These are the new CV Joint Axles from Richard Good of Goodparts, Inc..

Modern technology and great machining.

These are top quality parts and will eliminate any future issues.

Off comes the rear wheel, the two screws holding on the drum and then you can get at the nuts through the hole in the axle.

That little guy in there with the black boot on will be coming out soon.

After the six nuts are removed, the axle assembly should slide right out.  The Patton Repair Kit is on the left waiting to get started.

Drum's off, axles out and the nuts are removed, albeit along with some studs, so we can lift the backing plate away.

This is the inner shaft that is bolted to the differential hub flange and will come out soon.  You can get these from this angle

OK, that's done and safely out of harm's way for now.

Three (3) studs go back in exactly as shown and the nuts hold the guide plate in position.

These are machine fit parts and are very tightly toleranced to fit as they should for perfectly straight drilling.

The  guide plate and drill mandrel is in place and ready to set the new cobalt bit on it's path.

A view from head on so you can see how this is set up for the drilling.  The first three will be drilled, tapped and
have the Key Lock Inserts installed and then the guide plate will be refit to the newly installed studs and the process begins again.

There is a specific depth measurement determined by measuring the hole depth and transferring it to the drill. 

A good illustration is shown here, ala Rick Patton & BobbyD.

The Key Lock (KeenSert) procedure is clearly outlined here in the Key Lock instruction package. 

And use a good aluminum cutting oil for drilling and tapping.

There is a hard to see black line on the bit that was soon replaced with tape to insure we didn't go to far.

These mandrels are made form D2 tool steel and will last a long time.  You must get the exact size bit (X-.397" diameter)
specified to make this work with the 5/16"-18 to 5/16"-24 Key Lock Inserts available from McMasterCarr.

No "close enough is good enough" on this project.

There's the tape and I would highly suggest wearing gloves as aluminum chips cut quickly and deeply into your skin if unprotected.

And anyone not wearing safety glasses when starting this job should not ever be allowed to have a wrench in their hands again.

Drill slow and steady, removing the bit several times to get the chips out of the bit and guide.

There are the first three drilled out holes waiting to be cleaned out and have a .400" chamfer using a 82-100 degree C/S bit on the entry.

And this is just the guy to do it.  Again, slow and careful and use cutting oil here too.

Aluminum is soft, so go slow and take your time with the countersink.  It is needed for the inserts to lock in.

Thread tapping time and this again is done with a precision machined mandrel to act as a guide and insure perfect work.

Cutting oil shown above and the tap is done a bit at a time, not all at once.  Use oil and blow out the chips carefully to protect eyes and the car.

There are the first three ready to be cleaned and get the Key Lock Inserts installed.

The inserts thread right in finger tight.  If not, STOP, remove it and clean or retap the threads.  NO resistance on these going in.

When you read the instructions, you will see that the four (4) prongs remain standing proud above the surface after the inserts are installed.

Once in and bottom out, this tool is used to set the prongs to the proper depth inside the .045" chamfer.

Just like that.  These can be removed if need be, but will probably never have to come out.

BobbyD has proven that a Grade 8 Bolt or stud will shear before these studs pull out, so this repair is for life.

Now you can use these to secure the guide plate down for the remaining three to be drilled and tapped.

Repeat the processes above and you will have the last three ready to be locked in place.

All six are set and ready to install the new studs.

A little LocTite Red never hurts either.

The backing plate is back on and ready for a test fitting of the axle hubs.

That looks very nice sitting in there.  It fits perfectly on the newly installed studs and down on the trailing arm.

Off with the hub and backing plate again and time to remove the trailing arm from the car.

SHIMS will fall out if you are not careful!!!!

Count them when you drop the arm down and mark how many went on each side as you remove them.

You will not remember, so do yourself a favor and write it down.

Now a little bench time for the T/A and axles assembly.

These are the GoodParts Camber Adjusting kits that I installed last year.

Erik begins test fitting the axles.  We want to be sure that there is no rubbing on any of the inside surfaces.

Eric is moving the back of the axle in a 360 degree motion to insure that clearance is there for the shaft to turn without hitting the casting.

This area is fine, it's down below that can be an issue.

This is the potential problem area that I mentioned above.  While this side was OK, the right needed a bit of grinding to get it clear.

That side is perfectly clear, so now it's time to do the adapter installation.

Obviously, the four bolts come through the back and thread into the adapter.  Make sure all surfaces are clean as these fit tightly.

Before these two parts are bolted together, a bead of silicone needs to be run around the ridge on the axle that mates to the flange.

The axle assembly bolts on from this side there are nuts that go on the back of these that require torquing.

Just a picture of the entire old axle before it heads home to a storage bin in my basement.

I carefully held the axle assembly while it was being torqued and then used some wire to hold
it in place while we get the trailing arm ready to get set into place. 

At this point the hub is bolted into the axle and the splines will mesh upon assembly.

We found that this a great two man job.  One to be under the car and guiding the four (4) bolts into the frame,
as the other supports and helps twist the arm into position, while making sure the splines line up in the hub and shaft.

These caps help make sure brake fluid doesn't run all over as you may bump the line going back and forth with the arm.

OK, all back in place and just about ready to go. 

Prior to complete assembly, there is an up and down procedure spelled out in the GoodParts instructions,
that we still performed, even though we moved the axle within the arm to maximum extension while on the bench.

Why?

Because Richard says to do so and to insure that nothing else on the car causes any interference with the new larger axle assemblies.

This is the potential problem area that we talked about earlier.  The black mark shows a set of ribs that
are not near as prominent on the other trailing arm, so a little grinding is in order here.

BobbyD used a neat flapper for his and we used a smaller version, as there was very little that needed to be removed.

Before

A small amount removed.

Testing 1, 2, 3........

A little more out and all clear for assembly.  Repeat the process as before and you will see what's shown next.

This shows the inside view from down under of the adapter to the hub and the flange to the adapter bolts and nuts

Good time to check all of these and make sure they are tight and in good shape.

And the other side......plenty of clearance on fuel and vapor lines.

Back together and ready for wheels and tires.  Yes, I did clean everything before the wheels went back on.

Thanks again to Eric for another great job!