1995 Fleetwood Brougham "The Grey Ghost"

[kudims]

Briefly about transmission 4L-60E



But first, it was time to install starter



Second - new license plate





Then - new splash shields on the front fenders. The original were cracked at some points, and the material is not elastic at all. I used 2mm fuel-resistant rubber sheets to make new. Looks even better than the original



New one from rubber is in the center



Installed

And now - transmission



Wash it



New seals



Someone smart has used RTV for the rear end seal



Pressing in the new brass sleeve



This is how it goes



Installed



Pressing in new seal



Installed and lubricated



New o-ring for the speedometer reader



Front seal installation



If you don't use the hammer, the seal will look and serve better



New Turbine wheel seal



Ready to receive a torque converter



Old oil pan...



New oil pan



New cooler lines nuts



The transmission was put on a car on the remembabale date February 24, 2022. There is a message to the "future generations" on the back side of the torque converter, which is not shown here



Torqued



Bolts are different, and this is the original GM style



Torque converter shield



Cooling lines



New spring braces







Shift pin





My "hand made tool" to uninstall the oil filter seal



This position is for twisting in



Then you push the tool further and twist by 30 degrees to lock it in the hex head



and then you use the inverse hammer to pull it away



Here we go



then you gently tap in the new seal



Filter is in place, and all solenoids got their new o-ring seals



Boom. Ready



New original O2 sensors



It's more easy to install them when pipes are off



and... drum roll













Results of the 3-months work on evenings and weekends



















New clamps on the transmission cooler lines



The one clamp is with the screw in order to fully change the transmission fluid easily



Unfortunately, the NOS trim does not have a mirror reflection, though from the human eye height it looks neat



New CCM module. Mine was broken. This one is GM original new self-programming once you first start the engine



New air pump relay



Installed

Next time we will make the first fire-up of the engine.

I haven't seen the same or the better looking Fleetwood 93-96 underbody, even on Matt Garrett's car from Dallas. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to share this strange process here. Strange - because many of you do not consider 93-96 Fleetwoods worth restoration like this, and this is fair.

[James Landi]

Do you know where your masterpiece is now?  With the extraordinary effort of personal resources, would you kindly provide us with more insights with regard to your experiences with this model?  James

[kudims]

Do you know where your masterpiece is now?  With the extraordinary effort of personal resources, would you kindly provide us with more insights with regard to your experiences with this model?  James

Yes, I am in touch with the guy, who bought both of my Cadillacs - Escalade ESV and this one.
Sochi (where 2014 Olympiad was held) - a city in Russia at the Black Sea with subtropical climate

Insights... Yes, I will provide
Let me finish first, as there will be a huge 2-nd part with the interior

[kudims]

New Stickers, correct to 1995 model year



These are the stickers for 1995. They are a bit different for 93, 94, 95, and 96













Now we are good to go



Was it worth it? In terms of model value - not sure, but in terms of emotions - yes, no doubt. And as emotions are the main driver of everything, then the answer is YES in CAPS and BOLD









And, as I promised, first fire-up and short inspection

Stay tuned. Next post will be start of the interior fit process... There are many interesting things there

[kudims]

Interior. Start of the process



Interior needed a lot of work as an exterior. Not full restoration, but close to it. These pillar panels must be cloth-finished, but here we see grey artificial leather.



Headliner removed



Carpet needs cleaning outside of the car



Soon the windshield will be cut out



The windshield is not original, and the guys, who replaced it, did not know how to use sealant...



WOW



Sealant had zero adhesion



And this is the result



I will need to make a local sandblasting



Signs on the headliner that windshield was cut even before us



This is another piece to deal with... Cracked dash was finished with thick artificial leather, and the airbag cover was hidden... using a piece of plywood and screws... The passenger airbag was deactivated.



OMG



Airbag connector



Leather is in pretty good shape though



Some artefacts



Carpet before





Carpet after pressure wash with chemistry





Compare with what it was



Looks like someone was here before myself...



Dusting



Down to bare metal somewhere



Meanwhile, I have locally sandblasted the windshield frame. I have a gun, which reuses the slac and there is no dust around. It has a special nozzle and the rubber sleeve to collect everything back inside. Good for small jobs



I used a rust dissolver, which gave such a dark blue color to the bare metal



Tons of thinner was used to remove all black coating





Here I also used this type of rust remover, which converts shining metal to dark blue



Some surface rust was found in the passenger legroom



Phosphatic primer









Acrylic 2K primer



This is required for the good paint adhesion



And then the same acrylic 2K body paint RAL 7033, which I used for the bottom





Now this frame is ready for the new windshield





I used brush and roller, not an air gun



This is all for today. Enjoy.

[kudims]

New anti-vibration mats



Shape perfectly



Setting sound dampener mat back again



Patching and healing



Then comes the carpet







Headliner... Unfortunately, I can't put it back again



All cloth in the interior was redone. Here is the worn sun visor cloth compared to the new one



Factory Quality



Vanity mirrors



Installed







99.9% of these cars have terrible B-pillar upholstery







This film is to protect the headliner from the sealant while working with the windshield



And this is the reminder how it was

[kudims]

Continuing along the path: Today's focus is refurbishing and installing the seats.

Passenger seat back



I pop off the passenger seat back.



The seat-back pocket is sagging.



I open up the seams and resew the elastic, pulling it about 2 inches (5 cm) tighter.

Lumbar support



The passenger seat's lumbar support didn't work. The motor hummed, but the support mechanism didn't respond.
I didn't want to remove the entire seat cover, so I used a scalpel to cut an X-shaped opening in the padding for access to the motor. A 10 mm pivoting ratcheting wrench got the motor out.



The motor's housing was cracked, but that was a symptom, not the root cause.



I removed one self-tapping screw and four M3 screws to split the motor in half.



The actual failure was the pot-metal part in the background—it broke along the threaded shaft that tightens/loosens the cables controlling the lumbar "stand." The repair was straightforward: I took a 12×12 mm piece of steel stock, drilled three holes, tapped one to M8×1.25, and used a hacksaw to notch the other two for the cables.



I reassembled everything and taped up the padding.





The passenger seat is now fully assembled and installed.

Rear seat

I also installed the rear seat.



Before that, I used new clips to secure the C-pillar trim. There's a GM part number on them, though equivalent
substitutes exist.





The rear seat is in. Getting close to "limousine" territory, haha.

Driver's seat

It had three known issues (and turned out to be four):
1. The motors for forward/backward movement didn't always engage (you could hear the relay click, but the motor wouldn't run).
2. The seat heater wasn't working.
3. The bracket between the seat rails and the seat base had snapped.
4. Later, I found the fourth issue in the seat memory module.

Seat heater



The seat and seatback heaters are wired in series, each coil having ~0.9–1 Ω. In total, they should read around 2 Ω between the red and dark-gray wires. If there's an open circuit, you have to unplug the seatback and figure out which half is burned out. My problem was in the seat bottom.



I removed the seat cover from the cushion. One broken wire stood out right away.
I soldered and heat-shrunk it, but that didn't fully fix the issue.



Continuing along the coil, I periodically stuck a needle through the insulation to find another open circuit.



The second break was right next to the first (the highest-stress area, a.k.a. the "gas outlet" zone). After soldering, the coil's resistance finally returned.

Seat base bracket repair



The most heavily stressed bracket, near the door, had cracked. I aligned it. Welding wasn't a good option, since it creates new stress points that can crack again later.



I made a cardboard template and transferred it to 2 mm steel.



Used 4.8 mm steel-to-steel rivets, 5 mm washers on the backside, and one plastic piece as a spacer.



Riveted in place.

Electrical issues



I opened the seat memory module to clean the relay contacts and found evidence of a small fire.



A noise-suppressing ceramic capacitor had blown, melting the insulation on the positive wire to the second part of the board.
That was the unplanned fourth issue.



I installed a new 1 µF capacitor and replaced the wire.



The board was heat-damaged but still functional.



I sanded all relay contacts with 1200-grit paper.



Reassembled, ready for installation.

Diagnosis tip: To see if the seat memory module is the culprit, you can disconnect it and directly connect the harness to the motors (the factory wiring is that way if there's no memory option). If the seat moves, the memory module's at fault; if not, it might be the door switch or the motors themselves.




Driver's seat installed



Everything's hooked up, tested in every mode. Memory only affects the seat cushion, not the seatback or mirrors—one of GM's early '90s quirks.



I also washed the carpet panels under the seats.
Plenty of legroom in the rear when the driver's seat is all the way back.

[kudims]

Hello again, everyone!

Even the most enjoyable and interesting endeavors eventually come to an end—what matters is whether that ending is triumphant or disastrous. In this case, the "season" of pleasant tinkering with the Fleetwood is drawing to a close, and today brings a very critical procedure: installing the windshield. Failure here could undo much of our previous work.

So, windshield installation it is. Many people have gone through this, though not always DIY. And not everyone has fond memories of having their windshield replaced—damaged interior trim or possible leaks come to mind.

I studied the Fleetwood manual in detail, where about five pages are devoted to step-by-step illustrations. Below is my version, informed by practical experience.



The Glass



The windshield itself is made by Pilkington.



(Pilkington windshield)

I spent quite some time trying to find a suitable top molding. I measured the original and ordered four different samples, discarding three for shape/size mismatch rather than quality.



(For B/D-body vehicles, I recommend this molding—best fit, and made in the USA, not China.)



First, do a dry fit to adjust the lower glass stops and apply two strips of tape along the top edge. Carefully slit the tape along the rubber molding; these strips serve as alignment markers when the glass goes in for real.
(Red arrows: adjustable stops. Green arrows: alignment markers.)

After you've aligned side to side (with the side moldings attached), run through a few "rehearsals." Practice lifting the windshield, flipping it, carrying it, precisely positioning, and placing it onto the markers. Since sealant goes on the glass (not the frame), shaky hands or poor coordination can easily get sealant everywhere.

I cover the hood and dash with protective film just in case. The headliner edge is wrapped in stretch wrap (see my previous post).

Preparation
Clean the inside edge of the windshield with a degreaser (not thinner!), then attach the molding. I left about 20 mm of extra length on each side, trimming it after final fit with the side moldings.



(Windshield body side degreased, molding installed, ~20 mm extra on each side.)

I'm using an LM 6141 kit (Mercedes-approved).



(The kit includes degreaser, gloves, primer/activator, and sealant. One tube isn't enough, so I got an additional #6139 tube of the same sealant.)



Primer is applied to both the glass edge and the body opening, then dried for 10 minutes at about 68 °F (20 °C).







(Primer on the glass, 10-minute dry time.)

Applying the Sealant

The sealant is laid on the glass in a bead about 3/8 in (10 mm) wide by 3/4 in (20 mm) tall. Important: once the sealant is applied, you have only about 10 minutes to set the windshield—no time for a break!

Even with a good caulk gun and steady hands, laying a neat bead that quickly is tough. My arm was shaking afterward. I finished in about 8 minutes, then took a 1-minute breather so I wouldn't drop the glass. We used exactly two tubes. This windshield is huge—practically bus-sized.

All the rehearsals paid off. The glass was positioned perfectly, with no smearing or scratches.





(Alignment is spot-on with the tape.)



Press around the edges with your hand/fingers to ensure uniform contact. Excess sealant is normal. I smoothed the sides with a plastic panel-removal tool.

For the side moldings (I have several sets), I wrapped them in matte black vinyl, which really improved their look.





Installing side moldings: I bought new stainless hardware—OEM was external hex, but I also got Phillips. Ended up using Phillips; looks better. Factory used external hex with a self-tapping tip for easier handling in a magnetic bit.







How the top molding meets the side molding—nice and tidy.

Finishing Up

I installed the cowl cover using new GM 10185925 clips and original-style screws.





I used black cap nuts from Mercedes A0009983521 because the original ones were lacking. GM later switched to these on the GMT800 line, maybe the GMT400 too.



Fitted new Hella wiper blades.



"Now the customer can see them, so I can peel off the label."

Overall view:





(The VIN window is slightly off—right rivet is barely visible, just something I noticed.)

Next time will be the final post for this second phase. Stay tuned!

[kudims]

The final piece of this second (interior) phase is restoration of the embossed dash cover. The previous owner added large "Cadillac" lettering to the dash because, apparently, "GM's designers were idiots and didn't realize this obvious aesthetic move, though it was clearly needed."

No further comment...

Let's see how "embossing secrets" were done and how one should properly restore a cracked dash cover.

Removed dash cover:



Wrapped in a coarse, low-quality vinyl with several stitch lines (which were never there originally) simply because this vinyl doesn't stretch like the factory material. The passenger airbag cover was sealed and stitched shut. You can see glue marks easily.



(Removed dash cover, poor-quality vinyl, extra stitching, airbag hatch sealed shut, glue marks...)

Inside:



The Cadillac lettering was cut out of plastic with scissors (notice the wavy edge). The right side is all filled with body filler. There was a sun-crack radiating outward plus an airbag hatch.



From inside, you can see the airbag hatch was replaced by a piece of plywood secured with sheet-metal screws. The airbag itself was disconnected so that if it deployed, nobody would be killed by the dash flying out instead of a cushion.



Stitch lines that have no business being there.



The bottom edge of the vinyl was held by these custom plates, which obviously didn't exist in the original design.





An extra passenger airbag lid just for comparison—to see how it should be.



I had another dash cover with a surface crack (from sun damage), but nobody had butchered it like the other one. I gave that unmolested dash to be recovered using the factory-style hot-vinyl process.



Cracks in the dash I handed in for re-covering. Damaged corners underneath.



Roughly 24 inches (600 mm) deep.

Below are photos of the result:



Overall look of the dash after restoration.



On the backside, I removed all foam sound dampeners and vents.



Washed them, let them dry.



Reapplied special rubberized foam at the vent junctions, same as factory. Check the neat butt-joint in the top-left corner.



Same on the right side.



The rest is covered exactly as from the factory, but using higher-quality, new sound-deadening material.



The vinyl matches the original color perfectly.



Super tidy overall.



The airbag lid originally had its own embossing, which we replicated with a heat stamp.







Installed the dash panel, installed the A-pillar trims.



Correct seamless front edge.



Overall view.



With that, the second phase is complete. The car is fully drivable. I just need to wash off the dust and leftover copper slag in various crevices—and maybe do a polish.

[kudims]

The car was washed carefully, and here is how it looks, works, and sounds



Warm May day



Labels



Reminder



















New floor mats





























And short video

[kudims]

Trunk emblem

In 2018 I purchased new original emblems for the hood and trunk. I installed the hood emblem right away (it mounts with a nut), but never got around to doing the trunk emblem because it's attached with rivets.

Turned out it wasn't just about the rivets. If you plan on buying these emblems, pay attention to what I'm about to mention.



These emblems were bought in the States from a guy known as "cadillac fanatic," who claimed they were 100% for the 1993–96 Fleetwood.

In reality, the new emblem didn't fit. On closer inspection and measurements, I realized I could combine the new emblem's face with the old emblem's base. So I disassembled the flip mechanism



The new emblem didn't fit. After detailed inspection and measurements, I realized I could build one out of two, using the new face. Took apart the flip mechanism.

The difference is that the base of the original Fleetwood emblem isn't flat—it's curved to match the trunk's V-shape (left one).



The Fleetwood emblem base is not flat and conforms to the trunk's V shape.

The face from the new emblem fit perfectly onto the old base. I did have to modify the stop a bit so the flip-down piece would lie horizontally when closed.



The face fit perfectly on the old base, but I had to slightly modify the stop so it would close level.

The mechanism works, and I used genuine GM rivets.



Mechanism is functional, rivets are original GM.

Moral of the story: always ask the seller for a side profile photo of the emblem. The Fleetwood emblem is not flat!

[kudims]

Let's get into the doors and trunk for a bit. As usual, I didn't plan on touching them, but I had no choice. The same old reason: the "suitcase handle" (pull strap) on the driver's door was fastened with a non-original screw and a washer. I decided to fix that.

I tried unscrewing it, but the plastic insert spun with it. WTF... In the end, just to remove the screw, I looped a thin wire under the head, forming a mini "lasso" pulling outward. The plastic nut was pulled against the door's metal so it finally stopped turning. Mini-victory. When reassembling, I replaced all the captive inserts with new ones.



Original clips. I ordered Sat ST-M10899—an exact copy of the original, 40 pieces.
After popping off the door panel clips, they basically disintegrated.

Almost all of the brackets on the door card for those clips were either completely broken or at least half gone, and one bracket was missing entirely.



Unscrewing the carpeted lower section (it goes to the wash).
Using available materials, I fabricated a bracket, glued it on with Poxipol, and reinforced it with rivets through the door card.





View from the outside. Obviously, this all gets covered by the carpet.
Any bracket that broke off but was still present, I just glued back with Poxipol.







I also used fiberglass cloth and Poxipol to patch the door card from the inside.

Moving on to the Door Itself


They'd attached the window regulator with random fasteners. Originally, it used rivets, but someone cut open the door, knocked the rivets out, and screwed it on with "whatever was handy."



On this random mix of hardware, the window regulator was holding on.
I replaced it with proper M6 black hardware.



At least these are original GM screws



From the inside, of course, no nuts you have to hold with a wrench—just the original M6 captive inserts.





Apparently, to straighten out dents in the door, they cut a chunk from the inner panel, left the welds untreated and unpainted. I fixed that from both the outside and inside.



It also turned out the driver's door was missing part of the window guide. Amazingly, the car had been driven that way for at least 15 years, maybe more, yet the glass still tracked fine. I found the missing piece from a Caprice for about $15.



Inside the door after cleaning and degreasing — applying sound-deadening.
Afterward, it's time to stick on a protective barrier. On modern cars, it's usually a plastic sheet; here it's 1 mm thick rubber. From the factory, they sprayed a non-hardening adhesive inside, but over the years it accumulated dirt and lost any grip. This rubber must be sealed to prevent leaks.



My go-to solution: butyl sealant for headlights. I lay it in a bead around the perimeter.



In spots where the drainage spots are, leave a gap.
Then the rubber is pressed onto the door, seating into the bead of sealant.







This is how the drain openings are formed.


Before putting the door panel back, I wash the interior window frame trims with soapy water and a brush.



Some clips popped off. I glued them with Poxipol.
Naturally, I also wash the door panel itself—completely disassembling it—and clean the courtesy lights inside. Photo below shows the fully assembled door.





Assembled driver's door.
Then I go around all four doors, repeating the same procedure.





Assembled passenger door.
And so on...







Rear right door with the rubber barrier attached.
When installing the door panel, the pull strap is clipped onto the panel first, and the decorative trim for the handle is fitted afterward, once the panel is on.



If all the clips are in place, you get proper alignment.



Rear left door: three clips plus their brackets were left stuck on the door, so they weren't holding anything. The black rubber trim had shifted and wasn't doing its job. Good thing no one threw it out.



Anyway, that door is now assembled.

Moving to the Trunk

I pulled out the trunk carpet for cleaning. Surprisingly, it didn't need a full wash. Then I vacuumed out the rear compartments (found around 50 ball bearings, ~3 mm, using a magnet).



Cleaning and degreasing.



Applied sound-deadening mats to the floor.



And up the sides.



Where the floor sits higher, I added more sound-absorbing material made of bitumen-impregnated foam.



Trunk carpet is exactly 1.8 m wide...



...and about 1.4 m long.






The carpet corners attach with hook-and-loop strips. I replaced them with some 3M brand tape.





Looks factory, but holds better.
Carpet goes back in, trunk's done.

[kudims]

Rear axle: rebuild

Time to wrap things up with the rear axle, which has been making a sporadic howling noise ever since I got this vehicle (and who knows for how long before that).

In this post, you will:

1. Discover the main reason for axle shaft and bearing failure in GM rear axles,
2. Get a free, detailed guide on how to replace the differential bearings.

If neither of those interests you, then at least you can enjoy quality color photos.

For those just tuning in: I had a problematic axle shaft that I replaced with a worn one, installing a repair bearing in the process, and secretly hoped (but didn't really believe) that the howling would go away. Also, while overhauling the rear axle, I measured the ring and pinion backlash; it seemed within spec but near the upper limit. As you'll see, I was mistaken about a few things.

So first, I figured I needed a good axle shaft to run a normal bearing, and then I'd see... Meanwhile, I ordered a rebuild kit (Richmond 8310211) for the GM 8.5 10-bolt.



Shaft puller for extracting the bearing. You could use a slide hammer, but I don't have one.

A decent axle shaft was found in a used diff I bought for around 10 k rubles (it's basically impossible to find a new one). Just a few words on the replacement:



Good axle shaft from the purchased rear axle—viable.



Removing the repair bearing.



A new bearing & seal set R186.23.



Installed.



Axle shaft in place.

Since this post isn't ending here, you can guess the axle shaft didn't solve the noise.

Main Course, After the Appetizer

Below is essentially everything (besides basic hand tools) you need to rebuild the axle: pipe wrench (to hold the yoke), two types of torque wrenches, a digital inch-pound torque gauge (0–30 N·m), a 2-jaw puller, bearing split pullers, a magnetic stand for the indicator, GL-5 gear oil, rebuild kit #8310211, and the manual.



All the essentials: pipe wrench for the pinion yoke, two torque wrenches, digital in-lb torque gauge, 2-jaw puller, bearing split puller set, magnetic base for dial indicator, GL-5 oil, kit 8310211, and the manual.



A close-up of the 0–30 N·m digital torque gauge. Without it, you can't properly set the pinion preload.



GL-5-class oil, definitely not GL-4 or GL-4/5. Some will note the 140 rating is beyond older manuals, but those 28-year-old manuals never had that option. I've run this in my Escalade's GM axle for years, no issue. Whether it's an LS (limited slip) or open diff, the ring and pinion and bearings are the same.



Rebuild kit 8310211: everything you might need for bearing or ring-and-pinion replacement.



The manual. This volume covers chassis and body.

The Tear-Down
Before disassembly, I measured the ring-and-pinion backlash. It varied from 0.3 to 0.6 mm, and that was at just one spot on the ring gear!



Checking backlash—0.3 to 0.6 mm in one place.

(Note the protective bubble wrap on the rear sway bar—gotta stay tidy.)

The contact pattern on the coast (concave) side of the teeth looked normal...



Coast side contact pattern.

But the drive (convex) side was just a mess.



On the drive side, it's all over the place.

Then I checked the diff bearing play—it was around 0.4 mm when there should be a preload of about 0.2 mm.



Measuring diff bearing play: about 0.4 mm. It should have 0.2 mm preload.

That's the real cause of the chaos. I'm certain the axle had the wrong oil. The ring and pinion survived, but the bearings didn't. Possibly it was also underfilled, accelerating axle and bearing wear. So: always GL-5.

That extra axial play also caused the ring-and-pinion lash to vary by about 0.3 mm. As for my earlier winter measurements on a removed axle, who knows. I just never suspected play like that.

I pull out the differential. Mark the bearing caps (left/right) so you don't swap them—cases are machined with those caps in place, so they're not interchangeable, same as main caps on a crank or connecting rods.

The diff basically fell out, whereas it should be snug. I'll detail a safe removal method below.

For the pinion: use a 32 mm socket and pipe wrench to hold the yoke, remove the nut. Then a 2-jaw puller to press the yoke off—no hammering! A few taps with a rubber mallet on the pinion threads, and out it comes.



Pinion nut removal (32 mm & pipe wrench), yoke pulled with a 2-jaw puller.



Removing the pinion bearing. This is where a bearing splitter is needed.



Pinion shim.

This shim sets the pinion depth relative to the differential's centerline. In 99.9% of cases, if you're just replacing bearings and keeping the same ring-and-pinion, the original shim stays; we assume the factory got it right and new bearings are precise. Changing ring-and-pinion or using a different housing requires actual setup.



Properly seated. Pressing in the races of the new bearings with a correct driver. If the outer diameter of your driver exceeds that of the race, it won't seat fully.



Pinion installed—but for now, no crush sleeve, seal, or new nut. Tighten the nut just enough to remove play and give slight preload (feels snug by hand).

Differential Bearings

Left bearing had been spinning on the journal and caused a bit of damage. It slid off easily.



Left bearing spun a bit, causing damage.



Scoring from it spinning. The cause is obvious: worn bearings from improper oil, increased clearance instead of preload, etc.

Right bearing was stuck hard, so I had to cut its race.



Right bearing's outer race had to be cut.

The new bearing was a tight fit, but I degreased the surfaces and used red threadlocker for extra grip.



New bearing seat with red threadlocker. Believe me, it works perfect for years already.

We put the diff in the housing with the stock shims and torque the caps to 75 N·m.



Diff installed with factory shims, caps torqued to 75 N·m.

Then, by adjusting or swapping the shim packs side to side, we remove any play in the diff bearings (with zero or minimal preload just for trial) and set the ring gear backlash. Why swap shims? So we don't alter the bearing preload while shifting the ring gear in or out.



Reinstalled the diff. I swapped shims around until I got a nice contact pattern: centered in tooth depth, slightly toward the toe (inner end). That's good, because under load, the ring gear deflects, moving the contact pattern more toward center.

At that point, we dismantle the diff again. We won't change the shim packs except to add about 0.1 mm to each side for bearing preload.




New crush sleeve on the pinion shaft.



New seal.

Coat the pinion yoke splines with silicone or polyurethane sealant, so oil won't seep out. A new washer and new nut are strongly recommended. If reusing the old nut, at least apply threadlocker.



Set the pinion bearing preload to 2–4.1 N·m (measured by turning the pinion with an inch-pound or N·m torque wrench). Gently tighten until zero play, then very carefully (maybe 5–7° at a time), checking the turning torque with the digital gauge. I stopped at 3.2 N·m. Let's keep that figure in mind.

My Pinion preload was set at 3.2 N·m.

We insert the diff, adding ~0.1 mm to each shim pack (rule of thumb) and gently hammer them in with a driver.
Removing a diff with that preload can be tricky. A tip: put a 19 mm box wrench on one of the ring gear bolts, rotate the pinion, and once the wrench hits the housing, keep rotating the pinion— the diff pops out with the shims and bearings.

Check the diff bearing preload: 1.7–4 N·m. I measure the total torque at the pinion, about 4 N·m. Subtract our earlier 3.2 N·m from that, leaves 0.8 N·m. Multiply by the ratio (2.92), about 2.3 N·m. That's within spec.





Backlash is 0.12 mm, which is slightly under the 0.13 mm lower limit. But note that each 0.05 mm in the diff shims changes ring gear backlash by about 0.03 mm. My kit's smallest shim is 0.1 mm, so if I added that, the backlash would jump to ~0.18 mm, near the upper spec limit, which I feel might be worse.



Re-check the contact pattern — perfect.

Install the axle shafts, fix the spider gear shaft with a new bolt (threadlocker, torqued to 36 N·m).



Axle shaft in, new spider gear pin bolt installed.



New cover gasket with side holes. The cover bolts get 30 N·m.

Refilled the axle. It takes more than the 2 liters the manual says—I used about 2.5 L, so plan accordingly if you're buying oil. Two liters isn't enough.



Axle reassembled and filled with oil.

Finally, the test drive: about 12 miles (20 km). Started slow, then a bit more spirited, including up to 87 mph (140 km/h). The rear axle is now silent. Checking the housing temperature at the pinion area after I got home: it was comfortable to the touch, ~130 °F (55 °С)—perfectly normal, as an axle can easily exceed 212 °F (100 °С).

[kudims]

Today is the final post regarding this vehicle.

Polishing



I used 3M materials to make polishing. But before, I used 1500 and then 2000 grit paper to matte the surface



The final result is on pictures



All scripts were retaped



Proper positioning from the Manual











And some night pictures in front of my house.
Sadly, it was the end of the story, as I had to sell this car and even not enjoy driving it. Perhaps, I drove ~250 miles in total throughout 3 years of owning the car. I didn't want to drive it when it was not in excellent shape, but once I've done everything, we had to leave the country.

















November 2022: Both of my Cadillacs go to Sochi

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Sorry you had to go through all that effort in bringing the car back to live again.   It surely must have a very hard life before you purchased it for it to be in such a bad condition, even though it looked so good from the start.

As the saying goes, start something and you run the risk of opening up a can of worms.   Your saga is a wonderful example of perseverance under arduous conditions.

Bruce.

[kudims]

Sorry you had to go through all that effort in bringing the car back to live again.   It surely must have a very hard life before you purchased it for it to be in such a bad condition, even though it looked so good from the start.

As the saying goes, start something and you run the risk of opening up a can of worms.   Your saga is a wonderful example of perseverance under arduous conditions.

Bruce.

Thank you, Bruce
The one thing I didn't mention:
I was selling this car with an easy heart, because I knew that in US I will find the car, which I was dreaming about since my University years. And it finally happened

[dogbergs]

Well, I'm impressed by everything you do, and how you do it.
The surgical precision, and the documentation!..

Thanks / Johan