Rear differential & suspension refresh

[theman440]

The diff on my '66 Coronet 440 convertible is leaking everywhere except the pinion. Time to pull it out and reseal it and since it will be apart I'll rebuild the suspension also. Everything will get cleaned blasted and painted the proper colors. Here is the car next to the 2025 MATS givaway car a '66 Satellite convertible. My dad bought the car in 1976 and I inherited it when he died in 2009. It is a 383 4bbl / automatic, 3.23 suregrip car with lots of cool options the best of which is power windows. It's had those same American S200 wheels on it since 1979!

Photo of the dirty grungy diff.

Those Monroe shocks have been on the car for over 40 years and the are still good.

 

[Cranky]

Cool car!! Is there something that you are asking about?

 

[theman440]

Since you asked - how is everybody "restoring" their original hardware?

 

[theman440]

Old shackle bushings - they could be the originals but not sure -

 

[Cranky]

View attachment 1852870

Old shackle bushings - they could be the originals but not sure -

View attachment 1852871

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You can wire wheel the shackles....get all the old rubber off that might be stuck to them or buy new ones. Haven't checked in a long time but pretty sure they are still available. The '42' 3rd member is a good one to have and I'd rather have that one than the newer 89 one. If things ain't leaking, just clean it up and stick it back in unless you're sure the pinion and axle seals have never been replaced.

 

[AR67GTX]

The leaf spring insulators and clamps are available. I had some difficulty finding new U-bolts that fit (Hemi440 springs) but I probably didn’t know where to look.

 

[theman440]

You can wire wheel the shackles....get all the old rubber off that might be stuck to them or buy new ones. Haven't checked in a long time but pretty sure they are still available. The '42' 3rd member is a good one to have and I'd rather have that one than the newer 89 one. If things ain't leaking, just clean it up and stick it back in unless you're sure the pinion and axle seals have never been replaced.

Both axle seals are leaking and its leaking where the 3rd menmber bolts to the housing. Not to mention the cap is missing from vent bolt. I have the seal kit and vent bolt for the diff already, I bought it from DR DIff.

 

[theman440]

The leaf spring insulators and clamps are available. I had some difficulty finding new U-bolts that fit (Hemi440 springs) but I probably didn’t know where to look.

View attachment 1852970

Thats nice, were your backing plate originally black? Mine are/were bare steel, rusty now.

 

[theman440]

The backing plates appear to be NOT painted. They are rusty now after 59 years.

This is part of the problem -

Crusty 59 year old suspension parts - anybody know an easy way to get the undercoating off the spring hangars?

 

[khryslerkid]

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The backing plates appear to be NOT painted. They are rusty now after 59 years.

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This is part of the problem -

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Crusty 59 year old suspension parts - anybody know an easy way to get the undercoating off the spring hangars?

Needle Scaler. Best 40.00 I ever spent.

https://www.harborfreight.com/compact-air-needle-scaler-58646.html

 

[T2R9]

anybody know an easy way to get the undercoating off the spring hangars?

Heat gun and a scraper will make pretty quick work of it.

 

[Black_Sheep]

A propane torch and a putty knife will get the hangers clean…

 

[AR67GTX]

Thats nice, were your backing plate originally black? Mine are/were bare steel, rusty now.

I wouldn’t swear one way or the other as far as originally. It’s not the original axle so it may have gotten a spray bombing to freshen it up before putting under the car. I sandblasted everything but the backing plates were actually pretty clean and not rusty. So I degreased them, scuffed them and shot them with black. This car is not a show car or particularly valuable so I just rebuilt everything, cleaned & sandblasted as necessary and painted it with what would look decent, stay relatively clean and protect from rust.

 

[theman440]

This is fun . . .