TRANSAXLE CRADLE DISASSEMBLY

This week I was able to spend all day Friday and Saturday removing the motor and trans-axle from the cradle and received the new aluminum anodized solid mounts.The red will match the color of the Warp 9 and the solid mounts should take any play out of the cradle. (Ain't they purdy) I heard Pontiac started doing this in 1988 on all Fieros, so the looseness must have been a common problem in the earlier models.

SOLID CRADLE MOUNTS

 

The motor was removed and the commutator and brushes were ok, so I am going to blow out the motor and stay with the original brushes for now. The orientation of the motor needs changed so the terminals are on the top; I don't want to have to get under the car every time I need to check or make up the motor connections. This will also give me a chance to check the clutch disk and the flywheel coupling.

 

WARP 9 MOTOR REMOVED

 

The trans-axle was power washed, primed and painted. Additionally, the axle seals are going to be replaced and new grease put in it. It looked like the passenger side seal was leaking a little and collecting carbon dust from the motor brushes.

CLEANED & PAINTED TRANS-AXLE

Saturday I went to the local hardware store and picked up some metal to fabricate the solid trans-axle mounts. The base of the original mounts are going to be used and I found out that using a cut-off wheel is not the best way to remove the rubber from the mounts. I spent an hour that evening getting all of the rubber off of my hands and arms, not to mention how long it took to clean the bathroom sink before my wife got home. 

Pieces of square tubing were cut to the length of the old rubber mounts and end caps were welded to cover one side of the tubing. I used some flat metal with holes already in it and put a bolt through the mount to line everything up, then tacked the tubing to the original mount base. Once the mounts are trial fitted, any necessary adjustments will be made, then the tubing will be welded solid. I am going to add triangular gussets to all 4 sides to give the square tubing a little more strength. I will also pick up some grade 8 bolts for the final instillation.

SOLID TRANS-AXLE MOUNTS

 

 My next project is going to be priming and painting the trans-axle cradle, then test mounting the trans-axle with the new solid mounts. Once the motor is cleaned I will put it on the trans-axle and make a solid mount for it also. This should take all of the movement out of the drive system that sounded like a jack hammer when the car accelerated.

Hoping for more good weather next week.

Randy