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I have not done mine yet, I have an 04, and lucky enough to have a hoist and all the tools , I've been keeping an eye on the HB so far so good, but when it looks too bad I'll replace it, great write up. Ron
Nice writeup, and good comments/suggestions from others.
This job is a good bit of fun. I finally decided to tackle it when I went underneath for the 230k mile oil change. I knew it was a mess, but damn. It was a MESS.
Decided to pull the radiator since it's pretty easy and gives ample room to work. No need to drop the cradle. Slid the rack towards the driver's side and pulled it up on the right with some bungees to hold it out of the way.
Got the balancer off and this is the next bit of fun that I have in store:
Probably a 1/4" or more of oily crud on top of the leaf spring, too. Fun.
I just ordered my parts right now. I'm paying the shop up the way to do it. I don't have the room/tools/desire to deal with this one myself. I know mine is leaking crazy bad. You guys that did it yourself are to be commended!
This is a good thread. Some dos and donts from the original post which seem to be caught in the comments.
I thought I'd offer that some, not all, of what we need to do can also be found in the A&A Supercharger install guide along with some very clean, clear pictures. Scan to page 8 where the instructions for pinning the crank begin.
I thought I would share this photo of my garage floor after 4 years of the crank seal leaking. And it was only the crank seal. Another shop I didn't use told me the oil pan gaskets also needed to be replaced and that was not the case. It has been fixed and no more leaking. It looks like a weird Rorschach pattern to me. This was taken where the two spots at the top are the front of the car/engine and the others are the rear of the engine. I suspect all that spinning around with oil going all over caused it to coat the pan and produce this pattern. So if your car leaves you this puddle of evidence, get the crank/seal replaced!
This right here is the only frustrating part of the job. Make sure you get a GOOD crow foot wrench. I bought a Duralast one which flexed at the wrench head. I wasn't going to risk stripping the nut, so I took a grinder to my normal Craftsman 18mm and cut it to work. Better steel and thicker head got the job done.
This right here is the only frustrating part of the job. Make sure you get a GOOD crow foot wrench. I bought a Duralast one which flexed at the wrench head. I wasn't going to risk stripping the nut, so I took a grinder to my normal Craftsman 18mm and cut it to work. Better steel and thicker head got the job done.
This right here is the only frustrating part of the job. Make sure you get a GOOD crow foot wrench. I bought a Duralast one which flexed at the wrench head. I wasn't going to risk stripping the nut, so I took a grinder to my normal Craftsman 18mm and cut it to work. Better steel and thicker head got the job done.
THIS!!!
I spent more time on those bastard flare nuts than anything. After flexing the head of my Craftsman flare nut wrench, I found a way to sneak an adjustable wrench in there somehow and pop them loose.
The rest was a breeze (to me).
Hit it with a map torch for over a minute. The back face of the bolt appeared to have thread seal on it, even though there are no threads. This being the factory bolt.
Apply 4 foot 3/4"id pipe to large wrench on the 24mm socket. Get as much angle leverage as you can. Don't be afraid to lean on it for a minute. The bolt came loose softly.
This is a manual car, e-brake engaged with rear tires on the ground, shifter in 6th, everything else left alone. No starter removed. No flywheel lock.
Thr only bummer about getting the hub off is that I can now confirm that the leak is from dead center of the water pump. So I need to pop one of those in now too. That may be a project for another day since I'll need to order one and am not going to swap the brand new one from the 402 since I took the time to paint and weld it. Although.... Maybe the 402 can get a prw...?
These are all great suggestions on replacing the HB. But there is one more: I took it to my go-to-vette mechanic that has done it many times and the next day done. No mess, no swearing, no posting on problems, just a simple act of giving the credit card, get the car keys and by by.
These are all great suggestions on replacing the HB. But there is one more: I took it to my go-to-vette mechanic that has done it many times and the next day done. No mess, no swearing, no posting on problems, just a simple act of giving the credit card, get the car keys and by by.
Nice job of bragging about your good credit. Not everybody can afford to whip out a credit card to 'pay' for this job. There are some of us here who could easily afford to farm this job out, myself included, but get the satisfaction of doing it ourselves. Incidentally, this job can be done without swearing, problems or making a mess by anyone with decent mechanical skills and a place to do it.
Nice job of bragging about your good credit. Not everybody can afford to whip out a credit card to 'pay' for this job. There are some of us here who could easily afford to farm this job out, myself included, but get the satisfaction of doing it ourselves. Incidentally, this job can be done without swearing, problems or making a mess by anyone with decent mechanical skills and a place to do it.
No different than bragging that you have the skills to do the work that most of us do not.
Pro tip for getting the passenger side of the rack back in place.
Ratchet strap that bastard.
I fought it for half an hour trying for leverage before I figured that one out.
Mine slid right back in place - almost too easily to the point I was looking for a cracked mount. The only issue with mine (not really an issue...) was me being fool enough to think that it was in the same position it came out in. Then I wondered why my steering wheel was cocked to the left when I took it for a test drive...
Im not doing it on this one, but the work to get there was pain enough than I just ordered a delrin bushing for the rack on my Z06 since the engine is not yet in that one.
Anyone have a part number and source for the delron bushing on the steering rack?
Also, the o-rings that were mentioned..im not clear where those are used; and part numbers if possible.
I am stocking up all the parts and tools for the HB, seal, belts, hoses, tensioners, pulleys, water pump, stat, and whatever... 26k miles, but all original parts.... I'd like to get in their one time and know what I have is up to par. 👍
Everyone has their own night terrors of this job. The two P/S hoses get way too much press for how hard they are to remove. They weren't easy but not hard either just slow and tedious. No special tools, no crows feet were harmed just used 18mm open end wrenches. Both on and off.
Dropping the sub frame seems to terrify everyone who hasn't done it. It's 4 bolts and a jack. And a pry bar. Taking out the steering rack then is easy and you get to clean it at your pleasure. You've had to take all the connections off what's left?
My white whale in this job? Purging air out of the P/S rack. 4 days in below freezing weather and snow. I'll set fire to the car before I do that job again.
12-26-2020, 08:43 PM
