just put the bearings outside to cool them down to the same temp as the diff........

they're a bit bigger than 2".... an interference fit is usually 0.001" per inch of diameter

but now the interference is 0.0004" or so, +/- 0.0002" the races seem to be enlarged by about 0.001" from the other junk rear end i have... and i just mic'd the pucks i used, and they're exactly the same size as the race... damn.

bought a few sets of wheel bearings, found some that were a tiny tiny bit bigger in the batch, hammered them in, i'm good to go.


NOW i was also at the yard, and guess what steering rack would likely work quite well?

the intrepid!

it's got the pivots for the arms in the middle, it's a rear-mount front steer power rack, i didn't pull one, but they seem to have a decently long body on them, and insanely long rod arms.

The style of steering rack in rockmonton's post is also in some GM cars as well as the 2000 (may be earlier as well) to 2005 Civics. Also the CR-V's should have them up to the new body style in 2007.

Just have to find a rack with the pivots at the right distance...I'm up to my ears right now in other projects. Bring a tape the next time you're at the JY and let us know what happens.

yeah, well, given the forces on the rack really aren't all that huge, an adapter could be fabbed to space the intrepid rack to whatever pivot distance you'd like.

the grand-am uses a similar rear-steer rack. I'll likely go the next weekend i'm not stuck doing homework and pull one to use up some more of the store credit/gift cards i've got.

That being said, the rear axle is all in place now in the car. I revised the mounting locations/brackets to have a bit better I.C/pinion angle through the travel of the suspension.

just gotta set the ride-height pinion angle, tack it up now and weld it. Since i'm dumb, i'm goign to need to pick up some dry ice to keep the seals/bearings cool whilst i weld it up, then pull the whole shebang off and paint it hitachi loader orange.

There's actually a front-steer rack that's shaped like that? I thought they were all rear-steer. Huh... goofy.

yep, it's mounted on the firewall, but it is front-steer, it's just got insanely long rod arms. and is prone to having the bushings for them wear out.



i'd reckon this might be something workable!

3.31 turns lock to lock though, so no real advantage here...

welded up the brackets for the rear end

i'm going to make a bolt-on panhard bar to the axle out of the old leaf spring hangers, as i may need to adjust the point a few times depending on clearance.

set 3.5 degrees of pinion angle, it'll work well with my tranny/motor. the small driveshaft tunnel may be a bit of a pain in the ass, so we'll see if i need to do anything when i start driving it.

started painting the rear end, hitachi loader orange, lol. Nice thick industrial enamel, definitely was wearing my respirator with this one. A bit cold, but i pre-heated it lightly with a tiger torch and it seems to be drying, albeit slowly.

As well, i may have run into a pair of Harrison M300 Metal lathes, anyone need one? I'll find out if i get them or not late next week. 575v 3phase units, but can be converted to 220. 40" bed models i believe.

Pics to come this weekend!

as well, anyone know where the cheapest place to get standard lugnuts is? otherwise, i'm going to the junkyard.

Junkyard...they're laying on the ground all over the place and they even fit in your pocket...

haha, of course, i know, buuut i was looking for some new shiny ones.

Though, with the 3" studs that stick out past the wheels, i guess it really doesn't matter. lol.

Any parts store will have them. They're 1/2"X20. Canadian Tire even has them...

I'm just going to leave this here...

Well, the axle is in, sure rides a bit high though!

Great progress...you're right though - you've gotta sport a pretty big mullet for that ride height!

looks like i'm gonna have to either go to coilovers, move the spring, or flip the brakes around since there seems to be clearance issueswith the springs. darn. ah well, nothing impossible to solve!

I've gone and moved the car so it should have basically no squat on acceleration/deceleration, as the IC is now way ahead of the car.