Ok, im in the process of a TII swap into my vert, Im doing the whole drivetrain and everything, and have been running into some problems with the rear hubs.

First, how big is the giant central nut on the spindle? I need to get a special socket to get that thing off, and a giant breaker bar.

also, the two screws that hold the rear rotors on are refusing to come off. do these need to be removed to change the halfshafts?

Thanks!

 

you do need like a 32 or 34mm socket +breaker bar and a mini screwdriver.

when you're look at the rotor, in the middle is the spindle and there is a little notch. you stick a screwdriver in it and hammer the screw driver so its not in the little notch anymore(be firm, you might go thru a few cheap screw drivers).

the screws on the rotors are assist screws to help you remove the rotor off the hub; you don't need to take them off.

 

those screws arent assisting anything but the persistance of my frustration at the car's design. i cannot get the damn things off with anything. So do we know whether its 32 or 34 mm?

 

its 32mm and no, you dont need to remove the brake rotor to remove the halfshafts

 

Very often these are rusted in place VERY well. I usually loosen the nut, and then thread it back on so that the edge of the nut aligns with the edge of the shaft. Then hit it with a sledge a few times. If it doesnt move, STOP. If you keep banging on it, you WILL mushroom the end of the shaft, possible messing up the threads on the nut or the shaft, making the shaft useless.

At this point I break out the torch and heat the thing up...you're trying to heat the hub, around the axle. Do this for 10-20 minutes solid, and then hit it again. If it still won't move, you're going to need a BIG *** gear puller. I have a 3 jaw 18" puller that I use for this job.

IF you can, remove the 2 gay screws and remove the brake rotor. You can use the torch to blow the heads off them if they wont come out, and then get the rotor off. Or you could drill them out. Once the rotor is off, you can attatch the gear puller to the hub behind...where the lug studs are. Use an impact to drive the gear puller all the way. If it will not break the axle loose, leave it there, all the way tight. Now take the torch and heat the hub again. When you hear it "tink tink tink", or after several minutes, try to put more pressure on the gear puller with the impact again. Repeat until it breaks loose. If you apply enough heat and pressure for a long enough period of time, it WILL break loose.

I've disassembled hundreds of cars, and there have been times it took me 1 hour to get a single axle out. Other times one tap with a small hammer made it slide right out. You just never know.

 

the halfshafts just slid right out of the hubs, i was pleasantly suprised. the worst part was unbending the little tab that was punched into the hub. Now, on the TII shafts that I got, one is missing the metal cap/grease cover that goes in the flange that bolts to the diff. Is this a standard part that I could get at an auto parts store? should I just try to make one?

 

I'm in the process of changing my tranny on my 88 vert and I think I'm gonna do the conversion since the tranny is out already. Are there any major differences between converting the vert and a regular na? also, does the turbo drivetrain use the stock mounting locations? I've researched a lot but its hard to find info on verts.

 

everything from a turbo II bolts right up to any NA chassis, so long as it was originally a manual trans. auto to manual conversions do complicate matters slightly.

the only interference on 'verts is that sometimes the crossbar under the engine tends to rub on some aftermarket downpipes. it was designed not to rub on the stock turbo II precat/downpipe. Even if your pipe does interfere, you just trim the crossbar a little with a torch for clearance.