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While I'm waiting on pistons, made good progress on Good Friday, successfully celebrating the miracle of my personal Lord and Savior Jesus Chrysler. Someone pointed out that the core support creates an Alfa grille 18 years before FCA existed. Praise His name, it was foretold in the prophecies. Anyway, the Neon is off jackstands for the first time since August.     One thing jumped out at me. Was taking a look at the sound deadening scorched by the TTI header, and noticed rays of light... from two small cracks at the corners of the exhaust tunnel. Oops.   My guess is thermal fatigue from the header, but it's a high-stress region of the firewall anyway. Still trying to decide what to do. I'm leaning towards having some robust standoffs on the firewall that will support an offset sheetmetal heatshield with some secondary shielding on it. I've been thinking more about the rebuilt, LSD-equipped transmission, and how everything I ever purchase from anybody is broke-rear end bullshit. So I'm considering tearing everything down and throwing it back together with new bearings, new seals, and measured lash, along with new gear selector bushing, etc. Alternatively, since the original trans is in such great shape, it's tempting to take the Quaife out of the unknown trans and put it in the never-opened one. We'll see.
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Mar 31, 2018 23:11
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OneOverZero posted:Still trying to decide what to do. I'm leaning towards having some robust standoffs on the firewall that will support an offset sheetmetal heatshield with some secondary shielding on it. Nice Brotas by the way 
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Apr 1, 2018 00:59
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When I got my dog from the Madison county shelter, she came in pregnant and all her pups got adopted but she didn't. I got her 4 days before she was to be sent off to Brother Wolf. She is currently curled up in a ball snoring on my bed. Glad to see the Neon is moving forward. Wouldn't it qualify for a vintage or classic racing series soon?
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Apr 1, 2018 04:57
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Inconsequential update to fend off archives yet again.Ardemia posted:When I got my dog from the Madison county shelter, she came in pregnant and all her pups got adopted but she didn't. I got her 4 days before she was to be sent off to Brother Wolf. She is currently curled up in a ball snoring on my bed.   (I didn't see if this sticker got the owner into another pissing match, but given years past and the utter smackdown the glorified Falcon put on some GT4s, I wouldn't be surprised...) I have accomplished very little because (1) allergy season actually means something to me for the first time and (2) because I'm lazy. Nicopp brake lines are almost complete, thanks to the Eastwood vice-mount flarer that a coworker lent me. I will never again gently caress with the handheld ones unless required by the task at hand. Fuel tank got fresh hardlines, rollover valve & grommet, and a new Walbro pump - all a foolish "while I'm at it" since the tank dropped to access the rear brake lines. And with that, the urge to start hanging body panels got to be too strong. Step one was throwing on the hood and closing it, only to remember that I hadn't yet installed the release cable. The fenders are currently ziptied on and nothing is aligned at all, but perceived progress is a powerful motivator. As of tonight, I've rebuilt all the weatherstripping, channel retainers, and foam for the doors, so the mirrors are on and glass is ready to go in. Copious amounts of closed-cell foam VHB tape, different thickness of Window Weld rope, and a hundred yards or so of vapor barrier will make for an exciting week of sealing. [img]https://imgur.com/dNZh56bl.jpg][/img] In cleaning off the corner glass to ensure a good seal with this sick 5/16" butyl rope, I found ghosts from old Hoosier stickers on both. Makes sense. Pretty sure this car ran streamrollers in FSP shortly before I bought it.   Got some Hella Supertones so the flatbill kids will know my poo poo mean business. Or because I snatched the OE horn to make my Jeep pass inspection, and because they were cheap.   The chrome donkey dick exhaust tip has to go, urgh. My partner was tired of chasing water leaks and phantom CELs in her Fit and succumbed to the siren song of a deeply-discounted Fiesta ST. It wouldn't be my choice of color (though it's looking better by the day), but it was the last non-sunroof ST within a few hundred miles and dirt cheap. I was not prepared for how loving fun they are to drive. Roughly 400lb heavier than the ACR, but a 6"-shorter wheelbase with shockingly similar handling characteristics. Now to make some BOSS 98 side strake decals... 
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May 22, 2018 05:57
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Sweet FiST!
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May 22, 2018 18:29
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My plate suggestion already got shot down. A few years ago, a friend of mine wanted "DP 4 ME!" on her 944 Turbo, with the intent being "delta pressure". So it could be worse. But as of a few minutes ago, all the door and window seals are clean, reclipped, resealed, and rehung.  gently caress butyl rubber forever.
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May 24, 2018 05:06
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 Has anyone in history every actually used those little coin tray things, in this case on the center console? I remember these on all sorts of cheaper cars in the '90s but never with coins actually in them. And as for vestigial features, my '01 Cherokee had a cassette tape sorting tray in the center console, baffling since my '94 Cherokee did not. '15 Challenger has no CD player but has a line-in, USB port, and SD card  slot; an '18 I had as a rental a few months ago was just riddled with USB ports inside. I think we're moving in the right direction as a society. gently caress coins. Tomorrow I'm picking up some SRT4 seats a couple hours away. Robust, well-bolstered seats that bolt right in to a first-gen car and don't compromise the function of OEM seat belts, which is why I didn't go with a pair of Sparco Sprint Ls or similar. These things generally go for twice the price in worse shape nowadays, but I'll look into the cost of reupholstering them - seats are at least 15 years old and apparently stored under a tarp on someone's porch for some time.  I've decided not to go with the 2.4L and LSD quite yet, mainly because the windage tray I've ordered for it won't be fabricated for another few months. This also gives me the opportunity to check out my harness wiring fixes with a known engine, limiting the anxiety I'll have attempting to break in a new engine that requires further ignition and injector re-pinning, likely cam retiming, etc. Also means that I have more time to go through the Quaife installation on the "new" ACR trans and ensure that it was shimmed properly and with no risk of diff pins shearing. If I'm bold I may go MegaSquirt with it this winter, familiarize myself with the system on the 2.0L, and then run the 2.4L from there since nothing will fundamentally change other than an upward shift in the tables.
OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Jul 21, 2018 |
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Jul 21, 2018 21:38
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Progress!! Hooray@!
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Jul 22, 2018 05:23
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Hell yeah, glad to see progress on this!
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Jul 22, 2018 14:53
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Very happy to see some progress with this car. Amazing work in such little time.
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Jul 22, 2018 17:33
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Those seats were nastier than I thought. Craigslist ad photo must've been taken before a year or so outdoors. Production tag shows these to be from the first SRT4 model year, 2003.  Sitting in place, dirty as hell, to show the size difference versus the rental-car-spec OE seat. This highlights a huge safety benefit since I'm a lanky Nordic freak and my neck is fully beyond the original headrests, even when they're fully extended.  Anyway, I think someone shat out Circle-K vape juice all over the seats (because SRT4) prior to infesting them with brown recluse spiders, so I fully gutted everything. Painted the frames, soaked the covers in Simple Green before giving them a thorough power wash, repaired some of the foam bolsters, and learned how to use hog-ring pliers. I think there were only perhaps 24 rings in the pair, but I have 2lbs of stainless rings now, so eh. There are some slight wrinkles in the vinyl bolsters, but since the hog rings are able to float on the listing rods, I think they'll work themselves out with a few thermal cycles in the sun.   But, Neon might go on the back burner for a couple weeks. The rear bumpstops on my Cherokee came off since the leaf springs are now inverted, and the front U-joints are so shot that they bind when I back up at full-lock. So I'm throwing time at it now.
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Sep 2, 2018 05:14
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It's weird how there are like two kinds of car guys: the kind who are afraid to take apart a seat and the kind of guys who casually drop phrases like "listing rods." One day I hope to be the latter kind of car guy.
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Sep 2, 2018 05:33
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Seat Safety Switch posted:It's weird how there are like two kinds of car guys: the kind who are afraid to take apart a seat and the kind of guys who casually drop phrases like "listing rods."  This is now a thread about all the things I'm doing that prevent me from making Neon progress. My trusty Comanche is sold as of this afternoon. The new owner is perhaps even more particular about these bizarre trucks than I am, so my twangs of guilt for neglecting it are finally put to rest. Here it is the last time that I actually did Truck Stuff with it rather than with my Cherokee, about which I have to give zero shits.  Challenger is now rocking 275/40 BFG Comp 2 A/S all-around. Scat Packs used base R/T tire packages (245/45R20) until the SRT stuff was made optional in '17, so this was such a huge god damned difference on an earlier car.  The Cherokee was pulled into the garage to begin gutting everything from the rockers down. Axles, control arms, coils/leaves/shocks, everything in the brake system apart from hardlines, steering box, driveshafts, transfer case. XJ parts are dirt cheap and there was no point in leaving a 1994 bushing in place when even the best ones are like $6 each.  Both motor mounts looked like this.  Of the eight control arm bushings (four-link front), this would prove to be one of the better ones.  POR'd the hell out of the axle housings while they were out, and re-tapped the front diff for an NPT fitting for the breather hose - OE one was nowhere to be found.  Test-fitting the same header that served well on the Comanche. Brown Dog's rubber motor mounts are fantastic too. Took the opportunity to do the rear main seal while the front axle was conveniently in the driveway.  Over the holiday weekend I'll start getting the steering and the rear suspension back in so the plethora of jackstands can be put away. edit: he's stared throughout the typing of this post 
OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Nov 22, 2018 |
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Nov 22, 2018 04:28
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Feed that dog a turkey, you monster.
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Nov 22, 2018 05:39
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Whats the brand of that there header?
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Nov 23, 2018 03:15
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One day from archives, I know you have progress to post: 
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Feb 21, 2019 03:35
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Feb 21, 2019 04:36
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ACRs rule. Post more!
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Feb 21, 2019 04:40
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Wrar posted:ACRs rule. Post more! Torn Quad Jones posted:Whats the brand of that there header?  .Seat Safety Switch posted:Feed that dog a turkey, you monster.  The Cherokee is now outside, as I got tired of clearing snow off a Challenger while leaving an immobile shitmobile nestled in the garage. First up, I ordered a pair of leaf spring sliders to replace the factory shackles. This is primarily due to the unfavorable shackle angle that is nearly inevitable with OME springs on XJs. Since aftermarket shackle relocation brackets either involve torching the unibody or adding additional lift to correct the angle, I decided to give bolt-on sliders a try. The rear leaf eyelet no longer swing around a central pivot point, but instead slides within the box on a pair of UHMW inserts. In theory, it should work pretty well. In practice, we'll see - I'm worried about heat on bumpy freeways, and about the fact that all torsional flexibility is forced through the leafpack into the pinned front eyelet.  While the rear suspension bits' POR15 coats were curing, I moved on to other stuff. Engine has new rear main seal, oil pan gasket, intake/exhaust gasket, and valve cover gasket. Not mad for over a half-million miles:  And the front end went (very) loosely back together, prior to moving on the brakes, ball joints, hubs, etc. Let it be known that getting two UCAs and two LCAs into place while also being able to install extended coil springs (designed with nonlinear rate to prevent them from popping out of the perches at full droop) is THE HARDEST GOD DAMNED THING I've ever done, Volvo 245 heater core included.  A local drivetrain shop rebuild the front axleshafts as it's cheaper than me ordering the Spicer U-joints and goofing it up myself. They'll get the front driveshaft and build me a new double-cardan one when I'm ready. I have no idea what caused this damage to the ABS trim rings on the axles, but since they're meaningless on my XJ, they just got pressed off:   The brake are now intact, from a WJ master/booster combo to the discs and drums. I hate dealing with drums but always walk away feeling that they weren't as bad as I remembered.   The sliders went on as easily as expected. Gas tank skid needs to go back on.  Took time to reorganize some tools.   And, where it sits now, after I nuked the battery and MonkeyNutz helped me push it outside. A proper alignment, some time to settle the coils, and another alignment should flatten out the steering geometry. It's definitely not as level as I'd like it to be (and I need a stud for the stabilizer).   Who wants that Comanche? Help me, please. It just sits there and makes me feel guilty for not driving it. Oh, my neighbor was asking me why every vehicle in the driveway has wheel chocks. Everything has a functioning driveline and parking brakes, but I was a curious child who decided to put my mom's Spirit R/T in neutral and release the parking brake, putting me and it through a fence across the street. So chalk it up to like thirty years of paranoia. But back to the Neon. Although I previously trusted the "rebuilt" trans with the new Quaife LSD, the fact that the cases were sealed with gray RTV gave me pause. And low and behold, it was assembled pretty well, but not how it could've been. Atop tactical vapor barrier for operating-room cleanliness: [   The shift shafts, selector seals, and other difficult-to-obtain-in-non-Chinesium bits are all in fantastic shape.  Bearing cups are similarly nice.  But below is the reason I kept tearing it down. The diff pins on these cars are eventually a weak point when abused and thrashed thoroughly (see this rally car example), typically when the fluid is superheated by extended wheelspin on one side, reducing the lubricity against the pin. Eventually, a worn pin may fling out enough to hit the housing casting, splitting the case. Chrysler fixed this issue more than twenty years ago (and the LSD should pretty much eliminate any chance of a one-tire fire) but offered a belt-and-suspenders approach with sheetmetal brackets that will retain a failed pin. The shop that assembled the Quaife didn't use them.  What I want to see (on either side, capturing the pin region):  Installing these requires removing the ring gear and re-shimming the diff to achieve proper preload (by iteratively shimming and measuring prevailing torque), but it'll never be easier than it is now. Engine is starting to go together. Pictured below: first dry-fit test of the major bits. It's now a completed bottom end awaiting the windage tray.  MOTHER  FUCKER OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Feb 24, 2019 |
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Feb 24, 2019 00:58
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I mean, I hate to dig into this but I mean, you're talking about sheetmetal shields to keep a spider gear pin from flying out the side right? Because Quaife diffs don't have spider gears, nor that pin.
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Feb 25, 2019 04:00
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He's right. The Quaife completely replaces the OEM spider gear assembly. There are ways a torsen style gearset can fail, but that isn't one of them.
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Feb 25, 2019 23:45
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 HOLY MOLY I don't know why I'd never thought it to be helical. Years of clutchpack LSDs clouded my mind. Thanks for the revelation. Time to shim and reassemble. edit: and it turns out that the ZF LSD in my Challenger is clutched and not Torsen, my world is aflame OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Feb 26, 2019 |
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Feb 26, 2019 02:56
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Another Jeep detour. Having a short wheelbase, XJs have some pretty funky driveline angles once lifted, and in this case shimming the axle won't be sufficient to eliminate binding. From the factory, the NP231J transfer case (4WD no with center diff, probably >90% of 4WD XJs) has a rear slip yoke, allowing the fixed-length rear driveshaft to telescope into and out of the case. It's supported by a rear bearing housing that contains a helical-driven, electric speed sensor. The whole shebang is somewhat visible in this older photo of me being mad at whomever torqued the gently caress out of the drain & fill plugs:  On my '01 XJ, I chose to install a mainshaft with a fixed rear output yoke, requiring a telescoping driveshaft (double-cardan shafts are available from a shitton of suppliers) and new rear bearing housing. This reduces driveshaft joint angularity considerably at full droop. For this '94, I went with an even-shorter mainshaft, made possible by eliminating the axial length of the helical speed sensor in favor of a Hall effect sensor. Case is easy enough to remove; it's bolted to the transmission on six studs and has a four-bar shift linkage mounted to the unibody. Out of the Jeep, it looked shockingly good for its mileage. I don't think this Jeep has seen much range selection other than back and forth between 2HI and 4HI. Chain was well within deflection limits, bearings were all nice and smooth, and mode selector pads & synchros were all beautiful. Might as well tear it up! If it weren't for the new output shaft, I would've put this right back in with zero concerns.  Mainshaft extracted! On the left, stock '01. Middle is the stock '94. Right (prematurely covered in assembly lube, not blood) is the JB Conversions super-short mainshaft.  Dozens of NP231 variants existed across OEMs and applications, but the biggest differences here:
This is the input gear itself. Supposedly there are over forty variations of this guy. This is a short-shaft, wide-outer-bearing, early-gear design as best as I can tell. The outer bearings changed partway through MY1994 and I have a March 1993 case, so I ended up with the wrong bearing but a local drivetrain shop had one in stock.  The rear case (on the left) has a new output bearing pressed in. Removing the old one took a solid two hours.  The low-range annulus gear in the front case was the only thing that stayed put, as there's no reason to pull it and the snap ring retaining it is ultra thicc. Slot on the lower-left is for the magnet. Front case bearings are each retained with a snap ring.  New inner bearing pressed into the input gear, ready to go into the...  ...planetary gearset itself. If this were a heavy-duty Ram, there would be six pinions instead of three - notice the modular raw carrier. Three-pinion design is rated for something like 1600lbft output so I have no incentive to change, but it's not uncommon for people to mix and match parts in these since there were so many variations. The first of the two thrust washers is dropped in, followed by the input gear, the second thrust washer, the steel retention lockring, and a snap ring.   The whole shebang is dropped into the annular gear...  ...and retained via yet another snap ring on the input bearing, from the outside of the case. The front bearing retainer is bolted in place.  With the planetary installed, the mode selector is fed through its mount bushing. A poppet plunger will be bolted into the case the engage the detents, along with a switch for the mode dash light, but I left those out for the time being so I could actuate the selector without the mechanical advantage of the shift linkage.  The range hub drops into the carrier, with the range fork & shaft engaging the hub. Fork pads are supposedly non-serviceable so I didn't bother with the new ones that came in my kit.  New shift pads also pop onto the mode fork, with the mode sleeve going in place predictably (it's upside-down in the first photo - "long" side faces toward the input). The mode fork rail runs through the range fork and pilots into the case.   Around this time my guy reminded me it was a few minutes past his dinnertime.  The needle cartridges have been pressed out of the drive sprocket to accommodate the later mainshaft design, so it's dropped into place, followed by the mode hub (on the left). A snap ring goes in place after the hub.   The mainshaft assembly can then pop down into the front case...  ...followed by the front output shaft, chain, and the mode preload spring. As with the planetary, there's an available wide BorgWarner chain, mode hub, and front shaft that come in HD applications, but the standard-width XJ stuff is more than sufficient.  New pickup screen sits in its slot, with the tube popping into the pump with a fresh O-ring. The pump sits on the outside of the rear case, so keeping this assembly aligned when inverting and piloting it onto the front case was a mild PITA.   The tone ring is a new addition to drive the Hall effect speed sensor. It's drawn up and away from the oil pump surface once the yoke nut is torqued.  Lastly, the JB rear bearing housing and yoke.  All of this was practice for the T350 trans. Hopefully it pays off. And hey, if the transfer case fails, now I've got public evidence of exactly where I went wrong.
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May 12, 2019 17:08
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I'm rebuilding my 231 next week. That mega short looks appreciably shorter than the standard slip yoke eliminator that I have. I sure could've used that extra inch or two of driveshaft  How's the neon?
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May 25, 2019 16:23
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You're a madman and I want to see that Neon shred some tires.
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May 26, 2019 07:03
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I have accomplished very little because it is Received a very exciting box in the mail containing T350 parts and some fabric to cover my shame.  Also came across the press fixture for the T350. The main and countershaft have to be pressed out of their case bearings simultaneously, and this pallet includes the proper standoffs to prevent sideloading. Out come the shafts:  Note the funky slotted block, used to align the shift shafts when dropping the case back over the shafts and pressing the bearings on.   It's still sitting like that what 'cause I'm lazy. Also got the internals of the 2.4L together. Rings were filed:  Anaerobic sealant was aggrogoobed all over the block:  And the bedplate was torqued down. Note the four non-twelve-point nuts - those replace the stock balance shaft assembly bolts. They're not torqued down in this image as I forgot to pull the two dowels out of the bedplate.  Endplay of the crank was just over the minimum guideline for a 2.4L, not surprising since the thrust bearing halves were among the pieces I had coated out of paranoia. Started test-fitting the hodgepodge of business-end components to remember what I did and didn't have.  Around this time, I decided it would be nice to paint one of the SRT4 valve covers in crinkle-coat red. It looked okay when I first sprayed it:  ..but I got a little overzealous and it looked like crap once cured. Live and learn. Decided to strip it.    And went at the block with Chrysler small-block blue this time.   
Back to the Cherokee. I reinstalled the transfer case whilst making stupid jokes about mechanical gender roles.   At the same time, I installed a Novak cable shifter to replace the stock four-bar linkage. It was fine but I was smitten with the cable-actuated system after feeling one installed on a 241OR.  Double-cardan driveshaft arrived and is superb, as expected of Tom Woods.     At this point, I celebrated prematurely. Back together! Done! Ready to go.  Well, no. I wish. For reasons I haven't yet determined, 2HI functions, 4HI is neutral, neutral is neutral, and 4LO is actually 2LO. As best as I can figure, I installed that mode ring upside-down. This isn't terribly difficult to remedy when installed in the Jeep, but I'd just as soon pull the case back out and do it more cleanly on a workbench. Additionally, installing the retention plate for the cable shifter required pulling the carpet. Driver's side is gorgeous.  Passenger's side needs... some work. The sound deadening mat against the firewall was soaked, so I'm guessing that there's a leak against the cowl. Still, not bad for a Colorado vehicle with silly miles. I'll tend to this before winter.   Lastly, I completed my metamorphosis into  gently caress these. They're going on eBay for whatever mouthbreather is lined up to pay $120 shipped for throwaway dunnage. 
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Aug 18, 2019 18:58
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Glad the Neon is still progressing. Are people actually paying money for the Charger bumper shipping protectors? I knew a lot of them were leaving them on but this is a whole new level of idiocy.
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Aug 18, 2019 19:55
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Those are meant to be for shipping? Every single one on the lot at my local dealer has them on and I see them driving around with them still on all the time.
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Aug 18, 2019 20:26
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opengl128 posted:Those are meant to be for shipping? Every single one on the lot at my local dealer has them on and I see them driving around with them still on all the time.  I always thought they looked really out of place.
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Aug 19, 2019 13:13
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i think they look dope on a dark gray or black car but i am also, on the inside, a 2f2f idiot
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Aug 19, 2019 17:09
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Hello fellow ACR owner! I just picked up this 1997 ACR sedan for a song and it's insanely fun. I'll be following this thread intently because OP is far more knowledgeable than I. Fortunately, my car was very well cared for, and hasn't even tripped over 25k miles yet, so I hope I don't need too much advice! Some pics for content:  
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Sep 14, 2019 00:19
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GOD IS BED posted:Hello fellow ACR owner! I just picked up this 1997 ACR sedan for a song and it's insanely fun. I'll be following this thread intently because OP is far more knowledgeable than I. Fortunately, my car was very well cared for, and hasn't even tripped over 25k miles yet, so I hope I don't need too much advice! I'd love to see more pictures of the cage.
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Sep 14, 2019 01:59
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No problem!     It's a bolt in for the ACRs, pretty robust- it rolled once at a race, but passed several inspections after.
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Sep 14, 2019 02:11
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Where the heck are those sub straps coming from? That car isn't plated still is it?
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Sep 14, 2019 20:38
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I see a regular Texas plate - a current issue one at that. (I assume that's what you mean by plated; that plate style has been in circulation for 6 years) TX don't give a poo poo so long as it passes an OBD2 check (only in emissions counties), and the brakes, seatbelt, lights, horn, and wipers work. Oh, gotta have tread on the tires too. They don't usually care HOW the seatbelts work, so long as they're present and  working . I've seen a rolled Ranger with the top cut off just above the door line (including pillars) that had the shoulder belts bolted to the back wall of the cab a few inches below where it was cut (i.e. they'd just rip right through the sheet metal in a 5 mph tap). It passed our inspection fine once he added a little sheet of plexi where the windshield used to be - solely for the purpose of attaching registration and inspection stickers. 
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Sep 15, 2019 |
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Sep 15, 2019 17:33
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What STR said. I'm mostly keeping it registered for ease of transport to autox events for the time being, this is not a car to be driven regularly on the street. I'll get some pics of the substraps later, I'm about to walk out the door, but they are bolted to the frame on the same point as the waist straps (I hope I'm understanding right). That said, the restraints are old and need replacement. I'll probably redo the seats as well, since I'm using a cushion to help me reach and the adjustable seat is already as close as it gets. As far as I know, this is the same setup it ran back in the 90s and early 00s during the Neon Challenge series. I admit, I am a complete noob to this stuff, so if yall see something incorrect, please let me know.
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Sep 15, 2019 22:57
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Awesome to see that car in good hands! Saw it for sale a few months ago. If you need any oddball parts, press tools, etc, by all means ask - I am ashamed by the hoard that I've amassed (and my partner would be happy to see it thinned out). Post some more photos of it! The trans is (hopefully) good to go now with all new bearings and synchros, apart from the output shaft. All the world claims that these are a huge PITA to rebuild, which leaves me a little unnerved since it didn't prove to be difficult at all, especially with the T350/355 press tools I found on eBay. Didn't find anything fundamentally wrong with the previous rebuild, but feel better knowing that the diff bearing preload is at least set correctly now. There's a shim that is dropped into the main case prior to pressing in the bearing cup, and an expanding sleeve is used to check turning torque. You can either remove the ring gear or leave the rest of the case empty - I chose the latter since I didn't want to risk cracking the speedo ring gear to remove the diff ring. Dropped in the shim, pressed new cups into both halves, pressed new races onto either side of the diff, and torqued the case together (using all the fasteners once I was satisfied that it wasn't wildly out-of-spec). The downside is that it's of course an iterative shimming process if the torque doesn't initially fall in the right range. Thankfully, it was right at the nominal once I settled the diff a few times. Not a huge surprise since they made millions of these in mass production, I guess.  The input shaft of the A578/T350 is a breeze to disassembly rebuild, but the output shaft is allegedly non-serviceable due to much higher interference fits and heavier press forces. Plenty of people have done so without issue, but I decided to chance it and leave it alone, especially since the first- and second-gear synchro stop ring gaps were right in spec. So only dealt with installing new stop rings and needle bearings onto the input shaft:   The input shaft used paper/fiber-backed stop rings from the factory, which are nice and buttery. All but one ring measured out to an acceptable gap, but "while I'm at it" set in and I replaced them with brass rings, which are the only things available anymore. Should they feel awkwardly notchy, I can always burn a few hours by reinstalling the OE rings. I've always been happy with the feel of the OE brass rings used on the output shaft so hopefully these prove to be equally smooth.  Not pictured is a reverse brake friction cone, which is expensive as poo poo these days and thankfully had no appreciable wear whatsoever. They weren't used on all applications. Dunno what else used them. Reassembling the two halves of the case is a little trickier. The input and output shafts are pressed into the main case simultaneously with the shift forks/shafts, made easy with the pallet fixture in my last post. Once those are in, all the little selector bits, reverse lockout, and seals go in:  I went a bit HAM with the anerobic sealant around the outside, but shouldn't be an issue. The easiest way I've found to reassemble the case halves is with the bellhousing side down, as the diff settles nicely. This means that you need to carefully drop the output side of the housing down, complete with the gearset, and a couple spacers, magnets etc held in place with thick grease. It helps to tap the ring gear around with a dowel, as the output shaft needs to mesh with the ring to drop into the caged bearing. I goofed this on another trans a few months ago and cracked the plastic cage. Once the output shaft seats, all the shift shafts have to pilot into the bellhousing side, made easier with that dowel and the grease. Once they align properly, it drops into place and smashes your fingers and/or dowel.  And done.  I made a mistake yesterday by coming home with an inexpensive, ultra-clean 1997 ACR sedan. All paperwork since new, resprayed properly years ago, all PM done ahead of time, and the entire 1997 Mopar parts catalog thrown at it when new - ECU, springs, rear swaybar, intake, etc - with the untouched OE wheels in the trunk. It had a "DaimlerChrysler AG" windshield banner but don't know the story there. Needs some headlight trim gaskets, a motor mount, and an alignment. Not sure how long I'll hang onto it, but driving it has been a shot in the arm to actually finish reassembling the other car.     
OneOverZero fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Oct 27, 2019 |
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Oct 27, 2019 18:46
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OneOverZero posted:I made a mistake yesterday by coming home with an inexpensive, ultra-clean 1997 ACR sedan. All paperwork since new, resprayed properly years ago, all PM done ahead of time, and the entire 1997 Mopar parts catalog thrown at it when new - ECU, springs, rear swaybar, intake, etc - with the untouched OE wheels are in the trunk. It had a "DaimlerChrysler AG" windshield banner but don't know the story there. Needs some headlight trim gaskets, a motor mount, and an alignment. Not sure how long I'll hang onto it, but driving it has been a shot in the arm to actually finish reassembling the other car. From what location in the United States will you be selling this car? Asking for, umm, a friend. Yup. A friend.
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Oct 27, 2019 20:05
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Also asking for a friend, who had a friend who had a base model Neon and was always a little jealous of them.
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Oct 27, 2019 21:12
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drat, those sound like some cool friends, the kind of friend one likes to have. I'm in Asheville, NC and would be happy to mount fresh tires, give it a conservative alignment, and pick up said friend at AVL, GSP, or CLT airports... I threw the stock wheels on. Much better. As far as I can tell, the 3/15-datecoded 175/65R14 Goodyears (180 treadwear, made in Luxembourg) are UK-market summer rubber, which raises even more questions. The sidewalls are plastered with dried Slimer jizz and I don't know where they've been so too sketchy for my tastes.  
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Oct 27, 2019 23:12
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