Team Chevelle banner

Rear End Installation - Step By Step - With Pictures

81K views 38 replies 29 participants last post by  ragtop6t8 
#1 · (Edited)
I installed a 12 bolt rear end, rear springs, and rear suspension in my '68 Chevelle last weekend.
This is the first time I've installed a rear end in a Chevelle.
I did the entire job by myself, and the installation went smoothly and without problems...no banging, cussing, or fighting with the rear end.
If I did it...you can do it.

To do the installation, I used information I acquired from the Chevelle chassis and assembly manuals, from searching this forum, and from asking questions.
I have condensed that information into a step by step tutorial in this thread, including pictures I took throughout my installation, for anyone who perhaps has never installed a rear end before and would like to do so.
I realize some guys may have different steps that they use, but I emphasize that this job went very smoothly following the steps that I've outlined below.

Be sure to support the car securely with jack stands. I also laid a wheel under each side of the frame as an extra precaution.



1.) The first thing you need to do is attach all of your control arms (uppers and lowers) to their attachment locations on the frame.



You don't want to torque any bolts down at this time, just snug them for now. Torque the bolts down when the job is complete and you've placed your suspension under load.
I have also installed control arm braces on my car.
The direction that the bolts are going in is correct, as outlined in the Chevelle Assembly Manual.


2.) Next, you'll need a jack to support and lift the rear end and get it in the position that you need it.
You can use a regular hydraulic floor jack, but I'm using a hydraulic motorcycle jack, which is ideal for lifting a rear end, transmission, etc.




3.) After I pushed the jack and rear end underneath the back of the car, I repositioned my jack stands to points on the frame behind the rear end to ensure the stability of the car while I'm working, you can also see that I have a wheel placed under the frame in front of each wheel well as an extra precaution.
At this time I started jacking up the rear end until I was able to slide the passenger side lower control arm up into its mounting location on the rear end.





I then placed a bolt through the lower control arm at the rear end and secured it with a nut. Again, the direction of the bolt is correct, as outlined in the Chevelle Assembly Manual.




In order to get that first control arm lined up so you can push a bolt through, it's easy to use a pry bar to coax it.
Mine required minimal coaxing. I placed the pry bar between the control arm and axle housing (between rags to keep from scratching anything), placed the small block of wood as shown to steady the housing. Then with one hand I pushed on the pry bar while turning the bolt with my ratchet, in combination with a few taps with a rubber hammer, and the bolt went right through.




4.) Next, I installed the driver's side upper control arm at the rear end attachment.
This was just a matter of jacking the rear end up enough so I could line the holes up and push the bolt through.
I have upper adjustable control arms, but I never adjusted them during the installation, I just used the jack to lift the rear end to the proper location.
Again, the direction of the bolts where the upper control arms attach to the rear end is correct, as outlined in the Chevelle Assembly Manual. In fact, the assembly manual specifies that these bolts are only to go in this direction.



By putting the first two bolts in completely opposite locations...lower passenger side and upper driver's side...it helped line things up so good that the last two bolts were a piece of cake to get in.
If need be, you can place some blocks of wood under the yoke area of the rear end to square it up and make aligning the bolt holes easier.




5.) After installing the bolts for those first two control arms, then install the bolts for the final two.
As I said, the last two bolts were a piece of cake getting in because the opposite, diagonal locations of the first two bolts really helps to line the rear end up.




6.) Next, attach both shock absorbers to their upper mounting locations.



Continued in the next post...

 
See less See more
10
#2 ·
7.) Now it's time to install the springs.
Each spring has one rubber isolator that installs on the top of the spring, between the top of the spring and the pocket that the spring is placed into. There is no isolator on the bottom of the springs.




Lower the jack so the rear end travels downward as far as it will go. Then, with the isolator on top of the spring, push the top of the spring into the upper pocket and then lift the bottom of the spring onto its seat on the rear end housing.




Then do the same on the other side.
If you're having any trouble getting the spring to fit into its location, you can slightly jack up the opposite end of the axle housing.
As you begin to jack up one end of the axle housing, the opposite end will begin to travel down, thus giving you more room to maneuver the spring in.




8.) The final step is to simply jack the rear end up until the studs on the bottom of the shock absorbers are lined up with the mounting holes on the rear end housing, push the studs through, put a nut and washer on them, and you're done. :beers:



If you've been thinking about installing a rear end in your car, don't let it intimidate you.
As I said earlier, I did this job completely by myself, no helping hands, and using the procedure outlined above it went in very smoothly with no hassle.

Regards,
-Greg
 
#3 ·
If I were you,I wouldnt fill the rear up with oil until its dripping out of the fill hole,I would stick my pinky in there and stop when the level reached my knuckle.That hole location on that cover looks a little bit higher than the original hole on side of rear.I could be wrong but alot of these aftermarket covers have the fill hole a bit higher than stock.You might have a gear oil splattered mess under there after you take it out and rev her up.Blowing out of the vent,blowing axle seals,just a thought.Have fun
 
#6 ·
I personally always find it easier to hang the rearend by it's UPPER arms first.
And don't fill the rearend using the cover plug as a level guide...it will be overfilled.
Use the rearend plug hole.
 
#7 ·
461RAT said:
If I were you,I wouldnt fill the rear up with oil until its dripping out of the fill hole...you might have a gear oil splattered mess under there.
BillsCamino said:
Don't fill the rearend using the cover plug as a level guide...it will be overfilled. Use the rearend plug hole.

Exactly Bill.

461Rat, I've seen a lot of pictures of rear ends with aftermarket covers, as well as seeing them at the local classic car "Cruise In," and I've not seen any "gear oil splattered messes" under them, I assume because they've been filled properly.
I wouldn't even attempt to use the cover plug hole as a filling guide. As Bill points out, that's what the housing plug hole is for.:thumbsup:

-Greg
 
#8 ·
BillsCamino said:
I personally always find it easier to hang the rearend by it's upper arms first.

As I said early on in this thread, I realize some guys might have their own way of doing things, but I can't imagine the job going any smoother or easier than it did by following the sequence and order that I have outlined in this thread.

When I was done, I was actually surprised at how smooth the job went.
When I first went into the garage to start the job I was expecting to probably encounter some problems, or hassles, or difficulty aligning holes, etc...but I had none of that.
Putting those first two bolts in diagonally across from each other really lined things up nicely...makes sense too when you think about it.
When my wife came into the garage to check on my progress she was surprised that I already had the rear end in and was bolting the bottom of the shocks onto the rear end housing. :thumbsup:

-Greg
 
#9 ·
glide said:
About to do this soon myself. Thanks for posting!
jhunt said:
Very good explainations and I'm sure this info will be helpful to anyone looking to do this.
Good job!!

Thanks for the kudos. I'm glad it's helpful.
I thought it would be a useful resource to condense everything into one thread, with pictures, so that guys doing this for the first time would have a step by step reference instead of having to piecemeal information together from several sources.

-Greg
 
#11 ·
Getting ready to do this myself.
-Is it easier to put in the brake lines before or after the rear end is installed ? I still have to take the old rear end out and have a Strange S60 ready to go in with disc brakes on and will be putting a Spohn ARB after it is in.. I have to plump the brake lines. Thought it would be good to get the brake lines on it first.
 
#16 ·
Bowtieman427 said:
Is it easier to put in the brake lines before or after the rear end is installed?
Jim, putting the brake lines on while the rear end is sitting on a pallet would certainly allow you to sit in a comfortable position (and sip a beverage) while doing the job, but it wasn't a difficult task to put them on with the rear end installed either.
Running any lines now is a breeze compared to installing that one piece steel fuel line I installed. ;)

-Greg
 
#18 ·
Greg,

Very nice write up. Would you mind doing me a favor, please? Could you check to see if the rear end is centered in the chassis? This can easily be measured by putting a straight edge on the axle flange and measuring from the straight edge to the frame. Just pick the same spot on the frame when you measure the right and left side.

Thank you.

Andrew
 
#19 ·
andrewb70 said:
Greg,

Very nice write up. Would you mind doing me a favor, please? Could you check to see if the rear end is centered in the chassis? This can easily be measured by putting a straight edge on the axle flange and measuring from the straight edge to the frame. Just pick the same spot on the frame when you measure the right and left side.

Thank you.

Andrew

Andrew, I measured per your instructions and the difference is within 1/8 of an inch.

-Greg
 
#21 ·
Just curious about something. These are UMI products right. Is this the correct way to mount them or is it supposed to be flipped over so more meats at the bottom?

 
#22 ·
They're installed correctly. They won't clear the pumpkin if you attempt to install them the other direction.
 
#23 ·
Thanks because upon reassembly of my frame from powdercoating I probably would have been fighting the install. I ordered the same kit from UMI wednesday.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top