Rear Spinle Carrier Removal
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 448
From: Loir Valley Sarthe, France
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Rear Spinle Carrier Removal
Hi - Probably a daft question, so apologies in advance! Some years ago now we replaced both bearing assemblies on the rear of our '78. Now, we did so by removing the complete assembly and replacing it with a fully built and set-up unit. That meant we had to have removed the "whole" from the trailing arm, but I know that the spindle remained in place for removal. (Re-assembly was easier as the spindle was inserted after assembly) But - I have no recollection of how we did it !
I can't get access to the car at the moment to see if the nuts that hold the carrier to the control arm are accessible with the spindle in place.
Can anyone enlighten me? I ask as I'm considering new trailing arms, but alas, the budget doesn't run to the Full Monty (Van Steal etc) so I'll need to put all "our" stuff on the new arms... I just need to be sure I can do it!
Thanks!
I can't get access to the car at the moment to see if the nuts that hold the carrier to the control arm are accessible with the spindle in place.
Can anyone enlighten me? I ask as I'm considering new trailing arms, but alas, the budget doesn't run to the Full Monty (Van Steal etc) so I'll need to put all "our" stuff on the new arms... I just need to be sure I can do it!
Thanks!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,380
Likes: 6,391
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
It's not likely that you pulled the spindle out by itself - it is pressed into the bearing in the hub, and the bearing clearance cannot be set up without the spindle installed. It's more likely that you pulled the entire hub/spindle/bearing assembly out of the trailing arm, which is very easy to do - it's bolted into the arm with 4 nuts on studs. You just pull the half shafts out, remove the brake caliper and parking brake cable, remove the 4 nuts, and pop the entire assembly out of the arm. It looks like this:
This is actually a stock spindle/hub assembly installed in an aftermarket trailing arm, but the installation is the same as stock:
I have re-installed 2 of the 4 bolts that hold the assembly into the trailing arm just to hold everything together - they are the 2 silver bolts you can see. Those 4 bolts are all the hold the entire unit into the arms:
This is actually a stock spindle/hub assembly installed in an aftermarket trailing arm, but the installation is the same as stock:
I have re-installed 2 of the 4 bolts that hold the assembly into the trailing arm just to hold everything together - they are the 2 silver bolts you can see. Those 4 bolts are all the hold the entire unit into the arms:
Last edited by lars; Dec 3, 2016 at 02:17 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 448
From: Loir Valley Sarthe, France
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Thanks Lars, that's exactly what I needed to know.
I felt that the whole thing had to have come out because, as you say, it's not possible to easily remove the spindle, and I recall struggling with it (in the absence of a press) with the assembly out of the car. I just recall how I did it!
(must be an age thing!)
Just one question; Can I get to those nuts with the parking brake shoes in place? When it all went back in, the spindle was out, so I assembled the brake shoes before that covered everything.
At least I know now that I can think seriously about ordering bare trailing arms and associated bolts, shims etc.
Thanks!
I felt that the whole thing had to have come out because, as you say, it's not possible to easily remove the spindle, and I recall struggling with it (in the absence of a press) with the assembly out of the car. I just recall how I did it!
(must be an age thing!) Just one question; Can I get to those nuts with the parking brake shoes in place? When it all went back in, the spindle was out, so I assembled the brake shoes before that covered everything.
At least I know now that I can think seriously about ordering bare trailing arms and associated bolts, shims etc.
Thanks!
Last edited by Stephen Irons; Dec 4, 2016 at 11:39 AM.
