Got one of the axle tubes shimmed last night and will do the other this am. I was having a little problem getting the right feel from the first one throughout the range of motion, (loose for half of travel and then binding for the other). It finally occurred to me that the flanges have 48 years of wear and stress on them and that I simply needed to rotate them until I found the *unused* part, ie. what was previously the unused sides as opposed to the top and bottom. Worked like a charm. You do not have the option of rotating the axle tubes, they are oriented in one direction only per side unless you remove the shock mounts/wheel bearing flanges with a press. (And re-install w/ press).
Anyways, you can see the small paint hash-mark on the top of flange to mark where the *sweet spot* was once I found it. Finally, I removed it one last time and put gasket sealant on the gasket/shims and torqued it together. Next is installing new axle boots, they are the split type but very well-made and should not leak if put together correctly. These are what are used for all boot repair jobs on the car because installing 1-piece boots requires breaking the aforementioned mounts/flanges from the tube.
Here is the cradle installed. Luckily, the big rubber trans mounts were in great shape because they are expensive and will affect the handling of the car if worn due to the transmission being the connecting point of the axles.
Here's a shot of the spring plate cover with its new rubber bushing greased and ready to install:
Here is a detail shot of the new split boot showing how it's fastened together:
And finally, the boot installed. Believe it or not, there is actually a technique for these that needs to be followed or they will stretch and break. Basically just a little silicone grease on the part that meets the axle and the axle must be straight-out when installed, finally, there is a little "slack" when you tighten the clamps so that it does not stretch when the axle swings.
