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I want to try and remove the rear crossmember assembly from my 69 L36 convertible so I can remove rust and repaint. Is this even a possibility with the body still on the car? If so, how do you disconnect from the differiential carrier. Am I just asking for more trouble than it's worth? Any advice is appreciated
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Re: Rear Crossmember Assembly Removal?
Dwayne,
I'm just going from memory here but the crossmember that you are refering to is only held on to the frame by one bolt on each end of it. They are easy to get at so they won't be a problem. As far as the diff goes it has four bolts that come in from the top side of this cross member and I don't think you can get a socket and ratchet between that crossmember and the body. I have heard of guys drilling holes through the floor of the luggage compartment to get at the bolts but I would recommend that. To make a long story short,remove the diff and crossmember as an assembly.
Now when I removed my crossmember I had a heck of a time getting it to let go after the bolts were removed so I posted here and this was what I got.
Worked like a charm. -
Re: Rear Crossmember Assembly Removal?
Lots of PB / Rust Buster / Liquid Wrench and a pry bar. If the body is still on, be VERY careful, or you'll be repairing the body also.....
Take your time, keep working at it a little on each end, and YES be careful, when it lets go, it is all of a sudden!
It's worth the time to do it, just take your time! Be careful to not damage the bushings with the pry bars.
The Diff, is held on with the 4 bolts Greg mentioned and if you have the car jacked up, the Diff is not too hard to remove if you have the drive line and half shafts removed or disconnected. I did this to my 67 with the body on, I had the shafts and Diff cleaned and rebuilt at the same time, plus detailed the underside of the body. It made a HUGE difference, but it was a big job for me at the time.
Good luck,
SteveComment
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Re: Rear Crossmember Assembly Removal?
Yes to all the above plus,
Replace the two short bolts holding the cross member with longer ones, say 2 1/2 - 3 ", as a safety feature. (Remove both rear wheels)
Did my 64 that way, its ready to go back in this week.Comment
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Re: Yep
Let the weight of the differential work for you.
Remove and replace the existing bolts with bolts about 2" longer than the originals and wind them in until they gently bottom out.
Then liberally spray the sombrero mounts with PB Blaster.
After you have let the PB work for a few minutes, place a 2' pry bar between the mount and the frame at the end and start "flexing" the pry bar up and down. By flexing, I refer to applying pressure and then relaxing and then repeating the process over and over until the mount finally releases it's grip. Keep applying the PB while you work the mount. This will ensure that the material is able to keep working down along between the rubber and the metal surfaces.
As stated prior, you will only be able to get a good purchase with a pry bar through the wheel wells, so be very mindful of where your bar is going to go when it either slips off, or suddenly comes free when the mount finally releases.
Lastly, be careful and wear safety glasses and heavy gloves
With a little luck, the mount will release after a few trys. My very original 68 heavily rust crossmember took about ten minutes per side after I got everything ready.
Be sure to wipe the PB off the rubber as soon as it's free. Oils and rubber don't like each other very much.
When I re-assembled the mount, I applied a very thin smear of anti seize to the rubber to aid in the re-assembly process. The mounts pulled back into place very easily. FYI, before I did this, I consulted a Permatex rep. who confirmed that the anti seize wouldn't degrade the rubber over time.
I'm not entirely sure just how much disassembly will be required to get the cossmember to drop free far enough to get it out Dwayne as I had a stripped frame with nothing in the way, but I'd venture that the half shafts, strut rods and of course the snubber at the very least will need to come apart. If you pop the strut rods apart at the differential, be sure to note and mark the position of the cam washers so that they are correctly re-positioned on re-assembly.
Good hunting,
ChuckComment
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Re: Yep
The diff crossmember can be removed without disassembling everything else; did it on my '67 to replace the sombrero bushings - in and out, bushings replaced, in about three hours. See my article in the September '06 issue of "Corvette Enthusiast" magazine.Comment
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Re: Rear Crossmember Assembly Removal?
Hi Guys,
Another question regarding the subject of this crossmember. Normally one would replace the rubber bushings in this crossmember. But most aftermarket ones that you can buy, seem to fit rather loose. Is this a problem or will bolting the member back in sort of press the bushing apart so that it fits tightly ? I did mine, and since I had no alternative than to mount the newer ones in, I had to accept the fact that they fitted loose. I noticed that the metal around to originals were kind of seperated/broadened (sorry for my bad English here)
YvesComment
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