Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

AAGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I'm about 2 seconds from lighting Rosie on fire and watching her burn. LOL. I realize that its not very nice, but I just spent the better part of three hours on my back trying to figure out how to get the stupid watts links and bracket back in. I tried it in every fashion I could think of, with no luck. So I need some advice. But first, let me give you the much needed background information.

I took the entire rear suspension out, axles, diff, housing, shocks, control arms, watts link, springs, everything. I burned out all the old bushings. I put new polyurethane bushings EVERYWHERE, including in watts link and watts bracket. I realize that most people don't recommend this, but this isn't a track car. I'm never going to be pushing it to the absolute limits where binding of the rear end is going to become a problem. So for now at least, let's leave the watts link bashing out of this. I just want to get the thing installed.

So when I was putting the poly bushings into the watts links I had a heck of a time because both halves kept squirting back out and they wouldn't stay in. I pressed them in with my vice and as soon as I took them out, they shot back out onto the work bench. Frustrating to say the least, but I figured it wouldn't make much difference after I got them installed. The nuts and washers would hold the bushings into the links just fine.

Well, fast forward to tonight. I got the new LSD put into the housing, axles went in great. Starting to get really excited. Then I though that I'd go ahead and put the watts link back in. I put the passenger side link in first by mounting it to the body. Then I put the watts bracket in. Next I attached the driver's side link to the bracket. Then I spent the next two hours pushing, pulling, hitting, and yelling trying everything I could think of to get the drivers side body mount to match up. Those stupid energy suspension bushings are so tight inside the mounting locations that you can't shift anything around to get it lined up. So I decided to start from scratch and put the bracket in last.

So, the second time around I put both links in, by mounting them to their body mounting points. Put the bracket on and attached the passenger side link to it. That only leaves the driver's side link that needs attached to the watts bracket. CRAP!!! It won't line up for anything. On top of that the @#$^%@%# bushing kept shooting out of the link and it has that stupid white sticky lube all over it.

After three hours I have a watts link that isn't installed, a big mess all over the garage floor, and sticky crap all over my hands that doesn't come off with any soap known to man.

Cliff notes: What is the best way to reinstall the watts link? I can't get it to go back...

I have attached pictures for reference....

Picture 1: Passenger side link successfully mounted



Picture 2: Watts bracket with passenger side link attached.



Picture 3: Driver side link attached successfully to body



Picture 4: You can see the friggin' bushings that won't stay in, and the link that won't line up. I tried pulling on it and hitting it and everything else I could think of. No use...

DwArF

I would line up the driver and passenger side links before putting the watts link back on. I remember it pretty difficult for me to put my rearend back on. I remember puttings the watts link on last and needing someone to push(or was pull) one of the sides of the rearend so i could line it up

diyman25

install without upper and lower link install ? so you shift the rear end around ?

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

Its been a long time since I've messed with a stock suspension, but I'll throw some things at you.
Is the watts link center link on the right way? IIRC things are a little offset. It could need to be flipped front to back.

If its all in right and still this hard to finish assembly, how do you think it will perform? Maybe act like its all bound up? Sorry, I had to ask.

Kentetsu

Yeah, I was going to ask if you might have had one of the parts flipped around the wrong way. I don't remember any problems installing mine after the rear end swap.

As far as the urethane bushings go, I wouldn't worry too much about. I put them in both my upper and lower links, which is supposed to be taboo, and have had no issues whatsoever with it. I'll be interested in your results though.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Have you tried jacking the axle housing up into position?

blwfly

iTrader: (4)

what he said^^

first thing that poped into my head ..

DriveFast7

iTrader: (1)

ditto ^

if the axle is too low the links will never reach it. jack it up until you can get those bushings on there boyeeee.

steve84GS TII

Also the first thing I saw.

Your axle is a mile below where it will ever be during normal suspension travel.The watts was never designed to be able to articulate that far from its mounts.You need to jack that puppy up and be sure to have the FULL weight of the car on the axle/springs, before you final tighten any of the suspension links.

MountainScreamer

I just put mine in and had a similar problem.
I ended up jacking up the axle housing and using a large bar between the big pivot point and one of the smaller inner points to move the axle left and right. It ended up working well, but the whole reason I replaced it was because a bar was bent and so was a bracket on the frame. I bent it back enough to make it fit, but I am still afraid it will bind
But since yours wasn't bent, it should be fine movin the axle around.
Good Luck!

warwickben

iTrader: (1)

one to get that stuff off your hands use a scotch bright pad(sp?) and i had the same problem. i conected them both to the body then i put the bracket on the rear end, not all the way on. then i put the passengers side half way on to the bracket. then i used my foot to turn the watts bracket on the rear end to get the post in the right spot to connect the drives side to it. i then just taped the watts bracket with a dead blow till i could start the nut, then i started taping the watt's link bars till i could start there nuts. this took me about 5 hours. i tried every thing jacking the rear end up alittle. ect ect

but the best way to get that stuff off the hands is soap and a scrubbing pad.

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Well, it sounds like if I'm going to have a shot at this I need to at least do the following...

1) Jack the rear end up higher.
2) Connect both links to the body
3) Slide the watts bracket on to the rear end
4) Hopefully attach the links to the bracket

I have no problems getting the passenger side link attached to the bracket. It's the darn driver's side link that either won't attach to the body, or won't go on to the bracket.

I'll have to fight with it some more this evening. Maybe I can get the dumb thing back together.

legokcen

iTrader: (8)

Have you tried cursing at it? I've done that a lot and sometimes it works for me...

Good luck. One thing I did was to remove the pivot from the diff and put the control arms on with the Watts free of the diff. Then I jack up the diff and attach the watts.

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Lemme get this straight, so I make sure I'm understanding you correctly. You attached both watts links to the watts bracket while it was removed from the rear end. Then you attached the watts bracket to its pivoting stud on the rear end. Finally, you jacked the rear end up into place, and attached the other ends of the watts links to their mounts on the body??

Can you confirm for me? I was thinking about doing it that way when I try it again this evening.

Fatman513

As far as I know, you should have your coil springs installed before attaching the Watts links. Do that first and then try what you said in post #12:

1) Jack the rear end up higher.
2) Connect both links to the body
3) Slide the watts bracket on to the rear end
4) Hopefully attach the links to the bracket

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Have you had the control arms out, if so keep them out until the watts is located it will aide lateral movement, and definately jack the axle housing up further

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the tip. I'll pull those CA's off also and hopefully gain some movement that way.

Sgt Fox

iTrader: (3)

WD40 is perfect to remove that bushing grease.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I find its easiest to attach the watts links to teh body, jack the rear axle up to around normal ride height, they adjust the everything until you are able to slide the center bracket onto the axle, as well as the links.
I know this has already been mentioned by others, just throwing it out there since its worked the dozen or so times i've done this...
I remember the first time I was cursing at that thing so bad, just didn't wanna go together lol.
Good luck!

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Alright gentlemen. Somebody's wrong and I want to know who. I have been installing this according to the drawings in the black dragon catalog. I am pretty sure that the black dragon catalog shows the watts bracket installed backwards. I just checked the old parts fiches and they don't match the black dragon catalog. So... i'm guessing that the Mazda Fiche is right and Black Dragon is wrong?

This would explain why I couldn't get the watts link setup to go in for the life of me....

Thoughts fellas?

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Here is further evidence that the black dragon catalog is WRONG!!!!!!!!



NO WONDER THE FRIGGIN THING WOULDN'T GO TOGETHER!!!!

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

So it looks like its together! Post #4 FTW on the problem. So now if it moves straight up in down in its travel you know for sure its right. It can go together and still be wrong.

Kentetsu

Hmm, who could have guessed that you might have a part on backwards....

rearviewmirror

Ha ha.. it should, in theory, work like this...

Glazedham42

iTrader: (4)

Well, I can jack the rear end up and down and it feels pretty darn smooth to me. Looks like the black dragon catalog is wrong. The above picture isn't my car, it's Trochoid's. I just stole it from an older post. However, if he installed his that way then its just further proof in my book. Also, if you look above the factory parts fiche shows it installed the same way. Here are some pictures of my nearly finished rear end. Just need to hook up the drive shaft, fill the diff with fluid, hook up the sway bar, and tighten everything down. Jgrewe and Kentetsu, you guys sure called this one. I was 100% positive that I had it on right since it matched the Black Dragon catalog.

I know that the car is supposed to be down on the ground when you tighten everything. Does it matter if the front end is on jackstands or not? I want to be able to tighten everything down tomorrow night, but my front suspension is still very far from being done. Can I tighten the rear down or should I just wait until the whole car is back off the jackstands?

Thanks for getting my wheels turning guys. I'd still be out there screaming at it if we hadn't tossed ideas around.