Re: [DML] Trailing Arm Bolt Removal

[tobyp@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello List - I wanted to make two comments on this thread, so please 
bear with me.  When I decided to commission the first batch of TOBY-
TAB's, somebody put together a poll on this very list to find out 
what the "fleet experience" was with the trailing arm bolts.  In 
round figures, one third of those responding had found bent, 
corroded, or broken TAB's at some point; one third had looked and 
found nothing amiss, but said that they were continuing to inspect 
these joints (this is a good thing, regardless of what type of bolt 
you have); and one third had no idea what we were talking about, and 
didn'y really care.  As I said back then, it's the one third that 
didn't (and still doesn't) have a clue that *really* bothers me.

The second comment is in response to Joe's note - I just thought that 
I would point out that there should be no rotation of the bolt in the 
trailing arm when everything is torqued up.  This is a very common 
misconception of the function of this joint.  All rotation in this 
joint should be in the rubber part of the rubber bushing, with all of 
the individual components in the stack-up stationary relative to one 
another.  There is a tendency in the fleet to find the sleeve in the 
rubber bushing disbonded from the rubber, which then allows the 
rotation to occur between the sleeve and the rubber.  However, the 
design was originally supposed to have all rotation in the rubber 
only.  I just wanted to clarify this point, because this illustrates, 
in part, why there should be weight on the suspension before final 
torqueing of the bolts ... to set the rubber bushing in the rest 
position prior to locking it down through the joint clamp-up.  The 
anti-seize compound is crucial for protecting the steel trailing arm 
and sleeve from further corrosion inside.  However, since the TOBY-
TAB's are made from Inconel, they are impervious to corrosion.  
Okay ... I am done with my lecture for today, although I can very 
easily get wound up about that last one third of the fleet.

Toby Peterson  VIN 2248 "Winged1"
DeLorean Parts Northwest, LLC
www.delorean-parts.com

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Joseph Kuchan" <josephkuchan@xxxx> 
wrote:
> A new trailing arm went in along with Toby TABS with a thin coating 
of antiseize on the smooth part of the bolt that needs to pivot 
inside the trailing arm.









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