My schedule freed up last night, and I was able to sneak in a couple hours at the shop. The Black Sea R&D bearings are insane - and the install went off without a hitch.
Here is the first bearing, just before I pounded it home into the torque tube. These required a lot more effort to drive into the tube than my old ones. I attribute this to the greater surface area of the Super Bearings, and no doubt a slightly larger OD than the old bearings with their dried-up, worn-out rubber coating.
Here's my install setup. The PVC pipe has registration marks on it to tell me when the bearing has been installed to the correct depth. A chunk of scrap wood and a dead blow hammer complete my high tech bearing install. I climbed halfway up the ladder to pound the bearing home.
Here's the center bearing in place. With no disrespect to Constantine or his fine product - I hope I never see this thing again.
The installation of the drive shaft itself was uneventful. As per the instructions, I went sparingly on the lube for the ID of the TT/OD of the bearings, and generously on the ID of the bearing inserts and drive shaft itself. The drive shaft pressed in smoothly, using one of the old bearing carriers as a guide to get started. Once I had the shaft started in the center bearing, I tossed the old bearing carrier/guide. The WSM specifies a really tight (0.50mm) acceptable range for the installed depth of the shaft, so I used a T-square and digital caliper to get it right. Sorry, no pics of the drive shaft install - but it has been covered in-depth at RL.
I've been waiting for this day for months - trial fit of the torque tube. Everything lined up nicely, so I'll go back and install the rear clamp and torque the tube down. Then it is a matter of lubing and dialing-in the shift linkage, and the whole affair is ready for installation back into the car. While there's no way I'll have it roadworthy, I'm hoping to at least have the car back on all fours by the end of Saturday.
Last update before the finish line:
Here's another status update:
-Re-seal transmission –
DONE
-Re-build torque tube –
DONE
-Re-build shift linkage –
DONE
-Swap in 86.5/S4 rear suspension so I can get the ABS sensors installed and have the ABS finally operational Mostly done - Rear suspension/transmission are assembled and awaiting completion of the torque tube.
-Swap in S4 booster/master cylinder, as the one I tried last year was DOA -
DONE
-Repair center console mounting brackets
DONE
-Replace dead vacuum diaphragms in HVAC system, and re-seal air handler under dash
DONE
-Replace broken hood release cable -
DONE
-Replace blown hood struts -
DONE
-Replace bearings on radiator fan shaft -
DONE
-Re-boot CV joints -
DONE
-Replace blown clutch slave cylinder
DONE