Jackfit

Hi Rodger,

Yes it is bent, some tine in the past the car was lifted by the rod instead of the frame or it could be when I was running from some party with people chasing me in my youth because I stole a girl away....

Jack

Jackfit

Day 5 " The Great Journey " Oh my God ! Look at that !

Goals for today : Remove rear from cross-member and open rear end to see what happen to it.

A lesson to be learned. I have been driving this car for almost 300,000 miles in the North East and just about everywhere else. Winter and Summer , salt and rain. And not one bolt was rusted in or broke trying to take it out.

It is sitting for years that rust these cars. Cars that are driven may get surface rust, but it seems the heat and oil must perserve the parts in some way. Sure , they wear out, but I never thought in a million years that the bolts would come out of the rear carrier. But I used a little heat and also used a bolt-out socket by Irwin Tools. It cuts into bolt or nut will take out rounded parts.

I thought it best to use it first before a regular socket. I big breaker bar and very slow turning and out came all the bolts on the cross-member and rear carrier.

Once the cover was off, it was very apparent what happen as you can see. The drive pinion gear was able to move backward into the Posi unit. The ring gear looks OK ....Posi not so good....

Comments are welcome. Any 3:36 posi rears not being used ?

Heating up the cross member bolts. I used a big breaker bar and Irwin Socket (nut / bolt extractor socket) first before I even tried a regular socket



Bolts that I though would never come out , came out



Cover ready to be taken off , what will we find ?



Not very pretty



[URL=http://s633.photobucket.com/user/jackfit87/media/Restoration%202015/Day%205%20Cross%20member%20rear%20open/7Day5_zps76be985a.jpg.html][/

Day 5 Parts Collection

babbah

Hi Jack,
Regarding the "snubber bracket" that is bolted to the carrier with 2 bolts and nuts that attaches the Snubber Rubber Cushion bolted into the the frame - I don't think you can get the bolts out while the rear is installed in the car as they are long and hit the fiberglass "storage wells" where the jack is located behind the seats.
Did you remove it before dropping the rear or after when the rear was away from the car? I see it in the last group picture on lower left of the photo.
Thanks! Nice Job!

Jackfit

Hi, yes they hit, as I found out, had to lower rear / cross member to get them out , then I could move the bracket enough to get a wrench on the bushing bolt head. I still had the problem of the drive shaft u-joint nuts. I could not rotate the rear or shaft to get at them. Had to do one little turn at a time on my back/side face in tunnel gas tank bang head position.
If that answers your question ? Lol

babbah

I think some have drilled holes in the storage buckets to get them out. Then re glass the holes upon reinstallation. In any case I can relate to what you are dealing with. Excellent photos!

Kerrmudgeon

I had to giggle a little looking at that mess inside the case Jack. How the hell did it even run like that. It must have been making noise for a while? The whole posi case is destroyed by the pinion it looks like. Is there any damage to the case around the side bearings? If there are cracks in the saddles it may be fubarred as well. Boat anchor material.

If I was you I wouldn't be screwing around with used old third members. Get a rebuilt.....do it ONCE.....unless you found some new knees, etc,etc...

Jackfit

Hello, Bonjour, and Good Afternoon,

Day 6 I thought you would be tired of looking at my car's rear end.

Picture taken in Nice, France on Corvette Vagabond 's European Tour.
Well I found the problem. Failed bearing of pinion gear or Posi Unit its self. The pinion gear was able to move forward hitting Posi causing damage and pieces breaking off.

The fact that I was only going 10 mph saved my car from extensive damage had it let go at 70 mph. Nothing left to do but replace the unit. I will be looking to put a 3:36 in instead of the current 3:70 which is more inline with my high speed driving on highways in the US and Europe.

Thanks for coming along. I will keep you posted on further work on car as I put it back together.

If you would like to see more photos , please like the https://www.facebook.com/CorvetteVagabond page and enjoy or

https://www.corvettevagabond.com for many stories and car collections.

New Units



Table



Patient



Taking out bolts caps off but that will not help take out Posi




Pieces of Posi







Time to replace the unit, here is bearing difficult to see but a mess

Jackfit

I should have listen an "Taken the Money"

I should have listen and taken out the rear ...sooner......

Jack

Ps We did not detect metal in the oil a few weeks ago, because, the metal was Aluminum and not picked up be magnet , it seems the bearing may have been failing allowing the pinion gear to rub against the posi unit, the goose of the gas in first must have sent it into the unit. I stopped very fast as I was only going a few miles an hour. I can see both snap rings are in place and the gears seem fine as the case is much softer then the gears. I believe a piece of the case is stuck in the gear limiting the rotation of the yokes and ring gear. How do you release the snap rings ? so I can take out side yokes.

Jackfit

Hi and Good Morning .

Talked with Gary Ramadie, looks like I need a donor rear end.

If you have and don't need that rear end that is in the corner of the garage , send me a PM

Any GM / Corvette rear 71-79 3:08 to 3:70 ratio in OK to Good shape.

Thanks

Jack

jlagarde

Gee Jack, hope you don't get stuck with a 3.08. Going down that much seems like a big step back and borderline sin to me! Hope you find at least a 3.36.

Happy New Year and good luck.

Joe

Jackfit

No , I think I going to stay with the 3:70 ish as that is what everyone is running from to a 3:36

I will have my diff apart so I can see if the gears are good , I may just rebuild what I have

Your car was on of the favorites that I posted on facebook , on red corvettes . Corvette Vagabood page.

Lots of things to fix up after 60,000 miles in the last4 years

Jack

Jackfit

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

I want to thank all who sent me PM and emails on rear ends. I have looked at quite a few from all over the country. It seems that some would have one feature that I wanted and not have something else.

Many have different parts from different years , and some thought they had one thing and they really had something else. All would require shipping expenses and the problem of returns if necessary .

As mentioned , I am working with Gary Ramadei , who has rebuilt my steering box and has done great work for many forum members.

He has found a few candidates for the rebuild in the CT area, near his shop. I have put this problem to rest , as he will call me in a few months to come and pick up the blue printed rear end.

In the mean time I will work on the strut rod bushings, sombrero replacement and clean up of the rear suspension. The trailing arms are only 5 years old . I will also balance all the shafts while waiting for the rear.

I am also working on the body mount bolts, a week or so of getting penetrate on them. I hope they all come out , just as the rear end bolts did.

Also time to take off door panels and clean up locks and window sliders. 60,000 miles in 4 years builds up a lot of dirt.

I may also move down the drive train and take out the tranny. It is fine, but 60,000 miles on the throw out bearing and clutch....

Now is the time....I better start practicing bench pressing at the gym so that I can get the tranny off my chest !

Stay tuned for photos of bushing replacement and other work to be done.

Jack

6T5RUSH

Jackfit,

"While-I'm-At-Its" definitely taking over. Good for you as freshening all the mechanicals is a must on a daily driver. Might as well make that undercarriage as sharp as the top side.

Keep the posts comin'.

Jim
In God We Trust!

Jackfit

Hi Jim,

I may as well ask you this question. I have the haft shafts out and since the rear end is out, it appears that I can just pull the drive shaft straight back and out .

First I would disconnect the drive from the tranny , I think, or....

Can I just pull the drive shaft and tranny yoke together along the tunnel and out. ?

Making sure that i do not damage the tranny rear seal or yoke.

Jack

6T5RUSH

Hi Jack,

Yes, just slide the driveshaft with the yoke attached out of the back of the transmission. As long as the tranny is supported/in place, and yours should be, there should be no tranny oil dripping out. Easy slide out and easy slide in.



Jim
In God We Trust!

Jackfit

I plan to work on strut rod bushings.

If you have done a post on pressing them out could you repost the link for me. Some say you need a press, other say you can use a big vise and the right sockets

Thanks

Jack

to cold to even think about it out in the garage....maybe next week..I will post pictures of the process if I can do it.

First have to mark and clean the cam/strut bracket before I take it apart . I want to be able to put the rods back somewhat close to the right alignment.

Speaking of alignment, I run 215 70 15 tires. What degree of camber should I aim for when I get it aligned ? It is perfect now , with no uneven ware of the tires. I was going to bring it in to a shop just to get a measurement , so we could just put it back to that. But the rear gave out before I could do it.

Rick , I know you have the answer ...

Jackfit

Guess what? Last night I went out to garage to take a look at the struts, and what do I see? The bent one is 1 1/4 & the straight one is 1 3/8

Now it all comes back to me, in 1971 I had the rear changed, the mechanic must have broken the original rod and put in the later design.

Should I replace the old bent original with the later one (stronger ?)
For a matched pair?

Pictures later

Jack

Kerrmudgeon

Hey Jack!....you still with us bud? Did you get snowed in last week in Maine?
I guess you're still waiting for the rear end to come in as well. Just checking.....:

Jackfit

Hi Robie,

Too cold and too tired from snowblowing . Even with the heat on , it is too cold to clean the old parts .

I will be posting on the strut rods later. Seems like just ordering two new rods with bushings as the way to go.

The correct rod is bent and the other one does not belong on car. By the time I get the bushing out, and new ones pressed in, I would still have a Bubba fix with different size rods.

Wilcox has them for $45 including bushings, hard to beat that .

What I need to do it measure the bent rod, so that I can re adjust the cam when I install them , as to have the same distance from bracket for close enough alignment to start.

Any body know the best camber * for the 66 sb with 215 R70 15 tires.

One of our members (Tossin) Chris, sent me a set of bushings . But I will not use them. Post to follow.

I hope to Pay it Forward and donate them to someone else who needs them.

Take care

Jack

Can't wait to get car back on road, but that will not be until April, as Gary Ramadei is doing my rear and that is the time line for him to get it done.

I think I am going to stay with the 3:70....who cares about the gas or higher RPMs. My engine purrs at 3,500 rpms and I only go above 110 mph on the back roads.......

Jack

Before the rear died

Revette

Having your '66 sit in the garage until spring has to be a pretty rare occurrence for you, Jack.