morbias Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 The proper tool is 'gland packing wrench ST355000031' according to the FSM, also known as 'the biggest pipe wrench you can find'. To remove the bearings you need some sort of drift, about 6-8" long and preferably made of soft metal (eg. copper). Using a hammer with the drift you can tap the bearings out, but be careful not to damage the walls of the inner hub. If you look into the hub you'll see cut-outs where you can position the end of the drift on the races. Separating the rotor from the hub can be a bit of a chore. Make sure you take out the bolts first If you don't have access to a press then your only option is a bucketload of PB blaster on the areas where the rotor meets the hub, let it soak, give it a few good whacks from a rubber mallet and then repeat about a million times over. If you still can't get it to move then you might have to resort to tapping a chisel in between the hub and rotor but I wouldn't recommend that as you could damage the hub. The best option is to find a press, it will save a lot of wasted time and effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenG Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Separating the rotor from the hub can be a bit of a chore. Make sure you take out the bolts first If you don't have access to a press then your only option is a bucketload of PB blaster on the areas where the rotor meets the hub, let it soak, give it a few good whacks from a rubber mallet and then repeat about a million times over. If you still can't get it to move then you might have to resort to tapping a chisel in between the hub and rotor but I wouldn't recommend that as you could damage the hub. Here's what I did when I had to separate them. I took a hammer and tapped on the hub in a bit of an outward fashion. I would constantly rotate and tap the hub while holding the rotor till it came lose. I didn't have access to a press, so this was my own technique that worked well. Ended up doing it again when I changed the brakes/rotors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks for the tips guys! I ended up using the chisel method on the first hub since the hub was pretty well frozen, plus it was the first how to technique I found. Will have to do a once over to make sure I didn't hurt anything, seeing as how they are cast, it should have cracked if it suffered too much damage. I'll have to try using my press for the second one. I'm pretty sure I have a brass punch for the bearings so that's good news. Looks like I'm off to buy a pipe wrench and bearing press tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Went to a friends house (the guy I go to when I'm stuck) and we tried to pull the nuts off the tie rods for the steering rack. Heated it red hot with oxy-acetylene to no avail, even using a flare wrench and a BFH no give, so that will have to be dropped off at the professionals (any recommendations?). We did manage to pop off the gland nut, which I learned is called a castle nut (circle with 4 square grooves) and should require an adjustable castle nut wrench, but a 6$ pipe wrench and a jack handle will do . Got a chance to look at the hub/rotor combo in the day, should be pretty easy to pop it out now that I know what pieces should be moving. Finally got a chance to open some of my boxes I've been storing in my room. All that for just one strut, doesn't even include the camber plates up top. If the bearings check out, and the seal comes and cotter pin are sourced, should be able to have the fronts finished, and hopefully the rears aren't too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MexiChriS Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I always find myself re-reading your build thread when I should be digging into them college books... I believe I 1st spotted this in another forum for local/state community though, somehow lately now on here, either way never gets old to read through and see the progress made so far... Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Wow, thanks! I find myself doing the same thing with some other peoples builds, luckily I have no textbooks this quarter . Felt like a little kid unwrapping a huge present today. White really looks great! Even if it's painted by a monkey. Really made a stupid error where I really didn't have enough room on the passenger side to get a good spray pattern lots of runs, blah blah blah. Truthfully it looks horrendous, but white is white, and I have to get the car mostly together within a week. Cleared and undercoated for now, will hopefully be able to move it away from the wall and fixed at a later date... Onto the hub. The seal gave me trouble as I really didn't know what it looked like. Ended up taking a wire brush and sanding the rubber away turns out it's a metal ring with a rubber insert. Second hub was super easy with the press, everything just popped out. The bearings looked unfazed so I popped them out with a brass drift and will clean and reuse. Will have to go an acquire new seals. Hubs were cleaned and painted with high temp, I have extended studs waiting to be pressed in once the paint dries. Ran out of brake clean to clean the struts so I should have the struts cleaned and painted. Snags as of now... Stuck tie rods on steering rack. Not sure if the 71 model came with lock nuts? Waiting on inner hub seals. Need to order weatherstrip. Need to order front air dam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Sorry folks, battery was out on my phone so no pics today. So the 71 model came with castle nuts with a lock groove instead of the point lock nut as shown on atlantic z car. Fenders: Off of a blue car, which sported the chrome trim along the fender line. As my car does not have this, I filled in the holes and ground them down, the bottoms look pretty darn rusty, but at this point and time I don't think I have time to deal with it. They are waiting wipe down with a lint free cloth and primer/paint/clear. Hatch: Taped off. Need to tape off glass on other side just in case of over spray, and acquire new lock (more on this). Doors: So since the first day when I rolled down the windows, I haven't been able to get them up. And since I'm on the doors I figured I'd take a look. Turns out the spring had unsprung itself on one door, causing it to drop the regulator and disengage the gear. The other side suffered from just plain old being friction stuck due to old grease. Lookw like the unsprung spring side also lost the roller as that was found in the bottom of the door. Managed to pull those out and found.....one door is green, and the other brown! I really wish I had taken pictures, as the brown door was so rusty near the hinge that the sheet holding the 3 nuts at the bottom moved freely back and forth, as in you could grab the nut from the back and bend the sheet. Without the top 2 bolts, I think the door would have just fallen off the car! There were cracks, pitting, and holes, it was so bad that the thought of throwing it away and looking for another door. But I figured with all I'd been through, I could try and fix it. And....I did (really really wish I had pictures, it was an absolutely epic fix). Front struts are painted, so I should be able to get the front put together (minus the steering rack). Locks: So...I had forgotten this till now, but when I bought the car, the owner informed me the key only worked for the ignition (now I know why parts from many cars). Having 2 of the family cars broken into in the last year (in the safest city in the state...), I figure I need some theft prevention. Now the doors are pretty easy and cheap to source, but it doesn't look like many places sell the the hatch or all three for a decent price. I've heard of having locks rekeyed, anyone have experience? I figure I'd drop by the local lock smith and see what they say. Actual makeup of the car thus far.... Blue fenders Brown Door Green Door Unknown hatch (not original though) White Chassis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billseph Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Reading you're update and wanted to let you know that the hatch and door locks can be re-keyed. Had all 3 matched to the ignition key on my old 240Z for a grand total of like $50-75. It wasn't much when considering you'll be able to lock your car. Nice build by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmakZ Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Sweet progress man. Think you'll have her running in the next month or so? Also, charge your camera!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 billseph, that's great news! omakz, I still need the weatherstrip kit and an engine rebuild, not to mention I haven't looked at the rear which could present quite a few problems. Hopefully rolling by the end of the month, wishfully driving my May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) The house that the car is stored at is finally going under construction, which meant I had to move everything into the garage. Fenders 4x diffs 2x transmissions Doors Hatch Windshield Roll bars Drill Press Press 8 Rims with tires 4 Tires All the interior Dash Fuel tank Odds and Ends Also meant I had to move the rear suspension and the engines out of the way and move all the garbage to make room for all this. So did about a a literal ton of moving today, probably going to conk out tonight. Managed to start putting in the studs, wasn't sure of the final torque and didn't want to strip the new studs, so only partially pulled in. Will post the easiest procedure to accomplish this as soon as I find the final torque setting for the studs. Struts all ready for new hardware posted above. Just need to decide on an oil and make sure I have the correct o-rings for the shock and knuckle and bump stop for the spring perch. And since all the parts had to go in the garage, decided to start putting the stuff that will go into the car...into the car . Scratched a bit putting it in by myself. May need to come out as one of the bolt holes is difficult to line up, and the rear braces don't fit very well with the additonal thickness of the paint. Will also have to decide if I'll be keeping the rocker bars after the doors are finished. Onto the epic repair. How I wish I had taken a picture of how bad it was. There were layers of steel missing, inch long cracks, pitting, holes, and you could push the metal easily with your pinky! I mean you can see all the new steel that went in, take off maybe a 1/4 inch from the border and you have how much metal was added. The history of the car plot thickens as well. So the green door is just sheet metal on the inside, while the white door is a full brown with a layer of white on top (brown most likely being a primer of sorts). I'm leaning towards that being the factory door as the key fits into the lock, although the lock won't turn. Also found two hatch locks among the little tidbits I received with the car, so leaning towards the hatch not being an original item. And this is of course combined with the E31 head, which shouldn't have come on my late '71. Not a real problem, but a continual source of entertainment! Edited March 5, 2012 by seattlejester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmakZ Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Holy crap. Doin' work man. Holla if you need a hand with anything after next week (I have finals until the 16th). IMO, you should keep the rocker bars if you're running fixed back seats. If you opt to ditch them you should figure out how to pad the mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Hopefully I can use some help by then (finals end on the 12th for me ). I just have this sneaking suspicion that the rocker bars are going block the door handle and end up trapping me in the car. We'll have to see once the door is all rebuilt and such. Still stuck on steering rack, will have to call some places and see if they can help, or else I'll just weld a huge bar to it and try breaking it free. Question of the day, where would I source the little white piece that holds the bar to the lock? Managed to break one pulling it out. You can see what I'm referring to in this ebay add. It's the little white nubin type thing. link Edited March 9, 2012 by seattlejester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmakZ Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Wait, what's wrong with the steering rack. I might have an extra one lying around. I'm sure we can work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Just can't get the bloody nuts loose to take the tie rod off and most service places don't deal with problems like that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Well I tried doing the front bearings. Placed the races in the freezer, bought a race bearing drift set, and ran down to install them. Got both outer races in without much to drama, even managed to get one of the inner races, but alas, I met failure when I met the last race. By the time I got around to the last one, it had warmed up just enough that it was not going in flat. When I tapped it back out, it came out in 4 pieces. Luckily the local o'reiley had the fronts instock, so I bought one and put it in the freezer for round 2. I feared the worst, but literally popped in with 3 light taps and 3 big blows. Decided I should start getting all the pieces ready to install, so installed the FLCA bushings. Best way I found was to insert the fatter bushing, push in the metal rod, than place the top shorter half on the metal rod. Afterwords, use a press, and finish the task without any drama. For the hubs. Gently tap in the new stud after extracting the old one. Place washers (1/2inch washers are much cheaper and I found 4 is enough for my case) to act as a spacer for the non threaded portion of the stud and to act as a bearing as to not scratch your brand new paint job. Use a rattle gun to pull the stud in using an open ended lug nut from napa (~2$). Pull in until stud is flush with the bottom of the hub, my rattle gun is limited to 40 psi via a regulator to prevent stripping the stud. At this point torque it with a torque wrench. I've been told it's ~80-90lbs (still looking up on that). Whatever you choose, make sure to retorque your wheels after driving a while, just in case they settle in a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Went up to canada today, saw a bunch of cars, but I only took shots of ones that tickled my fancy. A clean R32. And of course some datsun love, 260 version, in very good knick. A very cool rally spec with studded tires and all. And a very neat flared Z. Only thing I was picky with was wheel fitment, running massive spacers to get the +0 konig rims to fit. But looked great. Back to work starting next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sileightygx Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Droooolll over the R32 and rally Z!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenHLS3083301 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Where in canada was this show?, I live in vancouver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Spanish bay? Not too familiar with the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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