With the trailing arms out and off to the machine shop to receive their new bushings, it was time to pull out the transmission. I like the British term for this piece better--gearbox--because it sounds racier I guess, but by either name it had to come off the frame for cleaning and inspection.
This is not a difficult job--unless the body and engine are still attached, and even then it's fairly straightforward. It's attached in just three places, so it was a simple matter to unbolt it and lift it off the frame. I set up a hydraulic jack underneath just in case, but as it's made of aluminum, after the bolts were out and the shift rod was detached, I was able to simply pull it out and set it off the the side.
The gearbox is dirty but looks to be in good shape. Although it had a fair amount of crud built up, particularly around the driveaxle connections, it doesn't appear to have been leaking, at least not too much. The layer of crud is either a bit of grease that oozed from the front seal and has been collecting dirt for thirty-seven years or is just mud and dirt built up in those places you expect it to. The 'guts' of the gearbox are relatively hard to wear out, so when I check the fluid if it's free of contaminants (especially metal) I will assume that it is ok and just clean it up before putting it back in. Of course, if there are metal flakes in the fluid, it will be time for a trip to the junkyard.
Speaking of the junkyard, I took the trailing arms in to Austin V-Dub last week to have the bushings replaced and it was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. The guy just called to tell me that they are ready and the total came to over $650. Now, to be fair, $250 of that is actually for the front ball joints, which are being replaced as well. Although the $400 for the rear trailing arm bushings is a lot of money, I really don't have any choice. For one thing, the bushings are no longer common, and of course replacing them is no longer a routine machine shop chore. Fortunately the guy at Austin V-Dub is older and knows what he is doing, which is--of course--a lot more than I can say for myself.
While waiting to save up the money to get my heavy metal parts our of hock next week, I turned my attention to the front beam. Although I had not intended to pull this off originally, after the work I've done on the rear it seemed like the consistent--if not easiest--thing to do was to pull it off, clean and repaint it. Just four bolts hold it on, and in just a few minutes my decision proved to be worth it, for the rust and grime I discovered was considerable and I'll feel a lot better about it knowing it's clean and tidy under there, even if no one will ever see it except for me. This task also meant that my dirty days are not over, as the broken and rusted lower torsion springs left quite a gritty mess inside the tube. That stuff had to come out, and all the surface grime and rust had to be whisked off the frame with the wire wheel. Then I primed and painted the beam, but since I didn't clean up the mounting bracket on the frame, I will have to wait to put it back on this weekend.
That is, if I have time. I am working all three days so hopefully I will earn enough cash to go get my newly refurbished parts for the following weekend. Then, watch out! This baby's going to start going the other way!
With the trailing arms out and off to the machine shop to receive their new bushings, it was time to pull out the transmission. I like the British term for this piece better--gearbox--because it sounds racier I guess, but by either name it had to come off the frame for cleaning and inspection. 
This is not a difficult job--unless the body and engine are still attached, and even then it's fairly straightforward. It's attached in just three places, so it was a simple matter to unbolt it and lift it off the frame. I set up a hydraulic jack underneath just in case, but as it's made of aluminum, after the bolts were out and the shift rod was detached, I was able to simply pull it out and set it off the the side. 
The gearbox is dirty but looks to be in good shape. Although it had a fair amount of crud built up, particularly around the driveaxle connections, it doesn't appear to have been leaking, at least not too much. The layer of crud is either a bit of grease that oozed from the front seal and has been collecting dirt for thirty-seven years or is just mud and dirt built up in those places you expect it to. The 'guts' of the gearbox are relatively hard to wear out, so when I check the fluid if it's free of contaminants (especially metal) I will assume that it is ok and just clean it up before putting it back in. Of course, if there are metal flakes in the fluid, it will be time for a trip to the junkyard.
Speaking of the junkyard, I took the trailing arms in to Austin V-Dub last week to have the bushings replaced and it was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be. The guy just called to tell me that they are ready and the total came to over $650. Now, to be fair, $250 of that is actually for the front ball joints, which are being replaced as well. Although the $400 for the rear trailing arm bushings is a lot of money, I really don't have any choice. For one thing, the bushings are no longer common, and of course replacing them is no longer a routine machine shop chore. Fortunately the guy at Austin V-Dub is older and knows what he is doing, which is--of course--a lot more than I can say for myself.
While waiting to save up the money to get my heavy metal parts our of hock next week, I turned my attention to the front beam. Although I had not intended to pull this off originally, after the work I've done on the rear it seemed like the consistent--if not easiest--thing to do was to pull it off, clean and repaint it. Just four bolts hold it on, and in just a few minutes my decision proved to be worth it, for the rust and grime I discovered was considerable and I'll feel a lot better about it knowing it's clean and tidy under there, even if no one will ever see it except for me. This task also meant that my dirty days are not over, as the broken and rusted lower torsion springs left quite a gritty mess inside the tube. That stuff had to come out, and all the surface grime and rust had to be whisked off the frame with the wire wheel. Then I primed and painted the beam, but since I didn't clean up the mounting bracket on the frame, I will have to wait to put it back on this weekend.
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