Bud Krueger wrote:
> Which is better, wheels on or wheels off? I'm of the impression that the
> leaf spring assembly is to remain attached to the axle and is to come out with
> it as Bemtley says. Is that correct even for Haynes' procedure? If so, why
> does Haynes say to "...Unscrew the U-bolt nuts..."?
It depends. If you can lift your car high enough to let tires roll around
underneath, leave the wheels on. But you probably don't. It is handy to undo
almost everything and let the axle rotate down on the front spring mounts.
The only "iffy" part is that the front sping mounts don't pivot down like spring
shackles and it can be holy hell getting the pivot bolts out of there if there
has
been any rust. (Wadda you wanna bet?) What I've found is the the inner metal
sleeve of the rubber bushings rust to the pivot bolt and you end up having to
cuss
them out. I've used a mini-grinder.
So, to make the story longer, first I would make sure that the front leaf spring
pivot bolts can be removed. Once you've proven that, pivot the axle, with
springs,
down from the front.
Be careful, though, the axle alone is something over 200 pounds. I know Lawrie
says that two strong helpers can do wonders but 1) where the hell can you find
them and afford the beverage fee and 2) we all know Lawire doesn't get any so he
has all that pent up adrenalin; bench pressing axles may not be any big deal to
him. I've slid a Midget axle out the side. I dropped the C/GT axle on my foot.
One final thing. Make sure you don't put the jackstands behind the axle when you
start this project. Been there, too.
Another final thing. If your gonna take off the pinion nut, loosen it while the
axle is on the car. You'll be chasing the fricking axle all over the garage
floor
if you do it later. I had to use three feet of black pipe as a cheater and still
bent something expensive. (Maybe that was when the C/GT axle fell on my foot.)
Perhaps Haynes has cheap wrenches and recommends loosening the U-bolt nuts while
on the car for the same reason.
--
Bob Allen, Kansas City
"Anything is easy if you ignore enough details."
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