Very useful post. Canadian follower I see......

 

Dave,
My '74 needed the TAs reconditioned, and I was able to get the bolts out without cutting them. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, but they came out. I loosened the nut, then put a long half inch socket extension on the end of the bolt and hit it with a hammer. When it would go no further, I loosened the nut a bit more and repeated the process.

After the bolts came out, I wire brushed them and they looked almost as good as new, so I re-used them. Inserting them was another story, but for the record, I used some high tensile fishing line, looped it through the hole in the end of the TA bolt, and tied the other end to a piece of welding wire. I inserted the wire through the outer bracket, bushings, TA, shims and the inner bracket and with a bit of wriggling of the TA, I was able to pull the bolt through.

And all of the installation was done just over a week after a bilateral inguinal hernia operation, so believe me, I was not straining too hard. It was all done lying on a creeper under the car that was up on stands. The hardest part was getting from a standing position on to and off the creeper. That hurt some!

If it's not too late, you might want to try this method. Good luck, and don't be afraid to come back if you have any more questions, we're not all grumpy.

Regards from Down Under.

aussiejohn

 

had heard of the fishing line trick before .it sounds like a good idea.but what i did was use a pair of needle nose vise grips .it was tricky but did work.if i ever do one of these cars again i may try the fishing line .

 

AussieJohn...Thanks for the post, I just pulled out all of my rear end components and I'm waiting on my trailing arms to be re-built. I was pondering on how to get that dang bolt back through there. I also appreciate your "non-grumpy" reply! Be safe and Merry Christmas to all.