JBender

Back home, I tackled the subframe bushings today with 100% success. All it took was a Sawzall to cut the sleeve, and the rest was a piece of cake. Each bushing (from core removal to outer sleeve removal) probably took me 20 minutes or less after I mastered the technique.

I also removed the remnants of the paper gasket on the back of the differential, and sealed it back together. I installed the differential with the polyurethane bushings, and torqued the rest of the bolts I had removed during the process accordingly. Tomorrow is simply reassembly, along with fabricating MDF mounts in the rear for the speakers that arrived while I was on vacation. My sub box from Chris is set to arrive via UPS on the 11th, so once I have that put together, I'm taking the Z in to have the audio professionally tuned (between the sub amp, speaker amp, and headunit).

It couldn't be a progress post without a picture, so here's the subframe back together, its last night on the garage floor:

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JBender

Lots of work but little to show for it since the last post. I installed, uninstalled, and reinstalled the subframe because the rear subframe bushings were compressing suspiciously. I made several forum posts, sent quite a few e-mails, and made several rounds of phone calls before being told by an Energy Suspension rep. that it was okay and wouldn't hurt anything. I'm still not 100% sold on that, but I don't really have a choice right now.

After I installed the subframe and torqued everything down, the first drive revealed a very loud noise coming from the differential area. More troubleshooting, e-mails, calls, and the general concensus is that either I aggravated the already-bad pinion bearings by dropping the subframe, or the subframe angle changed enough as a result of the new bushings to aggravate the bearings. Either way, there was not enough time to replace the bad bearings, so I am going to hope for the best and take it on the drive.

Tomorrow and Sunday I will be driving to Oklahoma, then Texas to college at Texas Tech (me in the Z, them in the Honda Pilot with a U-Haul 5' x 8'). It's a 1,200 mile trip...wish me luck. Once it's down there, I'll have all my tools at my apartment, so anything can be fixed, but getting there's the trick.

Unfortunately, I also don't have my sub box ready for the trip, because it was made to the old JL opening size of 9 1/4" instead of the newer 8 3/4". Once I get settled in, I'll have to make a 1/2" 'sleeve' that fits in the hole and provides the right mounting size to install my W7.

What's that? All negative, nothing good from the past few weeks despite plenty of work and money on parts? Well, during the (very loud thanks to the bad bearings) drive to fill up tonight, this happened:



One of these days, I will be able to start the Z up and drive it around, and not hear any strange noises, feel any engine vibrations, smell any burnt oil, and just be able to enjoy the drive. Sometimes it is the only light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel.

canyoncarver

Good luck on your trip to Tx. Hopefully you'll have some Z member phone numbers in case your rear end gives you any problems along the way.

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JBender

So far, so good. I'm in Tulsa right now, and the Z made the first leg of the journey without a hitch. There's a bad noise coming from my right-rear wheel occasionally. Best case scenario, the dust shield is a little bent and scraping, worst case I need a new wheel bearing. The differential bearing whine seems to be the loudest (read: deafening) at 55-65 MPH, but cruising at 80 isn't nearly as bad.

I've got another 600 or so miles to drive today, then I can rest easy and work on fixing her up at my new place .

JBender

I've finally unpacked everything and set up the internet here in Lubbock, TX. The Z did make the trip in one piece, although I'm not sure my hearing fully recovered for a few days .

I've done a lot of searching and sent out a handful of e-mails, and it seems that it would cost me upwards of $550 to have the front bearings replaced. The FSM outlines the differential service procedure, and it's very far over my head, especially considering the specialized tools required. This leaves me with the only option of replacing the entire differential assembly.

Between school starting, finding a job, and finishing off the apartment furnishings, I don't have the cash to replace the differential at the moment. I figure I'll start looking for a job about a week after school gets underway, and after that a quick differential swap will be at the top of the list. I still have the steering rack, front suspension bushings, and front springs in my closet. Unfortunately, the apartment parking lot policy is very strict, so I can't do any work here. I'm in contact with a few different Z'ers in the area, so I'll be able to install those parts once I find a place to do it.

Here's a few low-quality apartment pictures (1 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, loft). I bought all the furniture in the past few weeks except for my bedroom, so it's very nice and clean so far

Attached Thumbnails

     

canyoncarver

How 80's.... ..... Looks like a soon-to-be party place. You can deny it now, but it'll happen.

Considering the cost of rebuild. How much will a used diff cost? How much are the bearings and seals for the rebuild? You seem mechanically inclined enough to figure it out if you choose to. You can buy a dial indicator set-up for relatively cheap. Plus, it's another tool you'll always have. They work well for finding true TDC during a rebuild and dialing in your cam timing when you go to the JWT cams with adjustable gears.

kerpal

What??? Too expensive men

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