Write That Down In My Handy-Dandy Notebook

07/30/2025

With the excitement of carpet on the way, it got me thinking about all the actual *mechanical* things that need done on Emma.

I suppose I need to stop investing in cosmetic improvements and drop a few bucks on making the car run better.

I got under her today to look at the rear differential – since that’s one piece I haven’t maintenance’d yet – and couldn’t help but notice a couple of things:

The rear differential does not have, like most modern cars, a removable panel which gives access to the pumpkin – it has a drop-out 3rd member
- This requires removal of the drive shaft to service completely
- Or use a pump to remove the current fluid via the fill hole, and replace
- However, Emma’s ‘pumpkin’ seems to be silicone’d closed. Sigh. (Image 1)
My leaf springs are basically flat in a resting state – indicating that, while my rear shocks are sexy and relatively new, the leaf springs are likely original (Image 2)

Image 1: It’s slightly difficult to tell in this photo, but around the edges of the member at the middle of this photo, there is very thick bead of silicone leaking out of the where the two pieces meet. Notice that at about 9:00, the drive shaft meets the third member directly. There is no way to access the inside of the rear differential without removing the drive shaft first

Image 2: The leaf spring, of which there are one on each side, run across the center of this photo. They should have a noticeable U shape to them, propping the rear of the car higher. Notice, however, at about 11:00 in the photo, the rear shock and how obviously modern it is

Another thing I noticed today – Emma not only has disc brakes, she has POWER disc brakes (Image 3). That changes a lot about my concerns about the brake pedal level (too low). More on that in future blogs.

Image 3: Top center of the photo is the power brake booster – a late addition by the PO

To-Do For Emma

Yikes. So… if you want to donate….

I’ll update this list periodically as time goes on! It’s nice to finally get it all down on paper.

Also – special thanks to CJ Pony Parts for adding me to their affiliate program. I don’t quite know what that means, but I’m happy to be part of the CJ family.

Brian Kerven