Trailing arm

WhiteShadow89158

WhiteShadow89158

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
45
Location
SoCal, CA
So does anyone know a secret to getting the trailing arm bolt out? i'de rather not use heat and the thing wont come out. I thought the cotter pin was goin to give me more trouble.
 
Sawzall, many blades, but the guy who did mine, some 15 years ago, used a blue tip wrench and suffered the fires/fumes of burning rubber....plenty of venting in the shop, I was there when he did it....

:gurney::banghead:

OH, IF you do the torch, watch on fuel/brakes lines, if you have a rust problem, it can be super easy to cause a HUGE fire.....they ride on the foreside of the frame pocket....
 
Have done many, rusted & not rusted, never needed a sawzall. If you have air tools it makes the job a lot easier, if not just use brute force.

I always use an air ratchet to turn the whole bolt w/ castle nut and cotter pin installed. Either the bolt will turn or the cotter pin will snap and the castle nut will come off. Hopefully the bolt starts turning so you know it's not seized or has broken loose.

With a long drift you can tap the nose of the bolt and hammer it inwards a good amount. If you're at that point you should be able to pry the shims out too. When that's done you can simply twist the arm so the bolt is tight through the bushing sleeve, slide the arm inboard, use a screwdriver, crowbar or whatever to hold the bolt behind the head and move the arm outboard, twist and move inboard. This way the bolt comes out really easy. Using the arm to move the bolt out also eliminates the possibility of the arm hanging down and keeping the bolt in place.
 
Twin_Turbo said:
Have done many, rusted & not rusted, never needed a sawzall. If you have air tools it makes the job a lot easier, if not just use brute force.

I always use an air ratchet to turn the whole bolt w/ castle nut and cotter pin installed. Either the bolt will turn or the cotter pin will snap and the castle nut will come off. Hopefully the bolt starts turning so you know it's not seized or has broken loose.

With a long drift you can tap the nose of the bolt and hammer it inwards a good amount. If you're at that point you should be able to pry the shims out too. When that's done you can simply twist the arm so the bolt is tight through the bushing sleeve, slide the arm inboard, use a screwdriver, crowbar or whatever to hold the bolt behind the head and move the arm outboard, twist and move inboard. This way the bolt comes out really easy. Using the arm to move the bolt out also eliminates the possibility of the arm hanging down and keeping the bolt in place.
Click to expand...

ok cool, i already got the nut off and i'm going to pry off the shims now. i'm tryin to drop the whole rear end and this one bolt is holding up my project! haha
 
I seen them use a long bar held at a angle and wack them. Van Steel does it this way. Also seen them cut them. Also, put a 5/8 socket under the arm and frame. This puts the arm at ride height taking the load off of the arm.

Danny
 
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On the first of the two arms I was fighting a battle that I lost... I bought a sawsall and cut right thru the shims and the bolts... you replace these parts anyways so why do it the hard way ? Of course I agree, first check if the bolts move - if they move you're lucky. Mine were like rust welded to the bushing's inner sleeve.
 
Sometimes you have to cut them, one way or another, because the bolt rusts pretty good to the inner bushing sleeve, frozen good....

:ill::banghead:
 
ya my bolts are telling me they want to strip. they havnt yet but i can feel them getting ready to. Sawzall for me, i'm makeing sure to take pics so i'll past them maybe next week when when its done.
 
I broke my sawzaw when trying to get my bolts out. I winding up using a 5" cutting wheel. It took 2 minutes at that point. I had to cut the bolt on both sides of the TA. The bushing had seized to the bolt making it a PITA.

Good Luck
 
I got my nuts off without a problem but, my bushings had seized to the bolts to.
I was able to get my shims out and then cut the bolts with a sawzall. Much quicker and easier to cut just the bolt!
 
Long blade, plenty WD40 and go slo, take the blade in/out of the cut to spread the cutting as much as possible, over as much blade length as you can, make sure you don't let it pull out or you can break the blade on the return stroke....typical sawzall has a ~1/2 inch stroke.....

go slo, if it is allowed to bind, it will vibrate your wrist off, then break the blade....

don't ask.....:hissyfit::cussing:
 
Place a piece of wood (2x4) between the frame and the sawzall bracket... some sawzalls have adjustable stroke. If you don't have a sawzall and if you only need it for this one job get a cheap Chicago Electric saw from Harbor Junk (Harbor Freight)... not necessary to buy a $200 Milwaukee or whatever name brand tool for cutting two bolts....

They sell cutting oil at Lowes, haven't seen this stuff at HomeDepot.... you'll need it... $4.....

Here's some old pics that I took when I removed my trailing arms... it's ugly....

214a53f3db120ff.jpg

.

214a53f3db8c252.jpg

close-up :

214a53f3dc0d2c4.jpg
.
 
Thanks fellas, i'm cutting it tomorrow. i'll load up pics to show the progress. i'm gunna try to break the assembly down and bead blast them also.
 
nice write up. Do you think i would be all set pressing the bushing out? i was just going to replace them with stock ones so i'd rather stay away from the drill.
 
You can remove the stock bushing by simply drilling the flared end of the sleeve and then press the old bushing out.... I think that this end of the trailing arm is very flimsy, you'll see once the bushing and the shell is removed.
 
So i got the whole rear end out yesterday. i have to say thats one of the worst projects i have done haha. i went through 5 blades and it took hours. I got most of it disassembled today anticipating the arrival of the new parts next week. i'm having a problem taking off the shock mount that connects to the control arm. i;ve tried heat and a sledge and it wont budge. is this like the trail. arms where i have to cut the pieces off? i also tried a puller with no luck. anyone have a good technique? i'll try to load up pics this weekend. it cleaned up nice after being pressure washed. :thumbs: :drink:
 
I found an air hammer with a pointed bit works good to get the shock mount drove out without damaging it.
 
I ordered new ones today. i was just going to cut the old ones out at the bushing then knock out the tips. If everything goes to plane it should be painted and installed mid next week. Also what do you guys use for diff. lube?
 
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