Found my clunk

[Bamamav]

Rotating it won't make any difference. Apparently, even using a square and some straight flat bar and angle and clamps, I still somehow managed to get it off just a little bit when I put it back together. Not much off, but I held a paint pen on the crossmember steady, then just touched the spinning shaft. It only left a line part way around. I did it twice to be sure, both lines started and stopped in the same place. It's so small it might not matter,maybe 1/8" or less, but then again it might.

 

[soltz]

"The proof is in the pudding" if it doesn't vibrate when driving or enough that it doesn't bother you it's good to go. Strength wise it should be fine. [

The ones i've done i wasn't brave enough to do what you did, i don't want to know [S

The above is only worth "two cents"

 

[Bamamav]

I guess I'm my own worse critic. I expect perfection when I do something, less when others do it. Didn't say I always acquire it, I just expect it!

 

[smallfoot]

Rotating it won't make any difference. Apparently, even using a square and some straight flat bar and angle and clamps, I still somehow managed to get it off just a little bit when I put it back together. Not much off, but I held a paint pen on the crossmember steady, then just touched the spinning shaft. It only left a line part way around. I did it twice to be sure, both lines started and stopped in the same place. It's so small it might not matter,maybe 1/8" or less, but then again it might.

I would agree with you that rotating the shaft 180 wouldn't help if all the unbalance was due to the shaft itself. But the whole assembly has to be true.

 

[Skip]

Not to be too nit-picky, but any vibration will result in early bearing wear. Some vibrations are only felt at certain RPM, also.

Case in point: I had an out-of-balance drive shaft in a 57 Ford. When I got up to about 70, the vibration went away. I thought! It always hammered the transmission output seal and related damage. I was too dumb at the time to know what was going on, so I rebuilt a bunch of transmissions. Finally sold the car.

Your drive line sounds like it is close. Getting it balanced is likely worth the investment.

 

[Bamamav]

Got my axles back with new bearings last night, put it all together today. Bled and adjusted the rear brakes, they now hold. [cl Had a slight problem with the pedal slowly dropping, found a loose fitting at the prop valve. Don't know how it got loose. [S Vibration I guess.

Put the front up on ramps to get at the wishbone bracket. I have another idea for the mount, with steel twice as thick as before. It should hold up better. Didn't fool with the front brakes other than bleeding them again. Will adjust them after the wishbone mount is finished.

Also found out I have a leaking front main seal. Bottom of engine is wet. Going to just keep it topped off until later. Might be a good time to check the timing chain while the balancer is off. Hummn, might also be a good time to swap cams.......I got to quit thinking this way! Later, yes later........

 

[Yankee Transplant]

I would say chain and gear ,, leave cam alone if running good ..

 

[Bamamav]

I would say chain and gear ,, leave cam alone if running good ..

You know how things snowball........you start one thing, see something else you want to change, then something else.......

Going to wait until fall to get into this. I want to enjoy it this summer before I get into changing things.

 

[Yankee Transplant]

My engine block is back . its just been honed by a shop .. I was just going to freshin it up since it wasnt to many miles on it and all the parts looked good that I took out ... Well, that was the plan ...... [S That didnt work out so well rings didnt seat ,, so I took it back apart to get it honed and then,,, put cam bearings in it ,, then I got the crank polished ... that snow ball effect got to me .. I got a new job 12 hr. days so Im not sure when I;ll get back on it ,, but I was taking a short cut thinking it would be fine ,, ended up re-doing it all. After 2 rebuild kits maybe this will fix me up . sometimes its best just to do it all the first time .. cheaper too I think . Instead of a little at a time ..

 

[Bamamav]

As I suspected, I still have a bit of vibration. Good news is, it's much less than before! [cl I'm going to just have a new shaft made up in the near future. That way, I can move on to other things.

I spent most of today on the car. First, I removed the wishbone drop I had made previously. It literally fell out in pieces. My first design just wasn't strong enough, and wasn't thick enough steel. This time, I used a piece of flat about three times as thick to make a plate that fits against the cross member. I welded angle tabs on front and back to keep it from moving fore and aft. I notched it and set the ball cup in the notch, and then the lower cup went on, with grade 8 bolts running through both cups, the flat plate, then two 1.5" thick wall tubing spacers and then into the original mounting bolt holes. With all this, I don't see how it could fail like the other one did.

That wrapped up, I went to install my new overload shocks. OOPS! Remember how I screwed up when I put the rear in and set the pinion angle with the rear hanging instead of with weight on it? Well, apparently I did the same thing when I set up the rear shocks. I thought I had set them up at half travel with weight on the axle, but I didn't. So, even though I bought the correct mounting shocks, with the overload springs it would have been impossible to compress them enough to put them on. I ended up cutting one coil off, then they compressed nicely with a floor jack. It raised the rear about 1 inch, but most importantly, leveled the leaf springs out. They had a bit of reverse bend to them before. With the new shocks, it drives much better, and the ride is improved. Now I need to find a front set of shocks to fit.

Also changed from a pressure style brake light switch to a mechanical. Used a switch for a 60's Chevy Chevelle, refrigerator door style switch, in is off, out is on. Made a small bracket, attached to steering column, also added a light pull back spring on the pedal to insure they cut off. Put 25-30 miles on it this afternoon, everything is working right again. Ready for the big show over in Columbus, MS next weekend now!

No pics today, I was so busy I didn't think to take the camera out to the shop. Will try to take a couple in the morning.

 

[26Troadster]

i take it you didn't go to the mall show. i didn't either but it sure was pretty and hot out yesterday.

 

[Bamamav]

No, I didn't get through with it until about 4:30, so I didn't make it either. Going to try and make it over to Columbus MS next weekend for Cruising on the River.

 

[sgtpontiac]

keep on truckin Bama....

sounds like you've nailed down a couple of hitches in the giddy up.....[cl