I am one happy camper. Last nite I got the pinion angle set on the rearend. 2.5 degrees. Now for the funny part, but wasnt funny when it happened. I was all done, got it tack welded and ready to dissassemble so it can be welded properly and painted. Got the wheels off, rotors, ubolts off, moved the rearend and the pirches clanged. The welds didnt hold, my welder was acting very funny but i thought they would at least be good enough welds to hold. Bout that time I just bout cried. I even had one of the axles out already. So I had to mock it up again, couple hours work to get the pinion angle and the rearend centered. Worked on the mig and corrected the problem, regulator was frozen as well as the wire feed had become clogged in the welder itself (dirt and dust). By the way I used the string method of running a string line from the tailshaft of the trans to the center of the pinion. Using a machinist protractor made the job simple. Thanks very much to all who had input on this for me. Dan
I get a little leary sometimes when I'm underneath the car late at night by myself beating and kicking on stuff. The Maverick will move a little too much and all of the sudden I get sleepy and decide to call it a night! We should ALL practice safety first! (I can also understand your frustration )
sorry it was a pain in the but but I`m glad that ya got it done , one time my mav fell off the jack right after I got off from under it
at least you weren't under yours when it fell. Luckily, I saw what was about to happen and one of the rear slicks landed squarely on my right foot as I was coming out from under it. Got lucky I guess.
Glad to hear you guys didn't get hurt! Question: Were you guys using jack stands? They are one of best investments you can make!!! Cheap insurance as well! While I was taking an automotive class, and one of the first things that they had us do was jack the car up, and put jack stands under the car. After we had the jack stands under the car we tried to shake the car pretty hard to see how sturdy the setup was before getting underneath it. Something I haven't forgotten, and something I always do now. I have to admit in the past I was always guilty of just using a hydraulic by itself especially if I was in a hurry. Not trying to give a lecture, just can't over emphasize "Safety First!". Hey Dan, glad you got your pinion angle setup!
Once I had a jackstand break. I was putting a new steering rack in my mother's car, so the front wheels were off. Got under the car, then remembered that I left a tool laying on the work bench. Got out from under the car, walked over to the bench, and the car fell flat on the ground! One jackstand's "saddle" had broken and caused it to kick out from under the car, then the second one kicked out. This was an inexpensive set I bought at PepBoy's or somewhere. The next day I went out and bought two sets of the biggest, strongest jackstands I could find.
Re: Glad to hear you guys didn't get hurt! Didn't take it as a lecture, Dave. I actually *had* my car on jack stands at that particular time. When the car is only a shell (no engine/tranny/interior or rearend) it's pretty light and can move a little more than I like. I found a safer way to accomplish what I was trying to do. Agreed: SAFETY FIRST!!!
stupid but funny story Ok, my dad and me were trying to get our new 302 out of the back of the truck. Problem was that we dont have a cherry picker or whatever you call it to lift it out with. So we put the front of the truck up on jackstands to lower the back of the tailgate closer to our Hydraulic jack. after we got farther along in the idiotic process, we had to move the truck forward. Well, me and dad totally forgot it was on jackstands. I put it in drive and BANG WAM the truck crashed to the ground and we both realized what happened. Lucky for us, the truck is high enough that it didnt hurt anything when it fell off the stands. Stupid. -Todd
You will never catch me using sheet metal jackstands, and you will never catch me under a car without good jackstands. I have 3 sets of 6 ton jackstands. You can get lots of clearance with the 6 ton stands. I have lost 2 friends over the years from cars that have fallen on them, both cases were purely their own fault by not taking the time to use good quality jackstands. And yes it is scarey when you have a light car on jackstands, they seem to want to wiggle around more. Dan
