only thing matching you should be concerned about is your butt in the drivers seat :L

 

[Bill75]

Whiplash,

You can remove the bushing without removing the tailshaft or the tranny if you have a special tool for it. It has fingers that spread apart when inserted into the tailshaft, they catch on the bottom of the bushing. It has a sliding weight on a shaft much like a wheel puller but smaller that pulls the bushing out. I don't have one but the Vette shop let me borrow it once.

I think you made the best decision of the whole job by having them done by someone whose not learning on the first one. I don't know them but I assume you do, I'm sure you'll be much happier.

Bill

 

[GTR1999]

Hi Bill I've heard of that puller, but have never seen one. It would have to be offset to clear the main shaft and housing. The only clearence would be the diameter of the yoke. Does your guy have one?

Whiplash also check the condition of the yoke,many times when the bushing is worn the yoke is grooved too. I used to have an electric motor shop spray weld them and grind to the original size. I have one that is 25 years old and still the same size. That shop is gone now so who knows if it's still being done.

Bill is correct about having an experienced guy do the rear bearings instead of learning on your car. It is not a hard job as long as you have the correct tools.You should have them set to .001-.002" max and check the runout afterwards. If the shop is setup to do them they'll bolt the rotor to the spindle and true them on a lathe.

 

[Bill75]

Hi Gary,

Yes, the guy's up here have one. The next time I'm over there I'll find out where he got it and pass it along (if he'll tell me). It sure makes the job easier if you don't have to take down the trans.

 

[Whiplash]

Bill is correct about having an experienced guy do the rear bearings instead of learning on your car. It is not a hard job as long as you have the correct tools.You should have them set to .001-.002" max and check the runout afterwards. If the shop is setup to do them they'll bolt the rotor to the spindle and true them on a lathe.

Hey Gary,

I'm sending them to Bairs. I spoke with the owner. He made me very comfortable. They're going to bake the parts to get the grease out, shot peen the steel parts, 2 part epoxy, and paint the steel parts or leave them alone depending upon my preferences for NCRS. They'll set the bearings properly then rivet the rotor to the spindle and turn to proper spec. I'm really comfortable with them after talking to them. I'll let everyone know about customer service once they're done.

On the transmission seal. The Chassis Service manual says pry the seal out or use tool j-2619 and j-5859 to pull the seal. 2619 looks like a slide hammer and 5859 is the attachment the grabs the seal. It then says us J-5154 to reinstall but there's no picture. It does warn about not excessively forcing the seal in. It would be interesting to see if GM still sells these tools.

Jon

 

[GTR1999]

Jon I assume you spoke to Yogi or Brian(father/son) I deal with Brian for my parts and if I was going to send any work out they would be the ones I'd use. You'll have excellant service and work from them, don't worry about that.

If you're going to just replace the seal then you don't need any special HIGH priced tools to do it. Maybe a seal tool, available at any Sears or auto parts store for less then $15. The puller that bill mentioned is a special tool that even some trans shops don't have. A lot of the time you can get by making up your own for far less then the Kent-Moore tools you see in the catalog. a lot of these tools are no longer available too. I would change the seal and see if the leak goes away,if not then you can decide the next step.