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May 10, 2006
3rd Link, Night Four
Today the 1.25x.095 4130 Cromoly tube finally arrived from Arundel/Autofab Race Cars (the first one had been sawed in half by their shipping department to fit in the box!), so progress resumed. The 3/4-16" left and right tube ends were from F.K. Bearings, part no. 2708 and 2798L.
11pm - Complete rear end was removed from the Camaro (about 1 hour of work), with the brakes hanging from zipties and still connected.
11:30 - Axles removed from the rear end housing, so the inside of the axle tube can get wiped clean before welding. By having the oily metal burn on the inside, the carbon can diffuse into the heat affected zone, causing the steel to become much more brittle. Drivers axle has a "1" stamped on the inside end, and the passenger side has "2". They are 35 spline Moser axles, by the way. Also noticed the wheel studs are 2.5" long ARP with an M12x1.5 thread.
11:45 - Setting up the hydraulic press to press out the leaking drivers side axle bearing. The passenger side was replaced about 100 miles ago (or 2 years).
1am - The old bearing is pressed out, and the new one is pressed back on, using a ring JeffD & I made while I was still at Mallory Industries. The new bearing's seals on both sides didn't look quite right, so I took a few pictures. The rubber outer section isn't completely flush with the outer edge of the bearing, and looks like it's on crooked. Hopefully it'll still seal OK, as I don't have time to get a replacement before the f-body event at Indy in less than a week.
1:45 - The center section of the 9" rear is removed, and still looks brand new. I wiped down the inside of the housing, so the oil won't contaminate the welds for the 3rd link bracket. Tomorrow I'll get the bracket welded on, score a center section seal from Acme Autoparts, and get it back together and in the car.
Posted by Z28tt at May 10, 2006 11:22 PM