You bought what?? 88 Eagle Wagon - Overlander Build

[carguy87]

The lift from those springs looks nice, you'll have to let us know how they ride.  I used the old horse shoe lift on mine in the front way back when I did it.  Those strut rods can definitely be save.  Mine were in worse condition and came out nice.  You'll be surprised what they will look like after running a die over them.

While you are doing the tune-up, did you get stock stuff or the Ford big cap upgrade?  Definitely worth it to do if you're running the AMC ignition system.

[amcfool1]

hi. my 84 strut rods were in about the same shape. Cleaned up nicely with the die. New jam nuts can be bought from Speedway. good luck, gz

[amarshall]

If you do have any of the smog stuff, it might be handy for anyone that lives in an area where they have emissions testing, even if its just to pass the visual test.

I'll be sure to post a final list of all the leftover parts when I'm done, in case anybody can use them.  Luckily Florida doesn't have emissions testing on something this old.

Those strut rods can definitely be save.  Mine were in worse condition and came out nice.  You'll be surprised what they will look like after running a die over them.

hi. my 84 strut rods were in about the same shape. Cleaned up nicely with the die. New jam nuts can be bought from Speedway. good luck, gz

That's good news, for sure!  The die arrived in the mail yesterday, just need to pick up some cutting fluid  - not taking any chances on these!

While you are doing the tune-up, did you get stock stuff or the Ford big cap upgrade?  Definitely worth it to do if you're running the AMC ignition system.

No, I just got stock replacements.  Those were ordered after I bought the car in May, before I knew about the upgrade.  I'll see how it goes with the stock system, maybe upgrade later.

[amarshall]

It's alive!



The new carb is in, after running all over town to find fuel hose.  I also did the ECM Test Bypass, thanks to this post: http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=37491.msg305604#msg305604

Starts right up, no fuel or vacuum leaks (yet).  I set the idle to about 650, and it runs a little choppy BUT I haven't set the timing yet.  I only had enough time to throw the test light on there and figure out the base timing is at 4 degrees BTDC.  Then the kids needed some attention and I couldn't get back to it.

I'm hoping to get out there tonight and crank it to 8-9 degrees base timing.  I'm a whopping 15 feet above sea level, so that should be about right.  I really hope it smooths out the idle, I think it will.

[vangremlin]

Congrats!  Nice to see your hard work pay off in a car that runs!

[amarshall]

I'll admit I was a little nervous as I yanked the old Carter carb out, thinking maybe I'd gotten in too deep.  But the new carb really was pretty straightforward.  I just needed a little info from others who have gone before me.  Thanks to everybody who has posted info on the forum, it ended up with a happy ending.

Of course, try explaining all this to my wife.  From her view, it ran before (with the old carb) and still runs now, so what's the benefit?  Thankfully she doesn't mind, and I'm having a lot of fun figuring the car out and making upgrades.

[eaglefreek]

If you didn't install a new balancer, they are known to slip over time and the timing marks won't be aligned properly. You could always try to get cylinder one at tdc and verify it's correct. I always time by ear. I advance it till it pings under a load like a steep hill which you don't have in FL, and then back it off a hair so it just ever so slightly pings under a heavy load. A vacuum gauge can work for adjusting timing also, if the marks are off.

[amarshall]

Finally got some shop time today, was going to set the timing  - but the battery was dead.     My iginition switch is "keyless" and turns freely so I accidentally left it with accessories powered last time I was out there.  Oh well.

So I went back to the front suspension work, which never ends.  I was able to clean the threads on the strut rods, not perfect but they will work.  They are a little rough in the middle of the threads, but just fine where the nuts will be.

Here's the condition "before":



and the "after".  Much better!



I used tons of anti-seize to make it easier for the next guy in 30 years.



Wasn't too bad to get them in.  I used the floor jack under the rod to get the new rubber bushings lined up correctly.



Those with sharp eyes will notice that the CV/Half-shaft boot is wet in the picture above.  It got pinched when the suspension went to full droop, when I was putting in the new springs.  It's leaking something that appears to be gear oil, and a LOT of it.  What the heck??





I haven't looked at the diagrams of the axle yet, but my best guess is that an axle seal has failed and gear oil has filled the boot.  Does that sound right to you guys?  Or is there a way for fluid to escape the axle when the half shaft is over-extended?  It was at a pretty severe angle during the spring installation.

[eaglefreek]

It might be just on my end, but I can't see any pics. There is no way for the gear oil to get into the boot. The cv axle bolts to a flange and there is no way for gear oil to seep in via a seal. They put a lot of grease on the tripod joint and especially since you're in warm south FL, some of the grease can liquefy.

[carguy87]

I don't see any pictures either, I was definitely hoping to though!  +1 on grease, they load them up for sure, and age and mileage turns it to liquid.  You can get a universal boot repair kit with a fresh boot and new grease or go with a new CV shaft to repair it.  The new shaft is far easier than messing with tearing the joint apart, cleaning, repacking, and reassembling.

[amarshall]

Hmmm, not sure about the pictures.  Have you been able to see the others I've posted lately?  They are hosted on Google photos. I made a change to the image links, please let me know if you still can't see the pics.

Thanks for the notes on the "goo", it's really liquid so I assumed it was gear oil.  I dug out my manual and can see what you are saying about the flange, eaglefreek.  I guess that's good news, that I don't have to worry about an axle seal.

I will likely replace the whole shaft assembly, thanks carguy87.  Doing just the boot sounds like a pain in the neck.  Maybe I can keep the old shaft as an emergency backup, if I can figure out a way to refill a little grease and plug the hole in the boot.

[mudkicker715]

Those with sharp eyes will also notice your strut rod washers are backwards. The way you have them is limiting the rubber movement. Also could be a harsher ride.

[amarshall]

Those with sharp eyes will also notice your strut rod washers are backwards. The way you have them is limiting the rubber movement. Also could be a harsher ride.

Thanks MudKicker!  Well, I guess that proves that the photos can be seen, at least! 

Hmmm, now I'm really confused about the strut rod washers.  I'm confident I put it back the way it was before, but that's not always the right way.  Time for research!

A Google search didn't help me.  Looks like there are many examples out there of using the washers both ways across many other AMC cars.  I see that many use the washers with BOTH cups facing toward the rear of the car.

Let's look at the service manual! My MR251 has a three different diagrams of the strut rods.  Of course they don't all agree.  Ugh.  First two seem to show the washers installed with the cup toward the bushings.





The third diagram below seems to show a one-piece bushing with a cupped surface, and the washers with the cup facing the nuts. 



The AC Delco bushings I have are two piece, and look more like the first two above.  Finally, this link to the epedia shows only one side, but it does match the way I installed them. http://amceaglesden.com/guide/Strut_Rod_Bushings_Re_%26_RE

Looks like 3 out of 4 sources have them with cup toward the bushings, and the 4th seems to be a different one-piece bushing style.  I think I'll leave them alone and watch the bushings carefully to monitor for damage.  If I see any problems I can flip them later I guess.

[eaglefreek]

I'm not sure when suspension using strut rods came into existence, but they were used on many Fords and also there is a bit of confusion about the washers. If you scroll down, you'll read some info about Mustang strut rod bushing washers. http://www.thecoralsnake.com/SUSPENSION.HTML

[amarshall]

I'm done with the Carb upgrade!  Yay!



Seems like every project on this car gets to about 95% done and then the last 5% takes forever!  But the carb is done.  I set the timing, confirmed that the mechanical and vacuum advance are working, and spent some time cleaning up the engine bay.  I took out all the obsolete vacuum lines and taped up the wiring that was abandoned from the Carter carb setup.

Nice to check this off the list!