It's been sunny and beautiful most of the week here in Anchorage. Where's the Vert? Up on jackstands in the garage.
I started LAST Friday on the ring and pinion swap (installing 3.73s). Figured if the one dude could do it in 4 hours, I ought to be able to knock it out in a weekend.
First problem: While pulling the rear brakes, I notice that the PS pad has welded to the rotor. Crap! Order new pads and rotors. No problem, they'll be here by Tuesday.
Pull the old carrier, do the teardown, (Oh, yeah, spent half of Friday running around buying a good digital caliper, inch-pound torque wrench, and dial indicator with magnetic base--this gear swap just got more expensive than I thought. No worries, those are tools I'll use a lot...). Teardown's going pretty good. Go to the auto craft shop to press off the old bearings, on with the new.
Out-thought myself with the pinion spacer measurement, so Sunday I have to go back and pull the bearing back off, to change the spacer. Destroy the bearing in the process. Run to NAPA before they close to buy a new bearing. Install new spacer and press bearing back on.
Spent more than 4 hours just trying to get the pinion bearing preload set. What a PITA!!!! OK, now it should get easy...Everyone says these FRPP gears use the same shims, they're manufactured so tight. Apparently mine are "Ferd" Racing gears, made in China. We're WAAAAAAYYYYY off. Install the carrier, and can't even rotate the stupid thing, it's so tight with the same shims. Pull everything apart to reduce shim sizes. Only, the big honking shims that were in there were one piece per side. Kit I have has a whole bunch of little bitty ones. Nothing even close to what I took out.
Shim--dial indicator--not enough backlash...pull it back out.
Shim--dial indicator--too much backlash...pull it back out.
Shim--dial indicator--crap, it's midnight, and I gotta go to work tomorrow.
Monday night after work--pick up where I left off, still trying to adjust from what was in there from the factory. Spend three hours on the creeper. Nothing but frustration and really sore neck and shoulders to show for it.
Tuesday and Wednesday night--life gets in the way of working on the car at all. Sunny and in the 50s both evenings on the drive home from work--convertibles are out everywhere.
Thursday night--momma left town for a trip Outside. I've got all night to work on the car. Gonna get this thing done and drive it to work tomorrow...
Get the Ford shop instructions on how to set up a new carrier, starting from scratch. Carrier is in in about an hour and a half. WHY didn't I try that SUNDAY???
Who cares, it's finally going together. Check gear pattern. Hey, looks good to me! Install new axle bearings (the original problem that gave me the "while I'm at it" excuse to install new gears), axles in, everything bolted together, diff cover on...Hey! I'm gonna make it! It'll be after midnight, but so what, all that's left is to throw the rear brakes on, mount the tires, quick test drive, and in bed for a short nap before I drive the vert to work Friday morning!
OK, brakes...read something about not compressing the pistons. How's that work??? Read the manual--figures--you need a special tool, according to Ford. So what, FORD says you need a special tool for everything. What do they know? Check StangNet, there's gotta be a workaround...Do a search (yes, I did!!!). Crap, no workaround.
While I'm pondering this, I'll start putting some other things together. Then brilliance hits!!! I'll make the tool! I've got a welder, plenty of steel, should be a piece of cake! Only take me...an hour or so. That'll be after 3 am. Gotta get up at 5. Reality strikes--no vert for the Friday drive. Gotta get at least 3 hours sleep.
Pick up the tool on the way home Friday evening. No one here to distract me. Baloney sandwich for dinner, bottle of water, and I'm at work on the car.
Start on the PS. Stupid box tool doesn't have any pins that line up on the piston reliefs. WTH??? Screw it, go to Schucks, they'll have a different tool. Nope, they're out. Go back home. Fabricate tool. Go back to PS. Can't move the piston to save my life!!! Hose it down with brake parts cleaner, and it finally starts moving. YES! This won't take long now. Turn, turn, turn...how come the piston's not compressing any???? Turn, turn, turn... ????
OK, let's try the DS. Won't move. Brake parts cleaner.... nothing. Go back in the house, do search on :SNSign:--"rear brakes".
Read 400 posts where someone says "how come I can't get my rear pistons to compress in with the C clamp?" Followed by the standard response--DON'T USE A C CLAMP! YOU'VE GOT TO SCREW IT IN--DO A SEARCH! Wait, there on PAGE SEVEN of the search responses--something new! Line up the reliefs with the pins on the pad? OK, that ought to be a sticky, but I found it! Now it's finally going to start moving.
Back to PS...turn, turn, turn...this thing is not moving in at ALL. Try the DS. Turn, turn, turn...crap, that was quick! Bam, bam, bam...DS is done!
Now, we're finally cooking! PS--turn, turn...you get the idea. OK, pull the caliper, disassemble, tear the dust boot, and look at that, it's 11 pm! I spent five freakin' hours putting on ONE pair of brake pads?!?!?
And I've got to wait until morning to go try to chase down a dust boot before I can do anything else??? And I still don't know that I'm not going to have to tear it all down because the gears are all jacked up somehow!
Watch it rain all next week.
I started LAST Friday on the ring and pinion swap (installing 3.73s). Figured if the one dude could do it in 4 hours, I ought to be able to knock it out in a weekend.
First problem: While pulling the rear brakes, I notice that the PS pad has welded to the rotor. Crap! Order new pads and rotors. No problem, they'll be here by Tuesday.
Pull the old carrier, do the teardown, (Oh, yeah, spent half of Friday running around buying a good digital caliper, inch-pound torque wrench, and dial indicator with magnetic base--this gear swap just got more expensive than I thought. No worries, those are tools I'll use a lot...). Teardown's going pretty good. Go to the auto craft shop to press off the old bearings, on with the new.
Out-thought myself with the pinion spacer measurement, so Sunday I have to go back and pull the bearing back off, to change the spacer. Destroy the bearing in the process. Run to NAPA before they close to buy a new bearing. Install new spacer and press bearing back on.
Spent more than 4 hours just trying to get the pinion bearing preload set. What a PITA!!!! OK, now it should get easy...Everyone says these FRPP gears use the same shims, they're manufactured so tight. Apparently mine are "Ferd" Racing gears, made in China. We're WAAAAAAYYYYY off. Install the carrier, and can't even rotate the stupid thing, it's so tight with the same shims. Pull everything apart to reduce shim sizes. Only, the big honking shims that were in there were one piece per side. Kit I have has a whole bunch of little bitty ones. Nothing even close to what I took out.
Shim--dial indicator--not enough backlash...pull it back out.
Shim--dial indicator--too much backlash...pull it back out.
Shim--dial indicator--crap, it's midnight, and I gotta go to work tomorrow.
Monday night after work--pick up where I left off, still trying to adjust from what was in there from the factory. Spend three hours on the creeper. Nothing but frustration and really sore neck and shoulders to show for it.
Tuesday and Wednesday night--life gets in the way of working on the car at all. Sunny and in the 50s both evenings on the drive home from work--convertibles are out everywhere.
Thursday night--momma left town for a trip Outside. I've got all night to work on the car. Gonna get this thing done and drive it to work tomorrow...
Get the Ford shop instructions on how to set up a new carrier, starting from scratch. Carrier is in in about an hour and a half. WHY didn't I try that SUNDAY???
Who cares, it's finally going together. Check gear pattern. Hey, looks good to me! Install new axle bearings (the original problem that gave me the "while I'm at it" excuse to install new gears), axles in, everything bolted together, diff cover on...Hey! I'm gonna make it! It'll be after midnight, but so what, all that's left is to throw the rear brakes on, mount the tires, quick test drive, and in bed for a short nap before I drive the vert to work Friday morning!
OK, brakes...read something about not compressing the pistons. How's that work??? Read the manual--figures--you need a special tool, according to Ford. So what, FORD says you need a special tool for everything. What do they know? Check StangNet, there's gotta be a workaround...Do a search (yes, I did!!!). Crap, no workaround.
While I'm pondering this, I'll start putting some other things together. Then brilliance hits!!! I'll make the tool! I've got a welder, plenty of steel, should be a piece of cake! Only take me...an hour or so. That'll be after 3 am. Gotta get up at 5. Reality strikes--no vert for the Friday drive. Gotta get at least 3 hours sleep.
Pick up the tool on the way home Friday evening. No one here to distract me. Baloney sandwich for dinner, bottle of water, and I'm at work on the car.
Start on the PS. Stupid box tool doesn't have any pins that line up on the piston reliefs. WTH??? Screw it, go to Schucks, they'll have a different tool. Nope, they're out. Go back home. Fabricate tool. Go back to PS. Can't move the piston to save my life!!! Hose it down with brake parts cleaner, and it finally starts moving. YES! This won't take long now. Turn, turn, turn...how come the piston's not compressing any???? Turn, turn, turn... ????
OK, let's try the DS. Won't move. Brake parts cleaner.... nothing. Go back in the house, do search on :SNSign:--"rear brakes".
Read 400 posts where someone says "how come I can't get my rear pistons to compress in with the C clamp?" Followed by the standard response--DON'T USE A C CLAMP! YOU'VE GOT TO SCREW IT IN--DO A SEARCH! Wait, there on PAGE SEVEN of the search responses--something new! Line up the reliefs with the pins on the pad? OK, that ought to be a sticky, but I found it! Now it's finally going to start moving.
Back to PS...turn, turn, turn...this thing is not moving in at ALL. Try the DS. Turn, turn, turn...crap, that was quick! Bam, bam, bam...DS is done!
Now, we're finally cooking! PS--turn, turn...you get the idea. OK, pull the caliper, disassemble, tear the dust boot, and look at that, it's 11 pm! I spent five freakin' hours putting on ONE pair of brake pads?!?!?
And I've got to wait until morning to go try to chase down a dust boot before I can do anything else??? And I still don't know that I'm not going to have to tear it all down because the gears are all jacked up somehow!
Watch it rain all next week.