I haven't posted anything here in c3 yet, but i added an 81 in "alright" shape to my garage to keep my 07z company. I've been slowly fixing the neglect from the last owner over the last few months, but spirits went downhill two weeks ago when I found a rear wheel bearing with lots of play and noise. everything is already old in the rear end, and although i have many tools and do all work myself, I don't have the tools or skill to replace rear bearings myself. I've decided to just bite the bullet and replace both rear trailing arms while I have it torn apart. I already have new camber arms and spring cushions from willcox sitting in the garage waiting to go in, and from the looks of things, all the u-joints and shocks have been replaced in the last decade.

My question for you gentlemen is: Which arms wont break the bank? I've bought all parts so far from willcox, but we are talking under a grand total. nothing major. I've looked at all the most popular parts guys, but do NOT want to spend 800+ on a single arm. I found some on that popular auction site for a few hundred plus the core and those came with e brake hardware and name brand bearings. I kinda got pissed after all my research and haven't touched the car in two weeks, and haven't looked further for arms. Just wondering if I've missed somewhere that will sell rebuilt t-arms with decent quality without breaking my bank. I only paid 4500 for the whole car, so I'm alright so far. but i really hope this is the last of the major stuff that needs replaced. I've done full brakes, front suspension, lots of wiring and vacuum fixes, new tires and alignment and about a week of cleaning and detailing.

Sorry this turned out so long. I'm fairly young at 28, and the c3 is what made me interested in everything and anything cars when i was younger. This my third vette, and I cant wait till its on the road again without the crunchy sound of gravel in the hub. Thanks.

Dave


A few Pics after lotssssss of polishing and waxing

 

Contact tracdogg2 here on the forum. He can give you a quote to rebuild your arms. He uses the best parts and his attention to detail is impeccable. By the way the cars look awesome!

 

What he said. If your present Trailing Arms are in decent shape, having them rebuilt is the cheapest solution if you don't/can't do the work yourself. Be forewarned though, with some cars getting the T.A. to release from the frame can be a real bear. Many guys on this forum can attest to that. Hopefully yours will be okay.

Nice score on the '81 for only $4500.00. However, everyone here will tell you that it's not unusual to spend at least that amount (if not more) to make the car "acceptable" again. How much you spend depends on how what your level of "acceptable" is.

By the way, your Vettes look very fine, but I'm still partical to the C3.

Good luck with '81. You've entered a brave new world.

 

Nice looking '81!
I just went through this on my '75 convertible that I bought last fall. While cleaning things up in the back and replacing bushings, etc., I found a mouse had taken up residence in one of the trailing arms at one time, and it had rusted a hole through the arm. I did a lot of research and bought from this ebay seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CORVETTE-TRA...29add1&vxp=mtr

Since I had a bad arm housing, the core charge came into play more, and the charges varied widely between vendors. I was happy with his core rates, and to top it off, he has the free shipping (maybe $70?). I am also dropping my cores off next month when I happen to be passing by his place on a trip, so no return shipping for me. The cost for both arms will be $598, and I'll pay an additional $50 for the bad arm housing. I checked him out behind the scenes through the forum, so I'm comfortable with his work.
You would have to drill the rivets off your rotors if they haven't been off, and check them for the proper runout when you re-install them on the new arms.

Rich

 

Thanks for the replies guys. i hadn't been on in a week because i was still being all pouty about this thing going out, ha. I finally had a weekend with some free morning time so I spent some time under the car. Im not sure how i did it without cutting, but i finally got that t-arm out from from the frame. All of the preceding disassemble was pretty straight forward. I had to drop the leaf spring to get access to the adjusting bolts on the camber arms since i replaced those too. wasn't near as bad as i thought. Either way, i somehow managed to just pound the t-arm frame pivot bolt out of there. lots of wd-40 and she eventually came out. i didn't realize that there would be so many shims and that was the one thing i didn't take a reference pic of before i removed. only bad thing was that after i removed the ebrake cable and had detached the half shaft and removed the frame bolt, i removed my t-arm jack stand to give me some pulling room to get the arm out. when it finally released, i dropped the entire arm right only my big toe, through my thin shoes. ha toe nail is a nice blue/black now an hour later. oh well.

couple questions:

how the crap do i get this rotor off the hub? it seems..... very attached. should i send it off like this?

how should the shims go back in? is each car different? i have three thick ones and prob 4 or 5 thin ones.

I havent contacted traccdog yet, nor the other ebay vender. Im going to compare prices when i get ahold of them, and get some shipping info, and go from there. I also decided that even though the other arm is just as old... that this job was toooooo much of a pain in my a to do the other one just because im in there. i checked it extensively for play, and it seems perfect. I think its going to be one of those parts that when it eventually goes bad, then ill fix. im not sure how long ill own this car, so maybe it wont be my headache.

Thanks for all the help guys. love the forum and all the info, and thanks in advance for the next round of answers

Dave

 

Hi Dave. There are 5 factory rivets holding the rotor to the hub that will have to be drilled out (If you are keeping your rotors, like I did). If you do a search here there are a couple of good threads on here you can follow.
Whether you re-use your shims, or buy new, since you didn't bundle and tag them- I'd just center the T.A. in the pocket with an equal number of shims on each side. Make them snug, not loose. You will need to get the rear toe-in (alignment) done to get it true, or you can search here on how to do it yourself.
I'm sure most guys on here would recommend doing both trailing arms now, but that's your call.

Rich

 

I just rebuilt my trailing arms. They're really not that hard - if you can do front wheel bearings; then the rears are not that hard. With that said, I did buy the bearing tool (the one that allows you to set up the rear bearings without a press) - that tool was indispensable for the rebuilt.

I think I even posted highlights of that rebuild on here... if not, PM me for the forum where I did post it.

 

It seems that all rivets have already been drilled out on all four rotors. i looked up pictures and threads and mine already have the drill holes, but they still wont separate. ill soak it in some pb i suppose.

I've been reading a lot about runout. ill admit that is one thing I've never heard of. i didn't get a real answer to what it is while I've been reading, but I've gathered that its rotational difference between the rotor and the hub? I've done a lot of brake jobs (much newer cars) and really never came across this. how important is this? i can only assume that unaware brake techs and the do it at home mechs have also been unaware and have been slapping new rotors (or the same in a different position) for years without issues.. what effect does this have?
And as to doing both arms at the same time.. even id recommend myself doing that, Ha!. i think that ima have to just go against my instinct this once and not disassemble the other side. as far as the alignment, i plan on getting the rear done (front was done the week before i found issues with the rear) the day after i have this all put back together. if i just center the t-arm in the frame with the shims, can the toe-in still be adjusted while being aligned, or with the pivot have to be re shimmed in a different config?

thanks for helping with all these newbie questions. i have done lots and lots of research on this stuff, and the stuff im asking about are the things i still havent run across.

 

If i was going to be doing this job often, i might buy the tools. from everything ive read, after buying the tools and the stuff necessary, it comes out to around the same as having them rebuilt by someone that will absolutely do it the correct. I dont think i have EVER read so much of "this is one of those jobs thats best left to a professional" in this forum or any forum as i have when it comes to the rear bearings on these dumb arms. thanks for your reply tho, buick

 

One of my rotors still had to be popped pretty good with a mini-sledge to get it off.
Runout is more crucial with these cars because of the fixed caliper design. With 4 pistons on each, a lot of runout can cause cavitation and give you brake problems. I bought a dial indicator and found one was within spec, and the other side I had to re-orient the rotor on the hub and got lucky, making that one within spec. As a side note, I needed to replace the entire brake system, so I bought the stainless steel sleeved "o-ring" calipers, which aren't as prone to the cavitation problem as the calipers with the regular lip seals.
All I've ever done on "normal" vehicles is slap rotors on and go, but after doing research on the subject, I've found a few people that have said it's worth the few minutes to do it on their daily drivers becuase they have found it can be way out of spec. I suppose I might do it on our minivan next time just out of curiosity if nothing else.

 

thats very good info midshark.. yeah I've always just thrown new rotors on all vehicles and never thought any more about it. i go through cars a lot though and dont keep many for more than a year or two (with exception to my vettes) but ill have to get a gauge and check this. mine still has stock calipers. theyre ugly but they work fine. After i posted this morning, i went to work on that arm with a bfrm (bf rubber malet) and finally got it to separate from the hub, (with lots of wd40). I marked its position on the hub so if i get this exact arm back from being rebuilt, ill know how it goes. if i get another arm, then ill guess ill have to start from the beginning with the runout thing. im gonna change out the diff fluid right now then bolt the leaf spring back up. now i just need to worry about getting this arm out of here...

 

I just did the trialing arms in my 72 and I decided it would be easier to just purchase them already done. I even bought the special tools to do the job myself but in the end it was just easier to buy them completed. Unfortunately I didnt use a sponser from this site but one from another site I belong to. I was given the choice of having the trailing arms come with rotors already installed which I chose to do. I even had the option to use rotors made in the USA which I also did. They came riveted on! The whole job was not bad with the exception of cutting the bolts out of the frame. Even that wasnt that bad since this forum has many recommendations on which blades work the best. Should you need a name for a vendor you can PM me since its not a supporting site vendor but i am sure the names you have been given will be just as good.
Best of Luck
Rodney

 

pm'ed