This afternoon, I cleaned the remaining grease and paint from the pinion and outer 3rd member case.
I put two coats of Rustoleum Red Oxide Rusty Metal Primer on the pinion piece. It is misting and cold outside so I decided against painting it today. I would have waited to primer the piece but I did not want any surface rust to develop. I'll paint it a cast iron color once the primer dries (2 days according to the label).
The outer 3rd member case was painted with a single coat of the Brite Touch Red Oxide Primer. I'll put a second coat on it when it is not as humid outside. Again, I just put a little on it now to avoid surface rust.
I don't think I'll have everything ready to have the new gears installed until next week. I plan to refinish the main casing, two parts which screw in on either side of the carrier, and the bolts which mount the outer casing to the main casing. I'll then reassemble the 3rd member so the shop is able to see it completely assembled. This will likely help with assembly.
I'm sure the primer on the case will be messed up while the gears are installed. However, the factory painted the case before it was installed. This ensures all the little areas are covered properly. I expected to clean it up once the gears are installed and put another coat on the part and then cover it in a satin clear paint.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Taking a Break to Clean
I made a tremendous mess of the garage yesterday. I spent time this morning cleaning up my tools, the original parts I removed, and the garage floor. Part of what made the mess so large was the gear fluid which did not come out of the axle housing until the 3rd member was removed. This spilled all over the carboard I had laid out.
I made sure to keep the drums, axles, and backing plates arranged by side. While it should not matter much, I did not want established wear patterns to be messed up by switching parts to a different side.
I decided to go ahead and pull the seals from the axle I intalled about 6 months ago. One side leaked and this will make it easier to clean inside the axle housing.
I'm hoping to finish cleaning the third member this week and paint the housing. I'll then take it to have the new gears installed. Once the third member is complete, I'll turn my attention to the housing.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
3rd Member Cleaning
I spent today cleaning up the parts of the 3rd member.
I started by scraping off the large grease deposits with a little chisle. The part was rather bulky to work with so I decided to go ahead and disassemble the piece. Once it was disassembled, I cleaned it with some Super Clean Engine Degreaser and a brush.
I noticed the bearings and races in the 3rd member have Timken on them. The front seal was still the stock style fabric style seal. When I noticed the Timken bearings, I immediately questioned if the gears were still stock. I counted the teeth on the ring gear and found there were 39 and the pinion has 14 teeth. This works out to a 2.79 gear ratio which is what I expected.
I expected to find a few different paint markings on the 3rd member. It was the stock color (orange/red) but I did not find many markings. There was yellow paint on each of the carrier end caps, what appeared to be a slight amount of yellow on one side of the pinion, some yellow near the fill hole, and some white on the opposite side of the 3rd member. There was not much paint so the only one I'm confident of is the first paint spot.
The 3rd member has a cast date of 7C2 (March 2nd, 1967) so it is original part. The part number of the main case is C70W-4025-A. The smaller portion of the casing has a cast date of 6M8 and the part number seems to just be C60W. The pinion itself has no part number.
While not completely clean, the current state is shown below. The cleaner I used removed much of the orange/red paint. The black areas are grease deposits I'll need to work on cleaning tomorrow.
I read quite a few posts about the proper detailing of the 3rd member today. From the VMF Concours forum, I learned many use Red Oxide Primer (BT51) made by Brite Touch because it is so close to the original color. I found some at O'Reilly today for $2.99. Since the paint was mostly intact on the underside of the 3rd member. I sprayed just a little in the middle to compare it to the surrounding original paint. It is still a little wet in the picture below which makes it look shiny but the color is an exact match.
I've not decided what paint I'll use on the axle housing. I'm thinking the Eastwood Chassis Extreme Satin paint. According to the VMF Concours forum, the original color was similar to the engine compartment but with more gloss. I'd like it to look original but durability is more important.
The following picture is of a properly detailed rear axle. It was restored by Charles Turner. I'm told they all looked about the same for the early Mustangs. This one is a '65 or '66. I'd love to have mine turn out like this one except I think the 3rd member appears a little more red in this picture.
I started by scraping off the large grease deposits with a little chisle. The part was rather bulky to work with so I decided to go ahead and disassemble the piece. Once it was disassembled, I cleaned it with some Super Clean Engine Degreaser and a brush.
I noticed the bearings and races in the 3rd member have Timken on them. The front seal was still the stock style fabric style seal. When I noticed the Timken bearings, I immediately questioned if the gears were still stock. I counted the teeth on the ring gear and found there were 39 and the pinion has 14 teeth. This works out to a 2.79 gear ratio which is what I expected.
I expected to find a few different paint markings on the 3rd member. It was the stock color (orange/red) but I did not find many markings. There was yellow paint on each of the carrier end caps, what appeared to be a slight amount of yellow on one side of the pinion, some yellow near the fill hole, and some white on the opposite side of the 3rd member. There was not much paint so the only one I'm confident of is the first paint spot.
The 3rd member has a cast date of 7C2 (March 2nd, 1967) so it is original part. The part number of the main case is C70W-4025-A. The smaller portion of the casing has a cast date of 6M8 and the part number seems to just be C60W. The pinion itself has no part number.
While not completely clean, the current state is shown below. The cleaner I used removed much of the orange/red paint. The black areas are grease deposits I'll need to work on cleaning tomorrow.
I read quite a few posts about the proper detailing of the 3rd member today. From the VMF Concours forum, I learned many use Red Oxide Primer (BT51) made by Brite Touch because it is so close to the original color. I found some at O'Reilly today for $2.99. Since the paint was mostly intact on the underside of the 3rd member. I sprayed just a little in the middle to compare it to the surrounding original paint. It is still a little wet in the picture below which makes it look shiny but the color is an exact match.
I've not decided what paint I'll use on the axle housing. I'm thinking the Eastwood Chassis Extreme Satin paint. According to the VMF Concours forum, the original color was similar to the engine compartment but with more gloss. I'd like it to look original but durability is more important.
The following picture is of a properly detailed rear axle. It was restored by Charles Turner. I'm told they all looked about the same for the early Mustangs. This one is a '65 or '66. I'd love to have mine turn out like this one except I think the 3rd member appears a little more red in this picture.
Begining Rear Axle Restoration
I decided to start off the new year with a Mustang project. I want to go ahead and restore the rear axle. I won't strip and restore the rear undercarriage at this point. Work is going to be very hectic for the next few months so I'll focus on this small project for now.
The back side of the rear axle is fairly clean but has surface rust. The front is covered in grease from a leaky pinion and also from the transmission shift seals.
I received new miloden spring shackles and U-joints for Christmas. I'll use these but need to place an order with NPD to get the rear brake line. I'm sure I'll find other things I need but I'll wait to place the order until I am almost done so I don't forget anything.
To remove the rear axle, I did the following:
1) Jacked up the car until the rear tires were about two inches off
the ground and then put it on stands.
2) I then used my jack on one side of the axle at a time to take
weight off the left springs.
3) Took off the stock nut, u-bolt nuts, and shackle nuts. With these
loose, the spring feel to the floor.
4) I then removed the parking brake lines and disconnected the
brake line. Oddly, the clip which holds the rubber brake hose
to the body was one of the more difficult parts to remove.
The nuts were all a little rusty but not bad.
5) I removed a wheel at a time and laid the axle on my creeper
and pulled it out from under the car.
The rear axle weights a tremendous amount. I ate supper and then after the kids went to bed started work again. I removed the drums, axles, brake assemblies, and then the brake lines.
I loosened all the nuts which hold the pumpkin to the axle. I took all of them off except four which were fairly loose. I then tried to tap around the edge with a rubber hammer to brake the seal. Unfortunately, I've had no luck. I'll finish this part up in the morning and drain the fluid from the axle.
The back side of the rear axle is fairly clean but has surface rust. The front is covered in grease from a leaky pinion and also from the transmission shift seals.
I received new miloden spring shackles and U-joints for Christmas. I'll use these but need to place an order with NPD to get the rear brake line. I'm sure I'll find other things I need but I'll wait to place the order until I am almost done so I don't forget anything.
To remove the rear axle, I did the following:
1) Jacked up the car until the rear tires were about two inches off
the ground and then put it on stands.
2) I then used my jack on one side of the axle at a time to take
weight off the left springs.
3) Took off the stock nut, u-bolt nuts, and shackle nuts. With these
loose, the spring feel to the floor.
4) I then removed the parking brake lines and disconnected the
brake line. Oddly, the clip which holds the rubber brake hose
to the body was one of the more difficult parts to remove.
The nuts were all a little rusty but not bad.
5) I removed a wheel at a time and laid the axle on my creeper
and pulled it out from under the car.
The rear axle weights a tremendous amount. I ate supper and then after the kids went to bed started work again. I removed the drums, axles, brake assemblies, and then the brake lines.
I loosened all the nuts which hold the pumpkin to the axle. I took all of them off except four which were fairly loose. I then tried to tap around the edge with a rubber hammer to brake the seal. Unfortunately, I've had no luck. I'll finish this part up in the morning and drain the fluid from the axle.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Lack of Progress Update
It is time for a progress update. I've not made a great deal of progress lately.
The ignition problem just went away. I'm using all the parts I was when it happened but it just was never reoccurred. I keep the spare coil, wires, and spark plugs in the trunk just in case.
I've not been able to restore the hood support. I would need to media blast the part. I've been helping my parents move and the media blaster is out of commission at the moment. I don't view this as critical so I'll work it in when time allows.
I received some nice exhaust couplers from Summit for Christmas. I asked for two in case I decide to cut the driver side pipe when replacing floorpans or restoring the rear undercarriage. I'll end up pulling the passenger side on in a couple days.
I ordered some exhaust wrap on Monday with the new gears. The exhaust rattle is caused by one of the retainers for the parking brake. When the parking brake is off, the retainer bounces around on the exhaust. I plan to wrap the exhaust to cushion it a little to stop the rattle.
I've fixed the rear window handles, reinstalled the intake, tightened the water pump bolts, sanded the pulleys to stop the alternator squeal, straightened the distributor, and painted the harmonic balancer.
I still want to paint the intake bolts and touch up the valve covers.
The carburetor hesitation is not fixed. I researched the pump cams and changed them out. I found it seems to run better with a less aggressive pump cam. Seems I was going the wrong way with the adjustment. I checked the spark plugs after driving around and the are not as dark but there is still a small hesitation. I'll likely just wait to fix it more as I'll just need to repeat the process when I put in the new gears.
I've about determined the rough ride is caused by the shocks. I don't think they can control the new springs. The springs just have their way with the shocks. I recall now being able to push them in with my hands. The car does not bounce up and down when I push on it but I still think this is the cause.
I've not fixed the shock tower caps or the spot on the firewall.
Does not seem like I've done much in the last month. Work is about to get much busier so I'm not sure I'll be able to do much for a while. Since I have the rear gear parts, I would really like to tackle the project and might try to fit it in shortly.
The ignition problem just went away. I'm using all the parts I was when it happened but it just was never reoccurred. I keep the spare coil, wires, and spark plugs in the trunk just in case.
I've not been able to restore the hood support. I would need to media blast the part. I've been helping my parents move and the media blaster is out of commission at the moment. I don't view this as critical so I'll work it in when time allows.
I received some nice exhaust couplers from Summit for Christmas. I asked for two in case I decide to cut the driver side pipe when replacing floorpans or restoring the rear undercarriage. I'll end up pulling the passenger side on in a couple days.
I ordered some exhaust wrap on Monday with the new gears. The exhaust rattle is caused by one of the retainers for the parking brake. When the parking brake is off, the retainer bounces around on the exhaust. I plan to wrap the exhaust to cushion it a little to stop the rattle.
I've fixed the rear window handles, reinstalled the intake, tightened the water pump bolts, sanded the pulleys to stop the alternator squeal, straightened the distributor, and painted the harmonic balancer.
I still want to paint the intake bolts and touch up the valve covers.
The carburetor hesitation is not fixed. I researched the pump cams and changed them out. I found it seems to run better with a less aggressive pump cam. Seems I was going the wrong way with the adjustment. I checked the spark plugs after driving around and the are not as dark but there is still a small hesitation. I'll likely just wait to fix it more as I'll just need to repeat the process when I put in the new gears.
I've about determined the rough ride is caused by the shocks. I don't think they can control the new springs. The springs just have their way with the shocks. I recall now being able to push them in with my hands. The car does not bounce up and down when I push on it but I still think this is the cause.
I've not fixed the shock tower caps or the spot on the firewall.
Does not seem like I've done much in the last month. Work is about to get much busier so I'm not sure I'll be able to do much for a while. Since I have the rear gear parts, I would really like to tackle the project and might try to fit it in shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)