Tell me it is a good thing to have gray metal fake in your rear end oil

[jackfit]

Update

What started as a stuck plug has changed into a Under body restoration. Gary Ramadei is working on my rear end and I should have it sometime in April. Mean while.....


First the plug would not come out, then the rear end blew, and before you know it project creep.


Well I finally got the plug out. I had to remove the welded muffler pipe and header pipe, and after many failed attempts, I used an Irwin stripped bolt remover socket. I heated the plug, I put penetrate on it, I froze it.


I had to remove the pipe to be able to hammer on the socket, once on, I could use the long ratchet to remove it. Out it came see photos.


The #4 body mount bolt is the one that has me working hard.


Got the parts out of car





Car ready for additional work





Seats have to go








Here I go..and it came out





See the plug and socket








Now fun with # 4 body mount








Cleaned up a bit

 

[Mac]

I was wondering how things were going, jackfit. It looks like you've got your hands full!!

Mac

 

[jackfit]

# 4 mount update

Hello to all,


We left off with the bolts soaking and all the rubber peeled away on # 4 mount.


I went out this afternoon to soak the bolts again and while there I picked a bit at the bushing sleeve and bolt.


I decided to give the bolt a little bit of a turn. The result, the bolt came out with the nut . The nut capture cage is not rusted , but the frame mount and and mount reinforcement was rusted, one turn and out it popped.


I will let you all give me advice on what to do next. I do not weld !


Mount with rubber still on it





Bolt and nut with bushing sleeve





Frame mount and nut cage





Side view

 

[Toms007]

Jack, I'm no expert but, I'm thinking it will have to be welded back on. :ugh

 

[jackfit]

Update # 4 mount

I went out to the garage , forgot to change my clothes, I was just going to spray a little more penetrate on the bolt holding the reinforcement plate.


Well I could not resist putting a ratchet to the bolt. I forgot to take the deck off and just reached in . It took a while to get the right extractor socket on the bolt . 9/16 to big , 1/2 to small. You must be able to hammer the socket on to really get them to work.


After 10 minutes, I put my big wrench to it. The one that I am always told not use. Well one click at a time the bolt came out. It took about 20 minutes to get it out, not hard , just one little click because of the tight space.


I was them able to remove the rusted mount reinforcement plate . Once removed , I will be able to put a small piece of fiberglass over the hole to hold the nut in the cage. The cage was not rusted . The new reinforcement plate for the # 4 mount will secure the bushing to the body.


I will then be able to fabricate a retaining plate for the # 4 frame mount which had a rusted out hole. The mount is good. I will get the plate welded to the mount once I have the car on the road.


I was very fortunate to not have a rusted out deck hinge area. All the rust was in the wheel well, except for the retainer bolt. It was only a few inches away from the rusted bushing.....


Here are the photos


Ratchet in place with a little hammer to hit socket on to bolt





View of position of extraction





The rusted plate # 4





49 year old bolt with very little rust





The old bushing and plate





# 4 mount after clean up





Close up of nut and cage - rivets still holding it in with very little rust





View from below of mount

 

[jackfit]

Rear end update

As you all know, this started out as a stuck plug on my tranny. Well the rear end blew and I got a chance to take the rear down to Gary Ramadei, in New Haven CT. He is one of the best re-builders in the country.


He did my steering box and now the rear.


Here are the photos of Gary at work doing a preliminary inspection of my rear. As you know, it was a mess after blowing up a few months ago.


The posi unit would not come out even with the side yokes removed. Gary will use a case spreader later in week to spread the side walls of case so that the bearings and posi can be removed. We tried with a pry bar but could only get it half way out.


I will have follow up photos as Gary sends them to me next week.


The end result will be a rear that will go from 3:70 back to the original 3:36 that the car was born with.


The arrival





Proper mounting needed to work on rear





Cover is off and that look is not good !





You expect me to fix this ?








Oh my ! what do we have here ?





Need a big wrench to turn the unit to get at snap rings







Got them off after a bit of work







Pry Bar did not work





Needed a big hammer to get the side yokes to come out, usually they side right out but the case is a little twinkled





Side yokes removed

 

[Toms007]

Jack, with your style and type of driving, I believe you are smart to return to the 3.36 gears. I doubt you'll see a huge difference in performance, but should reap the benefits of the taller gears in gas mileage.

 

[jackfit]

Here is a real burn out

Gary Ramadei has been working on my rear end. In my other post he is trying to remove the posi unit from the case but it will not come out because the case was spread and distorted by the explosion of the posi unit after 300,000 miles.


He took a torch to the posi to remove it , to see if the case would be usable to rebuild. It was not.....


Enjoy the pictures.....he will replace the whole rear end for me and then tune it.

 

[Mac]

Wow... That thing is chewed for sure...

Mac

 

[Toms007]

OH! Ouch.....case and all have to be replaced, eh?

 

[Tom Bryant]

That's one of the worst ones I've seen. I think you got your money's worth out of it though. You'll like the 3.36s out on the highway much better.

Tom

 

[jackfit]

Some great info on c-2 and c3 differentials

Hi Gang, as you know by the posts, my rear end let go. Gary Ramadei, who is one of the best re-builders you can find posted this information on my NCRS forum post. I thought I would re-post it because it will help explain what happened.


Ed Johnson , a NCRS member and friend has donated a 78 rear end to be used as base carrier and case for Gary to work on.


I hope this info helps some of the new and old members .




Hi Jack, Ed, Guys
Some information for you on Jack's diff issue and 63-79 vette diff's in general.


Jack had a 1968 complete differential in his '66 for the past 45 years. The '65-68's used the 1st design Eaton Posi case in place of the Dana posi used in 63-64. Keep in mind posi was optional until 1970 so there are some open differentials out there still. They were stronger then the Dana posi and I think equal to the Eaton 1st design.


The Eaton 1st design can be ID'd by looking at the case, they have what I call the "postage stamp" window in them. They were a parallel seam casting and this design was prone to cracking at the seam to large window opening. This casting are rough with sharp edges that are stress risers and with abuse or time the cracks form. Once a crack is started then it's a time bomb. Weld or drill repair does not work out well once a crack is there, the only solution is to replace the posi case with the better 2nd design Eaton case used from 1969 -1979 and still sold in the aftermarket today. The 2nd design can be ID'd again by the window, in this case a larger "tear-drop" window. These have a single staggered tooth seam and are much less prone to cracking but they still crack. When ever I build a diff I polish and tune the posi's to cut down on this from happening. I also have them cryo treated for HP applications.


In Jack's case the posi case developed a crack, who knows when, could have been in 1983 when Jack was burning rubber, could have been driving across the country, who knows. The only way you will know is to remove the diff and check it. However I have heard posi's getting ready to break by a clicking sound. I don't know if Jack heard that, I think he said he did when he came in last week but he would know better. My son heard it before his posi case broke in 1/2 on the street. Once the crack reached the cross shaft hole it was over. That is when I think it starts to click as play in the cross shaft and spider pinion gears increases. Then the gears will jam up and lock the posi and break. Jack's locked up and spun into the pinion "milling" it down in a second. Once the case broke it expanded inside the housing and really jammed up. It wrecked the RH axle and bearing and that is why I don't trust the housing. I have seen them break before but they usually shear and become loose parts inside the housing. Then when I open them up the parts fall out. Jack's was just the opposite. It was wedged so tight it was like having a case spreader on it and still wouldn't come out until I torched it out.




Have fun and drive your cars.....


Jack

 

[jackfit]

Just picked up my rear end !

Hi to all,


I made a quick ride to Easton, MA , where a good friend , Ed Johnson owns a home town service and repair shop .


Ed had graciously donated a late seventies corvette differential to my car. It has a 3:70 in it, but I will have that changed out (3:36) by Gary Ramadei, of New Haven , CT , who is going to rebuild and tune it for me.


I will box it up and send it to him this week.


Here are few pictures of Ed and his good friend Bob, (owns a 63) who helped with the transfer. If you ever need mechanical work done just south of Boston, give Ed a call....508-238-9455


Ed & Bob in his shop





Here she is .....

 

[jackfit]

It has been 49 years since a pro touched my shafts

Last time was at the factory 49 years ago. I have sent off my drive shaft and half shafts for a professional balance and u-joints replacement. the drive shaft will be balanced with a new slip yoke that is needed. The old one had 300,000 miles on it ....


This is a local shop that deals with a lot of construction equipment and truck shafts. Shops are getting harder to find now.





Look at the size of the shaft next to my little guys







Update on car restoration....yes...it seems like it is turning into a restoration from just a stuck transmission plug.


Ed Johnson had donated a 78 rear with the good Eaton Posi unit (it will be ) to me and I have just shipped it off to Gary Ramadei, who many know of for his rear end, TA and steering box rebuilding skills.


He is going to tune it, replace the clutches with metal ones, and put in 3:36 gears instead of the current 3;70. With my wide ratio Muncie , the car will be back to original gearing that I changed out in 1972 ish....


On the way to Gary Ramadei





When done, I will have replaced all rear suspension rubber bushings, strut rods , spring bushing, shaft balancing/joints, body mounts and bushings and maybe the throw out bearing ...mufflers and pipes...lets see...did I miss something.......

 

[Mac]

When done, I will have replaced all rear suspension rubber bushings, strut rods , spring bushing, shaft balancing/joints, body mounts and bushings and maybe the throw out bearing ...mufflers and pipes...lets see...did I miss something.......

You might want to have a look at your brake & fuel lines.

Mac

 

[jackfit]

You might want to have a look at your brake & fuel lines.

Mac

Parking brake needs adjustment , which way do I spin the star wheel , up or down to move shoe pad against drum?

fuel / brake lines only a few years old

 

[Mac]

Parking brake needs adjustment , which way do I spin the star wheel , up or down to move shoe pad against drum?

fuel / brake lines only a few years old

It's been a few years since I've had to do drum adjustment. I think it's down but you'll be able to tell pretty quickly. If you're loosening, it will turn really easily. Tightening is harder.

Mac

 

[jackfit]

Gary gets Eds Rear End for rebuild

Update on rear end and suspension rebuild..


Gary Ramadei is rebuilding the 78 rear end that Ed Johnson donated to the project. Here are some pictures of his inspection and comments.


"Looks like this came out of a 79 vette. The gear date is Aug 1978, maybe it made it into a later 78? Doesn't matter the 78 & 79's were ok but did have some areas that were weak. The clutches, ring gear bolts, and axles were bad and this one is typical as it has all those bad parts. They are not going to be reused though, I will use the best parts and that will make a difference. The axles had 065-070 endplay and were mushroomed over. These are just good for cores now. There were no broken snowflake clutches so that means this diff wasn't beat on much, otherwise they would be broken. The ring gear bolts used from 77-79 were junk. They stopped using lock washers and the bolts didn't have the shoulders like the older ones did. I will use ARP bolts, you can see them next to each other in the pictures."




d


Here are some pictures of rear inspection


Parts not being used.....





Disassemble rear



























I will post next the pictures of the posi unit being polished

 

[jackfit]

Posi case being polished

Here are pictures of the posi case before polishing. Polishing is done to prevent cracks from forming.














Same case after polishing

 

[Mac]

No detail too small. I love this kind of craftsmanship!

Mac