update on Rich's build

[RICH MUISE]

I am, Jeff. Thanks!
Yesterday I pulled the car out of the dirt floor work area and laid down a 8ft x 8ft area with 2x6"s from my deck rebuild project this summer, and then 3/4 plywood on top of that. That'll give me a solid work area that I can secure the car up on jackstands and be able to use dollys and floorjacks to move the rear end out from under the car. Soaked all the nuts and bolts last night with penetrating oil....didn't seem to help much. Those spring u bolt nuts are breaker bar stubborn all the way. Also having a heck of a time with at least the first brake drum. It's not frozen , the brake shoes are hanging up on a ridge on the drum. Can't seem to loosen the brake adjuster enough to get past it. I may leave the drums on until I get the rear end out from under the car so I can see things better.
I did find the drain plug by the way, and my leak may just be because some of the nuts holding the pumkin on aren't even there, never mind maybe loose.

[RICH MUISE]

Another job I was overthinking about...pulling the rear turned out to be easier than I figured. Very easy job...for a younger man at least.
Still need to fight with the brake drums. They are not frozen, at least the first one, it's just that I haven't been able to back off the starwheel enough to let the pads get past the ridge that's probably worn into the drum....any suggestions?

[hiball3985]

Sometimes the center of the drum rust it's self to the axles, that may also be a problem. I can't recall on the 57 if they originally had one of those thin sheet metal lock nuts that held the drum to the axle, usually just one one stud, did you see one?

[lalessi1]

Keep working the star adjuster? Grind the tabs off of the pins, maybe then you could you pull the drum/shoes away from the
backing plate enough at the bottom to get to the star adjuster easier? I don't really know... just throwing out random ideas. I have often wondered what I would do if I couldn't get the star adjuster to turn enough.

[RICH MUISE]

Jim, you were right on...the center of the drum was rusted to the axel.
Lynn, I loosened the starwheel all the way, and actually was able to knock it off the brake pads so it wasn't even there, then I pryed the backing plate and drum apart so I could get to the edge of the brake pads...that's when I realized it wasn't the brake pads holding the drum on....'cause I could see the edge!
I had been soaking the lugs/center hub area for a few days with PB Blaster...onviously wasn't helping. I heated it up with a MAPP gas torch and poped it with a BFH...came right off. Hope the second one works as well.

[hiball3985]

Usually smacking it with the BFH right in the center of the axle works. Worst one I experienced a few years ago was on a friends Doge Ram and it was only 5 years old.

[RICH MUISE]

I didn't even have to heat the second one, came off pretty easily. Been cleaning 55 years of road grime with engine cleaner and a wire brush...actually found 2  plugs! On on the center of the case at the bottom as expected, but another larger one up on the side of the pumpkin. Given the size of it (3/4 dia or so), it may be an access hole for something?...or duh....maybe that's where you fill it?

[glen b henderson]

That is where you fill it, as someone stated earlier, if you decide to go with a different carrier make sure it has this fill hole. One option to get around this is to weld a fill bung in the back of the housing. We do this on our race rear ends, just makes filling them easier.

[RICH MUISE]

Thanks Glen

[hiball3985]

Just a thought while talking about rear ends is those rubber insulator pads between the spring and axle housing and on the bottom between the spring and the plate ( I forgot the name of the part  ) I never did like that design.  I was afraid to use replacement ones assuming they are Chinese crap rubber so I reused the originals.

[RICH MUISE]

I'm waiting for the springs to come in so I can make sure they're not included. There are new bushings included I know. Classic Auto in OK City sells the new insulator pads you are talking about, as well as new shackles.
I've got to do a search for a misplaced bolt...the one that hold the brake line tee fitting to the differential case...I believe it has to be a breather bolt??

[hiball3985]

I hope the front bushings are better quality then the ones I bought, they collapsed in six months. I bought some polyurethane ones I had to cut down to fit. The rear ones are holding up so far. I read somewhere that you aren't suppose to reuse the U bolts??? I always have and haven't experienced any problems.

Yes, thats a breather bolt...

[RICH MUISE]

My ubolts were fighting me trying to get them off, so I just cut them with the cut off tool...made quick work of it, and besides, I had new longer ones coming for the 6 leaf springs

[RICH MUISE]

what a fiasco!!!.....My springs were suppose to be delivered yesterday. They wern't, so I checked the tracking number last night to find out they had an attempted delivery at 9 yesterday, and the shipment was "refused by receiver". I was the only one here yesterday and never saw a ups truck, they obviously had gone to the wrong house. The address on the paper work is correct, I double checked. It took an hour to finally get thru to an actual person, they said "somebody will call by nine tomorrow morning". This morning I checked the tracking to find out at 7 it had been scanned and loaded on a truck headed to Oklahoma City, on it's way back to Michigan. Called again, they said somebody will be calling after 10am. At one o'clock, I finally gave up waiting and drove to the ups distribution center. By then theshipment had just been loaded on a truck for Ohio. The helpful guy here in town tried to intercept the transfer, but was told he couldn't, that it had to go all the way back to Michigan (all 81 lbs. of it), where they would reout it back to Amarillo for delivery on the 12th!! We'll be in Phoenix that week. Sheeeeeet

[hiball3985]

That would be enough to piss off the Pope    I'm pretty sure you can schedule a delivery time after you return from your trip.