Driveaxles Named Desire

Ready for the driveaxles

With the front beam, transmission and trailing arms all back on the frame, it was now time to rebuild and install the driveaxles.

Before I could get to that, however, I had one more small detail which I mistakenly thought was going to be no more than a 'cosmetic' re-installation: the cover plates and bushings for the rear torsion bars.

Off by quite a bit

The torsion bar cover

The covers and bushings came right off, but of course the old bushings were all deformed and it did not occur to me that these new bushings would throw off the alignment of the cover plate, but of course, that's exactly what they did.  After a few minutes of frustrated observation I decided that this was one of those 'stuck' moments and I decided to simply put it off until I think of a solution.  I have some ideas, but there is no pressing reason to put these parts back on at the moment, so I'll just let it simmer a bit in the back of my brain.

The new cv joints look good

Especially when on the axle

In the meantime, there is plenty to do, starting with those driveaxles.  I tore down the old ones some weeks back, but concluded that for such important parts of the drivetrain, it was worth the expense of buying brand-new constant-velocity (cv) joints.  The parts I took out look ok, but tolerances run in the thousandth of an inch and given how key these little parts are, I want it to work right the first time.

Ready to assemble

Ready to install

The driveaxles themselves were just fine with a buff and a coat of the rubberized undercoating paint.  I installed the new cv joints and the fresh new rubber boots that cover them, then smashed the graphite grease that came with each joint in and around all the bearings and moving parts.

The gooey mess...

Installed!

Then I had to take the whole sticky gooey mess and mount it into the nice clean space between the transmission and the trailing arms.  This was nearly a disaster, as the cv joints on one end managed to fall apart as I was lifting the other end into place.

Despite the drama...

The scene was straight out of A Streetcar Named Desire:  I was on my knees in the driveway, covered in sticky graphite grease, holding the broken bits of the cv joint, and almost literally weeping with frustration.  Fortunately before the neighbors came running over to find out if I was having a heart attack, I managed to seize control of my emotions and the damned joint, muscling both into position with a great sigh of relief and a furtive look to see who had witnessed the sorry scene. Fortunately it looked like I was alone in my chagrin as I loaded up all the freshly cleaned and buffed bolts (the object of much difficulty on removal).  Before long the driveaxle was officially installed!

The job is done!

As is my habit, this first half of the job was completed just as the sun was going down, so I turned my attention to the other side with no time left on the clock, so to speak.  However, with the experience gained and without the emotional meltdown, I managed to work quickly and efficiently, installing the other driveaxle without incident and just before it was too dark to see.  This sort of thing always leaves me in a state of doubt, but on my return the following morning, I found the work to be done right.  Woot!  I cleaned up the excess grease and checked this task off my list.

Next:  Brake system, beginning with the front rotors and calipers.