Just got my trailing arms back from being rebuilt and was trying to put them back in tonight. How in the world do you get the bolt back thru the frame and the t/a???? I can't even reach in to get the bolt started.
Try tieing a piece of fishing line to the threads of the bolt. Fish it through the hole and let the line help you guide it through by pulling, wiggling, pushing, and swearing.
Tried the fishing line, got the bolt started thru the frame but keep brakeing the line . Just to tight with the line on to pull thru the t/a.Quess just need a few more choice words.
The string method works for me but I always have someone help me.One guy wiggles and moves the arm while the other fishes the bolt thru the arm. Definatly easier with 2 people
Use 50lb test line. Fish the line thru all of the holes with the trailing arm resting near its location. Slide the bolt into the frame area. Pull the bolt up to and "just" into the starting hole. Place the trailing arm in position and pull the line(don't have any shims in place). You will have to "wiggle" the arm up & down/in & out to get the bolt to go into the next hole. But once the bolt starts, pull it thru!
Good luck!
Put my T-arms in 3 weeks ago using the fish-line method. Worked great. Used a 20 lb test line. Since the hole in body of the car wants cut the line there is a balance between too big and too light.for the line you use. I used a 2 inch loop thru the cotter pin hole and about a 3 foot total length. My wife pulled softly while I moved the arm in place. Done in 60 sceonds. Try again it works well.
Ok, I used the fishing line trick and another set of hands and like you said the bolt went thru pretty easy. Now Iam having trouble getting all of the shims back in. I purchased new stainless steel shims. Is there a trick to this or do I just have to try and hammer the last shim in????
Yes, I usually have to lightly tap the last one in until it can fall into the trough. I put the thin ones in first so the thick one gets tapped on. Or, you could just give them to the alignment shop and have them deal with it. You will want an alignment anyway.
When I replaced the trailing arms about 1 year ago, I got some advice from a profesional corvette restoration shop. I was told to measure the distance from the trailing arm to the outside of the frame pocket on both sides before removing the arms. re-installing was easy becauase all I had to worry about was that distace. When I got the alignment checked, it was perfect.
When I replaced the trailing arms about 1 year ago, I got some advice from a profesional corvette restoration shop. I was told to measure the distance from the trailing arm to the outside of the frame pocket on both sides before removing the arms. re-installing was easy becauase all I had to worry about was that distace. When I got the alignment checked, it was perfect.
I think you got lucky. There's no guarantee that the relative angle between the pivot point of the trailing arm and the rear wheel spindle are identical. If they are, you're OK, if not you have to realign. In any case, you need to verify it on an alignment rack.
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