Author Topic: Restoration Difficulty Level (Read 947231 times)

andyburns · « **Reply #825 on:** May 18, 2014, 06:32:45 »

Cheers James, I am definitely going with paint. The paint system I am using is also much better than the factory so I am sure it will protect it for the next 40 odd years. You are right about the preparation as well. Powder coating, like any covering is effected by inferior prep. I had some powder coating back a couple of years ago where they hadn't blasted properly and the coating just flaked off in my hands. At least when you do it yourself you are a master of you own destiny and spend as much, or as little time on the job as you want.

I have started stripping down the rest of the diff tonight. I want to drop the main swing arm pin that holds the stuffed bush and also the right hand axel tube. I have been looking at the breakdown and on this side of the car it appears there is a circlip on the diff end of the shaft. I am after some guidance on the best was to pull this main pin out.

At this point I am thinking.

1) Drain the oil (stupid but I havn't done it while in the car)
2) Drop the clamps holding the flexible boot
3) Release and carefully knock out the tapered locking pin in the diff housing that prevents the pin from being withdrawn
4) Undo the main retaining nut on the front end of the diff
5) Use a drift to try and knock the pin out. Try not to damage the end of the pin.
6) Once the pin is out I should be able to slide the half shaft axel from the sliding taper and pull away the entire axel and axel tube. Is there a retaining circlip on the very end of the half shaft that will prevent me from doing this?

I would really appreciate if someone can review this and let me know if I have anything messed up.

If I am correct it might be easier to then work on the half shaft on the bench.

I am wondering if it down to the level of decomposition if I should then keep on going and strip the half shaft right down and check all the bearings and replace the seals. Do I reseal the main left hand diff casing in case its leaking??? Where the hell do you stop?

Joe, Dr Benz, anyone?

rutger kohler · « **Reply #826 on:** May 18, 2014, 07:49:26 »

Hi Andy, I have found a photo (attached) of how I got the circlips on the rubbers for the rear of the trailing arms. The photo is sideways sorry, but you can see I used a piece of steel plate with a circle cut out larger than the circlips. The steel plate has a piece of the circle broken away so the the circlip can be inserted. Another steel bar is placed on top of the plate and then pressed down. This depresses the washer far enough to expose the circlip groove and the circlip is then pushed in with a pice of steel (not fingers. The pressure is then slowly let off the press. You are welcome to use my setup if you want.

cheers

Rodger.

andyburns · « **Reply #827 on:** May 18, 2014, 08:23:28 »

Cheers Rodger, I would appreciate some help getting these back together when everything comes back from the platers and I have finished up with the painting. Easy when you have the gear!

jameshoward · « **Reply #828 on:** May 18, 2014, 13:13:06 »

There's a very easy way to do this using a vice and two bolts if you don't have a press. (looks easier than the press, I have to say). There is a picture in a link in this thread I posted at the start of the rear axle discussion.

andyburns · « **Reply #829 on:** May 18, 2014, 19:00:51 »

Thanks James, I love it. Your a man after my own heart. I only plan to do these jobs once (that providing I don't stuff anything up) and as such if possible I don't want to create one off tools if there is a 95% solution out there that only takes 5% of the time to create and set up.

I did read your thread regarding the use of a broom stick rather than a machined mandrel for removing and inserting the main swivel pin. I wish you had taken some photos of that one.

I have been busy reading all the threads related to the removal and installation of the pin and to be honest I am a little worried that I am not going to cock something up. We will see. Will detail whatever happens for your enjoyment....

GGR · « **Reply #830 on:** May 18, 2014, 19:38:51 »

You should change all the rubbers shown in previous pictures by new ones: they are not that expensive, they will be a big part of your car's ride quality and they will be a lot of work again if you need to replace them at a later stage. If you need to save some money, do it on what does not require dropping the rear axle, like wheel bearings, wheel seals etc.

andyburns · « **Reply #831 on:** May 19, 2014, 05:32:00 »

Back in the blaster. What an unpleasant job! Just happy I went to the additional effort of getting all the steel as clean as possible beforehand. All up I was on my feet for 3 hours. At the same time I also did all the nuts and bolts. Dropped these off a the platers and on the way home stopped for yet more supplies. Two more liters of cavity wax for the rear rails and the cavity between the back of the boot and the rear sheet metal. Four more liters of grease and wax remover. Another Q bond repair kit for the broken air vent which broke a couple of days ago. Four liters of stain 2k and matching hardener. 1 liter of POR15 metal ready and more mixing cups. I have an contra agreement with the paint guy and got quite a bit of this free for spending an hour or so fixing up his computer. All along I was itching to get home and get on with the paint.

Prepped all the bare steel with POR15 metal ready, masked up and blew three coats of the epoxy etch. Big day.. very tired.

Was going to get into the breakdown of the main diff swivel arm pin but just ran out of time.

Will give the paint two days to cure and hit it with the satin. Feel good to start breaking the back of the 'diff parts pile'. Still alot to do.

andyburns · « **Reply #832 on:** May 19, 2014, 05:32:53 »

More photos

andyburns · « **Reply #833 on:** May 20, 2014, 07:17:26 »

The Chosen One

My good mate Rodger came over today just for a look at diff with view to tackle the potentially difficult task of stripping the pivot pin. One thing led to another and we couldn't resist 'starting' the job just to get a feel for if the pin would move or not. ]

The tapered locking pin literally came out with no more than four or five light taps with a hammer. No damage to pin or thread.

Loosened all the clamps holding the main rubber bush.

Screwed the main end bolt in as far as we could leaving about 2-3mm of thread free. Thinking here was to give us as much surface area to prevent the internal thread from being damaged.

Gave the bolt a moderate thunk and watched as the pin moved through the bush and diff casing. Almost couldn't believe after all the horror stories I have been reading about that the pin moved so easily.

Given it was on the move we simply used a 8 inch bar as a drift to push the pin through. Once it cleared the rubber bush it was loose enough to retract by hand.

tel76 · « **Reply #834 on:** May 20, 2014, 07:36:03 »

Andy,
Check the internal sliding sleeve ( the half shaft slides into it ) in the u/j they do crack.
The bolt that holds the u/j in has a habit of coming loose, now is a good time to check, if you opt to remove it and refit the bolt with Loctite go easy with the amount you use.
Eric.

andyburns · « **Reply #835 on:** May 20, 2014, 07:38:28 »

The Chosen One 2

After we pulled out the pin everything pretty much well just fell away. I released the two clamps on the rubber boot and the entire half shaft came away quite easily. I needed a light tap to release the half shaft off the spine. Once the half shaft was pulled out the support arm was able to be removed. Once off the diff I knocked out the very tired looking rubber bush which was causing all the slop in my previous video. Definitely needed replacing.

With the main swing arm off the diff we retreated from the driveway to the garage benchtop to further investigate the bronze bushes for wear. After giving everything a rag off we fitted the swing arm pin with the spacers and reinserted it into its natural location in the swing arm in order to get an idea of how much wear and slop is present.

To our delight there was no perceivable movement for end to end of the pin. Everything seemed quite snug indeed. I was feeling very smug at this point.

Rodger cast his trained eye over all the mating surfaces and confirmed that the pin, bronze bushes and spacer tubes were all in very good condition. I might consider replacing the spacer tubes if they are cheap enough.

I have sourced all new rubber here in Auckland and will pick this up over the next couple of days so I can proceed with the rebuild.

I have to now figure out how to test the wheel bearings. Suppose I just strip the axel to do this.

Going to bed tonight with a smile on my face feeling very very lucky. Think I have dodged a bullet.

andyburns · « **Reply #836 on:** May 20, 2014, 07:40:57 »

Cheers Eric, when I get more time I will pull the boot off completely and check this out as well.

andyburns · « **Reply #837 on:** May 23, 2014, 06:13:37 »

Worked more on my diff components in the past couple of days. Finished off the first batch of painting and also picked up the springs from the bead blaster.

Also went to work on the remaining diff carcass and pulled apart the entire swing arm ready for stripping and painting.

Will do the same to the other side on the weekend and get stuck into stripping the main diff assembly. Will have to rely on paint stripper and manual means to prep it for paint as I cant fit it in the bead blaster.

mbzse · « **Reply #838 on:** May 23, 2014, 07:12:54 »

Andy,
You ask about removing the wheel bearing from the drive shaft. I use the device you see in the picture, but the two upright bolts (w hex head) are replaced with two M10 threaded rods in length needed (some 700mm). To conveniently remove (and later re-mount) the ring nut one can use a special spanner with a hook, shown in the other picture.
/Hans in Sweden
.

andyburns · « **Reply #839 on:** May 23, 2014, 08:46:40 »

Hi Hans, thanks for those pics. The puller looks fantastic and I wish I had one. Certainly would make it easy. I am wondering if I just used the backing plate, which is fairly sturdy, to hammer off the bearing. Think if I held the plate and wacked the end of the shaft on a wooden block that the force might just discharge the bearing. Has anyone else tried this. The last thing I want to do is cause any damage!

jameshoward · « **Reply #840 on:** May 23, 2014, 09:38:32 »

Andy,

I think I posted the link to the rear wheel bearing tour. If you want to minimise on the purchase of new tools and for speed, I'd strongly recommend following Joe A's very (very) simple process of removing the bearing, which requires the use of a decent block of wood.

I've done this about a dozen times on different 113s and it has always worked. Some take a few more bashes on the wood than others, but they always come off in the end.

You can speed up the process through liberal application a day before of something like plus gas.

James

Tomnistuff · « **Reply #841 on:** May 23, 2014, 15:58:49 »

Hi Andy,

I did the same job and I wanted to save the bearing if salvageable, so I made the tool in the photos. Notice that the horizontal lower strips are notched to clear the outer race. Otherwise, the force would have gone through the balls and maybe damaged the balls or races.

The bearing can be tested by lightly clamping the bearing in a vise with the shaft installed and spinning the shaft. The vise tightens the bearing on the shaft and makes any internal flaws audible when the shaft is spun.

Mine was still good and when cleaned with solvent and repacked was like new.

Good luck.

Tom Kizer

andyburns · « **Reply #842 on:** May 23, 2014, 21:14:06 »

Hi James and Tom, thank you both so much for your suggestions. I am going out this morning to work on it again. Tom your puller looks magnificent. I am sure you made it yourself as well. A true engineer! I don't think I am even capable of making something from scratch to this standard. Would probably take me days! How long did it take you to create.

I find it fascinating in here how many different opinions and techniques there are on the same topics. I have just spent all night reading up in here on the multitudes of opinions on ride height. My car has far to much negative camber.

Being an engineer of sorts (software) I understand the desire to do things the right way and from a technical perspective. At the same time my impatient side just wants to get on with the job and do it as quickly as possible. I have been caught out by these impulses on a number of occasions with this car and have destroyed parts etc. But when the shortcuts come off their is just something so satisfying about the time and cost savings.

I am thinking I will give JA's wood technique a wirl without putting too much force. If it work all good but if I get to the point where I am uncomfortable with the force involved damaging the bearing I will pull the pin and revert to Toms technique.

Tom if I fail miserably and destroy my expensive bearing I will be the first one to be laughing at myself for ignoring your advice. Feel free to rub it in if it all goes terribly wrong

jameshoward · « **Reply #843 on:** May 23, 2014, 22:19:17 »

Joe's technique will work, but you need to commit to it!

Spray it up 24h beforehand. Good luck.

andyburns · « **Reply #844 on:** May 24, 2014, 00:21:21 »

Guys, one a piece. The swing arm side was a piece of cake. No problems with the large retaining nut that hold the bearing in place. Joes technique then took about 15 blows and the bearing came clear.

The other side however was a different kettle of fish all together. The retaining nut was incredibly tight. I had to pretty much well destroy it to get it off. I have my suspicions the previous owner had attempted the bearing and seal replacement before as the car came with all new axle seals and suspiciously only one new retaining nut and lock plate. mmmmmmmm

Anyway after using a combination of heat and brute force the nut came free. But as suspected the excessive force used to do this nut up also meant the the bearing was also ridiculously tight. I am wondering if the axle shaft has a slight taper on it to wedge the bearing?

I must have employed Joe's technique 50 times before I gave up. I will soak it overnight but still think its simply too tight and I will eating humble pie and reverting to Tom's technique or just take it down the road to someone with a proper press.

In any event progress has been made. I have started paint stripping all the remaining parts.

One other point I would like to raise in here is the metal to metal seal between the fixed axel tube and the diff itself. I have not seen much written about it in here and yet I know of two guys in New Zealand who have had to reseal it after being diagnosed as the source of driveway puddles.

In my mind I am only 8 bolts away from having this off as well so may as well go the extra distance and reseal it with the best paperless sealant I can lay my hands on. Probably 3bond or Wurth??

Additionally it would also mean I could take the tube into the bead. Cant wait to turn the corner on this one and start to put back together all the painted and fresh components. I would rate the rear diff as one of the most challenging jobs that I have tackled thus far. You guys and 113.org have however helped me immensely. Thanks

andyburns · « **Reply #845 on:** May 24, 2014, 07:25:18 »

Sneaked out this evening to do a bit more work on the diff. Decided to break the diff right down and take the final axle tube off for painting and resealing. Now glad I did.

All parts other than the remaining backing plate are now ready for the blaster. Will see if I can sneak out.

GGR · « **Reply #846 on:** May 24, 2014, 23:22:29 »

You should take the U-joint out so as to be able to get the diff carrier out. Then you want to check if the pins retaining the smaller diff pinions has some play in the carrier. You my also want to take the sliding sleeve out of the U-joint to check if it is not cracked.

andyburns · « **Reply #847 on:** May 25, 2014, 06:29:30 »

Got to work on the diff casing this morning. Used a steel brush on the angle grinder to bring everything back to fresh steel. Prepped up with metal ready. Interesting exposing the factory markings. Thin this diff is the one this car came out of the family with.

andyburns · « **Reply #848 on:** May 25, 2014, 06:45:50 »

Took the rest of the bits and pieces into the bead blaster. Showed up a few issues with the tubes. A few cracks that needed welding. The mig made quick work of it and after some good prep blew the base coat. Will leave it all to cure for a couple of days before finishing off with a lashing of satin black. Should look good! Just need to sort out all the mechanical s now.

DaveB · « **Reply #849 on:** May 25, 2014, 15:08:13 »

Thanks for posting that radio clip.

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Author Topic: Restoration Difficulty Level (Read 947231 times)