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Questions about rear AWD suspension & drivetrain overhaul

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XC92

Proven Member
1,573
358
Jul 22, 2020
Queens, New_York
I've been prepping for an overhaul of the rear end on my '92 Talon TSi AWD that I'm hoping to complete this spring, that I started a year and a half ago, it. On my first pass I removed as much rust and crud as I could from the control and trailing arms and painted them, with everything but the calipers and rotors still on the car. I also completely rebuilt the calipers. Later on I rebuilt the strut assemblies, and replaced the pads and rotors. 4 new tires too.

On my final pass at this I intend to remove nearly everything, to replace the ball joints, link connectors, sway bar and control arm bushings (all of which have already been purchased, Moog & ES), replace the brake hoses with SS, and derust, clean up and paint whatever I wasn't able to get to on my first two pass at this, including the underbody and tank (which I also intend to remove, derust, clean, coat and paint). I'm talking about the upper and lower control arms, trailing arms, sway bar and brackets, diff, diff support, crossmember, prop shaft, and all the associated hardware.

One thing I'm wondering about is the order in which I remove everything. I was originally going to follow this order:
  1. Wheels
  2. Calipers
  3. Rotors
  4. CV axles
  5. Upper control arms
  6. Sway bar
  7. Lower control arms
  8. Trailing arms
  9. Prop shaft
  10. Differential
  11. Differential support
  12. Cross member
Thing is, looking at the FSM it looks like the crossmember is directly connected to the body only via 2 front nuts and, and indirectly connected to the body via the diff and diff support member. So if I follow the above order, it looks like I might risk having the crossmember drop down on its rear end and possibly bend or even rip the body where its connected via the 2 front nuts.

Is this the case, and did I just save myself major body damage by thinking this through before going through with it? If so, then it appears that the correct way to drop the cross member is by leaving it connected to the diff, putting a trans jack under the diff, removing the 2 front cross member nuts and 2 diff support member nuts, and dropping the whole 3-part assembly and only then taking them apart.

Have I got this right?

Also, when I put everything back together, I assume that I'll need a rear alignment even if I mark everything before removing things and put everything back the way they were, right?

At under 80k miles should I take the diff apart and check backlash and such to see if all is ok, or is this something to do later on? While I have everything off I'll of course check to see if the LSD VC is still ok with the wheel turn test.

Should I bother to replace the wheel bearings and seals?

Anything else I need to be aware of and do?
 
Are you going to replace the cv boots? I would consider that before messing with that low-milage diff. Perhaps check the Total Backlash as described in the FSM. Is the pinion seal dry, or seeping a little? The axle seals can be changed without major surgery, and would be a no brainer on a car of that age.
As far as the order, the FSM has a procedure for removing the diff that doesn't include dropping all the arms and subframe, so I can't imagine it would damage anything to do it that way.
 
Boots are fine, seals bone dry (although I'm going to replace all 3 since I'm already in there and bought them a while back).

And I'm familiar with both FSM methods of dropping the diff, but one involves dropping it while still connected to the crossmember and support member, and the other with the crossmember, control and trailing arms still on, which gives the crossmember support front and back so it shouldn't sag, at least not enough to be a concern. Since I'm hoping to take everything off, as it's the only way to clean everything up thoroughly including the underbody, I'm worried that this wouldn't work. This is a once every many many many miles and years sort of undertaking.

I'm guessing that relatively few people do what I'm hoping to do, since it's so involved and not truly necessary. Just part of the whole restoration thing.
 
Yeah, I get that. I'll likely do the same at some point, but have enough going on currently that it's lower on my list. After my trans replacement is done, I have some oil leaking on the front case somewhere. I'll probably do all the seals and gaskets like you already did there. And then I might wait a while to enjoy driving the car before tackling any more resto.

I'm not sure the struts really do much to hold up the subframe, however. They do support the "free" end of the three arms, but do very little to keep the "fixed" ends of the arms from sagging. I assume it's all in the beefy two forward connectors. I suppose if you are concerned, simply leave the diff attached & supported with a jack, and then take out all the fasteners for the subframe and mustache bar, and lower the whole assembly. Then disconnect the diff. I can't think of why that wouldn't work.
 
I'm taking a rest too, to enjoy the car, plus NE winters make major outdoor car work really difficult and kind of pointless unless urgent, which this is not. I'm basically done with all the truly necessary work, except maybe the clutch pedal slop thing, so now it's mostly deferred maintenance and restoration, so it doesn't become urgent someday and the car is back to spec. Someday I'll sell the car so this is laying the groundwork for that if I want to get top dollar.

What I'll probably do is wait till it's time to undertake this, lift the rear, take off the wheels, and have a good look to see how I think I should proceed. I just want to be as ready as possible for when the time comes.

I'm probably also going to invest in the Milwaukee M12 Fuel right angle die grinder, to help me get as much rust and crud off these parts and the underbody as possible. I don't want to rely on a drill and driver with wire wheel and abrasive attachments anymore. That's very inefficient and slow and really hard on my hands.

I bought the cheapo HF angle grinder a while back for $10, plus some wheels, but it's corded and it's going to be a challenge getting a line out to where I'll be working on the car on the street. I might use that on the parts I remove, but the die grinder will be more useful on the car itself, being portable.

I also have to do some rust and body work on two other cars, so it'll come in hand then too. I'm just waiting till the next round of Home Depot M12 sales. Apparently you can get it as low as $100. I recently got the M12 Fuel 3/8" stubby impact wrench plus batteries and charger, so I'm set there. I think I've earned the "right" to buy myself some nice tools by now.

Btw the car's running great. Still has some issues, but nothing huge and the trans is working just fine. How's yours doing?
 
Well I do work in a garage, but it’s often pretty cold out there. I did get the whole prop shaft rebuilt. I’m ready to put the flywheel back in, and then the tranny. Could be this weekend, depending on snow. When it snows, I split time between skiing and shoveling.
 
Snowed last night, shoveled this morning. Thankfully it wasn't too bad but 3 cars and a sidewalk was enough. Haven't skied in decades but I do miss it.
 
Wow, that sucks. Are you TRYING to kill me? :p

Back when the pandemic was fully underway its US epicenter was just a few miles away in, I kid you not, Corona, Queens (of the Simon & Garfunkel song fame, who btw grew up on the same block as I did, 2 streets and 20 years removed). And until I complete the work and give the car a thorough twice-over, I'm probably not going to stray too far from home, especially in winter.
 
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