How to remove the rear end?

[nsmall]

Burdar sent me this information a long time ago.  Any other advice?  I am a rookie and plan to remove the rear axle in three weeks as I prepare my car media blasting.

Removing the rear end is very easy.  Put your jack under the rear end and jack up the car.  Put your jack stands under the rear frame rails(just inboard of the front leaf spring mount)to support the body.  Remove the wheels and let the rear axle hang down but keep the jack under the rear end.  As a secondary safety measure, I like to put the wheels under the car.  If the body would happen to slip off the jack stands, the wheels are there as a secondary support.  This just gives me more piece of mind while working under a car on jack stands.  Disconnect the rear brake hose from the brake line/body bracket.  With the four shackle nuts removed you can start tapping out the shackle from the spring eye and frame.

If all the weight of the rear end is hanging on the springs, it can be hard to tap out the shackles.  Use the jack to lift up the rear end slightly so the springs are in a "neutral" position.  By "neutral" I mean that you don't want the rear end pushing down on the springs...AND you don't want the springs lifting up on the body.  You'll get a feel for where the rear end needs to be so you can get the shackles out.

Once the shackles are out, you can lower the rear end to the ground.  The last thing to do is to remove the 8 nuts that hold the front leaf spring brackets to the car.  With those removed, the entire assembly will roll out the back of the car.  Then you can attach your stands.

If you don't have the room to leave the rear end attached to the springs, you can work at separating those after it's out of the car.  Like I've said before, try leaving everything in large assemblies until you are ready to work on them.  You'll remember how it all goes together much easier if it's fresh in your mind.



Darren

[Cuda Cody]

Darren nailed it.  Really pretty easy to do.

[anlauto]

Keep in mind it will only fall so far......The ground will stop it

[nsmall]

Try not to laugh.  So when I remove the brake lines, have a bucket ready as I am assuming brake fluid is going to come out?  Is there a better place to drain the brake fluid?

As for the third member, I was planning on keeping it attached.  Do I have to disconnect the driveline or can I slide it out of the tranny as one unit...rear axle, third member, and drive line?

Also, should I drain the tranny fluid?  Not sure if it will be necessary.  On that note, will I have to drain the tranny fluid and engine oil as neither need to be rebuilt and I was planning on changing the fluids once I put the car back together, but I dont know if there would be a reason to keep the fluids in the tranny and engine to keep the seals and gaskets wet while they are sitting in my garage for 6 months'ish as I wait to put my car back together after paint.

Again, I am new to this so dont tease me too hard.  But if it is funny, I guess go ahead and tease me some. 

[nsmall]

Dang, 2 replies from 2 e-body studs in less than 7 minutes.   

[MOPAR FANATIC]

  whoa,first rodeo huh.o.k. first off.slow downthink before you dig into it.how soon before blasting media and what not?you taking it down to bare metal?the factory rustproofing is pretty much tar around the rear wheel wells,you taken that all off?if you need to roll it around after dropping the rear end,do you have a roller dolly set uo or a caster set up to move it?drop that rear end and your pretty imobile without one of these.if you plan on removing the rust proof i'll give ya some tips there.post some of your plans for it step by step so the members here can give you step by step advise,trust me been there done that..by the way WELCOME TO E=BODIES.ORG/,GREAT bunch of guys and gals here.post away,were here to help' 

[nsmall]

@MOPAR FANATIC

I was planning on putting a roller/caster set up underneath where the leaf spring attaches near the rear tires.

As for the undercoating in the wheel well area, I figured the media Blaster would eliminate that?  If I'm wrong can't I still remove it (tar/undercoating) with the rear end out?

Yes suggestions and tips are always welcome if you have any about the undercoating in the wheel well area.

I haven't removed any of the undercoating. There's little to no undercoating underneath the car just in the wheel well area.

As for a timeline I'm hoping to have the car stripped and taken to the media Blaster by the end of April.

I still need fluid help.  Thanks

[MOPAR FANATIC]

  SO,are you sending out to the blaster as a shell?i take it you are,right?drop the drive shaft,usally two bolts on each side of  the yoke,or have the u bolt type either way drop the shaft :,use a large screw driverto pry it out of the yoke.aos far as the brake lines go\
ya your gonna loose the fluid in the master cylinder and the lines,once you disconect from the wheel cylinder,just put a small bowl,ie ice cream/cool whip jar underneath,you may loose some out of the tranny tail shaft also,same scenario,put a pail when pulling out the shaft,as far as storing the eng/trans..leave the fluid in em,other wise the seals will dry up and crack causing leaks,hmmm not gonna rebuild these while out for Blasting paint. members if i'm of base or you can add anything,chime in.this is just off the top off my head.   :thinking:post away with more qt's.......

[jamesroney]

So there seems to be a little bit missing from your instruction set.  Does your car have an emergency brake, or any shocks?  If so, you will need to disconnect them.  I didn't see the removal in the instructions.  As far as the driveshaft, I recommend that you find an old transmission yoke to put back in the end of the transmission.  Otherwise, It will leak and drip for a long time. More importantly, a plug will keep dirt OUT.  Always remove the driveshaft from the rear end yoke side, and place a drain pan under the transmission.   remove the shaft as a unit, let the yoke drain, and put a zipper bag with a big rubber band (or zip tie) around it.  Check the condition of the u-joint, and then put another zipper bag on the other end.  If it does not have a strap to keep the caps on...take some black electrician's tape and put a couple of wraps around the caps.  Do NOT leave the driveshaft in the rain, or allow the seal surface to rust.  Put the u-joint straps and bolts back on the axle yoke, and tighten them. 

How much of a restoration do you have in mind?  If you are going "all out" then you might want to remove your brake drums and back plates, and axle shafts, and 3rd member and have your axle housing media blasted at the same time as the body.  If not, then just put an old lug nut back on the wheel studs to keep the drums from falling off.  I don't know what it is about brake drums, but when you are trying to remove them, they can be stubborn...but when you are moving the axle around the shop on the jack, they will just fall off.

I use a 3/16 inch black rubber vacuum caps to plug any exposed inverted flare brake lines.  if you are lucky, you will be able to remove your brake line from the flexible hose without any issue.  a few drops will spill before you can get the cap on the line.  If you are unlucky, you will round off the tube nut, or the tube nut will sieze on the tube and as you unscrew it...it will twist off.  If that happens, then just add it to your parts list, and cut it off with diagonal cutting pliers, or aviation snips.  Then put the rubber cap on. 

The master cylinder only holds about a cup of brake fluid, but DOT3 makes pretty good paint stripper...and you would be surprised how much of a puddle can be generated by a cup...especially if it drips out overnight.

It's an easy job...good luck.

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes, unhook the shocks from the axle spring plates, unhook e-brake cables and I disconnect the driveshaft at the rearend. I pull the driveshaft out of the trans and yes it will leak fluid so drain the trans first and have a bucket under the output shaft when you pull the driveshaft.

[MOPAR FANATIC]

  another thought,if your having trouble with the 40 plus year old bolts on the  shackles of the leafs prings or shock bolts,evemthe brake lines as stated above,if their rusty and crusty your best friend can be MAP GAS if you don't have a tourch,just remember the fuel lines and flamable stuff when you do this,also the rubber mounts will start fire if your not carefull,heat each bolt with care to be safe also if real tight use a breaker bar so you have WAY more tork on what ever your using to break em loose,i like to use a 3-4 foot piece of hollow pipe to put over my 1/2'' or 3/8 '' drive socket.unless you have phuematics wich should break em free with a little rust penatrent sitting on rverything for awhile.

[nsmall]

Okay thanks.   Well I do have some good news.

The engine, tranny,  brake lines, third member, leaf springs, shackles....All new or rebuilt. Should come apart easy.

I like the idea of having the entire rear end blasted but, taking it apart kinda intimidates me but I can deal with that later.


In three weeks I wanna rip out that rear end so thanks for your help.

I think I should drain the tranny fluid. Pull out the drive shaft. I don't have a extra drive shaft but I will make sure to seal that area of the tranny well.

Within another month the tranny, engine, K frame will all be dropped out of the car.  Once the Transmissions back in my garage I'll put fluid back in it or should I do it right after I pull the driveshaft?  I don't want to be fighting leaks as I store and transport the car as I tear it apart. 

Once I put the car back together I don't need any extra leaks as that Transmissions been a bit of a pain for me so if keeping fluid in the transmission while in storage reduces my risk of cracked seals, I'm interested.

I do have shocks but the e-brake is disconnected right now.

I'm trying to tear as much of the car apart as I can to save myself money and to have a little pride and I trust myself more than others. I will have to farm some of this out as I have more money than I do time and experience.

It's just kind of ridiculous that I pick an Ebody for my first major restoration.  But I'm "all in" at this point.

Neil

[nsmall]

@MOPAR FANATIC

Do I need to scrap my undercoating off in the wheel well area?

Maybe this is something I will show the media blaster.

Thanks

[Cuda Cody]

Normally it has to be removed by hand before blasting.     It's to soft for the media to remove. 

@MOPAR FANATIC

Do I need to scrap my undercoating off in the wheel well area?

Maybe this is something I will show the media blaster.

Thanks

[turbostang7]

if you leave fluid in the transmission without something to plug the output it will leak. Fluid in it won't hurt anything really, just need a way to plug that off.
I have used rubber gloves tightly put on there and then tied with a zip tie. works well.