[Engine-Ear]

I thought I would chronicle some of the things that I need to do to make my Cat 9-passenger Safari road-ready again.

No SPECIFIC "tech" in this thread, but the pics and things I do might be helpful for those newer to this kind of activity.

First task is to replace the rear axle seals and the paper gaskets that are used on both sides of the rear wheels' brake backing plates.

If you plan to do this, I suggest that you FIRST unscrew the brake line nut from the wheel cylinder.

One it's free, you need to remove the four nuts that clamp the sheet-metal cover (it's captive to the axle) to the backing plate. There is a hole in the axle flange thru which you can fit a 1/2" drive, 9/16" socket. I recommend a short socket and an extension since it is not a straight line-of-sight thru the hole to these four nuts. With the four nuts off, try to slide the axle assembly out of the diff housing by a good tug with your hands. If you can't, and you don't own a slide hammer, pull the metal cover off the backing plate and spray a modest amount of PB Blaster (or Deadhead's "elixir") on the bearing-to-axle tube interface and have a beer. Then, fit the brake drum BACKWARDS against the axle flange (in other words, you are staring at the inside of the drum). Start 3 wheel stud nuts on BACKWARDS (taper facing you) onto three opposing studs. Slide the drum on the wheel studs toward you until the face of the drum is flush with the step (the wheel is centered on) on the axle. Finger-tighten the nuts until they make contact with the drum. You now have a poor-man's slide hammer with about a half-inch of drum-travel on the studs. Get busy, boy!

Once the axle pops out, remove the 3 nuts & drum and walk the axle out of the axle tube. Have a table or cart or something that you can rest the assembled brake backing plate on, since it will be tethered to the car by the parking brake cable. If the axle flange studs aren't loose enough to push out by hand, spin a sacrificial, fine-thread 3/8" nut on to each stud and lightly tap it loose. Do this for all 4 flange studs. Drop the studs and nuts into some cleaner to soak (I use diesel fuel). Now scrape off all traces of both gaskets (one on each side of the backing plate).

Wheel cylinders showing signs of leaking? Do not reassemble everything without first replacing them with either new or rebuilt ones.

Pry out the old seals that are pressed into the axle tubes. I used a small(-ish) crow bar, being careful not to gall the axle tube's inside bore. Take your time. Once they are out, have a beer (You've earned it!).

At this point, I spray the backing plates down with aerosol brake-cleaner (controls brake dust, which you don't want to breathe if possible) - get an old plastic pan to catch all that black rain before you begin. On a driver, I am not concerned about perfect cleanliness...just make sure that there's NO axle grease or diff oil on the brakes or backing plate.

Using a GREEN Scotch-brite pad soaked in brake cleaner, wipe clean the surface that the new seal will be contacting. I make sure that this surface and ALL of the flange gasket surfaces are CLEAN.

Pictured you will see the still-dirty axle tube and "loaded" backing plate. TIP: I used two "S"-hooks from a rubber bungee cord to hang the backing plate to a factory hole in the frame.

More to come ...

[Marv]

Great thread with good tech info. Thanks Engine-Ear. Posts like yours keeps forums alive as a community resource and really help guys like me stuck on the other side of the world where there is no hands-on Poncho knowledge!

[8LUG]

Matt, change the rubber brake hose, with the 2" longer one.

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by Marv

Great thread with good tech info. Thanks Engine-Ear. Posts like yours keeps forums alive as a community resource and really help guys like me stuck on the other side of the world where there is no hands-on Poncho knowledge!

It's my pleasure, Marv & group.

I will answer relevant questions or clarify my post as-needed. Just axe.

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by 8LUG

Matt, change the rubber brake hose, with the 2" longer one.

Already did!

[pfilean]

Are you also going to replace the carrier gasket.? If so, I will be watching to see how you do it. I went through that last winter and am curious how others get it back into alignment laying on your back on a creeper. I made a cradle for my floor jack to hold the carrier but mine needed a better gimbal to allow realignment. Got it done but it was a fight.

[Pontiac62]

You can also use a chain with the links under nuts on the axle studs. Then all it takes is a jerk to get it out. (pun intended).
Good luck, Les

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by pfilean

Are you also going to replace the carrier gasket.? ... Got it done but it was a fight.

Maybe on a subsequent thread I will, but not in this one. (As you well know, diff removal and reinstallation is a miserable job.)

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by Pontiac62

You can also use a chain with the links under nuts on the axle studs. Then all it takes is a jerk to get it out. (pun intended).
Good luck, Les

thanks!

[pfilean]

You can also use a chain with the links under nuts on the axle studs. Then all it takes is a jerk to get it out. (pun intended).
Good luck, Les

I guess that works. A friend of mine that spent some time in Viet Nam working on military equipment had told me many times that that was the only way they had to do that job on the Army stuff.

[Engine-Ear]

So here are a few more pics of the freshening up of things...

On installing the seals, I used a 1 5/8" socket on a 6" extension with a rubber mallet. I also put a light layer of wheel bearing grease on the seal's OD to aid in the effort. Although you can drive them in until they (hopefully) stop where the axle tube begins, you only need to drive them in until the face of the seal is past the tapered feature (worded badly, I know, but look at yours... I'm talking about the area inward of where the axle bearing surface ends). I think I may driven one in 'all the way', but fortunately the seal surface on the axle is forgivingly long enough to accommodate.

I bought new backing plate gaskets from FabCraft in TX. They fit perfectly and are the PROPER replacement for the deteriorated originals.

At disassembly, I soaked the backing plate screws and nits in diesel fuel. Today a wire toothbrush got them grease-free with minimal effort. I then chased the threads of both the screws and nuts to ensure a proper bond. The torque spec is 30 - 45 lb-ft, and since the castellated nuts aren't new, I went with 40 lb-ft.

I suggest using a chunk of brown Scotch-brite pad soaked with aerosol Brake Cleaner to CLEAN the gasket surfaces. Any residual gasket material means a leak so get a safety razor and scrape that stuff off. Be THOROUGH and do it once.

Rock Auto has (had?) brake springs for '62s at a stupidly low price so I replaced them. Referring to the top springs, the rearmost spring goes on AFTER the other one. Also, the spring at the bottom is a smaller OD than the OEM but still correctly acts as a detent for the adjusting "star". The parts were by Raybestos and the numbers were in my 1980 brake parts catalog so they MUST be good, right??

For the FNGs (new guys) to these cars, I suggest using a 3/8-drive, 6-point 9/16" socket with a 6 inch extension to secure the backing plate fasteners thru the hole in the axle flange. Same goes for the torque wrench. The hole in the flange isn't perfectly aligned, but you won't get a squarer way onto the nut without doing that.

Oh, and if you still have LH threaded studs & nuts, I suggest that you paint the outer faces of the lug nuts and stud ends red (or some color) to distinguish them from those on the right side of the car in case you get them mixed up.

Last thing: cross-scuff the shoes and drums at 45 degrees with coarse sandpaper to break the glaze they develop.

That's about it for now. I'll start a new thread when I dig into and share the front brakes and hopefully include a few shade-tree mechanic's tips along the way.

Until then, be well, DarkSiders.

[pfilean]

I often add a very thin layer of wheel bearing grease or anti seize on the face of the axel flange to prevent the rust that sometimes develops there. Some cars are supposed to have a very thin paper gasket there but they are usually crap by the time I get to them. Although I suspect your car (like mine) will see minimal time in the rain so it may not matter.

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by pfilean

I often add a very thin layer of wheel bearing grease or anti seize on the face of the axel flange to prevent the rust that sometimes develops there. Some cars are supposed to have a very thin paper gasket there but they are usually crap by the time I get to them. Although I suspect your car (like mine) will see minimal time in the rain so it may not matter.

This is an EXCELLENT suggestion - I recommend (Permatex, for example) ANTI-SEIZE over grease because A/S seems to be longer-lasting and won't wick past the flange area as much.

ALSO, apply about an 1/8" bead all the way around the drum/wheel "hub" (at the corner where it meets the flange "face").