The rear end is back! Fresh with new bearings and seals and properly adjusted it should be good for another 100K+ miles. The only bad news was the price… Like many other things Imperial, the parts are hard to find and expensive. I keep telling myself that I knew what I was getting into. “Myself” keeps explaining how I’m an idiot.
The first step was to fabricate new brake lines. I had purchased new rear brake wheel cylinders, so I installed these on the backing plates and then installed the center “T” fitting to the differential housing. A flexible hose connects the “T” fitting to the rear brake line on the car. Solid brake lines go from the sides of the “T” to the brake cylinders and have to be routed along the curves of the differential and rear end. Time to follow the same drill as before: cut a length of brake line a little bit longer than needed, carefully bend it to fit tight to the differential and axles, trim it to the exact length needed after bending, install fittings and flare the ends, and then install it on the rear end.
It actually went quite well. Except for cutting one piece so that it was just a little bit too short after bending and getting to re-do it…
The rear end is heavy and awkward, making it a challenge for one person to install. I had planned to use a floor jack and movers dolly to save my back. I had the rear end sitting on jack stands while working on it – this was just the height needed to slide it between the springs and under the car. Unfortunately, the jack stands don’t move and the movers dolly was too low.
After studying the situation for a few minutes, inspiration struck! Put the jack stand on top of the movers dolly, adjust the height, and slide it under the car. This actually worked quite well – I was able to get the rear end into position with no damage and no injuries.
The Imperial holds the rear end with both the leaf springs and with two struts. This design improves handling, but is a bear to install. After suitable applications of brute force, big hammers, pry bars, bigger pry bars, tapered alignment tools, and application of appropriate language at the proper volume (loud), everything bolted into place.
The next step was to install the rear brakes. Like many other things Chrysler, the self adjusting rear brakes are rather ingenious (i.e. complicated). The usual approach is to do one side at a time so that you can use the other side for reference. Unfortunately both sides were completely disassembled. Fortunately the Factory Service Manual had illustrations that provided just enough tantalizing clues to finally figure out where the parts went.
After getting the brake shoes and adjusters installed it was time to slide on the (heavy!) drums and do the preliminary adjustment. The next step was to mount the wheels and then remove the jack stands and drop the car onto the ground.
For the first time the car is sitting on its completely rebuilt suspension and brakes! To quote Monty Python: “And there was much rejoicing!”
The last step was to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid and bleed the brakes. Unfortunately there seem to be problems here, so I’ve got some trouble shooting to do on the brakes before everything is ready to go.
I still have the new rear sway bar to install, but I’ve decided to do that after installing the exhaust. I suspect it will be easier to install the exhaust without the sway bar, and I need to make sure everything fits together.
Next: Return of the Mighty 413