 |
Step 1: Remove the catback mufflers and
pipes. Four or five hangers are on each side. The picture at left shows why
the 99 Cobra stock muffler (pre-fix) corks up so much power. You can see that
it is overheating due to the internal restrictions.
|
 |
Step 2: Disconnect the emergency brake cables
and pull them completely out of the way. The cables are difficult to see in this image,
but it's simple to find once the car is on the lift.
|
 |
Step 3: Remove the rear calipers (Two bolts
on backside of each caliper) from their mounting and cable tie the caliper to a structural
member so the brake line is not damaged.
|
 |
Steps 4 & 5: Remove the rear brake
rotors. Disconnect tie-rod. The tie-rod will require some hammering on the
suspension piece surrounding it to pop out.
|
 |
Step 5: Disconnect the lower control arm
bolts (A-arm) from the spindle. You will not need to remove the upper control arm bolts. If
you do remove or loosen upper control arm bolts, you'll most likely need to get the car
re-aligned.
|
 |
Step 6: Remove axle half-shaft. Usually, you need to hammer the axle to get it to pop out of the spindle. Randy Haywood came
up with a less brutal method. He ground an air hammer bit down to a small tip, then used the
vibrations from the air hammer to nudge the axle out of the spindle. There's a dimple in
the center of the axle that the tip of the bit fits into perfectly. Almost purpose made!
|
 |
Step 7: Remove the axle half-shaft from
the differential. There should be enough wiggle room to pull the lower spindle away from the
axle. Once the axle is out of the spindle, the half-shaft simply pops out of the
differential with a good pull. No tools needed. Make sure you don't damage the dust covers
on either end. - The axle won't have enough room to totally come out of the IRS due to
interference by the shock absorber. Just leave it hanging.
|
 |
Step 8: Unbolt the ABS sensors hanging on
each side of the differential. It may be tough to see the sensor in this picture, but it is just
left of the hole where the half-shaft used to be.
|
 |
Step 9: Unbolt and remove the driveshaft.
Note: make sure to check the indexing of the
drive shaft with the pinion flange before the driveshaft is removed! When
reinstalling, you will need to match the marks back up. The Independent Rear Suspension
on the Cobras are notorious for going out of balance so be certain to install/reinstall the driveshaft in the same position!
You can leave the front
portion of the driveshaft connected to the transmission, but it may be in the way.
Watch out for fluid leaking from transmission if drive shaft is pulled out.
|
 |
Step 10: Unbolt the four bolts holding
the differential to sub-frame. Here is an underside shot of the differential. Unbolt the four
bolts for the differential carrier. Two on the bottom, and two on the back of the differential.
Note: It helps to keep one of the bolts in the rear differential to hold it up until you're
ready to drop the whole unit. The front portion of the differential will lay perfectly on the
cross member until you're ready to remove it.
|
 |
Front bolts in place, rear bolts being loosened.
|
 |
Front of the differential (driveshaft connection point) is
resting on the sub-frame cross member until the rear bolts are ready to come out. It
sits perfectly in the cross member.
|
 |
The differential is all aluminum so it is fairly light.
You won't need much muscle to get it up or down. Here it is being tilted to lower it away from
the sub-frame.
|
 |
Having two sets of arms helps.
|
 |
IRS sans differential!
|
|
|
Part 2 - Gear change procedure
|
