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Where do you put the two jacks and the two stands SICAMG, if only two can go on factory jack points?
On the left and right side jacking/lift pads under the rocker panels. then for the rear jack stands under the k member and front under the inside control arms.
Hey also while the radiator is out get in there real close and take a look at the lower crank pulley for separation. Now is the time to find that out since rad is out.
Sorry for the radio silence everyone. I was traveling for a month, but am back and have made some progress.
New radiator is in, and reassembled.
Front suspension has been tightened
New Battery is in
First start this morning
The four corners pumped themselves up as I hoped!
....and first test drive this evening around the block (max 14mph)
That said, it was not without further issues :
- See last picture : IC is dented, same incident that cracked the bumper I would guess.
- I have a clunk from front right to chase down (could be crappy wheels, to be replaced)
- I have an intermittent rub rear left, may be the old reservoir hose
- There was a random squawking noise in the car - hard to describe, but intermittent like a pump (but didn't sound like the air compressor)
Alright, coolant is filled to the tab @ Cold Temp. Thanks @machild I wouldn't have looked there.
I got started on the rear brakes today. Made a beginner mistake : had the caliper off, then went to put the car in neutral (to rotate the disc while hammering it off, with parking brake off). Of course it pumped out a piston. Piston was cleaned and put back in, but I'm into a brake flush now.
My understanding is that the brakes can be bled via pressure bleeder without STAR, but if I need to bleed the SBC, I would need to get a STAR setup....
Alright, coolant is filled to the tab @ Cold Temp. Thanks @machild I wouldn't have looked there.
I got started on the rear brakes today. Made a beginner mistake : had the caliper off, then went to put the car in neutral (to rotate the disc while hammering it off, with parking brake off). Of course it pumped out a piston. Piston was cleaned and put back in, but I'm into a brake flush now.
My understanding is that the brakes can be bled via pressure bleeder without STAR, but if I need to bleed the SBC, I would need to get a STAR setup....
Go the following link and download the technical information on the SBC system; study it before you damage something or injure yourself. You need STAR to bleed properly. The hydraulic schematics in the document will show you just how complicated the system is.
Pulley separation could be seen with a mirror and flash light. You will see outer ring on dampner coming apart or...the outer ring walking off.
Your squawk is possibly the air pump tucked in the driver front lower bumper cover. Could pick up a lot of crap from the harsh winter/roads and be failing.
I've disconnected battery for present time, to stay clear of further SBC issues.
@SICAMG, thanks for the note on pulley - will take a look.
Rear brakes are done. Front rotors are proving a challenge - can't get them off. Security bolt is removed. They're below tolerance, so I presume they've been on for a long time.
1) I'm using a 2 pound deadblow hammer. I can upgrade to the 10 lb sledge, but was hoping to avoid that.
2) I put a little propane heat into the rotor center (2mins), but didn't want to put too much heat in for fear of melting the wheel bearing grease?
Smash those rotors with a sledge if you have to !!! Spray some PB blaster on the hub and let it soak ....works wonders !
To take this a step farther and very effective is saturate every opening of the rotor to the hub with penetrating oil. As soon as you do take your 2lb and give it hard enough wacks to really vibrate the whole thing. That hammering and vibrating is what will really break it loose. Do that four to five times over a 24 hour period and then give it a serious talking with what ever hammer you can easy control and they will break loose. You just have to wait it out.
Thanks for the suggestions - they worked! I always lightly antiseize my hubs, if only other people did as well....
Not I have to look at how to spread the pads - got the caliper back on with old pads, and now need to get the old pads out. I was able to tap on the pad ears to lightly spread, but they didn't want to come out, so I have to look up whether the caliper center brace (between the pads) has to come out.
New pads and rotors are in all around! I was able to push the pads back, and they came out relatively easily. On the drivers side I did remove the center support between the pads, which is tapered - couldn't get new pads in without removing, but taper seated them correctly.
I also did the "old fashioned" brake bleed (battery disconnected) with a pressure bleeder at 8 PSI. I did get air at the driver rear (where I had the caliper piston pop out). I did the 4 in the right sequence, but it was generally slow to drain, and only generated 150mL. So we'll see when I drive the car.
I did some checking for my right front "thunk" - short test drive made a loud noise over potholes.
What I've already done :
- Sway bar link
- Control arm bushing at body
- New air strut
I didn't replace the control arm itself, because I couldn't get the ball joint at wheel hub out with the press tool.
1) So looking around, the ball joints (2 at hub) look ok, and I couldn't get unusual play when levering. My channel locks aren't big enough to span - usually I find that's a better way to test ball joints. Any other methods?
2) I wondered if it could be a bad wheel bearing (video below), but that doesn't usually clunk. That said, passenger wheel bearing did make some rotational noise when jacked up.
3) The other potential I could see was the sway bar bushing at the body, a little perished.
4) My best guess was the large thrust arm bushing at the body. It had some play, although didn't seem excessive to me. Visually it looks fine (no cracks), although I was surprised to see the detachable boot.
New pads and rotors are in all around! I was able to push the pads back, and they came out relatively easily. On the drivers side I did remove the center support between the pads, which is tapered - couldn't get new pads in without removing, but taper seated them correctly.
I also did the "old fashioned" brake bleed (battery disconnected) with a pressure bleeder at 8 PSI. I did get air at the driver rear (where I had the caliper piston pop out). I did the 4 in the right sequence, but it was generally slow to drain, and only generated 150mL. So we'll see when I drive the car.
Take your pressure up to 15-20 PSI and it will bleed put much faster.
I had fun cleaning this weekend. Leather cleaner, sticky plastic on window switch, vacuuming, etc. Driver's seat is better but still needs work.
Just got my trans and oil dipsticks, so next two jobs are trans electrical connector replacement and oil change!
I did take it out for a little run around the block last week - spun rear tires at 3k rpm. This is going to be a fun car....
I took another look at the axles. I was originally thinking that the inner CV boots were both cracked based on the spray pattern, but now I'm thinking it is a differential seal (on both sides). I couldn't find any cracks in the boots, which is good. On the other hand, I've been reading on this forum that the diff seals are a whole weekend job, and that the While You're In There threat is real. My ambition at this stage is just to bring the car back to stock operation.
09-27-2020, 07:02 PM
