This is kinda a hybrid rear suspension and drivetrain question, but here it is....

I'm removing my rear axle, for many reasons, but anyway, i've heard conflicting stories of what to remove in what order, and I don't wanna get greased by my springs....

so far i've removed the driveshaft, and i've got the cars rear frame rails on jackstands. panhard rod is out.

I've got the rear axle about halfway down (from just hanging)
I'm going to remove the e-brake line, and brake fluid line now.
then do I remove the shocks first? then springs then LCAs? or LCA's before the springs?

Any tips would be helpful, i'm going by ebmiller's writeup, but it seems like the LCA's were loosened, then springs removed then lcas?

Thanks

 

You said the car's already on jackstands (hopefully pretty high). Jack up the rear differential. Then remove the shocks. Then lower the rear differential jack. The springs are safe this way. When the tires are down to the ground you should be able to just yank the springs out. The manual says this could put your brake lines in a bind, though, so I guess you could remove those first since you have to do it anyway. I didn't mess with the brakes on mine. Then unbolt the trailing arms and it should be loose. Right?

 

so keep the rear end connected to the car via the trailing arms while removing springs eh?
what about the torque arm? it's disconnected from the trans right now, connected to the rear axle... leave it until the rear end is out of the way?

 

I don't think it matters when you remove the torque arm since it's kindof extra. Anybody else got input on that one?

 

Doesn't matter on the torque arm although it may be easier for you to install the new axle if the torque arm is connected first. It will keep it from rolling on you if you're doing it by yourself. Make sure you disconnect the brake lines and be prepared to plug them with a golf tee or something handy before too much fluid drains. Don't want to have to bleed the master cylinder.

Make sure when you remove the driveshaft not to let it hang free from the transmission. This will warp the tailshaft seal and it will leak.

 

yea, i'm just taking it down to replace most of the rear suspension, drop the gas tank, paint the underside of the car, mount amplifiers on the rear hump etc etc.

huh? oh you mean connected via the torque arm? yea, i've unbolted it at the front, so it shouldn't be too bad. when I put it together I can bolt it to the trans at the end.

I was going to flush my brake fluid, as it's probably 25yrs old by now, so I think I may just drain it now, then fill it and bleed it on startup, in april.... (basically a restoration here...)

so i'll take off the shocks when the axle is NOT hanging, but has the springs compressed via the jack, then drop the axle, and remove the springs, then clear sailing eh?

Thanks!

 

disconnect sway bars,unbolt drive shaft,disconnect shocks, unbolt torque arm, unbolt brake lines, unbolt trailing arms, and the rear end is out. Don't worry about the springs because they are almost loose enough to fall out just when the is in the air with nothing unbolted.

 

I would unbolt the torque arm last.

It makes a nice handle to push your rear end around with the tire on it.

 

mmmmm so much fun.... just pry none of the bushings are rusted together

 

I had a typo. Meant to say don't let the "Driveshaft" hang loose from the tranny.

 

I usually pull the springs first, just jack the car by the body and let the axle hang down by the shocks, reach up and squeeze the coils on the spring and you should be able to compress them enough by hand to slide the springs out. After that the rest is cake.

Do not disconnect the TA before you remove the springs, since the springs will try to rotate the housing upward in the front and it’s pretty easy to get your hands caught in the TA with it trying to swing around like that.

 

by hand??? ok hercules, i'll give that a shot
I'll probably get to do that tommorow anyway, so i'll see how it goes.

 

Ok, I will admit that I’m bigger then the average bear (6’4”, ~305#, 58” chest, 38” waist, been working out semi consistently for, I don’t know, maybe 16 years now?), making it _really_ easy for me to do, but I have showed a few of my friends how to do it and all but the smallest one were able to do it and put springs back like that.

If you can’t then all you do is get it to the same place, put a jack under the center section and disconnect the shocks and lower it down about 1” more and you’ll be able to then.

Either way, there’s plenty of room to do it and almost all rear springs (stock, performance…) are in the 100-200lb/in range, and most performance springs are actually short enough that you can usually wedge them out without compressing them, but even if you did have to compress them about 1” you only have to find about 100lbs of force…

 

Rock on! Thanks for all the tips guys.

I'm now cleaning the tunnel area, for paint and undercoat, then i'll put on a girdle for the rear end, and a few other upgrades and shove it back in with new suspension bits.

Just curious, are the giant bolts for the back of the TA extremly hard to remove? I used a 3' snipe on my 1/2" ratchet and a 21mm socket, and loosened the front nut, but the rear one destroyed my ratchet (yes, it exploded, i'm so lucky to have my eyes in tact...)

I'm soaking it in WD-40 now, and i'll try and borrow an electric impact gun or something...

 

Some bolts on mine needed the heads grinding off at each end, i have a pretty big compressor and snap-on air gun, and its not the lack of power, just the fact the bolts seize inside the metal part of the bush and "weld" themselves tight.
As the metal part of the bush is obviously larger than the bolt hole, a grinder was the only choice left.
Even oxy-acetylene can be a bit dodgy around certain areas.

 

ah, so grinding off the nut, and bolt head, then hammering the center part out with a punch or something?
I'm gonna leave that as a last resort, yuck...

 

Breaker bar and pipe Also some heat if you can. Get it cherry red.

 

I mentioned I destroyed a ratchet right? good 'ol breaker bar....


I'll try continuous soaking with WD-40 (can't get pb blaster here...), then more reefing on it, if no go, then i'll try a nut splitter.... I'm hoping I can hammer the bolt out if there's no nut on it? it's not threaded into the housing or anything right?

 

Often not i'm afraid. Its what we call in the UK [and elsewhere] a "metalastic bush".
Its rubber, but with a steel "tube" inside. The bolt rusts to this steel tube, and because of the rubber absorbing hammer and punch blows, its real lucky if you get it to come out.
I have to do it on fairly new Fiat Punto's and other crap, so you can imagine on a 20yr old car, its reach for the grinder.
Lets hope your lucky.

 

I am doing the same thing but I havent got another
rear yet hope I can get lucky and get something decent.

So far only bolts I had to cut was inside rear shocks bolts
with a sawsall. ALl the other ones I turned off with my
hand tools amazing isnt it.

Goodluck
Sawsall worked great cut off the bolt down to the nut
then cut the nut in half.