1997 LeSabre project L67

[Zeik75]

Its defiantly possibly but you need a big enough torch and would need to know how to quench it after, water would make it to brittle IMO. Do you know what material the stock shaft is? I could look through my books for the best wah to quench it.

[MattStrike]

I was thinking to case-harden in some used motor oil. But I do not know what steel is used on the stock shaft, though the other end of the shaft the spline is heat treated.

[Zeik75]

Oil would be better i think, if you try it do all of the splines and about a half inch past them, that should let the shaft flex as it needs still without being too brittle. Its worth a shot IMO can't hurt at least.

[MattStrike]

Yet another surprise while disassembling the clutch packs...

I found out why it had been shuddering before.





Why they wouldn't make the clutch disk too weak to wear out the drum (or heat treat the drum) is beyond me.

But I'm seriously considering cutting down some of the spacers to add another friction plate if I can.

[Zeik75]

What pack is that, i thought one of the 4t65's clutch packs could accept another friction without mods.

[MattStrike]

2nd

[bs009]

holy crap that looks terrible

[MattStrike]

Found a trans shop that still has a machine shop attached to install new bearings on the 1-2 and reaction drums, looks like the final drive ring gear will be ok to re-use.

So a trans shop that has the ability to press in a new bushing is very rare, there is only one in the greater Detroit area left. PRNDDL is the name. They have TCC's for under $100, and anything a trans person needs to do a rebuild. I picked up some assembly goop and a few thrust bearings from them while I was there. They were of the opinion that the gouging in my second drum was due to low line pressure. But they didn't know of any way to add a few more clutches to that pack, nor seemed to think it was necessary. But this is not the first time I've seen this in the 2nd drum in a 4t65e HD.

That being said, I might try to case harden the old part as well as find a way to add another set of clutches to the pack. Experimenting on damaged parts to make sure the theory works seems like a safe way to test my idea.

[haro1225]

I've heard that place is really good. I wonder if they could have some leads on getting your axles on the 93.

[Wes]

Does the motor oil make the metal less brittle than a water/salt solution? Do you still have to temper it afterwards with oil?

[MattStrike]

Oil quench is slower than a water or brine solution. The resulting hardness after tempering is less than a water quench, so yes it's less brittle. The real issue with water quench is that it can sometimes cause surface cracks or distortion.

[MattStrike]

FYI... This is not how to fix a leaking fuel line....



Fuel spraying out deteriorated the paint in this area, and rust is starting on the body. But those lines literally crumbled apart in my hand, and turned into a pile of crumbly rustly bits when I dropped the tank. More pics to come.. I'll try to get a writeup of how to replace steel lines with the nylon, using the '93 fuel filter.

[MattStrike]

After the last round with the SSEi, getting them used from a junkyard and then rebuilding them, I found it more cost-effective to use RA to get a set of loaded calipers for the F-body brake swap. A nice thing is they appear to have a very thick coating on them, not sure if powder coated or what, but very thick:



On to the fuel system.





Tank strap digging into the tank:








Who needs quick disconnects?!



And of course the brake lines are in similar sorry condition.. And to think when I towed this car home, it did most of the braking...


Just how they replaced the line on one end of this proportioning valve is beyond my skill:



Ryan... Did you say they had it welded or JB welded?


So while there are a lot of things that are rusting away, most of them are not the frame or body. And the few areas that are can be repaired with the welder or a wire wheel fairly easily. I'm replacing all the things that I consider to be critical to safety, fuel lines, brake lines, fuel tank and sending unit, straps, struts and springs, filler tube and hoses, sway bars and links, tie rod ends, etc..

Someday, I'll get those bonded pistons and finish the trans rebuild, but until then I'm on rust detail.

[RJolly87]

Wow, rust sucks...

[haro1225]

Holy cow I had no idea that car was so bad. I'm assuming those line repairs were done by whoever cut holes in the wheel wells. And that downpipe looks terrible, he took it to that muffler shop on telegraph and warren for that. I'm glad I know a professional exhaust welder.

[MattStrike]

I'm glad I know a professional exhaust welder.

who dat?

[haro1225]

This one strange guy, he really likes cats.

[tytotheler92]

I don't get how those lines are that rust all the way back?

The underside of my 88 is much worse, yet the lines were only bad around the fuel filter....

Which I repaired with a compression fitting and metal tubing....It'd be awesome if you did a write up on the Nylon stuff.

[MattStrike]

Got a few things done.

Ripped out all the old fuel lines:


The short nylon section in the engine bay for both line sizes is directly pressed onto the metal lines, there isn't a quick disconnect. The evap line nylon sections are actually 5/16" and the metal sections 1/4":


Cut the metal line off, and used a push to connect fitting to joint the new line that will run to the tank:


Running the new lines through the existing mounts:

[1oldman]

:-)