The Resurrection of Vixen

I had the front suspension all assembled, but of course then realized something was wrong. The spindle was spinning in the steering knuckle, and I couldn't seem to tighten it up from the nut on the back attached to the angle drive.

The first problem was, I didn't have an open-end wrench large enough to tighten the bolt and the angle drive. Obviously a socket won't work on this nut because of the angle drive, so I was left scouring Pittsburgh for a 34(?)mm open-end wrench. I had to settle on a large adjustable-end wrench (which I was fortunate enough to find in metric!). =)

However, I just couldn't seem to get a grip on the spindle tight enough to get any leverage on the nut to either loosen or tighten it. I was hoping there was a way to do this on the car, so I didn't have to pop all of the new ball joints and steering ball joint to have the spindle pressed in.

Now, I had considered that the spindle, when tightened to the hub, would probably not spin due to the tension on it between the two nuts. However, something just doesn't sit right with me on that one. Primarily, the taper on the spindle would actually be getting -looser- not tighter as the outside nut was tightened.

I am guessing that the previous owner never tried to take it apart due to 1) the large size of the nut, 2) there are no markings on the nut indicating it has been attempted, 3) he didn't take off the other side, 4) the nut seems to be pretty darn well tightened already.

Here's what I tried:

- tapping the spindle in to get enough friction to turn the angle drive nut
- gripping the "D" washer with channel locks
- gently heating the nut to try and break it loose (or tight)

I'm considering freezing the spindle with liquid CO2 and tapping it in, so when it warms back up it expands and gets a grip (I have a large CO2 tank in my garage).

On a related side note, my front wheel bearings seemed to have an interference fit with the spindle. Is this normal? I don't know if the two new wheel bearings installed in the hubs are correct, as they were there when I bought the (disassembled) car. Peter Lucas stated his
whole hub slid right off the spindle when he removed the nut. That sounded more likely to me.

Now, the fun part. I spent the last few nights putting together a 'garage computer' with a video camera to allow y'all to see me assembling #5927 live via the internet. It should be premiering soon. I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Well, I'm off to Philadelphia in the morning to possibly buy an engine (yeah, I know, that's cheating), luggage rack, and set of DeLorean World mags. I hope the engine fits in the trunk of my Grand Marquis. A Chevy 350 does, so I guess a D engine will be close.

Costs for Week 7:

Date	Purchase	Store	Price
07-Dec-99	Used Centreforce Dual-Friction Clutch & TO bearing	DeLorean Motor Center	200.00
07-Dec-99	Tail light circuit board	eBay	15.50
07-Dec-99	Stainless Hose Kit	Marty Maier	135.00
08-Dec-99	Labels, 106091, 105068, 105200, 108621	DMC Houston	6.32
08-Dec-99	SP10611 Rivnuts	DMC Houston	7.36
08-Dec-99	(2) 100482 Pivot Bolt	DMC Houston	28.62
08-Dec-99	108468 RR Caliper line RH	DMC Houston	9.43
08-Dec-99	108469 RR Caliper line LH	DMC Houston	9.43
08-Dec-99	106944 Latch Cover	DMC Houston	2.94
09-Dec-99	Door pistons	Bidster.com	38.50
10-Dec-99	Adjustable end wrench	Sears	18.99
10-Dec-99	(2) 106883 trailing arm bolt	PJ Grady	34.10
		Week 7 Total	$506.19

		Running Total	$5176.91

Year One:
Week 1	Week 8	Week 15	Week 22	Week 29	Week 36	Week 43	Week 50
Week 2	Week 9	Week 16	Week 23	Week 30	Week 37	Week 44	Week 51
Week 3	Week 10	Week 17	Week 24	Week 31	Week 38	Week 45	Week 52
Week 4	Week 11	Week 18	Week 25	Week 32	Week 39	Week 46	-
Week 5	Week 12	Week 19	Week 26	Week 33	Week 40	Week 47	-
Week 6	Week 13	Week 20	Week 27	Week 34	Week 41	Week 48	-
Week 7	Week 14	Week 21	Week 28	Week 35	Week 42	Week 49	-
Year Two:
Week 53	Week 60	Week 67	Week 74	Week 81	Week 88	Week 95	Week 102
Week 54	Week 61	Week 68	Week 75	Week 82	Week 89	Week 96	Week 103
Week 55	Week 62	Week 69	Week 76	Week 83	Week 90	Week 97	Week 104
Week 56	Week 63	Week 70	Week 77	Week 84	Week 91	Week 98	-
Week 57	Week 64	Week 71	Week 78	Week 85	Week 92	Week 99	-
Week 58	Week 65	Week 72	Week 79	Week 86	Week 93	Week 100	-
Week 59	Week 66	Week 73	Week 80	Week 87	Week 94	Week 101	-
Year Three:
Week 105	Week 112	Week 119	Week 126	Week 133	Week 140	Week 147	Week 154
Week 106	Week 113	Week 120	Week 127	Week 134	Week 141	Week 148	Week 155
Week 107	Week 114	Week 121	Week 128	Week 135	Week 142	Week 149	Week 156
Week 108	Week 115	Week 122	Week 129	Week 136	Week 143	Week 150	-
Week 109	Week 116	Week 123	Week 130	Week 137	Week 144	Week 151	-
Week 110	Week 117	Week 124	Week 131	Week 138	Week 145	Week 152	-
Week 111	Week 118	Week 125	Week 132	Week 139	Week 146	Week 153	-
Year Four:
Week 157	Week 164	Week 171	Week 178	Week 185	Week 192	Week 199	Week 206
Week 158	Week 165	Week 172	Week 179	Week 186	Week 193	Week 200	Week 207
Week 159	Week 166	Week 173	Week 180	Week 187	Week 194	Week 201	Week 208
Week 160	Week 167	Week 174	Week 181	Week 188	Week 195	Week 202	-
Week 161	Week 168	Week 175	Week 182	Week 189	Week 196	Week 203	-
Week 162	Week 169	Week 176	Week 183	Week 190	Week 197	Week 204	-
Week 163	Week 170	Week 177	Week 184	Week 191	Week 198	Week 205	-
Year Five:
Week 209	Week 216	Week 223	Week 230	Week 237	Week 244
Week 210	Week 217	Week 224	Week 231	Week 238
Week 211	Week 218	Week 225	Week 232	Week 239
Week 212	Week 219	Week 226	Week 233	Week 240
Week 213	Week 220	Week 227	Week 234	Week 241
Week 214	Week 221	Week 228	Week 235	Week 242
Week 215	Week 222	Week 229	Week 236	Week 243

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