What are your thoughts on this rear end being too far rusted to save? Can it be cleaned up and painted and look decent? Would you think the spring perches, shock mounts, lower control arm mounts are suspect/weak? Brake lines and control arms look to me like they are toast...o No: - Bill
You could always replace the brake lines and control arms. Why don't you try using a wire brush on the rear and see what loosens up? Then you could use a rust neutralizer and some POR-15 to redo it.
I wouldn't think of using the old brake lines anyway, but as for all the mounting points, I would be very careful. This is where the power gets transfered from the car to the ground. She looks ugly to me.
It will take close inspection to determine if it is solid enough to use. Look in the crevices where brackets are attached. Rust likes nooks and crannies. If the surface rust pitting is severe, but brackets are still solid, you can have the housing sand blasted. Lay on a few coats of Slick Sand primer (basically sprayable bondo) and sand smooth. It's amazing stuff and fills super nice. It's a fair bit of work, but worthwhile if another housing can't be found.
This is one of the few internet forums where a subject called "opinions on rear end" wouldn't be deleted as spam
Bill, You never listed a price for that rear axle.......that is an 8.2" and not worth rebuilding compared to an 8.5" rear.......it appears to have a posi tag and if the posi unit is worn....I would walk away from it.....it is a core and not cost effective to install/rebuild.
When I read the title of the thread I was thinking, when my wife says something like that I just leave the room.
I would have it sand blasted and my guess is it would be OK structurally. There is some aggressive scale rust that would create poc marks after it was painted so from a cosmetic standpoint, it is not desireable if you are concerned about appearance. If its not going on a high end show car it will look fine. Definitely plan on replacing the brake lines though.
Well as OPINIONS go I would blast it and use it. Being from the NORTH in the RUST BELT. I have rebuilt WORSE rears than this with out any issue. Axle tubes are pretty thick and will take quit a lot of sitting before becoming totally dilapidated. Definetely CAN NOT use the brake lines...NO WAY. Control arms you will have to check out ...But the looks of them compared to the housing and experience I would replace them. AGain as stated you have to evaluate what your getting by PRICE also. so if you get a good enough price I would jump. The posi would be reconditionable once . But as stated again if you have to pay alot more just because it is posi make certain you torque test it before buying the rear (IF the price seems more because of the posi unit. ) Good luck, Jim
Wow - Thanks! The asking price is $700, primarily because it is off a 70 GS, as you can see from the notes, and is a posi. Being a 350 car I suspect there was not too much damage to the internals, but it depends on how it was driven of course. The seller claims to have driven the car before parting it and said there were no issues with the rear in driving it. Jim - How is a "torque test? performed? What is the spec? -Bill
In my opinion, this is the way to go: Forget the 8.2 inch. Get a much stronger 8.5 inch from Jim (as I did) and you will be happy. There are a lot more parts available for these (though I have seen posting on here from time to time about special gear runs for the 8.2 inch). Good luck!
I think it is too much unless you want the less strength of the 8.2 I'd find an 8.5 10 bolt. Stronger, easier to get parts, especially gears you would want. For the same $700 you could buy the 8.5, the bearings and gears and maybe a good used posi unit. Just have to add in setting it up and getting under the car.
If the posi seems good... torque test and you really want the rear it is not totally out of line for the rarity of the rear. The posi dry will be higher rate like 70-100 foot lbs. wet/ with fluid well circulated 40-80 foot lbs. You will use a torque wrench on a lug...BUT it never as true as a bench test and also the fact that you are not testing from the center of the axle. YOu are running the test from the axle stud giving you slightly lower torque brake on the unit. SO I would say get a friend take a bar (crow bar or steel rod) and have one guy on one side and the other guy try to turn the other axle by wedging the rod in the lugs and center hub. If it breaks real easy with a short bar 2 foot and under the posi is toast. If you have a hard time breaking it loose then it probaly is still ok...BUT again you do not know how much life is left in the unit unless you totally disassemble the thing. Hope some of this has helped. Jim
Wow, that rear axle assembly is incredibly mint, obviously since I live in Wisconsin I have seen rustier rears on 30 year younger vehicles, I would take that in a heart beat, if it was $450, price seems a little high to me. I don't know where you people are finding 8.2 OR 8.5 rear ends, there is not a single junk yard within 100 miles of me that keeps a car over 10 years old, parts don't sell fast enough, so they were ALL crushed and scrapped years ago. BTW, as far as how rusty it is, I wish my entire car was only covered in that minor of rust, in the corners of my trunk you can see the driveway through the rusted holes, and my radiator core support is missing about 12% (some pretty large rust holes) don't think I will fix them yet as most people who see it comment about how incredibly clean it is. I think the economy is different in different parts of the country too, around here a $10/hour job is a high paying position. A salaried management position where you only work 70 hours a week can land you as much as $37,000/year if you are in the right place at the right time. I just sit in awe when I hear how much some people spend on their cars. Yeah, $700 is too much considering all the work to make it look nice, replace all the bushings, the brakes, bearings, etc.....Honestly, by the time you add up all the costs, and I mean all of them, be honest with yourself, you could buy a brand new 9" or 12 bolt from someone like Currie, just bolt in and you are done, then sell your old one on ebay to someone who wants an "original" rear end out of a classic muscle car. Not to get off subject but it always amazes me when I see someone pull some nasty corroded part off a 350-2bbl Skylark and put it on ebay as an "original numbers matching" part for a GS or GSX Stage 1 car, saw a 68-69 part the other day listed as a GSX part, funny, I didn't think they came out till 1970.
Regarding the previous "blasting" comments... Never media blast a rear axle assembly unless it's already apart completely for cleaning. No matter how carefully you mask or cover the sensitive areas, sand (or whatever media you're using) will find its way into all the places you don't want it. Devon
