CV Replacement

[Zep5.0]

I bought mine at Menards few weeks back, so assume HD and Lowe's have them also. HF does not have a 36mm last I checked

 

[Grog6]

I have successfully torqued these by standing on my breaker bar. but I weighed 270 at the time. this sets the bearing preload, and you aren't going to break it. 250 lbs of ass on a 1 foot bar will work. If you weigh 150, use a 2' bar.

 

[White Lincoln]

I ordered one from Amazon cause Lowes does not keep it in stock. My small frame and lack of any sort of butt, could not get the 250lb to click. Good enough for government work.

I got a Powerbuilt cause Crapsman does not make one anymore and Snap-On was $65.

Wife says I need to start wearing spenders. SOB, getting old sucks at times.

 

[Rodeo Joe]

SOB, getting old sucks at times.

Tell me about it!

Joe

 

[Grog6]

I turned 61 this year myself, so I know what you mean; Now its my bedtime. Tomorrow, guys!

 

[theterminator93]

When I didn't have a long enough arm to torque the axle retainer nuts, and before I got my "big" 1/2" torque wrench, I first torqued it as far as the tonearm-style wrench would go (150). Then I used another wrench and stuck a jack under the end of the wrench and used it to tighten it more until I estimated it was in the specified range.

 

[White Lincoln]

Well, I got all of the parts in now. Just need to set a time when the wife won't notice me tearing the rear end off the Cougar. "Be right there honey!"

New CV axles
New shocks
New sway bar links
New wheel bearings
New brake rotors
New brake pads

I think my back will hold out if I lay on the creeper most of the time.... how to get to my beer might be a problem.

 

[White Lincoln]

UPDATE:
So, what is the best way to clean the wheel assembly without losing the alignment marks? I would really like to get all of the caked on brake powder, grease, etc and look like the attached pic... (as if).

 

[XR7-4.6]

UPDATE:
So, what is the best way to clean the wheel assembly without losing the alignment marks? I would really like to get all of the caked on brake powder, grease, etc and look like the attached pic... (as if).

There are no alignment points on the knuckle, only the rear LCA bolt to IRS cradle for toe and the UCA bolt to IRS cradle for camber alter alignment. On the spindle side go to town with the wire wheel et al

 

[White Lincoln]

There are no alignment points on the knuckle, only the rear LCA bolt to IRS cradle for toe and the UCA bolt to IRS cradle for camber alter alignment. On the spindle side go to town with the wire wheel et al

I didn't read the manual right then. They said and showed making a mark on the part I showed. I will look again.

One reason I am getting this done now is because I really need a 4 wheel alignment on this car after working on the front end.

I will wire wheel the crap out of that wheel assembly! Then spray it with some clear!

One other question....if the wheel turns stiff, no slop, the bearing is good, right? there should be no wiggle back and forth and it should not excess grease around it.

BTW: I thought I was going to be fighting the spindle bolts, but I was able to remove them with cheater bar. And when I used the wheel puller on the spindle, it came right off and had "red" not rust, but a red color to the shaft of the CV axle. I did struggle like hell to get the brake dust pan's off. This bolts use RTV Blue.. SOB fighting it all they way till they were out. I took the dust cover off because I did not want it to get damaged if I slipped a wrench or something. It also helped removing the dust pans to get the lower spindle bolts.

 

[White Lincoln]

I have spent most of time cleaning everything, otherwise, this job should take 2 hours (everything takes 2 hours here). Here's a pic of the spindles:

 

[theterminator93]

So clean... so little rust...

 

[Zep5.0]

So clean... so little rust...

Mine looked like burnt potato chips

 

[White Lincoln]

Mine looked like burnt potato chips

Eu. I hope it didn't smell that way....

 

[White Lincoln]

So here's is a cool tip I found on YouTube when trying to find a decent document on CV Axles.

If the CV axle will not go into the differential and your tired of trying to slam it in, do this:

Turn the lock ring so the open space is facing up. No shit! I was having a hell of time getting the drivers side shaft into the differential and it kept hanging about 2" out, I found and read the article, turned the lock ring so this morning so the open space is at the top. When I did that, the shaft went right in with one bump.

 

[White Lincoln]

I could not get the caliper bracket clean. That brake dust was imbedded in it. I buffed the two of them best I could then decided to just paint them. Cleaned them with brake fluid and shot them with some grey engine paint. It was dry enough today to use it to turn the cylinder in to fit the new rotor and pads. That was a choir. Before that, I made a rooky mistake and tried to use a C clamp to press the cylinder in. OOOPS! "Oh yeah, don't you turn them with that little box shaped tool.

Something I was not real clear on is why they said to remove the emergency brake cables from the brakes. I did anyway.

 

[XR7-4.6]

I really half assed the paint prep on my rear calipers too, I didn’t even clean off the rust besides removing the scaley bits. 10+ years they’ve held up!

 

[Zep5.0]

You really have to use an acid based product to clean aluminum, in my experience. That, rubber gloves, and a hard bristle brush.

 

[White Lincoln]

I really half assed the paint prep on my rear calipers too, I didn’t even clean off the rust besides removing the scaley bits. 10+ years they’ve held up!

I figured using engine paint that is impervious to most automotive chemicals should hold up against peeling, chipping and over all getting to grungy.

 

[White Lincoln]

Pretty much about done on one side. New shock, new sway bar link, new rotor and pads... but I still need to get the piston pressed in further. It is not fitting quit yet.

Yes, those red shocks are "Gabriel shocks"! And the link is Moog and the bushings are I think Mevotech. Gotta love RockAuto who don't check their returns before selling them again... unbelievable.

 

[White Lincoln]

Question, the members on here that have replaced their CV axles, did you replace the spindle bearing too? I have a pair of new bearings, but thought the current ones were still good as there was no play and they still had tight spin.

Thanks!

 

[theterminator93]

I've only ever run across one bad rear knuckle bearing - that was the RR bearing on my old '94. No idea why it was so short-lived, it was growling at just over 100k. Aside from that, I've never had another bad rear bearing - the 93 Mark with ~150k, the 96 Mark with ~260k, my 97 is coming up on 180k, and the 98 Mark now with over 226k. Not to mention the FIL's 97 which had about 165k, or my parents' 90 and 93 - the latter of which had over 200k by the time it needed a 2nd set of HGs and we got rid of it.

Unless it's showing signs of overheating or play (which it doesn't sound like) my personal opinion is that you should leave well enough alone... unless you want to know that everything back there is brand new. It's worth mentioning though that I have seen a handful of reports that rear bearings that weren't installed perfectly have failed very quickly.

 

[White Lincoln]

Thanks Terminator, that sounds about right. I just called a shop I use to see how much they charge to replace them and he said basically the same thing... "it if aint whining, and there's no wobble, leave it alone." He agreed as well... 200k + on rear bearings is expected.

Excellent feedback - thanks again Terminator.

 

[White Lincoln]

Tip #439
Don't use this type of caliper piston tool: (Rubik's Cube, 1st pic). Most likely after 20 + years, the cylinder piston is going to be gummed up, the brake line could have expanded inward or several other reasons and it will be a bitch to press it in. The Rubik's Cube is hard to keep a constant hold on the piston.

Use the mountable type that not only holds a constant pressure against the piston, it fits better than the Rubik's Cube. They should be readably available at a parts store for rent. Otherwise, $25 at Harbor.

 

[XR7-4.6]

Yeah the cube has always been junk. The Ford tool is much better even without the fancy pressure component

 

[Kidd-7]

That second one works nice to compress standard pistons also.

 

[White Lincoln]

Thanks for the reference. I don't know if you can "rent" the Ford tool though...

Next question... Do I NEED the metal clip on the top of the caliper (see pic)? I did not have any on my brakes when I took them off. Finding them has become a choir as I would have to drive to get one or order at twice the price. Can I put the metal clip on AFTER the caliper is installed?

Also, is there an easy way to put the caliper on the bracket with the brake pad pressure wires (V shaped sticking off the top of the pad - see pic)? Do you just push down and hope for the best?

I am really NOT finding much on the web about this stuff. Seems these cars where around before the internet started.

 

[White Lincoln]

Captain's log. Stardate 4513.3.
I was able to get everything back together on both sides, tighten down all bolts to spec (except 2, but I did my best) and even tightened the spindle axle nut to 250 lbs, no shit! Me of all people got my 250 lb torque wrench to "click" at 250. I did not forget to hook up the speedo magneto, emergency brake line to the caliper and fill the master cylinder with about 2 oz of brake fluid. I pulled out about cup - 2 cups? of brake fluid before I began.

Tip #440:
When reducing the piston of the caliper, make sure to line up the notches on the piston face to be aligned with the brake pad. The brake pad has a tab sticking out that needs to reses into the piston face.

This has been a journey of "can I do this? REALLY? Can I do this?" and became "I have to do this, I need a 4 wheel alignment and it would be stupid to do it without replacing those brakes and CV axles!" The weather was in the 80's when I started on Sunday and we usually get our first cold snap on Halloween when all the leaves start falling. So I really need to just get this done. And cold weather was fast approaching. It is here now, I don't think we hit 65, maybe 70 today. It's a bitch to crank on wrenches in the winter, damn hands crack, skin tears and just friken hate winter. I digress.

Some more pics for your amusement.

This case of the CV Axles is CLOSED!

 

[KevinVarnes]

I hate that magic cube of death. I bought one of those caliper retract kits with LH and RH jackscrews years ago after fighting with that stupid cube thing on a couple of sticky rear calipers. Never again. One of the better tool investments I've made.

 

[White Lincoln]

I hate that magic cube of death. I bought one of those caliper retract kits with LH and RH jackscrews years ago after fighting with that stupid cube thing on a couple of sticky rear calipers. Never again. One of the better tool investments I've made.

I was trying to figure out how I could use this square hunk of junk into some kind of projectile....