I had a bad feeling while driving to the alignment shop last Wednesday and the fact that the trailing arms have never been off this car in the 26 yr I've owned it. In fact it is the only thing that hasn't been off this car. My gut feeling got worse when I got there and the guy said "I hate doing these cars" referring to 4 wheel alignment on an old car.

They came highly recommended so I shut my mouth and stayed. Unlike the previous 2 alignments years earlier at brand X it was going to be evident that they were really going to try to get this dead on. Probably had something to do with the fact that I had that piece of paper with the alignment specs you guys gave me and the fact that I turn my own wrenches. After 1.5 hr on the lift they asked me to come out to the bay to show me something. Yep. Trailing arm shims. "Gotta pull em". So much for an alignment today.

I have NCRS Corvette Restorer from 1986 thru 2006 but can't find my index edition. I tried google to find it but no luck. Without looking through 20 yr of Restorer does anybody know which one would have an article for bushing replacement?

Also is there any reason NOT to use poly bushings?

As always I appreciate the help.

 

Poly bushings are good, they don't flex as much so they are stiffer, they last a long time but the negative is they usually squeak.
Maybe another member can offer specific trailing arm tips.

 

You mention bushings in the title but then say the shop said they had to pull the shims? If they are the factory shims that don't have the slot then all they'll have to do is remove the bolts, move shims around as needed to adjust the rear toe. Or did you mean to write they showed you that the bushings were definitely wasted and there was a lot of movement in the trailing arms?
Mike T.

 

Sorry. Maybe both. I'm very sure the shims or bushings have never been pulled out on this car. I know for fact they haven't since 1986. When they were showing me that the thin shim needed to switch from one side of the trailing arm to the other it was rusted enough to fall off with little effort.

It only makes sense that if the original rubber bushings have never been replaced that there would be a fairly good chance of some play which would throw alignment off. The car handles good. I'm only concerned with tire wear.

Has anyone ever heard of the pivot bolt failing? I know there is not a lot of stress on it but rust and time can do things. Just something that happens when you drive a car beyond what was ever intended.

 

I've been going through a compete rear end rebuilt on my 65. It all started when I discovered that the floor immediately above the pinion bearing seal was cracked completely around the hump. Previous owner/owners apparently neglected to address the leaking seal for many years. Oil eats through fiberglass over time. One thing led to another and the every part of the rear end came out. And, darn near every part of the rear end that can wear out was worn out.

26 years is a long time on a set of rubber bushings. And, if your car is a driver with some typical rust in the trailing arm mounting areas of the frame, I'd recommend a new set of shims so it'll go back together much easier. My car is not a show quality car and I intend to drive it a lot more, so I went with the poly bushings. NCRS guys take points off for them. If you use them, lube them up heavily with the special lube you can buy with them. That'll prevent the squeaking. They'll give you a nice responsive ride. You'll need to drill the flared end out to remove them and it's a big job requiring a good set of pullers and some good at-home ingenuity. If you do pull them, look at the metal cups as well. If you remove those, measure the width of the arm (~1.2") and clamp it before driving a chisel between the cups. They bend pretty easily.

I had a tough time finding anyone to work on these (even in So Cal) and the ones who were willing, we're cheap. I opted to do the job myself. You might also consider the complete refurb through CC, but that's expensive too.

 

This is not a good application for poly bushings due to the suspension travel and 3 axis travel geometry of these cars. Stick with rubber, search the archives, should be plenty in there on this topic, for a starter.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...ntegrated.html

 

I agree, get yourself a set of the slotted shims in SS and head back to the shop with them, have them pull out the bolt and start fresh with all new shims. Also, they will need to drill a hole in the frame for the cotter pin. What condition are the T-Arm bushings in??? If your shims are rusted out, you may want to replace the bushings before aligning. Also check the strut rod bushings as well. They effect the Camber adjustment and if worn, it will be hard to get the alignment to stay put. Pilot Dan

 

I've got bushings and SS shims on the way from Ecklers. Six months ago everything behind the trans was out of the car. It was time to do a 100,000 mile maintenance check since the diff. was coming out anyway. Was quite pleased with U Joint wear - 1 out of 6 replaced and it was barely rough. Always used synthetic lube.

Spindle end play still well within specs.

Sure wish I would have done trailing arm bushings then.

 

It's nice to be pleasantly surprised now and then. My U-joints were also in re-useable shape. The hypoid and pinions were also in great shape despite the appearance that the diff oil had never been changed - not surprising with no drain plug. I'm sticking with the poly bushings though...can always swap them out if I don't like them. The job wasn't that bad.

Good luck.

 

Did you buy the tool (press) to install the bushings?

The bushings need to be compressed then , the tool flairs the center sleeve. Can't be done correctly without it.