MYBAD79
Moderator
decided to get the grinder and welder out and reinforce area ....
Rear suspension overhaul....
- Thread starter MYBAD79
- Start date
Twin_Turbo
Der Maulwurf
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2008
- Messages
- 7,579
Ever thought about welding the crossmember on there? All you need is a little access hatch/cover in the rear for the diff bolts
mrvette
Phantom of the Opera
HAHAH...funny you say that, first time I dropped that cross support otta there I swore it was welded in there, :rofl::sweat::crutches:
MYBAD79
Moderator
I thought about welding it but isn't this allowing the diff to pivot ? I mean allowing it to pivot so that the driveline angle can be adjusted by changing the angle of the diff ?
Then again.... once the angle is adjusted and the front diff mount is tightened - why not weld the whole thing ???
MYBAD79
Moderator
Made some progress... I cleaned and welded the passenger side of the crossmember attachment bracket, should be a lot stronger now (still have to do the driver side)
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made a small filler piece:
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I hate welding overhead.... :smash:
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ground the uglyness a little smoother:
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and primered:
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I drilled the holes in the frame for 9/16 bolts. I'm attaching the crossmember with4" long 9/16" grade 8 bolts.... overkill for sure but the 3/8" studs seemed a little flimsy....
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made a small filler piece:
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I hate welding overhead.... :smash:
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ground the uglyness a little smoother:
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and primered:
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I drilled the holes in the frame for 9/16 bolts. I'm attaching the crossmember with4" long 9/16" grade 8 bolts.... overkill for sure but the 3/8" studs seemed a little flimsy....
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MYBAD79
Moderator
Driver side is now welded.....
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and the diff is back where it belongs:
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:smash:
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and the diff is back where it belongs:
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:smash:
MYBAD79
Moderator
Got the tapered spacers today, looks like these fit with the seals for the rod ends
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SmokinBBC
Well-known member
the seal hole looks a little large
MYBAD79
Moderator
some more pics: the seal fits against the larger diameter of the tapered spacer. I'm planning to fill the cavity between seal and rod end with sticky grease.
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MYBAD79
Moderator
This is a very good example of "while I'm at it"...... I decided that while the trailing arm is not in my way I'm grinding the transition between the flare and the original fender smooth.... i also ground off excessive glue that was used by the factory, re-glued the panel behind the wheel and did a few other purely "cosmetic" improvements inside the fender where nobody is ever going to see it anyways.... :blush:prrtt:
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I removed some 2 lbs of undercoating that somebody sprayed in there in adesperate attempt to prevent the fiberglass from rusting (I guess)....
I used Evercoat SMC resin to make sure it adheres properly to the fender (factory SMC) ..... here we go:
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prrtt:.
I removed some 2 lbs of undercoating that somebody sprayed in there in adesperate attempt to prevent the fiberglass from rusting (I guess)....
I used Evercoat SMC resin to make sure it adheres properly to the fender (factory SMC) ..... here we go:
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MYBAD79
Moderator
more progress..... passenger side is almost done, driver side still working on fiberglass....
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phantomjock
Well-known member
Karsten -
That's lookin' good!
If you'd like - I have the 2 Aluminum Plates I built to "sandwich" between the strut carrier and the diff. They're 1/4 inch each and will be good spacers IAW a John Greenwood VIP recommendation. PM if interested. (For - you - no worries.) Just let me know if you'd like to give 'em a try. They're in the garage so I'd have to dig 'em out.
Cheers - Jim
That's lookin' good!
If you'd like - I have the 2 Aluminum Plates I built to "sandwich" between the strut carrier and the diff. They're 1/4 inch each and will be good spacers IAW a John Greenwood VIP recommendation. PM if interested. (For - you - no worries.) Just let me know if you'd like to give 'em a try. They're in the garage so I'd have to dig 'em out.
Cheers - Jim
MYBAD79
Moderator
Hey Jim,
Thanks for the offer :thumbs:
I lowered the strut rod bracket already. I cut and re-welded so now the strut rods are almost parallel with the halfshafts. I'll give this setup a try. I have another strut rod bracket so if this is not working out I can go back to stock height....
Thanks for the offer :thumbs:
I lowered the strut rod bracket already. I cut and re-welded so now the strut rods are almost parallel with the halfshafts. I'll give this setup a try. I have another strut rod bracket so if this is not working out I can go back to stock height....
phantomjock
Well-known member
Clever!
Good solution - while your at its!
Cheers - Jim
Good solution - while your at its!
Cheers - Jim
Stingxray
Well-known member
Seeing your cross member re inforcemrnt MYBAD79...
Seeing your cross member re inforcemrnt MYBAD79 I thought I would show what I went with ..................... Over the forums...I have seen many post on the subject of raising the differential on C2 & C3 's. The Idea is to keep the 1/2 shafts level and lower the body 3/4" . And is discussed in VIP Artical here (http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/vip.pdf) But to start with some new ideas . First is the Differential mount to the X member.
A company sell's Re-forcing Tabs to keep the differential mounting bolts from pulling through the crossmember
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So............ ever striving for OVERKILL.... 2 2" channel ....a little trimming to fit through the hole ....
Now another company sells pre cut gussets to weld and reinforce the frame at the "Sombrero " Mounts. Well More Over kill. I designed a bracket that slips right inside the frame mount. This would obviously require the body lifted. So placing 5 tack welds from bracket to the frame ..... and its done. Originally intended to avoid messing up the powder coated frame. But ... turned out pretty good. Por -15 gloss black matches PCoat nicely.
Seeing your cross member re inforcemrnt MYBAD79 I thought I would show what I went with ..................... Over the forums...I have seen many post on the subject of raising the differential on C2 & C3 's. The Idea is to keep the 1/2 shafts level and lower the body 3/4" . And is discussed in VIP Artical here (http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/vip.pdf) But to start with some new ideas . First is the Differential mount to the X member.
A company sell's Re-forcing Tabs to keep the differential mounting bolts from pulling through the crossmember
.
So............ ever striving for OVERKILL.... 2 2" channel ....a little trimming to fit through the hole ....
Now another company sells pre cut gussets to weld and reinforce the frame at the "Sombrero " Mounts. Well More Over kill. I designed a bracket that slips right inside the frame mount. This would obviously require the body lifted. So placing 5 tack welds from bracket to the frame ..... and its done. Originally intended to avoid messing up the powder coated frame. But ... turned out pretty good. Por -15 gloss black matches PCoat nicely.
MYBAD79
Moderator
I saw the reinforcement plates for the crossmember mounts online, with shipping it's like $50 and change for 4 pieces of mild steel that anybody can buy at HomeDepot for $3 a foot.... took maybe 20 minutes to cut and fit....
I used washers under the bolt head inside the crossmember - I figure that the cast differential cracks before the bolts get pulled thru the crossmember but I added washers to spread the load anyways... overkill for sure, the crossmember is quiet thick in this area.
ok, my fiberglass work on the fenders is done, next item on the list is to install the driver side trailing arm and then figure out where the upper strut rods go... I'll have to lower the diff and the crossmember one more time to finish the welding for the upper bracket as well as the half shaft loop brackets....
I used washers under the bolt head inside the crossmember - I figure that the cast differential cracks before the bolts get pulled thru the crossmember but I added washers to spread the load anyways... overkill for sure, the crossmember is quiet thick in this area.
ok, my fiberglass work on the fenders is done, next item on the list is to install the driver side trailing arm and then figure out where the upper strut rods go... I'll have to lower the diff and the crossmember one more time to finish the welding for the upper bracket as well as the half shaft loop brackets....
MYBAD79
Moderator
"while I'm at it" I converted the rear calipers to O-ring and also cleaned them up a little.....
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BangkokDean
Well-known member
nice work............
MYBAD79
Moderator
the Johnny Joints are narrower than the stock style bushings so now I need additional alignment shims... I have a set of the slotted stainless shims and need about 4-5 more ... anybody have any leftover ??? I'd hate having to buy a full set for $30 and only use 4 shims... my plan B is to place a washer left/right of the Johnny Joint...
1Michel
Well-known member
Ok tell me, I did reinforce the welds on the sombrero thing,
The factory welds were horrible, I couldnt believe how bad this was.
Not rusted, just not welded"
Anyway, is the reinforcment welds I did enough???
Oh yeah, by the way , nice work sir!