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Hi all, I have a 71 vert. Had it up on the hoist last week for new tires. So before the rims came off I was checking for play by push/pulling on th retires. Everything seemed tight untill I pulled up on the rear tire ( same motion as checking for loose ball joints on the font, up and down ) when I pull up hard on the bottom of the rear tire there is a hole bunch of play. Probably close to 2 inches! It feels kind of spring loaded, there is resistance. When I looked under the car while the tire guy did the move the play is coming from the trailing arm mount. Where it mounts to the frame, where those alignment shims are. So, my question, should there be any play in that bushing? Is it a bearing of some kind in there? Is it hard to change? Also when I accelerate hard the car leaches all over the road, hard to keep it in a straight line. Is this dew to that play? Pleas help me out with this. Cheers.
Last edited by CVO2FIXUP; May 5, 2015 at 08:08 PM.
So, you are saying that the play comes from the front of the trailing arm. That rubber bushing should be firmly pressfit in the trailing arm and tightly held in the frame by the toein shims and the through bolt, that passes from inside to outside.
Sounds like the toein shims are gone. Look very carefully at the joint there. It should have shims on both sides. They should not be able to be moved unless the through bolt has been loosened.
Pictures would help us to diagnose the problem better.
Good luck.
Oh I forgot to mention, both rear wheels do this. Both trailing arms seem to twist and have that play where they are bolted to the frame. The shims seem to be in there. I guess there should be no play of any kind in there. Is that correct?
Sounds like mine and the trailing arm bushings were shot. The trailing arms need to come out for this repair, and there were several threads on how to do it. Getting the bolt out seems to be the biggest PITA of this, and there is a special tool or two needed.
While you are there, check things like stub shafts, u joints, shocks, yada yada. When you get done, she will be a nice, tight rear end again.
Hi all, I have a 71 vert. Had it up on the hoist last week for new tires. So before the rims came off I was checking for play by push/pulling on th retires. Everything seemed tight untill I pulled up on the rear tire ( same motion as checking for loose ball joints on the font, up and down ) when I pull up hard on the bottom of the rear tire there is a hole bunch of play. Probably close to 2 inches! It feels kind of spring loaded, there is resistance. When I looked under the car while the tire guy did the move the play is coming from the trailing arm mount. Where it mounts to the frame, where those alignment shims are. So, my question, should there be any play in that bushing? Is it a bearing of some kind in there? Is it hard to change? Also when I accelerate hard the car leaches all over the road, hard to keep it in a straight line. Is this dew to that play? Pleas help me out with this. Cheers.
Where the half shafts removed when you did this test. If not then you may have another thing to look at.
The stub yokes in the differential should only move in and out .003 - .008" when new. As the yoke tip's wear you get more movement in and out. Once you get enough wear there is a c-clip on the end of the yoke that will fall off allowing the yoke to come out freely.
To check the yoke play you need to remove the half shalf. But I would guess they are worn more than you would like. If you can move the tire 2" then the yokes must also move in and out.
Here is a picture of a new yoke. I have marked where the C-Clip is installed. The end of the yoke past this c-clip is the tip that wears. Once its worn down enough the c-clip can fall off.
Where the half shafts removed when you did this test. If not then you may have another thing to look at.
The stub yokes in the differential should only move in and out .003 - .008" when new. As the yoke tip's wear you get more movement in and out. Once you get enough wear there is a c-clip on the end of the yoke that will fall off allowing the yoke to come out freely.
To check the yoke play you need to remove the half shalf. But I would guess they are worn more than you would like. If you can move the tire 2" then the yokes must also move in and out.
Here is a picture of a new yoke. I have marked where the C-Clip is installed. The end of the yoke past this c-clip is the tip that wears. Once its worn down enough the c-clip can fall off.
where did you come up with 0.003/ 0.008 as normal movement? I just went through my rear gears with new shafts and 0.004 wear on the center pin and I measured 0.024 movement on one side and 0.031 on the other. just curious, I have never seen a spec like this.
Holly smokes, that is allot of things that could cause this. I wrote everything down and will check one by one.
The car lurches left and right when under hard acceleration. Could this also cause this straight line instability under load?
This adjustment controls rear toe in or toe out. It is the same as the front tie rods being loose or worn (where the front of the car would wander), only it is in the rear.
Control arm question.
