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Whats the technique for getting the crossmember seated back on the frame perches when reinstalling the diff? I've got everything partially mounted, but cant get the crossmember to snug all the way up. If I push past this point with my floor jack, I start raising the car off the QuickJack which I definitely dont want to do. I figured I'd ask the question before wailing away with the BFH, but thus far, that has been the tool of choice as it pertains to the diff crossmember.
I’ve always just sprayed a little WD-40 and drew it up with the bolts. If the bolt won’t reach l use a longer bolt to start.
Yup, both sides are properly lubed with WD40. I'm using the Van Steel kit, so there are studs, not bolts.....but I reached a point where I didnt want to wrench on the nuts any more for fear of stripping something. I may go back down and readdress with a little hammer love, followed by more torque, followed by more hammer, and then more torque.
I just wanted to make sure I wasnt missing something here.
Agreed...in addition to having the cross member square and parallel with the frame....hence having the diff front support bolted up, although not torqued yet. I'll re-attack tomorrow after work. Thanks to all for the input.
That picture shows it definitely isn't seated yet, but from memory even when full seated there is normally some gap between the sombrero and the crossmember surface. You probably remember that but just thought I would mention it.
Yup, both sides are properly lubed with WD40. I'm using the Van Steel kit, so there are studs, not bolts.....but I reached a point where I didnt want to wrench on the nuts any more for fear of stripping something. I may go back down and readdress with a little hammer love, followed by more torque, followed by more hammer, and then more torque.
I just wanted to make sure I wasnt missing something here.
Thanks
I'm not sure if WD-40 should be used on rubber. Many rubber compounds can be attacked by petroleum based lubricants, but silicone won't attack rubber.
You may be able to seat the cross member by putting the car on the ground and bouncing it up and down. My '63 AIM calls out (IIRC) 35 lb-ft for the bolt, but later years increased this to, I think, something on the order of 65 lb-ft, which, to me sounds excessive for a typical weld nut, so I used 35.
My other thought is that if you replaced the cushions they may not be to OE spec dimensions if they are "reproduction" as opposed to a GM sourced part.
I lowered the car down to the point where the front of the car is resting on its wheels, and the rear is resting on two jack stands, supporting the car by the crossmember.....it still won't move further than in the above photo. The new "sombreros" are from Van Steel.
Diff and crossmember installation?
