Re: trailing arm bolt removal

[tobyp@xxxx]

Joe - During the tech sessions that I mentioned in my previous post, 
we were at a members' home with a mechanics pit in the garage. The 
cars were sitting over the pit for the removal. A jack was placed at 
the side being worked on, using the underbody jacking point, and the 
car is lifted until the tire just left the floor. This allowed the 
wheel and trailing arm to be manipulated slightly to find the position 
where the bolt becomes unloaded. It can then be tapped or pulled out. 
At most, you will see a slight shifting of the arm, but there should 
be no sudden movements to be concerned about. Keep track of washers, 
shims, etc. The bolts can be inspected or replaced with new bolts, 
placing the washers back into their original positions as the joint is 
reassembled. As noted in other posts, there is some amount of wear on 
the washers, due to movement of components in the joint (a function of 
the "crappy bolt" bending under load). I recommend turning the 
washers to provide a fresh surface against the sleeves in the arm and 
bushing. We found that the bolt will slip back in easier if the car 
is lowered slowly until a small amount of weight is on the wheel. 
This seems to get the holes in both the arm and the rubber bushing to 
line up better. You snug the nut onto the bolt, lower the car to put 
full weight on the wheel, and then perform the final torque.

As I indicated earlier, I will be posting again with details of what I 
have done for myself and a handful of PNDC cars. I was delayed last 
night by urgent maintenance requirements on my wife's Explorer. 

--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Joe Thome" <joethome@xxxx> wrote:
> Hello Fellow List Members,
> 
> Great discussion on trailing arm bolts. Is there any precaution 
which should be followed in the removal of these bolts for inspection 
or replacement? Do you simply get under the car and screw these bolts 
out, or do you have to secure the trailing arms or other parts so that 
they don't suddenly spring out position and do damage to person or 
car?
> 
> Many thanks.
> 
> Joe Thome
> 
> VIN 6467 as of 2/12/01 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]