I just got my 3:27 9 bolt yesterday and I was taking a look at it and the brake stuff for the fluid to travel through is either cut or has been severed. I haven't taken too close of a look but I used my high resolution pictures to zoom in and I'm wondering how in the world will me/my friend get this re-attached to my car? I'd hate to mess up a working braking system. The picture below shows my new used rear end with the brake hoses circled.

I need a short sweet answer on this. The e-brake on this rear end is the same as mine (this rear end came off a 1987 350) and mine is a 1988 350 car. I guess you'd have to cut some brake stuff off to get the rear end off.....

Any info would be great as I'm doing the swap Saturday night! Thanks!



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It "appears" that the hard lines from the T to the calipers are in place and that the only line that's been cut is to the body (look under your car and you'll see it). If that's so, I'd think you could remove the cut line and reuse the one in your car. Spray the fitting liberally with PB Blaster and use a line wrench.

JamesC

 

Sounds good to me but what about this? I got a picture showing another part that has been cut, or at least it looks that way to me. It's on the passenger side brake set-up or maybe for the e-brake set-up. I can't tell for sure though.



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Looks like the driver's side to me. Again, it 'appears' to be the parking brake cable. Typically, yards cut the torque arm, LCA's, brake lines, cables--in short anything that will aid in a quick removal.

JamesC

 

But will I be able to get this all hooked up Saturday night? So far my friend who has way more experience doing rear ends hasn't said anything about the braking cables being an issue and I'm thinking we can use some of my stuff on my car now but what are my possibilities to look at for that night?

I just really hate getting everything prepped, bought, ready to go and then some stupid small thing pops up and keeps the whole installation from going through. That rear end is sitting in my car, right now, and it weighs alot. I want it out, in my car and rolling soon. I would just hate for some stupid cut brake line or cable to prevent us from installing this.

 

I'd do as much to the rear as possible with it out of the car: clean up and/or paint, fluid change and inspection (be heck to find problems after the swap), pads/calipers, rotors, seals and bearings if there's a weep at the axle flange or pinion. If you previously had drums, the parking brake cables won't fit. You'll need a disc combination valve.

Expect to run into problems!

EDIT: While your inside the cover, verify the gear ratio so you'll be able to set up the correct drive and/or driven gears.

JamesC

 

Here is what I know for sure. I have the disc rear end since I have a 350 with the same e-brake set-up, that's no issue. I checked out the inside of the cover and did some turning tests to check for noises or any clunking and there isn't any. I do want to get some of the rust off and clean it up abit before installing it.

I don't think I'll have enough time to paint it by Saturday night. I'm not pulling it out of my car at my home to do it because 300lbs. is abit to yank by myself at the position it's sitting in my car.

I got a new set of rear brakes and I'm using the calipers/rotors/seals/bearings from my current set-up since they're working fine. No need to fix what isn't broken you know?

Like I said before, my biggest concern is how difficult it'll be to hook-up with those 2 lines cut. Either way do you think with the info I've provided so far that things are better than what they would be if I didn't make sure things were good and I didn't have donor parts?

 

I wouldn't reuse bearings (IIRC, those are pressed in in a 9-bolt) or seals. At any rate, since both are disc 9-bolts, the swap seems straightforward, though you'll need to correct the drive and driven gears in the trans if you wish the speedo to read correctly.

JamesC

 

I think my speedo is off already. I'm not too worried about that given I don't drive it much but more so because I'm buying a shift kit console tomorrow, a tranny kit for better sprags and I'm waiting on my Corvette servo to arrive.

I am going to replace my rear sway bar end links just because the ones I have now are old. My car has the FE3 code which means it has the 34/21mm sized sway bars on the front/rear but I guess I'm having a hard time finding the correct ones since everything is listed in inches around these local auto stores.

What I found was the Polyurethane Sway Bar End Link Set; 2-5/8" Spacer Length and I found the

Polyurethane Sway Bar End Link Bushings; 8 Bushings/Washers; OD 1-1/8", ID 3/8".

However, I'm not sure which ones to get and I don't really trust the computers at these auto part stores, if you know what I mean.

 

My 85 IROC originally was equipped with a 34/24 combo. If you're not in a hurry, Spohn carries the correct links:

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...s-Accessories/

JamesC

 

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