My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[Arquemann]

F****** **** **** I feel like everything is falling apart!
- Sometimes its lean, sometimes like its supposed to be, I've cleaned the fuel bowls, changed the vacuum caps and sprayed cans of bräkleen and I never find fucking anything. Then it's suddenly fine again, for maybe a day or a half. Must've been the involuntary blood sacrifice that fixed it.
- Today she felt like idling rough most of the day, then it cleared up at one intersection and from the next one onwards it started fluctuating rpm while idle, hasn't done that before
- Passenger front door panel is making an annoying scritching sound, again. I've "fixed" it twice before!
- Something in the front right corner of the car started vibrating or resonating like a MFer, but only at about 80kmh and when the AC compressor kicks on. Absolutely no clue what the hell does that, all the AC related stuff is on and snug.
- I took a couple friends home late Saturday night and the headlights went out and came back on a few times like in a shitty horror movie. Then I fiddlefucked the headlight switch and then it was fine.
- Out of the blue the passenger front window likes to miss the window run channel again and mush it

yeah... speed clips IIRC. those slip over retention clips that go on bolts to keep them captured. But those are tiny. To get the pillar panel out, you have to remove the trim around it. IIRC, you may have to remove the lower trim first and the back seat needs to be pulled up to get that out. It's been several years since I've done this, so my memory is foggy on it. Last time was when I put 3-point belts in the rear of the 88 MGM I used to have.

Awesome, my retrofit 3-point belts are bolted through the parcel shelf and they're butted up pretty close to the c-pillar trim.

[Arquemann]

Today was a small swap meet close by, popped into there on the same trip as I loaned a bearing puller for the rear axle bearings.
Nothing much, except for these:


Ford Motorsport shorties! For a foxbody I believe, if they won't fit I'll definitely break even reselling them.

[gadget73]

can't tell buf if those happen to be the ones for GT40P heads, thats a very nice find. They fit other heads too but the tubes on the ones specific for the P heads gave nice clearance around the plugs.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/FMS-M-9430-P50

Fox headers fit panthers fine, the exhaust side needs proper size flanges is all.

[Arquemann]

can't tell buf if those happen to be the ones for GT40P heads, thats a very nice find. They fit other heads too but the tubes on the ones specific for the P heads gave nice clearance around the plugs.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/FMS-M-9430-P50

Fox headers fit panthers fine, the exhaust side needs proper size flanges is all.

I don't know which ones are which, the summit page shows two different types, one of those shows cyl 7 runner going behind and other is like mine's. If these are indeed 40P suitable headers, it could slightly help in my search for heads. I doubt there's too many GT40P's in Finland, but maybe peeps don't want due to the plug angle thing...

[87gtVIC]

Nice find. Good headers. Sell for a lot of money now in the states because they are no longer available new.

[gadget73]

the lack of useful headers is mostly what keeps the P heads unpopular. They are actually the best as-cast SBF head made. Can't port or modify them as much as some because they aren't real thick but if the criteria is to build something purely out of as-found junkyard parts to make the most power, those are the winners.

[Arquemann]

I replaced the rear wheel bearings and seals today, the job had all the ingredients of me not having a good time. Under the car, smelly, messy, questionable choices, things not going like they should and me not having the proper tools. Hoo buddy!

Let's start from the beginning: everything in the diff is probably original, wheel seals rusted to the axle tubes, diff cover shut tighter a nuns crotch, the gear oil was dark grey, sludgy, a bit shiny, zero translucence and made me geniunely recoil from the horrendous smell.

Didn't strip out the crosspin bolt but the pin had to go yoinky sploinky into the bowl of gear oil. Pin is mint, basically no wear. Yanked out the axles and aaaaand, fuck:


There's some pitting but no real ridge between the worn and non worn areas, they went back in after a little scotchbrite cleanup.

Next was to remove the old wheel seals and bearings... I loaned a Shankly slidehammerbearingpullerdealybopper from a guy, which had a female imperial thread and dad's slide hammer is a massive metric male thread.
https://www.amazon.com/Shankly-Rear-.../dp/B072KYKPVV

I removed the wheel seals with a crowbar, after cursing more than enough with seal pullers, screwdrivers and else. They were rusted into the axle tubes and I could not identify a manufacturer from them, especially after thoroughly mangling them on the way out.

Then time to remove the bearings...
I threaded a bolt to the puller and used a slotted head on a 5kg/10lbs slide hammer under the bolt. I few yanks on the slider hammer, a few more, a few more with more aggression... I broke the bolt. Aaaand then I broke another bolt the same way. The slide hammer head was bent now. I took another head, thicker and with a bigger slot, so I put that slot straight on the little shoulder on the puller. First bearing dismantled itself, showered me with rollers and eventually the outer race came out. Second came out in one piece but fought even longer.
If you need some reference on how much the bearings fought, here's the two slider hammer heads after I was done. 5mm and 8mm steel, notice how the thicker is mushroomed...



Anyways, I hammered in the new SKF axle saver seals, because it wasn't actually my balljoint puller set I remembered seeing somewhere. I greased the O-rings and the seals like someone somewhere told to. All back together, felpro gasket and a light application of gasket maker. Mobilube HD 80W90. It this fucking thing starts leaking from the wheel seals, I'm throwing in the towel, buying new axles, seals and bearings and having someone else do this shit.
Drums are still off and she's on jackstands. Tomorrow I'll adjust the drums a bit, check for leaks and change the rear shocks. I'm toast, I spent 6 hours fighting with this stupid rear axle ordeal today.

[gadget73]

pics didn't post, but once they start with the pitting its not a long way from the hardened surface cracking off and the bearing running on the soft gooey inside.

another way to get those out without a special puller that works when its being extra stupid is to pop the carrier out and use a long pipe run all the way through from the other side. basically just lay the end up against the inside of the bearing you want gone and beat the piss out of it from the other side of the car. Something will give.

can hammer in the new seals, just need something between them and the hammer. Blocks of wood work fine for installers.

[jaywish]

Yes occasionally they are a pita. When I did my old wagon to install axle saver bearings my slide hammer hand hurt for two + months. Wish I had thought of removing the carrier.

But the several other bearing sets I changed in other housings were easy enough.

[Arquemann]

The axles are worn, but with the axle savers they'll hopefully last for a few years, after that it's time for new axles and bearings.
I know of the pipe trick, didn't have anything suitable at hand. Probably won't have to time to put this all back together today, oh well.
Pics attempt no.2:


The slider hammer bits:

[gadget73]

yeah thats the stage of axle wear just prior to things getting really bad.

[Arquemann]

New rear shocks are in, went without too much hassle.
Of course they started to spin with the top nuts, but I clamped the top of shock so tight with welding clamp locking pliers that they bent oblong and wouldn't spin, yay! The old Monroe Gas-Matics were pretty easy to compress and wouldn't extend without atleast gravity to help.
In went KYB Excel-Gs, dunno how they'll feel yet but most likely not too firm.

Tomorrow hopefully I'll slap the rear back together and adjust the rear brakes.

[gadget73]

The ExcelG are kind of a stock replacement. Nothing real firm. They replaced the old GR-2 line. I use them on my two Fox cars because they are the one and only front strut that exists which actually fits the car correctly without spacer plates or some other janky crap.

[Arquemann]

She's like a whole new car! Handles way nicer, but a bit harsher on rough roads. Still kinda wouldn't mind a rear sway bar...

4 new shocks, new sway bar endlinks, greased sway bar bushings. Who'd have guessed my shocks were that blown.
The rear Monroe Gas-Matics and one front Monroe-Matic were so toast they were easy to compress and wouldn't extend back at all.
The other front shock was a Motorcraft, made in Japan. Maybe original? It even had some rebound left.

Now I've got the new Excel-Gs in the rear, I'm actually glad I didn't go any firmer on those.
Up front are some random "USA shock" brand shocks, not new but unused. They work better than the old ones I guess?

The occasional front end clunk also disappeared, most likely it was the driver side shock top nut that wasn't even fingertight
Also the squeak on speedbumps and such went away, since I greased the sway bar bushings.

[Arquemann]

I don't know if the buffing of the paint was too rough or what, but now a while after the buffing, I'm seeing new tiny marks all over the hood and header panel and a couple on the trunk.
They're like stone chips, paint's gone and brown primer showing through, in a few small groups, and many more scattered all over the hood and header panel.
Also a cat or fox or squirrel or a bird must've landed hard or taken off fast from my hood, there's a couple deep scratches through the paint and bunch of lighter less sharp scratches on the paint, a couple swirly ones though.

As I finally have put some actual effort in making the paint look better, it's starting to deteriorate completely out of my control...