Here's the right assembly - ready to go to Tony's Corvette for restoration. :) Yes, and I did this side ALL BY MYSELF! :D



I got that gawd awful bolt out of the left side T-arm too. The left one took some help from Greg - it was a stubborn little bugger! - Only the last 1/2 inch though. He ended up cutting some angle metal and laid it over the bolt and pryed against that to get the last bit out. :) Just the easy stuff is left (and it's been soalking in penetrating oil for 3 days now). Oh, he had to break the 2 caliper bolts loose for me on the left side too. I just didn't have enough strength left after a whole day to get them off! I think I used every single wrench and socket we owned by the end of the night! :jester Especially the ones with the REALLY LONG lever arms - and those trick new Sears wratcheting wrenches. Those things are tres kewl! :yesnod:

I haven't decided yet what to do with the Rear diff. The spring is definately coming out for rebuilding / refinishing. So far the arch looks good on it so unless some leaves fall apart I hope to reuse it. :) What is that inbetween the leaves? Is it plastic or metal or ??? I can't really tell. Most of the other stuff down there is cleaning up nicely. I'll need to finish wire brushing and then paint the frame. I'm also going to replace the brake line which crosses over from one side to the other. That thing is nasty. How tough is it to replace the brake line which goes fore and aft under the driver's side along the frame rail? Do you need to lift the body to get a new one in there? That one looks pretty gnarley too. Ugh.

I need to go to the office tomorrow to rest up & recover from an entire day of working on the shark. :D ~Juliet


[Modified by Juliet, 11:54 PM 1/27/2002]

 

Doesn't that feel good? I pulled both mine off 2 weeks ago and they are at Bairs. I dropped the differential this weekend (as my posts chronicle). I would definately recommend doing this as you are so close and really should have a look inside and change the gasket and the front cushions at the very least. Then you will have complete peace of mind. :blueangel:

 

Lookin' good, and vaguely familiar :) Just got mine back together. The spring liners are a heavy plastic/rubber material. Replacement sets can be purchased from just about all the vendors. I'd wait till I tore the spring apart to see if you need new ones. I'm not sure about the front/rear brake line. Chuck

 

Are you havin' fun yet? :D :smash: :crazy:

You're right about the Sears Gear Wrenches. I spent some time yesterday working inside the doors. I was impressed about how small an arc you could turn to get them to ratchet.

Can't help with the brake line... Looks like they've commented on the rest.

Keep us informed on how it's going.

 

Juliet, the small line running side to side is easy. The hardest part of this one is the stubborn fittings in the small junction blocks at both ends. Try heat BEFORE attempting to loosen these or you'll round them off. Use also a flare nut wrench after heating the tubing fitting. The main line CAN BE REPLACED without lifting the body, BUT...BUT the fitting toward the rear at that junction block(where the small side to side line attaches)is in an akward spot, but can be done with patience!!! Also, your car being automatic, if I'm remembering correctly the main brake line goes though a gap in the crossmember, so you will or should remove it too after supporting the rear of the trans. You'll also probably have to use some heat at the front tubing nut at the junction block below the master cylinder. Do this very carefully. If your other lines are "crusty" too here, when you are trying to loosen that rear main line, you could crack or break one of the original lines. Really, the best way to go is to replace all the brake lines in one shot like I did my '68's and '75's. Also, you may need to slightly bend the line some when trying to "snake" it to that rear small junction block. :smash: :smash: :smash:

 

Nice Job to tackle on Sunday Like you said good thing you can rest up on Monday. Yes keep going take the rear end out. [img](http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/paso1//sanblasted_and_painted_diff.jpg')[/img] It's worth the little extra




[Modified by paso, 8:43 AM 1/28/2002]

 

Way to go juliet, I'm willing to bet this is going to be a two man re-installing job? Did you save and count the number of shims that were at the trailing arms? You'll need them when you go for re-alinement of the rear. :smash:

 

Well Chuck, I must say yours is somewhat of an inspiration. :) Plus my wheel bearing is bad... :yesnod:

Paul - I haven't even looked at the brake lines up towards the front yet - other than the long one going up the side - are there even any other rear brake lines? Hmmm, next on the list was the front suspension rebuild, I might just redo those brake lines too while I'm at it. ;) I'll have to look at them though since Tony might have replaced some already when they put the new brakes on it back in '99.

Paso - damn, that looks good! Hmmm - I'm leaning towards pulling mine too.

Hey you guys - how much drag is on your rear wheels when the E-brake lines etc are off? Because when I had to turn the half shafts (TH400 in Neutral) with the right E-brake & caliper totally off the car it was really draggy - I could barely turn the thing. I'm not sure if maybe the left E-brake was hanging up since that side wasn't disconnected yet - though I had loosened all the way the connection w/ the spring on it under the car in the center where the cable connects and then goes into the interior. I'm wondering if there's not something else out of whack back there. I pooped out last night before I got to the left 1/2 shaft. I'll see if maybe that turns more easily when I get back to it. Greg tried turning it too and thought that something was holding it too. Maybe the bearing really is that bad! :eek: I'm almost afraid it's something more major in the rear - but that would make noise when driving wouldn't it? Or are these things just hard to turn when it's up on jackstands and the rear spring is disconnected and it's just all hanging under it's own weight? ~Juliet

 

They've been counted, tagged and bagged. But there's NFW they're reusable. The thin shims were so rusted and paper thin there's not much left of them at all. ;) But I know what was in there from the factory so I can replicate it.

I'll see about the reinstall. I'm a little nervous about the spring after reading the horror stories about breaking diff cover ears off. :eek: I was able to rest the T-arm on a little stool to hold the weight while I disconnected everything. I left the shock for last so that it held it up in place. Then after that was off I could balance it with one hand and it was just a matter of lifting it down onto the ground off the stool. Those buggers are heavy! ~Juliet

 

With my 4-speed in neutral, it took a large screwdriver between the rotor fins to turn the rotor.... It's just hard to turn. If you can turn it and not hear something dragging, or feel something rubbing, it's probably O.K.

 

OK. Greg's turns really really easily - it literlly takes one finger to turn! But he's got a Dana 9" rear in the thing and everything else is brand new. And his '65 chassis (full rollcage) is so stiff that he has to shim one of the jackstands with 1/4" stock to get it to sit on all 4 jackstands!! Otherwise you can push down on one corner of his car and rock it back and forth since the floor isn't entirely level. I kid you not! Unlike my wet noodle frame which flexes all over the place when I put it on jackstands! :p: Amazing... I can't wait to drive his '65! :) I wonder how it will be autocrossing.... :lol: ~Juliet

 

Hi Juliet,
You are doing a great job. The hard part is over. (Those TA bolts).
Just a comment about the spring. I removed mine when I did the
TAs last fall. When I installed the spring I torqued to 60 Ft Lbs instead
of the 70-75 that the manual calls for.
I used loctite on the bolt threads.

I figure if GM determined they won't come loose at 70+ lbs, then 60 lbs
with loctite should be fine.
In previous posts, some members have broken the ears at the moment of final
torque.

ALSO,,,,,, I was careful on how I did the torque.
There is an inside pair of bolts, and an outside pair of bolts. The two outer
bolts are the ones that break the cover "ears".
I made sure the outer bolts were the "last" to be tightened to final torque.
If you were to torque the inner ones last, you could put extra load on the
outer bolts, as the inner ones are tightened to spec..

End result is I have my "original ears" still intact.
Keep up the good work.
Barry