Undercarriage help
Re: Undercarriage help
Which part exactly are you worried about? From the factory the crossmember and control arms weren't really painted or anything, so most of them are that rusty. It shouldn't be a problem. The rusty brake lines will only become a problem when you go to change the hoses that probably need to be changed.
That exhaust was only used on the early cars, and it looks like it's probably original equipment. It restricts flow really bad. Plan on replacing it with a later exhaust if you want more power.
By far the worst part of what I see in the pics is the bad pinion seal. It's a $10 part, assuming the pinion yoke isn't all chewed up. The bad part is the pinion nut has to come off, which means you'll have to reset the pinion bearing preload. So you'll need a new crush sleeve, and a way to hold the pinion flange while you tighten the pinion nut. It'll take about 150ft lbs of torque to start crushing the new sleeve, and you have to check the preload with a dial type inch/lb torque wrench. If you go too tight, you have to replace the crush sleeve and start over. You may also want to replace the pinion nut at the same time.
You might be tempted to just get another rear end and swap it in, or just rebuild the entire rear. Chances are it's an open rear, or a worn out posi, and with that kind of a leak who knows what shape the bearings are in. The other option would be just to regularly top off the gear oil, and let it run.
That exhaust was only used on the early cars, and it looks like it's probably original equipment. It restricts flow really bad. Plan on replacing it with a later exhaust if you want more power.
By far the worst part of what I see in the pics is the bad pinion seal. It's a $10 part, assuming the pinion yoke isn't all chewed up. The bad part is the pinion nut has to come off, which means you'll have to reset the pinion bearing preload. So you'll need a new crush sleeve, and a way to hold the pinion flange while you tighten the pinion nut. It'll take about 150ft lbs of torque to start crushing the new sleeve, and you have to check the preload with a dial type inch/lb torque wrench. If you go too tight, you have to replace the crush sleeve and start over. You may also want to replace the pinion nut at the same time.
You might be tempted to just get another rear end and swap it in, or just rebuild the entire rear. Chances are it's an open rear, or a worn out posi, and with that kind of a leak who knows what shape the bearings are in. The other option would be just to regularly top off the gear oil, and let it run.
Re: Undercarriage help
Any 82-92 rear will physically bolt in. 93-02 rears will bolt in also, but are longer so the wheels will stick out further. Assuming the car has the stock 82 discs they'd be the iron caliper Delco setup. Any disc rear up through 88 would bolt in without making any changes to the rest of the brake system.
Re: Undercarriage help
To fix that pinion seal, you're looking at about $20 worth of parts. The trick is the tools... Figure an inch lb torque wrench, a pinion yoke tool, a couple long breaker bars, possibly a couple cheater bars too. Also you'll have to remove the carrier and the ring gear, so 2.5qts of gear oil, and posi additive if it's a limited slip rear.
Everything is available. In addition to the tools there's a little mechanical skill involved. Basically you're setting up gears without the trouble of changing shims.
Everything is available. In addition to the tools there's a little mechanical skill involved. Basically you're setting up gears without the trouble of changing shims.
