Going back to junkyard, parts removal tips?

[peejay]

Found a decent parts WD21 this past weekend at the junkyard, but there was intermittent rain and I was too lazy to pull the parts I wanted, so I'll be going back.

 

Could use some tips on the easiest/best ways to remove the following:

 

- hood insulation panel (do the retaining "clips" just unscrew? Could test it on mine, I guess)

- rear disc brakes (once I get the calipers off, just remove the 4 nuts from the inside of the axle housing and the axles should just pull out? Will I need a slide hammer? (Gonna try and get the parking brake cables and hard lines while I'm at it)

- spare tire carrier (not looking forward to this, I really just need the main swing out portion (mine got bent from being rear-ended), but will I hafta remove EVERYTHING, including mounting brackets behind the interior trim?)

 

Thanks!

[Slartibartfast]

Mice nested in the hood insulation in both of mine, so I just tore it out, with no regard for the push clips or the I-sure-hope-this-isn't-asbestos panels. I would be surprised if the clips came out in good enough shape to reuse--and I'm pretty sure they don't unscrew. I would just cut them rather than risk messing up the hood insulation panel trying to pull them out in one piece. I don't know the hole size offhand, but I'm sure there's a standard push clip that'll work in their place if the originals aren't available. Or, yeah, try it on your bad one first, see if they come out easier than I remember.

 

Yep, just the four nuts holding the bearing to the axle tube, and then the axle should slide out. The service manual shows a slide hammer, but I didn't need it for mine. I would bring one just in case. If you're doing a drum to disk swap, the master cylinder is also different (different prop valve), and the drum rear end has a thrust block between the axle shafts that the disk does not, which I assume will need to come out. Might be easier to grab the whole axle if you're swapping.

 

You do not need to pull out the interior or mess with the nut plates if you're just after the carrier. You only need to remove the bolts holding the hinges on. I would open the carrier, remove the rear-facing bolts, close and latch it, remove the side facing bolts, then unlatch and lift the carrier off the donor, so you're not trying to hold it up and turn bolts at the same time.

[peejay]

Thanks, slart! Just the insight I needed! I'll report back how it went (if it's still there).

 

(On the rear end, I've pulled one from a boneyard before and it was no joy, and that was in me younger days, so trying to get away with axles only if I can...last time was because I needed the LSD and the discs, this time it's just for a (potential) D22 disc conversion).

 

(Oh, and they do still make the hood insulation (hopefully asbestos-free!) clips, so destroying the factory ones may not be such a bad take.)

 

Edit: The insulation clips don't spin off (misleading design!), probably hafta use some sort of panel removal tool.

Edited July 30, 2024 by peejay

[peejay]

Okay @Slartibartfast, managed to get what I needed (minus the hood insulation, forgot all about it!), everything you said held true!

 

Now, because I'm not the sharpest spoon in the haystack, I didn't know that the parking brake cables separated in the middle. So me and my bro did it the HARD way, of removing suspension components to give enough clearance to slide the axles through the frame...yeah, don't ask...

 

Of course we ended up mangling one of the dust shields in the process, but that's nothing a MAPP torch and some careful hammering, dollying, plyer-ing, can't get back close to shape, right?