Lots of pictures today, so that means not much substance right? First thing I did today was make a trip to Home Depot to find a piece of material that I could use for the special JD14 tool that I would need to hold all the pieces of the outer fulcrum shaft in proper position during the installation process. I was able to find a 5/8 inch steel rod that fit the bill almost perfectly, if it had been the right length then it would have been perfect. As a side note, I've had to make or acquire several special tool for this job, I guess that's part of the fun? Right!
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| Making the JD14 tool |
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| Simple but precisely engineered ;-) |
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| Getting ready to load the JD14 with the spacers and shims that would drop out of position |
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| Driving the bolt in that in turn pushes the tool out leaving all in the correct position |
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| One thing that puzzled me was having to install the radius arm AND tighten it prior to installing the hub carrier. There is no way to get to the radius arm bolt head once the carrier is in position so I tried to have the control arm in a 'neutral' position so as to avoid undue strain on the radius arm bushing. |
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| The right side completed now moving on to the left side |
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| Poor picture, but shows threading the inner fulcrum arm through and fastening the lower control arm in place |
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| Almost there, need to put the bottom plate on |
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| Completed unit, now trying to figure out how to man handle this 350 pound unit onto the jack |
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| Decided to try putting the wheels and tires on it so I could roll it over |
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| Bingo, now just need to turn the jack around-Doh! |
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There we go, ready to feed onto the car, needs a few things to finish the job but by this time next week RJ should be back on his wheels- Michelle, might be time to start thinking about tires and tubes!
That's it for this week, stay tuned for future exciting developments.
Cheers.
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Beautiful job! Drew, you should REALLY consider using this shop!
ReplyDeleteI made my dummy shaft out of wooden dowel, also worked.
You can (and need to) tighten the radius arm rear bushing when the car is on its weight. It is tough but doable, and if the radius arm is not just right (i.e., having been driven around and then sitting on the flat). I don't remember what about the bolt head, but maybe it holds itself under tension. Last time I neglected to do that, the bushing self-destructed after about 6 months!
Hi Jerry,
DeleteAppreciate the comments, your thoughts mirror mine. Sounds like I'll have to figure out how to hold the head of the bolt, as you know it's recessed and behind the hub carrier. I think I might have wedged a screw driver into the opening to lock the head when I did Emmy's
I was actually shopping for a wooden dowel but happened to find this and thought it would be perfect and last a lifetime (or 3)... Cheers
Actually I like your dummy shaft better!
DeleteJerry, Yes, I am very impressed by this man's work. I'm not trusting my car's IRS to just anyone and this blog has convinced me the shop does top notch work. How do I get a reservation?
ReplyDelete