Stud-e-venture: The "it was bugging me" weekend

When I purchased the 64 GT Hawk drive train from a fellow local SDC member, he'd mentioned that he'd recently done the rear brakes. And of course, I had no reason to doubt him but I've always wondered if that had included new wheel cylinders. When I installed the rear end and set up the brake lines, I flushed everything out as good as I could; nevertheless, I still had that nagging feeling that I really should have inspected things and replaced the wheel cylinders.

So I ordered new wheel cylinders (they're readily available and inexpensive) and this weekend popped the drums off for a look around:

Things were a little dirty (as expected) but there was plenty of pad left and the inside of the drums were in good shape. So I popped off the springs, removed the wheel cylinder, doused everything with brake cleaner and slapped things back together with the new cylinders. It was then lather, rinse repeat on the other side. That's one less thing to worry about.

Then it was on to the leaking pinion seal.

First, a quick clean up of the area around the nut, as well as marking the position so I re-install it correctly.

Then a quick hit with a 1-1/8th inch socket on an impact wrench to remove the nut, followed by more cleaning after letting a little fluid drain out.

Cleaning almost completed.

Next, after a smear of black RTV sealant around the edge and at the back of the splines, I installed the seal using a piece of PVC pipe and a few light taps from a hammer

Then the pinion is slid back into place. A smear of black RTV sealant on the back of the washer, and the washer and nut are put into place and snugged up. Next, I needed a little assistance from my version of the special tool needed to keep the pinion from turning as I snugged that bolt back to 150 ft-lbs.