I decided to remove the trailing arms for rebuild and have everything unhooked or removed. Got the nuts off of the TA bolts with no problem but they won't budge. Is a sawz-all the only way and if so do you cut the bolts on each side of the TA, I can't get the spacers out either. Should I try to cut through them and the bolt. Has anyone ever tried to press them out some how? Everything went just way to smoothly to this point :mad Another question - If the bolt is frozen to the sleeve, would you not be able to see the bolt head turn as you raise and lower the T/A or is it possible that the rubber in the bushing is what now turns when the TA moves up and down? :crazy:
The TA's are out, not too bad actually. Ended up sawing both sides with the sawzall using a 9" bi-metal blade, with fairly coarse teeth, only used two blades, broke the tip off once when it got dull and used the newer teeth farther up on the blade. Glad I decided to do this, although the bearings still seem fairly tight, three of the 6 u-joints were really stiff and dry(took out the drive shaft too.) Now I'm standing under the car looking at the rear end and thinking, jease, only three bolts and the diff will be on the floor and I can have that gone over too. Somebody slap me, it's no wonder I have twice what the 72 is worth in it.

[Modified by jwbert, 10:22 AM 1/5/2003] :yesnod: :yesnod: :cool:


[Modified by jwbert, 6:29 PM 1/5/2003]

 

I just did a search in "archived items" using the term "trailing arm bolt(s)" and found two articles that seem to have info & solutions for your problem.

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

 

Thanks, 74FLCONV, why didn't I think of that? :crazy:

 

Use a punch with a diameter of the same size of the "nipple" on the TA bolt. Tap the punch with the hammer until it breaks loose enough to pull it through from inside the frame rail. It's how I did mine, worked great, took less than 5 minutes each. First time the TA bolts came out since they were assembled.

:cheers:

 

It depends on how the car was used and stored as to how the bolt may or may not come out. I had no problem removing the bolts from my 72 but there was no rust on the frame at all. The 69 was a differant beast, I had to saw and torch them out. The bolt was completely rust seized in the sleeve.
Good luck,
Gary

 

jwbert,

I removed the trailing arms from my 1980 a few weeks ago. The bolts had rusted to the sleeves, and had to be cut out.

I sprayed the shims with PB Blaster, and after removing the cotter key, I worked the shims out using various sized pry bars. (Those pry bar sets that look like bent screwdrivers).

The outside shim pack (shim pack/trailing arm/shim pack), relative to the frame, was the easiest to remove. The inner shim pack was much move difficult and I spent several hours working the shim pack (back and forth / up and down) until I finally was able to remove them.

Once the shims were removed, I used a sawsall to cut the bolt.

Be sure to keep track of the shim packs you removed from each side of the trailing arm, they will be a good starting point when you put it back together.

I plan to use stainless steel shims when I put mine back together.
---------------------------------------
Cutting through the shims and the bolt seemed to me to too expensive and time consuming. In retrospect, given the time it took to pry out the shim packs, I would first cut through the inside shim pack/bolt (bolt head side).

Once cut, you should be able to push the trailing arm towards the centerline of the car. The outside shim pack should then be easier to remove, and then only the bolt would have to be cut.
----------------------------------------------

Work on the car - Check out the prices of a new C5 - Work on the car - Check out the .........

Good luck. :lol:

 

Your 72 should have the "slotted" shims from the factory as opposed to the double holed shims used up to early 1970. You should be able to pry them out. If the bolts are siezed to the sleeves in the T Arms, I'm afraid you'll have to resort to cutting the bolts out. Some use Sawzall's, some have used burning torches (I've seen frame damage from this). I use a hand held die grinder with a "big hog" cross cut bit. Cut the bolt on both sides of the T arms to get it out. This can be a miserable job that can take you DAYS to do.

Another interesting point: This is the very reason why most if not all alignment shops will not quote you a flat fee for a rear wheel alignment on an old Corvette. Hope this helps. Chuck

 

Chuck
can you post a link to that bit or a picture? I've been looking for a better way to do this job then the sawzall or torch.
Thank you,
Gary

 

I don't have a pic, Gary. I have a hand held die grinder in my air tool collection. You can buy different burrs or bits for the die grinder. I use a straight cross cut bit. The cutting area of the bit is about 2 inches long. It's about 1/4--3/8 in diameter. In the "dental biz", this would be known as a "cross cut fissure burr". I'm a dentist in my real life, so using a drill is a "natural" for me. :) It's easy IMHO. Chuck

 

Thanks Chuck, sounds like a small rotary burr like I have for my die grinder. the ones I have aren't long enough to reach into the frame pocket and get at the bolt. I'll have to check my MSC catalog at work they might just have one.
Gary


[Modified by gtr1999, 11:09 AM 1/5/2003]

 

I've hit on the perfect solution. Pack the pocket with C4, (not the car), install detonator and let her rip from a fair distance, that should remove those friggin bolts. :crazy:

 

John -

Just did this on my '66. The bolts were totally frozen and could not be tapped out. In fact, I tapped enough on the passenger side TA bolt that I fractured the 37 year old fuel line. Be careful - gasoline dripping out on the garage floor is not a fun experience, and I'm not looking forward to the fuel line replacement job.

I bought a cheap ($29) sawz-all at Harbour Freight, then good quality 10" fine tooth metal cutting blades at a hardware store. I removed the spare tire carrier, spring, struts, half shafts, parking brake cable, shocks, calipers, and rotors. I then raised the TAs as high as possible and wired them to the rear crossmember. This gave me enough room to cut from underneath.

Since my shims were not slotted and could not be removed, I had to cut through them as well as the bolts. It really wasn't as bad to do as I had expected - about 30 minutes per side from the time I started cutting.

Good luck with the project.

Mike

 

Thanks to all for your help, got the job done. Mike, that is one beautiful 66. :cheers:

 

I used a come-a-long attached to the frame to yank out the shims. Once the shims were out, it was much easier to cut through the bolt with a sawzall. Either way you do it, always a major PITA.