New guy 79 factory 4 speed wagon.

[t5montecarlo]

It has been a few weeks since you wrote about indicating the bellhousing. There are some good youtube videos demonstrating the technique. Did you get around to indicating your bellhousing? I do agree it is a good idea in order to protect the warranty on your TKX.

I wouldn't have thought you needed to replace the crush sleeve to replace a yoke; the sleeve had already been crushed to set the bearing preload. I would have thought you just needed to torque and loctite the nut.

 

[Mighty]

Rearend is together. Indicated the bellhousing. It was .015 out of round. +/-.005 is maximum acceptable range. I had to drill and tap the original dowel pins in the block and make my own puller tool with a piece of all thread, a nut, some washers, and a socket to get them out. I bought some .007 offset dowel pins and pounded them in………upside down. I’ve taken that bellhousing off and on so many times now lol. I managed to get the new dowels rotated 180 degrees and put the dial indicator on the flywheel. The max reading I saw was .003 so if falls in the safe range now. I was ready to start rocking and rolling putting it back together and saw that my clutch fork was pretty worn out. So I ordered one. 8 days ago……..still isn’t here. That’s all I’m waiting on now. I also got a new boot for the bellhousing that the fork rests in. I received the shifter that 78maliburacer built a few weeks ago and have it installed on the super t10. Once my new fork gets here, hopefully tomorrow, I’ll make sure the throw out bearing lines up nice and neat and hopefully have the entire driveline in it and push the frame up in place under the body to lower it down. Sucks only working on the car for 3 hours a day 3-4 times a week. I need to devote an entire Saturday to it but the weekends are for fishing!! It’s looking like I probably won’t get to put any meaningful miles on it this year but oh well. Ive been having fun along the way and learned quite a bit. I actually was up at the shop yesterday but I was laying in the parking lot replacing a rusted brake line on my truck, and again, I don’t have the parts I need for the wagon.

 

[t5montecarlo]

That is still a lot of progress.

I retired 6 years ago and everything moves slower now. I only get into the garage in the afternoons and then only for about 3.5-4 hours. I am slowly making progress on my projects. I just don't feel like making it an 8-hour day and then get burned out.

 

[Mighty]

Shiny new clutch fork showed up yesterday. Got to the shop today, stuck in it the bellhousing, put the throw out bearing in and looked it all over to make sure everything was going to line up. I’m amazed but this time with those offset dowel pins installed, the transmission slid right in place without any hang ups. Everything is tightened up and the new driveshaft that I measured fit pretty darn good. I wanted to push the chassis forward and get ready to lower the body down but my brother wanted to adjust the shifter now while he has easy access to it. He’s going to have to walk me through that. I’ve already messaged 78maliburacer and he gave me some tips on it. Oh yea, I have to find out where I set the 2 screws for the little transmission mount that sits on the crossmember too before I completely forget about them being in a hurry.

 

[t5montecarlo]

It is a good feeling when everything goes well.

Please revisit your rear brake lines. They should not be placed in front of the axle tubes as they will be vulnerable to debris damage. They should be placed behind the axle tubes. After repositioning the lines, make sure the angle of the rubber line at the brass block at the rear is not as severe as it is now.

Are you going to paint the transmission crossmember?

If the boot is split on your intermediate steering shaft, it would be convenient to fix it now. A few months ago, I made a video on replacing that boot with one from a Jeep.

If you decide to install a shaft from a 1984-1996 Jeep Cherokee or 1987-1995 Jeep Wrangler, be aware that the double D end of the Jeep shaft is slightly smaller in diameter than the GM shaft. You also need to grind a groove in one of the round surfaces to accommodate the pinch bolt.

 

[Mighty]

The brake line going to the rear brakes was replaced. They’re all just hanging at the moment and not screwed into place. I’m still waiting on new clips to hold them on the frame. I’ll look into the boot on the intermediate shaft. I thought about painting the transmission crossmember but I was too caught up in the frame to stop and give it a good cleaning. I’ll look into it and see if I can do anything with it all bolted up. It’s funny you mention that because last night my brother kept saying “you might as well buy an aftermarket crossmember instead of using that janky old thing”. The factory welds on it are laughable and the notch someone cut into it for the dual exhaust made him question it.

 

[silver79]

The brake line going to the rear brakes was replaced. They’re all just hanging at the moment and not screwed into place. I’m still waiting on new clips to hold them on the frame. I’ll look into the boot on the intermediate shaft. I thought about painting the transmission crossmember but I was too caught up in the frame to stop and give it a good cleaning. I’ll look into it and see if I can do anything with it all bolted up. It’s funny you mention that because last night my brother kept saying “you might as well buy an aftermarket crossmember instead of using that janky old thing”. The factory welds on it are laughable and the notch someone cut into it for the dual exhaust made him question it.

Just read through your thread. Been a long while since I visited. Glad you are keeping the project going and the site active. I've been a member since the late 90's and and happy there are still guys doing this! Buy a new crossmember and move those brake lines.

 

[Mighty]

Lol like I said, the brake lines are just hanging currently from when it had the rearend out to paint the frame replace the brake line that comes from the front of the car. They’re just dangling there. the fittings are screwed into the junction by hand so they didn’t sit there and drip brake fluid all over where I’m working. I’m going to see if I have any left over paint and maybe hit the crossmember before I lower the body. That crossmember has been my seat for the last couple weeks

 

[Mighty]

Had to take the transmission back out of the car. Got pissed and left early last night. We were going over the shifter making sure the levers were adjusted just right and my transmission wouldn’t shift into first gear. Took it out and put it back on the bench and took the side cover off. One of the brand new synchronizers was stuck on the cone of the gear. After doing some reading it sounds like I happens some what regularly on brand new units. Now I have to find/replace the side cover gasket….

 

[t5montecarlo]

Something I remember a friend did on his motorcycle side cover gaskets was to spray them with silcone spray, which made them reusable when the cover came off. I haven't tried it on a transmission side cover gasket, but wonder if that treatment would survive removing the side cover. Of course, if you used RTV in addition to the gasket, that won't work with a silicone-sprayed gasket.