Finally!!

Finally...the title says it all. I finished the pantry and thus I took some time this afternoon to work on the bus. First order of business was the rear diff. After some more measurements I figured that some of the extra 'flange' that I decided not to remove...needed to be removed. So for the first few hours I was using big daddy again. After last time with that big brute in my hands it took me close to three days to recover. My hands were sore at work the entire next week. So just like in golf...I had to trust in the weapon in my hand and let it do the work. I am happy to say that my hands are just fine this evening.

After all the flange removal, I had to test fit the new "U-Bolts" I had made up. With a little ingenuity I made a jig to help center the mounting blocks on the diff equidistant from the tires. Worked like a charm.  After everything was fitted and ready....it was time to enlist child labour!

Anna first came out to help...wearing white... I sent her back in.
Then she came out in her ski jacket... I sent her back in.
Thankfully Randy left his work jacket here...she was amenable to that fashion choice...OMG!

How do we get this big hunk of metal out to the bus?....easy peasy!

When Randy and I removed the old diff last fall we didn't worry about this step. I Knew that I wasn't going to be using the old diff and in particular the piggy back brakes so we just simply pulled the old diff out using a come-a-long. But to get the new diff into place....I wanted to be a wee bit more gentle.

 So thanks be to Dr. Rob, after the kids removed the tires we lowered the diff onto Rob' car dollies and rolled it back into place!

 I could have worked for a few more hours on this but this is how we left Fillmore. With the diff in place(relative place mind you) and the tires back on, the next step is put the tires back on the dollies so I can move the diff to it's final resting place.........hmmm that doesn't sound to good.