BEJ

Hi all,

I am on the fence with a decision and thought it best to seek the collective wisdom of the forum. I have been slowly moving through each system on my car and have gotten down to suspension and paint. This past weekend I removed the trailing arms so that I could replace the bushings. The rear end was all over the place and I figured that the bushings were shot. In addition to the bushings, I intend to replace the parking brake shoes and hardware as what was there is rusted in place.

I pulled the TAs, so much easier than I expected after all of the horror stories I have heard, but now, I'm reconsidering. I am thinking that, since the TAs are off, and I have no idea about the history of this car before I bought it, maybe it would be wise to go ahead and have them completely rebuilt so that I know that the bearings are good to go.

The thing that gives me pause is, the rivets in the discs had been drilled out, and the ease with which the TAs came out. Makes me wonder if they have been out before. As the bushings look original and are completely shot, what other reason would the TAs have been out for if not to replace the bearings? Of course, since the car has 146K miles, god only knows when/if they were done.

So, what say you?

Thanks,
Bryan

Revi

Original trailing arms start rusting from the inside out, they typically start bubbling on the weld seam right under the bearing. Unless yours are mint replace them too.

Since the car is apart, put in fresh trailing arms/bearings and be done with it.

Faster Rat

I can't think of a better time to apply the "while I'm at it" rule. Check out the diff yokes for end play.

BEJ

I am inclined to agree with you. God knows I have gotten bit by the While I'm at its at significantly less appropriate times. The diff is good. I had to replace the original as it was worn beyond being re-buildable.

twinpack

I recently completed this task on my 68. I did get advice and guidance from Gary R. I also was able to borrow the tools from a forum member. This was a huge help. I really only used the knocker to remove the spindles and had Gary R. set yhe bearings. I reconditioned all the parts and reassembled. Way to go.
You can check my thread "silent restorer" for reference.