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View Full Version : Ahhh crap....

scuncio
10-22-2006, 09:16 PM
So I was mentally committed to selling my '68 Z (cool old drag car with 25k original miles) and went out to the garage to take it out to shoot a few pics. And I find this puddle of 80W on the ground! Looks like I am keeping it for a while. Anyone had experience in fixing a cracked weld on the spring perch?
nuch_ss396
10-22-2006, 09:40 PM
Tony,

Whay would a cracked weld on the spring perch have any bearing
on oil leakage? Why would the two be connected? Is the
axle seal bad possibly? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hmmm.gif
Steve
enio45
10-22-2006, 09:41 PM
I dont, but i would love to see a pic of the car . . does it have good documentation with it?
scuncio
10-22-2006, 09:59 PM
Steve, the crack appears to have gone through the tube, so whatever lube was residual has now trickled through the crack onto my garage floor. I've seen this before on cars that were beaten pretty hard...I guess mine qualifies. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ed, I'll take a good pic of the car as soon as I get this stupid thing fixed!
markjohnson
10-22-2006, 10:20 PM
That was a common problem on Camaro/Nova leaf spring perches. I see you have U-bolts instead of the T-bolts. That normally takes care of spring perches breaking away from the tube but obviously not in this case. The best known solution is to keep the U-bolts and weld small gussets from the front and rear of the perch up to the axle tubes. That, or stop with the power shifting and we all know how difficult that habit is to break! By the way, axle tubes retain plenty of gear lube. That's why 12 bolt differental covers have that ridge on the back side, so lubricant flows down from it to make it's way down the axle tube to the outer rear wheel bearings. Good luck.
bertfam
10-22-2006, 10:33 PM
Tony,

This is your cars way of telling you not to sell it!! She's happy in your garage and doesn't want to leave.

Ed
nuch_ss396
10-22-2006, 10:38 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Tony,

This is your cars way of telling you not to sell it!! She's happy in your garage and doesn't want to leave.

Ed

[/ QUOTE ]

Aaah yes, tears of sadness...... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif
scuncio
10-22-2006, 10:43 PM
Mark, thanks for the advice. I am going to pull the entire rear out and gut it, and run it down to DTS to have them take care of the weld cleanup and repair. I'll try to hang out there and document the whole process in case anyone wants to tackle this job on their own.

Ed, that's exactly what I thought when I saw it. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Maybe it's fate.
firstgenaddict
10-22-2006, 10:43 PM
Looks like a dirt dauber has already been to work on the perch at some point in time...
scuncio
10-22-2006, 10:45 PM
I think it was repaired poorly in the past already...the weld is uglier in person.
firstgenaddict
10-22-2006, 10:53 PM
It was probably cracked and they did nothing to stop the crack... just welded over the top of it... a common problem.
Grind the old welds off and find the crack... drill a small hole at either end of the crack, grind a V down the length of the crack, and then weld it.
scuncio
10-22-2006, 10:59 PM
Good advice, I remember that from Formula SAE days...crack propogation is a b!tch!
396/425blr
10-23-2006, 01:49 AM
i heard a joke about that hole at the end of the crack, but i better not tell it here http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gifdoc
nuch_ss396
10-23-2006, 03:36 AM
[ QUOTE ]
i heard a joke about that hole at the end of the crack, but i better not tell it here http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gifdoc

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif