Rear End and Spindle Questions

[SCFFR]

First of all, I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving holiday.

I have contacted several local salvage yards in search of a good 94-98 complete rear end for my soon-to-be-delivered MkIV roadster but wasn’t having much luck. Richard at North Racecars had suggested a bare housing to me and it made sense that since I would have to replace the axles and most likely the gears at a minimum, why pay for a complete rear end (the cheapest one I did find was $400). Today, I found a Mustang only salvage yard and picked up a pair of 1995 front spindle assemblies (spindles, hubs, rotors and calipers) for a good price ($200). I was talking to the yard owner about rear ends and mentioned that no matter what year I got, I would have to change out the axles to get the required width. He pointed to a bare Fox body rear end housing that he was prepping for another customer. Since I had money in hand, he let me have it for $100. So, will add a new Ford locking differential and a set of 3.31 gears and then get the axle/brake kit from North Racecars. Should be cheaper to add new parts without having to remove all of the old ones first. Will end up with a rear end with all new parts except the housing.

Now I have just a few questions:

What size socket do I need for the spindle bearing nut? It looks like a 1 3/8" but probably a metric size. It’s an odd looking nut. I guess I expected one with a cotter pin through it.

I assume that the dust shields are not used. Did you grind off the three ears where they were riveted to the spindle or just left them on?

The spindles have ABS rings on them which I will not need. They appear to be pressed on but was wondering the best way to get them off the hubs.

What is the best way to remove the upper arm bushing on the center housing since I won’t be using them with the 3-link setup? I imagine its not an easy procedure.

Finally, are the large brackets on the outer ends of the housing for the OEM shocks? If so, do they need to be removed? Will they interfere with any other parts?

As always, thanks for your feedback.

[michael everson]

Not sure exactly what size socket but I think it was either 34 or 36MM

I took the dust shields off Most are pretty banged up. Plus its a cleaner look without them. Leave the tabs, not worth the effort

The ABS ring is pressed on. Just knock them off with a hammer

You could sawzall the whole cast part right off the rear then clean it up to look nice. Others have used a drill bit to drill through the rubber. Once you drill through, then just "walk" the drill bit all the way around the bushing until all the rubber is eaten up Then use a chisel to remove the remaining shell.

the large brackets with the single threaded hole is for the quad shocks. This can be removed in your application.

You can also remove the large weight that hangs under the pumpkin if it hasnt already
Mike

[rich grsc]

No need to go to the trouble of removing the ABS rings, they aren't in the way, and you may want to add ABS to the car. The rubber bushing just need a BFH and a chisel.

[AC Bill]

As to the upper control arm bushing ears on the rear end. You may want to leave the one on the right side of the pumpkin, as it can be used to attach an additional 3 link support brace. Not everybody uses one, but they do have a purpose.

Here is a thread explaining the original concept of that brace. Since that thread, Vintage Performance (VPM) is now making a custom brace, based on this concept.

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...sing-link.html

http://www.vintageperformancemotorcars.com/

[SCFFR]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Will crack out the BFH and grinder tomorrow!

[Mustang Man]

The spindle nut is definitely 36mm and is technically not supposed to be reused (hence the no cotter pin design). You can get new spindle nuts locally or through most vendors that support our builds (NRC, Breeze, Forte, etc.). When installing them the torque to seat is 250 ft-lb, just an FYI...

HTH...
Mark

[SCFFR]

Thanks Mark.

The torque setting for the front spindle nut is 250 ft-lbs. ????
That will take a long breaker bar!!!

Ron

[CraigS]

As mentioned above the right side 4 link ear is good to keep. Get the rubber bushing out now but keep the ear. Whack the left one off if you want.

[SCFFR]

Thanks again for the info. Used a cutting wheel and grinder to remove those brackets and removed the left side upper bushing. Left the right one in and ordered that bracket brace kit from VPM. Next step is to order Ford LSD and gear set and get it installed in the bare housing. Ordered the complete disc kit from Richard at North Racecars.

MKIV roadster should be delivered next week so it's going to be a fun December!!!