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Is there anyway of evaluating the condition of the trailing arm bushings short of removing them from the car... which seems like a gigantic pain worth avoiding if possible. I have read that you have to sawzall though shims and the bolts
Is there anyway of evaluating the condition of the trailing arm bushings short of removing them from the car... which seems like a gigantic pain worth avoiding if possible. I have read that you have to sawzall though shims and the bolts
The front suspension is completely rebuilt. I am pleased with the results.
The rear, at this point, has only new shocks.
The rear feels vague.
I plan to replace the strut rods with adjustable ones. The rubber looks a bit squished.
The rear spring has one leaf that seems broken. I will be replacing it with a fiberglass one to match the stiffer front coils.
Peering in the pockets of the trailing arms, they look clean. One shim flops around a tick loosely.
It will be in the same condition as the front was.
Your into u joints and a spring. Just be done with it.
If the rear needs work, you can do that next year. Just finish the drive train and suspension.
DONE is a great word on these cars.
If the car was driven often in all kinds of weather, have the sawzall handy! Mine was a high mileage California car (dry climate, but was also driven quite a bit in wet Washington) and they came out easy, as did my body mount bolts. I also got lucky on birdcage rot.
I was able to just unbolt my trailing arms and slide them out, and I don't believe they'd been touched since they left the factory - if the underside of the car is clean and rust free then it may be not so bad. On the other hand, if it's not then you can be extra sure that they'll need the bushings replaced...
Perished for sure. I can see the dry cracks. Hm. That looks weird. In the strut connection to bracket under carrier. I may luck out here. That inner TA bolt looks pretty clean.
I'll almost guarantee you those awful looking strut rod bushings are the source of all or most of the "vagueness" you mentioned. They carry 90% of the load while turning and lateral movement there is not wanted. Do those first and you may be done. If it still remains "vague" then go for the trailing arm bushings.
Last edited by leigh1322; Dec 28, 2019 at 10:17 PM.
Maybe you will be lucky and the bolt holding the front of the TA will come out easily. The sawzall you mentioned is what is needed if you can not get the bolt out. I had to saw the bolts out on my 68 convert, but maybe you will luck out.
I'll almost guarantee you those awful looking strut rod bushings are the source of all or most of the "vagueness" you mentioned. They carry 90% of the load while turning and lateral movement there is not wanted. Do those first and you may be done. If it still remains "vague" then go for the trailing arm bushings.
Exactly! Do the heim-jointed strut rods, and re-check the alignment (slight toe-in, and proper camber, which you can do yourself), and you may be all set. If you can get them out now, replace the shims with stainless shims.
FWIW, I couldn't get the shock bolts out of the trailing arms without removing the arms from the car, so my strut rod replacement quickly escalated to a complete rear-end rebuild. But yours may not have to!
Welp, I got lucky with one trailing arm that came out without much of a fight... The other is still in there and I suspect will require a sawzall.
I think we can safely say that the rods were not doing their job, at all. I could not get the rods off of the TA, but I do suspect that side is every inch as bad.
Last edited by DorianC3; Dec 29, 2019 at 11:27 AM.
Exactly! Do the heim-jointed strut rods, and re-check the alignment (slight toe-in, and proper camber, which you can do yourself), and you may be all set. If you can get them out now, replace the shims with stainless shims.
FWIW, I couldn't get the shock bolts out of the trailing arms without removing the arms from the car, so my strut rod replacement quickly escalated to a complete rear-end rebuild. But yours may not have to!
Are those really worth it ? The rods with him joints, that is.
Also found a dust shield with issues...
At this point I think I may opt to farm this out for a rebuild. Those Vtech folks look pretty competitive. Do you fellas have "go-to" rebuilders ?
Last edited by DorianC3; Dec 29, 2019 at 11:26 AM.
Are those really worth it ? The rods with him joints, that is.
Also found a dust shield with issues...
At this point I think I may opt to farm this out for a rebuild. Those Vtech folks look pretty competitive. Do you fellas have "go-to" rebuilders ?
Gary/ GTR1999. He is the best, some are cheaper/not as good.
Considering shipping, maybe buy the parts and tools.
Best to just do it all and be done with it.
Once is usually enough. Most pamper/baby/don't drive them that much, so a rebuild lasts the life of the car.
The 81 has 25,000 miles since I rebuilt the chasis. That is 15 years ago or so.
Are those really worth it ? The rods with heim joints, that is.
Also found a dust shield with issues...
At this point I think I may opt to farm this out for a rebuild. Those Vtech folks look pretty competitive. Do you fellas have "go-to" rebuilders ?
The heim jointed strut rods are absolutely worth it. The car was much more planted after the rear end was rebuilt.
After cutting both trailing arms out, I sent them to Bair's in PA, along with the half-shafts. They did a fine job. Were I to do it again, I'd have done the brakes myself, and not riveted the rotors onto the hubs, but rather screwed them on with runout shims per @GTR1999's method. That might save you some money in shipping, too, if you don't have to send a pair of rotors across the pond.
Here's an after photo, minus the sway bar (the mounts are there, though). The trailing arm bushings, which Bair's pressed into place, are the only rubber bushings left on the car.
Having read multiple other threads, it seems that I have no choice but to purchase a sawzall and some decent blades.
My shims are not the slotted type, so I will have to cut through them too. I do NOT look forward to this task. From what I read, it can take several hours and as many blades. Eight inch blades seems to be the most appropriate.
Trailing arm bushing evaluation
From what I read, it can take several hours and as many blades. 
Eight inch blades seems to be the most appropriate.