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Swapping out a heavy rear end by yourself with a cramped workspace? No problem!

1142 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  V8PunkRocket, 
V8PunkRocket
At least that is what I was thinking Friday morning.

Anyway, its been awhile since I posted so I figured I would say hello and see how everyone was doing. I haven't been on much because as it turns out owning a house is a lot more work than I thought it was.

But, in keeping with the title of the thread, I swapped out the rear end in the Chevy this weekend. Mine had decided to mimic the Deepwater Horizon mess and coat my garage floor with a nice pond of stinky gear oil. It also sounded like an air raid siren when I drove it, only more painful to listen to.

A few months ago I bought a rear end from a fellow member on here (Steve, aka Cuzz), but never got around to swapping it out until today. Since I had no help, I did it myself in a cramped garage, with just an ancient floor jack, a bunch of cheap Harbor Freight tools, and my own sheer will and brute force. Taking the old one out took nearly the entire day Friday, and getting the new one in place took all day today.

In the end, I invented lot of unholy new words, I pulled nearly every muscle in my back, and my hands are covered in a mix of scrapes, cuts, brake dust and gear oil. Its been a great weekend. :D
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geoffcb
V8PunkRocket said:
At least that is what I was thinking Friday morning.

Anyway, its been awhile since I posted so I figured I would say hello and see how everyone was doing. I haven't been on much because as it turns out owning a house is a lot more work than I thought it was.
Click to expand...
Yep, houses get in the way of a project, don't they!

V8PunkRocket said:
A few months ago I bought a rear end from a fellow member on here (Steve, aka Cuzz), but never got around to swapping it out until today. Since I had no help, I did it myself in a cramped garage, with just an ancient floor jack, a bunch of cheap Harbor Freight tools, and my own sheer will and brute force. Taking the old one out took nearly the entire day Friday, and getting the new one in place took all day today.

In the end, I invented lot of unholy new words, I pulled nearly every muscle in my back, and my hands are covered in a mix of scrapes, cuts, brake dust and gear oil. Its been a great weekend. :D
Click to expand...
Good job! I can relate to this. But it's worth all the blood, sweat and tears in the end!

I started using surgical gloves on some of my messier projects. At least my hands stay clean that way if not anything else!
Hope the neighbours didn't hear you!!!

:sign0020:

Geoff B
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Pops @ Tri-5.com
Sounds like your having fun and making progress.....Brian, please work safely with good jack stands....I got two of these at Pep Boys....A very good investment:tu
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belairdave
Cussin don't do any good unless you have an audience:eviltongue::character0029: :anim_25:with the project... Later, Dave
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boz2318
I with pops keep it safe lost a dear friend when his car fell on him.
safety is first all the time from eyes to jack stands.
Glad you got it in have been there when I had no help. Post some photos and keep it safe.
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keith
Cheap little tool that I bought for floor level trans installs,,saved alot of headaches and teetering wood block shims.
http://www.jegs.com/i/TCI/890/896500/10002/-1

Floor jack specific stem size,,so measure first.

Also used it for the rear end install. drilled some holes in the side and added J-bolts and chains for holdown. Pulled the axles and parts and pieces,,to drop some of that weight, then reassembled once the housing was in place on the springs.
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chevman57
Brian nothing like sheer determination to get a job done. Glad to see you post again too.
Terry
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wrenchbend1
Dont forget !!!!

Retorque those u-bolts after 200 miles:D
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carls 56
nice going brian! :five: ............please, safty first. i want you to enjoy that house buddy. :tu
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V8PunkRocket
The one set of tools I had that were any good were the jackstands. I won't get under a car that isn't properly sitting on them, and I usually leave the jack under a frame rail or somewhere else as a backup.

Well, I hit a bit of a snag today. Minor one, but it was enough to stop me for the day. Turns out the 0-ring that seals the fuel filler neck to the fuel tank disintegrated when I bumped the filler neck. Time for a new one.

Unfortunately, nobody that sells one is open today, so I decided rather than set the car back down I would leave it for now until I can run to Ecklers at get one (they are about 10 minutes away from me). Its not going anywhere without one anyway. :D

I did pick up a steering box at their scratch and dent sale, so that should be another fun one-man install. Might be easier to pull the engine for that one!
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