LannyL81

Ahhhhh the joys of having a car in Tucson, Arizona....no rust.

My trailing arm bolts came out with just using my fingers. I did put some oil on the shims and they all separated with no problems, again just used fingers.

wcsinx

I was able to wedge a big screwdriver under mine and pry them up. It doesn't take much force to rotate them.

dburgjohn

spraying the shims with oil as you move them up and down with screwdriver or pry-bar will help them come out.

I coated all my new stainless ones with anti-seize before reinstalling.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

I also wedged a 24" larger screwdriver and after spraying with oil, and pb blaster (over the course or 3 days) I bent the screwdriver. I tried using several pry bars but the head was too large. It takes a tremendous amount of force to rotate these since I've been unsuccessful so far. I've even tried hitting the rear with a impact hammer thinking I could raise the front enough to place a pry bar underneath the front lip and it won't budge.
Oil, pb blaster isn't a problem, if I were able to move them up and down, then the rest would be a breeze.

Thanks for your suggestions everyone.

Legacy Stables

I did mine a couple of months ago and had the same problem the outer shims came out with a gallon of penetrating oil and a ruined chisel but nothing i did would make a set of the inner shims come loose.
What was said earlier is true do not cut through the rubber brushing but between the brushing and the shims it should be a very slim shim and may be ready to disintegrate as is is.

when I get home maybe I will post pictures from my night mare.

wcsinx

Sounds like you've got a serious case of rust-welding. Do you have an air chisel? Maybe you could just pry one shim slightly away from the rest and try to lift it independently. You don't have to pull them all out at once. If you can just yank out one of the fat ones, then the others will fall right out.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Yes I do have an air chisel, I used it for so long that it cut right through each individual edge of the shim so there is nothing to grab onto. I knew attempting both at once wouldn't work but I tried anyway with no luck. I tried getting underneath the shim and the chisel just kept jamming. I tried hammering down at the other end thinking it would raise the from with that air chisel and no luck. I even cut both heads.

Just to give you an idea of how frozen they are, I attempted to remove the end bushing to the passenger side that I already removed (from the car) and I still can't get the cut trailing arm bolt out. Even with the t/a on a bench, I had to cut the bushing off with an angle grinder and a really thin 5" blade.

wcsinx

Holy carp that is some rust-welding for ya!

I got nothing else other than well wishings. It sounds like you're taking all the possible angles on the problem. One last thing you might try if all else fails would be to just put a big pry bar in the TA pocket and try to spread it ever so slightly. It wouldn't take much to release the pressure on those shims.

good luck!

MrJlr

California car here......

Z068

Phoenix car here, mine were taken out by hand as well, as a matter of fact; removed every fastener on the car without breaking one. (including the 8 body bolts)

But I still feel your pain.

Steve

mrvette

The guy that did mine used a OxAsceteline (sp?) torch....stunk up the shop pretty good, and you have to watch those fuel lines on either side....the charcoal canister line on the evap /driver's side...and the supply/return on pass side....mainly because of rust holes in the frame opening up the fuel lines to the torch....

but he had them out in like 30 minits....

but the SMELL is something to behold.....:rolley es:

Maymyvetteliveforevr

I cut off the side that has the shims removed, then cut the head of the bolt off then used a pry bar to try and spread them apart with loads of pb blaster added and no luck.
I think there are two main differences here:

1. Florida car vs Canadian car.

2. Car in question has been in storage on blocks for over 20 years without being driven.

I'm the original owner therefore know the whole history. It has around 50,000 original miles but the problem is that if a car sits for many many years things seize up. I also think this car is making me pay dearly for leaving her unattended for all those years. Question is...how long do I have to pay the price.

...Roger...

Forever !

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Well folks I made another attempt and this time I'll show you what I'm up against. First keep in mind I've tried pretty well everthing that has been suggested. Sorry that the pictures may not be in sequence but I'm frustrated and tired. Also keep in mind this car only has 50k original miles.

I've removed the passenger side trailing arm but part of the inner bolt still remains and I can't remove it, even though the head has been cut off.

I've cut off both ends as well as the outer side bolt and the trailing arm still won't come off. I'm using all brand name tools such as Milwalkee, Dewalt, Snap on etc. Blades are Torch ice, and Dewalt 10 tpi, 14tpi and 18tpi. I've well lubricated with oil, pb blaster etc. I haven't missed a thing.

The shims won't budge and the other side I actually sheared off.







I think I may have cut through the shims so I thought I would work on the strut rod cam bolt and even after I've broke the head I still can't get it off, even with an impact hammer.
Before

After
I've tried using a impact chisel, in every direction, even trying to get inbetween every point and no luck.

noonie

Whenever I run into severely rusted things like this, as a last resort, I use an oxy/acet torch, heat as small an area directly as possible to red hot and then immediately chill with cold water. That always works for me.
The key is to not go wild with the torch and protect the surrounding area. You can use a no 2 or 4 brazing tip instead of a rosebud.

On the strut bolts, easiest to just cut them off on the inside of the brakets with the sawzall or angle grinder and cut disc.

wcsinx

I bet if you just put a chisel on that little nub of bolt shaft left on the pass. side and gave it a whack or 2, it would fall out. There's no pressure on it now ... just rust. On the driver's side, you're going to have to cut through the shims to release the pressure on the bushing sleeve. I don't think you've got any way around that.

Good luck! Those picture sure do bring back some (painful) memories.

Maymyvetteliveforevr

Using the chisel as suggested didn't even make it budge. I used the impact and it still didn't make a difference.


I ended up cutting the strut bolt as well as both rear shock mounts. The shock mounts were pretty well welded to the trailing arm. Even after I cut the shock mount in two places it still wouldn't come off. I had to cut it a third time and use the impact hammer and it still took me some time.

Now onto removing the U-Joint and I can already tell there going to be a major pain in the *** also.

Clams Canino

Agreed. Rebuilding the rear suspension on my Vette was the single nastiest automotive job I ever did.

-W

tompands

It sounds to me like there is tons of experience here on this thread with rebuilding rear ends. I'm just starting to do mine. Got everything out but them dam bolts. After reading about them and the fun you guys have had with them, I cleaned up my tools,washed my hands and closed the garage door. That will be another day. Unless you all would like to come to sunny Florida and take them out for me? I'll buy the brew.