bhclark Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 My mechanic informed me that my rear subframe was rotten on the passenger side. Sure enough, the whole crossmember just bounced around when I checked it out this morning. So, I began my day by removing the entire rear assembly from the '89 parts car. Had some trouble with brake line (had to cut it ahead of the distribution block) and that stupid nut inside the cup on the a-arm? Why is that nut inside a cup? Almost impossible to get a socket on.I ended up pulling the gas tank off too since I'm going to swap the entire exhaust also. The '89 looks to have a very solid system and the '90's is rotten. The gas tank was full of stinky varnish smelling gas-I'm surprised this thing ran! So, with that one free, I went to work on the bad rear end from the '90. Took less than half the time having all 18 necessary sockets ready to go. Plus, I was able to get a short socket on that annoying nut without removing the gas tank. The brake line also came apart properly on this one. Dropped it and you'll see below it was definitely rotten!That wore me out for the day, so I'll start again tomorrow morning swapping over the a-arms/brake assemblies and the struts, since the '90 was in much better shape in those areas. I assume I'll need a new alignment once I get everything put back together?Also below, you'll see what my better pair of body mounts look like....does anyone know a replacement for these? Is there an available cross reference part at the flaps? Surely Dorman has something close....if not, Marck or Jim, do you have any decent replacements? These will work better than nothing, but since I've got it all apart, I'd surely prefer to put in good mounts.While I've got everything apart, I'll also be swapping the gas tank filler necks, as a smoke test on the '90 showed leaks causing a strong smell as well as replacing damaged/worn parking brake cables. This is probably the biggest automotive job I've ever tackled and I'm lucky I had no seized fasteners on either car, with the exception of the brake line. When I get the '90 put back together, I'll be putting the rusted rear axle back on the parts car so that I can get it towed away when the time comes. That will be sooner rather than later since the '58 is almost done getting it's new wiring harness at the repair shop and will want her parking space back.I'm exhausted. This sure is good therapy for my torn rotator cuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I think that job you are doing is a job one would only want to do once. But looks like you have it under control. Try to get those rear sensor leads out if you can. You may need them one day. I think Jim or Marck should have what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 The job has been easier than I expected, but then again I've only done disassembly so far. If I didn't have to swap the struts and brakes over, it would go much quicker. The ABS leads appear in surprisingly good shape, although the first attempt to remove one at the wheel was met with resistance, so I gave up and disconnected them all at the quick disconnect. Any tips to removing them would be greatly appreciated. The actual brakes on the spare axle will not be utilized if that matters, but I would like to have the spares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 If they don't come out easily, you will either have to take out the knuckle and cut them out, or grab the sensor head with a vise grips and give it a twist while pulling knowing that you will get the "guts" out leaving the barrel rusted in place. That isn't the worse because when the ones go bad in your driver you can do the same vise grips thing and install these in the barrel left behind with a O ring and a bead of silicone to keep the weather out. I have one in my Black [the winter car] that I did this with the silcone [no O ring] 3 Wisconsin winters and no failure yet. Or you can snip them off leaving everything behind and send me the leads for me to use as rebuild parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Brian, Just a suggestion here... while you have the rear axle out I would remove the nut from the strut rod, remove the steel washer and rubber bushing so you can inspect the top of the strut tower where the rod goes thru for rust. Another forum member reported that his axle had rusted badly in that area. It will be much easier to remove that nut with the rear axle assembly out than it is to try to get it off when it is in the car. You might also consider spraying all bolts and nuts with a good penetrating oil while they are easy to get to. It might make life easier for you sometime down the road. I recommend AeroKroil penetrating oil if you can find it. It is the best I've used. It is in the Reatta Store if you happen to be ordering anything else from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 If you need spare/replacement parts, I just check for another post on the lower "A" arm and they are the same as Riviera, Toronado, Seville and Eldorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 I will check the strut top Ronnie. The struts are only about 1.5 years old, installed by a local dealer. I'm amazed they didn't catch (or care) to mention the rotting front subframe mounts or rear crossmember to the previous owner, although I have a feeling the rotten front subframe mounts are why he eventually put it up for sale. Dave, the ABS lead on the drivers side twists side to side fairly easily, but I didn't know how much force to use to pull it out without damaging it. I didn't try the passenger side yet. Thanks Barney, looks like I could use torsion bar? bushings, but that's about it other than the actual top and bottom crossmember mounts themselves. I'm going to give them a good scrub tomorrow to see if they are salvageable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Brian,If the color of the cars in the pics were Maui Blue and Claret I would swear that the photo was taken at my garage.I agree with Ron about the top of the frame where the struts mount. A shop wouldn't necessarily fix the rust problem when the struts were replaced.Most would just wait till it rusted through and fix it when you brought the car back.My '90 Maui came from Hamilton, OH. I was born in Cuyahoga County Hospital. Don't remember much as I was pretty young at the time.John F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 If the head twists side to side easily and won't slide out it probably has "let go" internally. That means you will have an ABS lead without a barrel. Test the lead with an ohm meter, if you get a reading of 800-1400 ohms the unit is good. Keep the lead and use it for another time when one of your other front leads fail and it won't come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Today's progress:-Removed and installed the good exhaust. 1 solid piece from manifold back. The good one was twice as heavy as the one I tossed. -Separated all brake lines from the crossmember so I cam move the known good ones over with the A-arms.-I was able to get the top nut off of 1 set of struts that had a hex head on the top. I have to buy a star bit for the other set. I'm guessing T45 or T50. My T30 is too small and T-60 too large. I had to use 2 feet of breaker bar on the ones I removed...I hope the star bit holds as well as the socket.-Found a pin hole leak in the gas filler neck. Need to buy new rubber hoses, then I'll be ready to reinstall the good one from the parts car.Lessons learned:-car is front heavy with the rear axle removed.Question:-How much pressure is the rear spring under? I'm worried that when I remove the A-arm I won't be able to get it back installed off the car, or that it will expand when I try to remove the last bolts since it isn't on the car? Will I need to attach the inner bolts, then use the weight of the car/jack to raise the other end into position? I've never worked on an axle this deep before. If I need to, I can get everything loose, then do the actual swap once I get the crossmember installed back onto the car. The more work I can do without being under the car on a creeper, the better. I hate to do it with it 70 degrees outside, but I have to stop on the cars and go to work. Expecting snow tonight/tomorrow. If you don't like the weather in Cincinnati, wait 12 hours, it will change. Progress will be slow the next week as I don't have another day off until next Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottabblackngray Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 The rear spring is not under much pressure at all. I thought the same thing when I was taking mine apart but it was no big deal at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Brian,-I was able to get the top nut off of 1 set of struts that had a hex head on the top. I have to buy a star bit for the other set. I'm guessing T45 or T50. My T30 is too small and T-60 too large. I had to use 2 feet of breaker bar on the ones I removed...I hope the star bit holds as well as the socket.You may have to use this method.Only use if you don't plan on re-using the strut again.John F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Wow! There's a quote "The job has been easier than I expected, but then again I've only done disassembly so far." If it's OK I may put that in my signature.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) Brian,You may have to use this method.Only use if you don't plan on re-using the strut again.[ATTACH=CONFIG]238498[/ATTACH]John F.Looks like a T50 star bit fits. I tried the above method, but I need a higher quality pipe wrench. I should be able to get it now with the star bit....when it stops snowing. Absolutely Bernie! Gottablackngray--Thanks. That eases my mind.I struck gold....sourced what are supposed to be NOS OEM mounts. Edited March 12, 2014 by bhclark (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 38 degrees today, but working in the sun was tolerable. I gave up on swapping the A-arms or the knuckles. I would have to take both axles to a machine shop to finish the job due to seized bolts.So, I've begun swapping over the brake hardware and struts. Looks like I'll almost complete 1 side of each axle tonight. If anyone has advice for pushing the long bolt through the knuckle, I'll gladly give it another try. My air hammer was useless. The nuts come off, but the bolt won't budge. I didn't try any heat because I didn't want to ruin any of the rubber. I also tested all 4 ABS sensors. They all registered right around 1050 ohms, so they all appear good. I've got another 2 hours to work before I have to stop for our monthly chapter BCA meeting. I should change the meeting to my house and put everyone to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Whew!Got both axles almost complete from a mechanical standpoint, just need to double check all the torque specs. Will work on reinstalling the brake lines tomorrow, then it should be time to reinstall!Bought replacement fuel filler hoses today. Napa (nor anybody else) had fuel line the size of the vent, and the other hose is a bit softer than the original. Hopefully it won't kink when I install it. Isolator pads should arrive in the next day or two, then I can install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Got everything tightened up this morning and the brake lines reinstalled on the axle. Replaced the hoses on the gas tank filler and remounted that. New mounts arrived today. Good news is that the bottom pieces are perfect! The top pieces came without the rubber...I didn't realize that was a different part so it looks like I'll be reusing the best pair of top rubber pieces. They are in pretty good shape and should suffice. This will still give me a passable/mountable set for the parts car to get it back to rolling condition. I wouldn't drive with them, but they'll hold. I didn't bother reinstalling the brake lines on the parts car.I'm off to work, next chance I'll have to work on it will probably be Wednesday, maybe some Tuesday morning, but I won't have any help. Raising it to mount those last 4 bolts will take the wife and son to stabilize it, only this time, I'll be under it, wiggling it into place. Sorry for the complete and total lack of pictures. I'm really bad about that. Good news is, no leftover parts....yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Brian,What's your hurry? If it requires a couple three days to get new top rubber insulators so that you have a completely new set in there, why not do it while you have it all apart now?John F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 No rush, but so far I've been unable to track down the required rubber. If anyone has any part numbers for the upper isolators from the other GM divisions, I would greatly appreciate the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 The parts you need are in this rear strut mount kit. The largest part goes through the hole the strut tower from the bottom. It has two flats on the sides that have to be aligned so it will go through the hole. Then the other part and the washer go on top of the strut tower. What other part are you needing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 The Eldorado/Seville part number for the upper rubber = 1646986 Gmdirect did not list it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 I don't need the strut mounts, I need the rubber for the mount that goes between the rear crossmember and the frame.The new lower mounts I received had the rubber vulcanized to them, but apparently the upper mounts were never vulcanized, so the rubber isolator for them is a separate part number, although it is not shown as such on many of the diagrams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 OK, I misunderstood. My comments were made based on this previous post you made. Sometimes I need a photo. Sorry for the confusion.Got everything tightened up this morning and the brake lines reinstalled on the axle. Replaced the hoses on the gas tank filler and remounted that. New mounts arrived today. Good news is that the bottom pieces are perfect! The top pieces came without the rubber...I didn't realize that was a different part so it looks like I'll be reusing the best pair of top rubber pieces. They are in pretty good shape and should suffice. This will still give me a passable/mountable set for the parts car to get it back to rolling condition. I wouldn't drive with them, but they'll hold. I didn't bother reinstalling the brake lines on the parts car.I'm off to work, next chance I'll have to work on it will probably be Wednesday, maybe some Tuesday morning, but I won't have any help. Raising it to mount those last 4 bolts will take the wife and son to stabilize it, only this time, I'll be under it, wiggling it into place. Sorry for the complete and total lack of pictures. I'm really bad about that. Good news is, no leftover parts....yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Brian,Kitskaboodle went through a full rebuild of the rear of his car not too long ago.He may be able to advise you on what's available and what's not.And... when you get around to replacing your window motor... he's got a cool tool to use for that.If he would only post a pic of it...John F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 I got an extra day off work today and 70 degrees to boot!Job is DONE! I could not find replacement upper pads for the rear so I rust converted the litlte bit of visible metal, painted and covered with another thin layer of rubber to protect the crossmember. Both rear axles are mounted, brakes are hooked back up on the driver, parking brake works now too after replacing both rear cables. My intermediate cable was good, though not adjustable, so I have a spare intermediate brake cable now. The reinstallation was twice as easy as the removal...Took the car for a test drive tonight, no problems.Now I just need to tear the parts car apart to make room for my '58. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Look, a picture!Spent today stripping the parts car. Only thing left to pull is the seats and I'm not sure they are worth the trouble as dry as they are. I didn't have the energy to pull the bumpers, not sure if I will or not. I'm ready for the thing to be hauled off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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