Midwest fabbed 9" install...
Everything went together pretty smoothly, the hardest things were getting the brake lines bent to fit and connected, and getting the shock bolt holes reamed out for the larger Bilstein shock bolts. All in all everything went very smoothly so far.
Looking good.....How is the clearance by the gas tank and exhaust?
I had no clearance issues with gas tank or exhaust with the long torque arm set-up. I did, however, have to put in close to 3/8" worth of spacers in all four of the tranny crossmember bolts to get the transmission to hang down low enough. The transmission was banging the frame under hard acceleration bolted in without the spacers. I guess every car is going to be a little different.
Ya I had the same problems with my midwest 9" install, I ended up having to buy a $40 Unibit to ream out the shock bolts holes cause my drill would not fit larger than a 1/2" bit. The Bilstein shock bolts are 19/32". Just got done breaking it in this past weekend. Change the fluid and off to the track.
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Also, I went with the short torque arm setup, so I hopefully won't have any issues with having to adjust the trans crossmember (which is a 4L80E on a BMR crossmember, which also needs cleaning, heh).
Thanks for the nice comments everyone.
Cheers,
Rob (Bad30th)
My install went pretty smooth too. Bending the lines to fit was fun lol. I went with the short arm with tunnel mount crossmember for duals and the loop. I have about 30 miles on mine now (due to **** weather) but am lookign forward to the 50* days. I did go with a spool and having some banging issues while turning slowly and will hopefully find out what it is when the weather breaks.
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The new yoke arrived today (test fit it to the 4L80E and it works great !) and I got it pressed on the driveshaft this afternoon, so it's ready to go. I'll probably make some more progress tonight.
I've been doing some cleaning this week, the bottom side of the car looks a lot better !
Rob (Bad30th)
I've been doing some cleaning this week, the bottom side of the car looks a lot better !
Rob (Bad30th)
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OK, driveshaft is in and I'm measuring angles for setup. The car is sitting with wheels on four rhino ramps, with the suspension loaded. The angle measurements were taken from the same side of the car (on pass side facing driver side) for the driveshaft and pinion.
Driveshaft angle :
Pinion Angle (Take 1) :
It looks like I need to bring the top of the rear forward. If the driveshaft is at -1 degrees (roughly), I think I need to bring the rear pinion angle to -3 degrees (it's at about 4 degrees now)... Right ?
I also need to shorten my adjustable panhard a bit more since a little more tire is still visible from the rear on the driver side than the passenger side.
Here are more pics of the driveshaft install.
Yoke to trans tail (nice fit !!)...
DS loop clearance...
Rear u-joint at pinion...
Driveshaft angle :
Pinion Angle (Take 1) :
It looks like I need to bring the top of the rear forward. If the driveshaft is at -1 degrees (roughly), I think I need to bring the rear pinion angle to -3 degrees (it's at about 4 degrees now)... Right ?
I also need to shorten my adjustable panhard a bit more since a little more tire is still visible from the rear on the driver side than the passenger side.
Here are more pics of the driveshaft install.
Yoke to trans tail (nice fit !!)...
DS loop clearance...
Rear u-joint at pinion...
Last edited by Bad30th; Feb 28, 2009 at 01:50 PM.
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Just an update, after some adjustment I have the pinion angle at about -1, and the driveshaft at 0. The front of the torque arm is in the lowest bolt hole at the tunnel mount.
I'm thinking I may take the torque arm back off and shorten the top arm a little, I lengthened it a little bit for an easier fit during the install, but I think it may be throwing the adjustment off. (i.e. I could go back and shorten the top arm of the torque arm and move the front mount of the torque arm to a higher bolt hole while still keeping the same pinion angle, but I can't adjust to a more negative pinion angle the way it is set up now)...
Maiden voyage for starting to break in the gears will be probably after work tonight unless I decide to pull the torque arm back out, I also still need to shorten the panhard a little more since there's still about 1/2" more tire showing on the driver side when looking at the car from the rear.
Also, forgot to mention - bouncing the rear of the car up and down as hard as I can there's plenty of clearance and no banging on anything so far.
Cheers,
Rob (Bad30th)
I'm thinking I may take the torque arm back off and shorten the top arm a little, I lengthened it a little bit for an easier fit during the install, but I think it may be throwing the adjustment off. (i.e. I could go back and shorten the top arm of the torque arm and move the front mount of the torque arm to a higher bolt hole while still keeping the same pinion angle, but I can't adjust to a more negative pinion angle the way it is set up now)...
Maiden voyage for starting to break in the gears will be probably after work tonight unless I decide to pull the torque arm back out, I also still need to shorten the panhard a little more since there's still about 1/2" more tire showing on the driver side when looking at the car from the rear.
Also, forgot to mention - bouncing the rear of the car up and down as hard as I can there's plenty of clearance and no banging on anything so far.
Cheers,
Rob (Bad30th)
Last edited by Bad30th; Mar 3, 2009 at 02:48 PM.
that type of tailshaft seal has a rubber extension on it and will not affect any type of bind. this is a 4L80e trans and the yokes on that shaft are a bit shorter than the T56/4L60e. not to mention... these cars with lower control arms/phb/ torque arm do not have the travel like a leaf spring car does. there is very little movement in and out of the trans. the closer you can put the yoke into the trans the less chance of runout/vibration you have. believe me... the driveshaft length is correct for all the shafts i sell.
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Yeaaaaah baby ! 
I got the rear all centered up with my adjustable panhard, and it was all set to go after a final checkover, so I started it up for the first time in 2 months and took a careful drive !
I just got back from the maiden voyage, and everything is running great so far. No banging or scary noises, and even though I was TOTALLY grandma'ing it around it sounds like it's as quiet or quieter than my 10-bolt and Spohn tunnel mount torque arm setup.
I'm hoping the gears break in nice and quiet, and I can start driving the car without worrying about breaking the rear !
Big thanks to Eric for all his help and for making the most badass rear end on the market !
Cheers !
Rob (Bad30th)
I got the rear all centered up with my adjustable panhard, and it was all set to go after a final checkover, so I started it up for the first time in 2 months and took a careful drive !
I just got back from the maiden voyage, and everything is running great so far. No banging or scary noises, and even though I was TOTALLY grandma'ing it around it sounds like it's as quiet or quieter than my 10-bolt and Spohn tunnel mount torque arm setup.
I'm hoping the gears break in nice and quiet, and I can start driving the car without worrying about breaking the rear !
Big thanks to Eric for all his help and for making the most badass rear end on the market !
Cheers !
Rob (Bad30th)
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I got Motive 3:70's, and my driveshaft was ordered by Eric and dropshipped from Strange. I did need to change the driveshaft front yoke for the 400/4L80E, but never needed to measure anything... My rear came crated up fully assembled.
I will probably give it another quick break-in drive at lunch today.
Rob (Bad30th)