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April 19, 2004
1.75 hours
One Year Ago Today

Rear Axle Removal

That's one big chunk of metal! I got sick of scraping and poking around in the trunk area, so I decided to remove the last major component still on the car: the rear axle, torque tube and control arms. The first thing I did was jack up the rear axle and support it with a pair of jack stands so it wouldn't be just hanging from the springs. In front, I supported the torque tube with a third jack stand so I could unbolt the control arms, which were the only things keeping the whole assembly attached to the frame.

Control arms are secured to the frame using two bolts. I was surprised to see
that there are no bushings to prevent squeaks, but I guess it works just fine.

Next I had to disconnect the rear springs from their perches on the top of the rear axle. The control arms bolt to the spring perches, and the bottoms of the springs are bolted to the perches using a cup-like fixture. A few squirts of penetrating oil over the past few days didn't seem to do any good, so I wicked up the pressure on the compressor to about 140 PSI and hit the bolts with the impact wrench. Eventually they gave up their 60-year-old hold on the springs without any damage. I hope my neighbors didn't mind the noise!

The next hurdle to clear was getting the torque tube out from the X-member in the frame where it passes through to the transmission. I jacked up the differential and balanced it on the jack while I bench-pressed the torque tube up and out of the X-member. With a good struggle, I eventually got it clear and lay it on my creeper, then wheeled it out from under the car.

About 400 pounds of heavy steel! I did this by myself, but I
would recommend doing it with a buddy or two in the future.

Once it was clear, I repositioned it at the back of the car and put it on a trio of jackstands. I'll pull the drain plug, remove the axles, then pull the center section and see what lives in there. Hopefully it's as nice as the transmission was when I opened it up. Of course, I'll replace all the seals and bearings, have the axles trued and powdercoat the housing and control arms. That'll be coming up soon.

I placed the axle on jack stands to make disassembly easy and safe.

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E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net

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Last modified on 02/06/2005

Thanks, Fidget!