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Post by AZBlues on Mar 26, 2023 0:42:09 GMT -5
This morning, I separated the right upper balljoint. A puller didn't work, but the old standby of smacking the side pads at the taper stud did the job well. I then dressed the errant hammer marks on the spindle with a flap wheel. Flush with confidence, I moved to the left side, wailed on it with a nine pound sledge on and off for what seemed like forever, removed the rotor, dust shield, and caliper bracket and wailed on it some more on both front and rear pads, resorted to the pickle fork, (didn't work) went to Harbor Freight and bought a pickle fork for the air hammer, tried that, and as of now, it still hasn't budged. The most stubborn balljoint I've ever encountered. Tomorrow I'll try a leverage style puller from NAPA and see if that does the trick. A real roller coaster of a day.
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Post by AZBlues on Mar 30, 2023 10:48:12 GMT -5
That was fun.
Tried the puller, didn't fit that side. Pickle fork, nothing. Air hammer pickle fork, nothing. Air hammer and regular pickle forks, facing each other so they would slide and pull up even - still nothing. The puller fit the right side, but the left spindle has a smaller top surface so the span of the hooks was too wide making the tool slip down one side. Tried the scissors style puller - doesn't open wide enough and slips out. Pic of various escalations: So I slotted a washer to place on the spindle giving the puller something to bite on. Let it sit under tension for three days to fatigue the bond, tightening it about 1/4 turn per day. Tried smacking the spindle with the hand sledge a few times while under tension, still nothing. So, onto the next escalation: I bought this oxy-acetylene setup years ago, never used it. It had been sitting for years and needed a new hose and new tanks as the old ones were out of date. This thing is coming loose one way or another. So right after reconditioning the torch, I tried smacking the spindle with a long hickory-handled large ball peen hammer and... Victory was mine!!! So, as with stubborn auto parts, recalcitrant children, and rogue nations, the threat of force is often all it takes.
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Post by AZBlues on Apr 4, 2023 17:51:05 GMT -5
Removing the old bushings was pretty straightforward. You use the cross shaft to press the bushings out of the A arm, but you need to make a tool to do that with. That tool is a thick, hardened slotted washer. Not a regular washer, those will turn into a cone before the bushing breaks loose. I drilled the center out to the same diameter as the shaft and slotted it to fit snugly against the shoulder. Use penetrating oil to help it slide out, then lean on the press a bit to drive it out. I couldn't use the press to install the new bushings because it was bending the arm before the bushing was seating, so I used a large socket that fit over the rubber and contacted the flange, then tapped them in with a hammer and the corner of an anvil. Drive one bushing in, place the shaft in that bushing, then drive the other in. Don't forget the shaft, or you'll have a bad day. I cleaned the arms up before installing the new parts. I couldn't find any evidence of paint on them, so I hit them with cast iron gray and then fogged on a little bit of dark steel over that to come close to the natural steel color. Correct? Not exactly. But looks nice. The two upper ball joints were mint, so I wanted to save them. But the rubber boots were chowdered, and no one makes a replacement boot any where near large enough for these truck-sized ball joints, so what to use? Well, I have an idea...
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Post by AZBlues on Apr 9, 2023 19:05:24 GMT -5
And that idea? A new set of smaller A/B/E body torsion bar boots. They are exactly the right size and shape to double as upper ball joint boots. Maybe lower too. The holes are even the right size for the taper studs.
Larger C body boots are at top, trim the flange from the new boots to use as ball joint boots.
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Post by AZBlues on Apr 18, 2023 19:57:24 GMT -5
Brakes are back on. Turned rotors, cleaned and repacked bearings, new grease seals, reman calipers, new Wagner pads and hoses - hoses were an ebay purchase because the stores all carry off-shore junk. Had to tap the usual dents out of the dust caps, I swear nobody know how to install those without nuking them.
A word on O'Reilleys - they wanted $79 for the Wagner brake pads, which is silly. Carquest/Advance had the same exact pads for $37, a far less extortionate sum. Shop around, some of these "discount" parts houses are anything but.
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Post by AZBlues on Apr 20, 2023 21:25:44 GMT -5
New rear rubber line in, removed the junction block, took it apart, cleaned/flushed it, and cleaned the steel lines from master cylinder to block. Ready to go back in to complete the brake system.
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Post by AZBlues on Apr 27, 2023 20:29:17 GMT -5
Combination valve and lines back in, brake system complete. Sway bar bushings - Fox Mustang application with 1" bar. Tough stuff, they laughed off the exacto knife, but they did hack saw and grind down easily. I reduced them in size all around to fit the original brackets, as I don't like the looks of the cheap and flimsy aftermarket gold brackets. Installed: That left the end links. The new generation Moog are pretty much all that's out there. I like the design, but they come with goofy looking white bushings. If only there was a way to die them black for a more factory look... Better. Sway bar and torsion bars are both '75 Chrysler Town and Country 440 wagon, and both now making a new home here. Installed four new KYB shocks, new bump stops. Parts stack is dwindling.
With that, the chassis is pretty much buttoned up, and ready for the drivetrain.
When I pulled the old front shocks, I saw that they also turned out to be KYBs, and they are still good. A previous owner apparently wanted the best. I don't need them, but if someone here does, you can have them for the price of shipping.
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Post by AZBlues on May 27, 2023 18:30:21 GMT -5
In getting set to bolt the 727 to the 440, I find that one of the flexplate to flywheel bolts has turned up missing. It's a 7/16-20 x 1/2" thread with a 3/4" hex. Specific little bugger. Naturally, everyone's closed on Monday. That's fine, so much for dropping the drivetrain in tomorrow.
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Post by flcl64 on May 28, 2023 1:37:04 GMT -5
Looks like you got the same weird raised valve covers I got. Cam?
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Post by AZBlues on May 28, 2023 13:25:50 GMT -5
It does have the weird raised valve covers. They may or may not stay on it. I did find a set of the flexplate bolts last night at a Mopar guy's house, his shop was packed with Mopar muscle goodness like a '71 Challenger 340 convertible, a 70 Challenger R/T 383, and a black '68 Charger R/T 440. Naturally, a guy like that has a container full of those bolts, so rather than taking one, I bought a set from him just because you can never have too many bolts. The cam is an Engine Pro MC1787, a torquer grind with .420/.443 lift.
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Post by flcl64 on May 28, 2023 14:13:54 GMT -5
Check your clearances before you fire up! I got one of my truck's valve covers on mine, then when I went to put the other side on, the rocker arms were hitting the top. Not even on the baffle!
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Post by AZBlues on May 28, 2023 18:41:04 GMT -5
Stock rockers?
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Post by flcl64 on May 29, 2023 14:34:21 GMT -5
They look like it
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Post by AZBlues on May 31, 2023 21:40:16 GMT -5
What a day. The goal was to mate the engine and the trans, then put it in the car tomorrow. Problem one: My engine crane hook wasn't big enough for the new load leveler, so had to go to Ace to get a bigger one. Problem two: My power ram gave out, so off to Harbor Freight to get a new one. Round bottom version not in stock, off to the other Harbor Freight to get a new one. More expensive than last time, and feels cheaper. But it works. Problem three - the torque convertor won't pull forward to flush up to the flex plate, so split the two apart to see what's wrong. Dressed the crank and the convertor snout with a rotary wire brush, all is fine, going back together. Problem four - Everything is all buttoned up and torqued down, and then... the LAST flex plate to torque convertor bolt stripped - not the bolt, the boss on the TC. Wonderful. All apart now, engine back on stand. I'm tired.
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Post by AZBlues on Jun 3, 2023 18:24:31 GMT -5
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