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Post by buildercg on Oct 8, 2015 13:07:54 GMT
Had a couple of hours to work on the car last night. Started to disassemble the rear end. Took off most of the exhaust, rear calipers and rotors, sway bar, and started to take off the suspension arms.   I broke a one of the sway bar retaining bolts in the process. Looks like it is replaceable without drilling. Does anyone know?   Also, I'm having trouble removing the long bolt that holds the lower wishbone to the knuckle. I've read that due to the middle of the bolt being exposed to weather it can be difficult to remove and mine are definitely rusted up. Is it typical that it has to be hammered out and replaced? |
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Post by jwagner on Oct 8, 2015 15:00:45 GMT
Do you have a cutoff tool? The twenty bucks or so I spent at Harbor Freight was the best tool investment I made during our build. As I recall, the lower outboard A arm bolts required standing on a 3/4" breaker bar and then hammering out with lots of penetrating oil. At some point we inverted the subframe since it was more stable for breaking the last few bolts. We replaced nearly all the suspension hardware.
Can't tell for sure from the pictures, but it looks like you've got the rear axle nuts off. If not you should break them loose ASAP.
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Post by buildercg on Oct 8, 2015 15:58:59 GMT
Do you have a cutoff tool? The twenty bucks or so I spent at Harbor Freight was the best tool investment I made during our build. As I recall, the lower outboard A arm bolts required standing on a 3/4" breaker bar and then hammering out with lots of penetrating oil. At some point we inverted the subframe since it was more stable for breaking the last few bolts. We replaced nearly all the suspension hardware. Can't tell for sure from the pictures, but it looks like you've got the rear axle nuts off. If not you should break them loose ASAP. Thanks for the advice. I was able to get the nut off the bolt easily but the bolt itself won't budge and I didn't want to hit it too hard until hearing other people's experiences. Sounds like it's going to need a bit of encouragement to come out. I do have the axle nuts off (front and back). I loosened them before taking the body off the car. Glad I did because I don't know how I'd get them off now if I hadn't. |
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Post by einy on Oct 8, 2015 16:31:08 GMT
I had to section one of mine to get it out, as it turned out a previous owner hit that corner into something hard enough to bend the bolt! The other side came out with gentle persuasion from a hammer and a drift.
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Post by gwnwar on Oct 9, 2015 1:18:47 GMT
Like "einy" posted cut it into parts knock them out once apart.. Thr sway bar bolt can be knocked out and replaced with bolt and nut and lock washer.. Long bolts and about 15.00 each new.. check ebay for them same for long front ones.. Soak down the long bolts and sliding spacer for the PPF to diff.. It is pushed up when front bolt is tightened.Can be a real PIA to get loose/down..
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Post by buildercg on Oct 9, 2015 3:26:18 GMT
Not a ton of progress tonight.
I removed the upper suspension arms, sway bar connectors, and old brake lines. I was able to get the left hub disconnected from the axle but the hub is not sliding out like it is supposed to. I tried smacking it from behind with my 4lb rubber mallet and a socket but it's not budging. Also tried prying it off from the front with a breaker bar. I think it's rusted to the bearing as I cannot find any reason for it not to come out. Hopefully soaking it with PB blaster overnight helps loosen it up.
Also soaked every nut and bolt I can find from the trans rearward. My goal is to have the rear end completely dissasembled by Sunday night so that I can start working on the front next week and get all the parts off to be cleaned and powdercoated within 2 weeks.
I did get the long bolt to turn a little by pulling the knuckle down to the floor and then pulling it back up. This gives me good access to saturate it with PB blaster. It's clearly rusted to the knuckle and is going to need serious persuasion or cutting.
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Post by buildercg on Oct 9, 2015 3:40:24 GMT
I'm an idiot. I just re-read my manual regarding removing the hub and it clearly says it will need persuasion. I was fooled by the picture saying 'pull the hub from the race' which makes it sound much easier. I'll try again tomorrow when I have more energy.
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Post by gwnwar on Oct 9, 2015 19:19:53 GMT
Persuasion is a mild term PIA would be better..
If you don't have a press take it to a machine shop to be pressed apart. Well worth the time and cost..Get other side apart might have to be pressed too.. Have shop press out the bearings too they are held in with a snap ring.. Get some new (X2)bearings, seals and snap ring too..
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Post by buildercg on Oct 9, 2015 20:47:32 GMT
Persuasion is a mild term PIA would be better.. If you don't have a press take it to a machine shop to be pressed apart. Well worth the time and cost..Get other side apart might have to be pressed too.. Have shop press out the bearings too they are held in with a snap ring.. Get some new (X2)bearings, seals and snap ring too.. Thanks George. I grew as a DIY guy so I'll give it a shot tomorrow afternoon and take the shop route (I don't have a press) if I'm unsuccessful. I purchased new bearings from FM several months ago and new seals just arrived. I didn't think to get new snap rings so I'll pick up some of those to. |
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Post by buildercg on Oct 10, 2015 22:06:15 GMT
Used a UHaul to get the body to the scrapyard today. This makes my wife happy.
I was able to get the front hubs off and one of the rear hubs out by letting is soak in BP blaster for a couple of nights and giving it a good whack with a hammer. I haven't tried the passenger side rear hub yet but I'm guessing the same will be needed. The driver side front hub came apart and the race is stuck on the spindle. I'm assuming I'll have to cut it off (carefully!). On the rear, the ring clip is completely rusted to the knuckle and it won't move. I soaked it with BP blaster. Hopefully tomorrow it will come out.
I think I'm going to have to follow George's advice and take the front and rear cross members to a shop to have the large alignment bolts removed. I worked on the same one that I had spent time on earlier this week for over an hour using heat, my improvised 6 foot breaker bar, and my impact hammer to no avail. The thing is thoroughly rusted to both the knuckle and the races. They're probably going to have to be cut off and definitely replaced. I'm really hoping that the knuckle and lower control arm doesn't get damaged.
I started looking for new alignment bolts. It looks like Moss Miata sells them for $11 each. Anyone else know of a place to get them as a set - possibly including all the other bolts as well? I checked FM's website and few other places but no luck yet.
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Post by BTD on Oct 10, 2015 22:20:04 GMT
949 Racing sells them as a set.
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Post by buildercg on Oct 11, 2015 0:13:03 GMT
949 Racing sells them as a set. Thank you! Ordered! I should have them by the end of the week. |
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Post by buildercg on Oct 11, 2015 20:30:54 GMT
Got the front alignment bolts free as well a few others that wouldn't previously budget. Amazing what soaking in PB Blaster for days and a new 700ft/lb impact wrench can do. The rears are still stubbornly stuck but at least I have some progress in the right direction. I also picked up a can of SeaFoam. Going to try that on the rears.
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Post by buildercg on Oct 12, 2015 12:43:49 GMT
My luck turned positive yesterday. I was able to drive out all, except one, of the bolts holding the rear suspension together using BP blaster (practically an entire can), heat, a couple hammers, and my new impact wrench. I also got the last hub out, removed the driveshaft, removed the exhaust header, disconnected the PFF from the transmission, and lifted the engine and transmission off the front cross member. This led to me finding a broken engine mount. A note for those who haven't separated the PFF yet. When disconnecting the PFF from the transmission the exposed bolts on the top are welded onto a plate. Don't try to turn them. Attack from the bottom. In my case the bolt came off very easy (didn't even need the impact).  Finally!  |
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Post by buildercg on Oct 16, 2015 4:32:07 GMT
Got the PFF separated from the diff a couple days ago. There were three grooved sleaves holding it in place that I needed to pry/drive out after the bolts were removed. My books all said there was only one sleeve so this must vary based on model/year. Definitely needed the big impact wrench to remove the bolts on the diff side of the PFF. Amazing how light the PFF is by itself.
Took the transmission off the engine. Clutch looks good but the inside of the transmission housing, including the clutch is covered in oil or grease. Is that normal (seems wrong to me)? There's also a bearing(?) that seems to be loose inside the clutch itself. My engine and transmission are from a '93 so it must be the pilot bearing but it seems odd that it's loose and not lined up with anything.
I finally got the last rear lower control arm disconnected tonight by cutting the last alignment bolt off. Now I need to work on removing the diff from the rear crossmember. The nuts and bolts are heavily corroded. I'm going to soak them for several days before I attempt to remove them.
Most of the front suspension is also taken apart but three of the four alignment bolts are stuck. Since I have new ones I think I'll just cut them off. It's very satisfying but takes about 30 minutes per bolt as my compressor only gives me about 1 minute of cutting time with the cutting wheel before the tank needs to refill.
I'm going to have a local shop push out the old bushings and finish disconnecting the front lower control arm/upper arm/knuckles, which I cannot disconnect as the cotter pins are rusted into place and I cannot figure out how to remove them.
I won't have another update for a while as I'll be travelling to attend a funeral.
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