Recent content by ron.dittmer

Thanks for the compliments. I am happy to report that everything continues to work properly. I did not overlook anything or accidentally damage anything related or otherwise. I don't see any indication of leaking gear oil around the differential cover or from the new bearing seals, though a...

We own a 2006 Liberty Sport 4x4 with the 3.7L gas engine, now with 87,000 miles. We bought it used in 2009 with 29,000 miles. I have been real good with maintaining the vehicle.....or so I thought. One thing that surprised me about the 3.7L engine is the scheduled frequency the spark plugs...

TaDa! All done. I followed my own advise. After I filled the differential with gear oil, while still on jack stands, I started the engine, put the trans in "D" and ran the drivetrain while in the air to get the fresh gear oil out to the wheel bearings and throughout the upper diff. Then I...

You are correct. I torqued them an hour after hand-tightening. I had to wait 24 hours before filling with oil of which I did. I went back and corrected my mistyping. About painting the entire rear axle.....I just didn't have it in me to do it.

Today I assembled the parking brake itself (both sides) which went as expected with no issues. Then I lubricated the two axle shafts (with wheel hubs) with gear oil where they contact the seals and bearings and assembled the differential. Then I mounted the two rotors with a couple of lugs...

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for your kind words and encouragement. I hope to finish up in a day or two, of coarse with more pictures.

Since the paint was handy, I painted the hubs & raw metal axle seals, mounted the caliper brackets, painted the related nuts and stems, mounted the backing plates, then painted those bolts, then touched up anything I scraped during handling and assembly. Now I wait until Monday (tomorrow is...

The caliper brackets are now painted. After all this messing around for so many days, I am finally ready for final assembly.

Today I tapped all the original rivet holes (6 in all) to accept 5/16-24 bolts. I then wrenched-in one bolt at a time in the same hole and ground them flush using my electric hand-held angle grinder. I then increased the holes in the backing plates to accommodate the larger bolts. I...

Caliper brackets are sandblasted. Next is tapping the 3 rivet holes per caliper bracket. I got short length 5/16" fine-threaded hardened bolts, seemly ideal for mounting the backing plates to the caliper brackets. I will still need to grind down the excess bolt-ends, but not much. Then...

Hi 65Corvair, I am reusing the original backing plates because sandblasting them revealed they were good for reuse. The picture higher up are the original backing plates being painted a gray color along with the differential cover. Tonight I finished the painting process, then attempted to...

I am dragging this project out.....not yet done painting....second coat required.

Now being deep in this project, I see that you are correct. I noted the backing plates were riveted on, not screwed on. I am shocked Chrysler got away using thin flimsy rivets for this important application. I disassembled everything for proper restoration....per various internet videos, this...

Thanks Rough for your response. I seen that option but heating the 4 badly rusted caliper bracket mounting nuts to mount the split backing plate, will damage the wheel bearing. I decided that I am going to remove the axle shafts, remove and sandblast the original rusted backing plates in an...

Read through this post with many pictures, how for $68.00 I went from......... THESE Non-working parking brakes, to to THESE fully functional parking brakes that are assembled better than new ones. -----------------------Beginning Of Post--------------------------------- Hi All, I am...