Q & A on trailing arm bolt replacement

["Walter" <Whalt@xxxx>]

I have noticed on two cars now that the smaller washers on the trailing arm
bolts get crushed a little by the sleeve that runs through the rubber
bushing. Personally, I don't think this is a good thing to have happen. It
looks like any compression or wear in this spot will allow the trailing arm
bolts to loosen over time. On a parts car today I just took the trailing
arm bolt loose from one side and started playing this the rubber bushing.
The rubber was old-looking and the sleeve was off-center, so I pushed the
sleeve out by hand using the TA bolt for a better reach. Once out, I
noticed that the sleeve was a bit crushed on one end from being tightened
against the smaller washer. It also looked oval shaped on the end. So what
is the deal here? I don't like seeing this amount of crushing. Do the new
T/A bushings sold by the vendors use a stronger steel sleeve? I talked with
Rob Grady about replacing the smaller washers. Since there are two on each
side, he suggested just swapping them around to let a different washer take
the pressure. He said that it would probably be too expensive to have new
harder washers made up for the small demand that there would be for them.

Since this is a real safety concern y'all make sure all of these questions
get answered on the list. So often a question gets asked that no one knows
the answer for. But these questions should be answered:

1) Are the sleeves in the TA bushings sold by the vendors made of the same
soft crushable metal as the OEM sleeves?

2) Considering that the washers and sleeves both crush and wear over time,
would it be prudent to periodically re-torque the TA bolts? If so, at what
intervals?

3) Is it better to swap (or replace) the washers to provide an un-worn
surface or would it be just as well to put the washers back exactly as they
were? Since the washer is already crushed/worn, maybe this has compressed
the metal enough that it won't crush any more? I'm not a metalurgist (yet).

4) I ordered new T/A bolts. One came with a lock washer and one did not.
The original configuration on DeLoreans according to the parts manual does
not use lock washers. Should I or should I not use lock washers on them?
I'm thinking no.

5) If I use a lock washer, where should it go?

6) The trailing arm bushing is held to the frame using two bolts. On my
automatic transmission car the rear bolts have jamb nuts, the fronts don't.
The OEM bolts on the front are too short for jamb nuts anyway. On my manual
transmission parts car, all the bolts have jamb nuts. This may be being too
particular, but has anyone had any success fitting jamb nuts on the front
T/A bushing bolts on a car with an automatic transmission? I don't see how
this is possible without first removing the transmission.

7) For the record, can someone say what the recommended torque is for the
trailing arm bolts and also for the torque on the optional jamb nut?
According to the service bulletin manual the torque is 55 ft-lbs. Has this
since been revised? If I remember correctly, DMC Joe said to torque the
bolt to 60 ft-lbs and the jamb nut to 55 ft-lbs. Is this still the current
dogma?

8) For those of you who don't know, the jamb nut on the T/A bolt is an after
thought, and as far as I know, no cars left the factory with them. Is this
true?

9) Should a lock washer be used under the jamb nut?

10) If anyone has any advice on how to replace the driver's side T/A bolt on
an automatic transmission car then please let me know. According to Rob
Grady, the way it is done is by taking the trailing arm loose from the hub
carrier. This involves taking the brake line loose. Otherwise you have to
drop the transmission, and this is a lot more work.

Walt Tampa, FL