So it's been a process this year, between my wheel bearing, and trailing arm bolt being stripped and completely loose.

I'm thinking the mechanic I had to the original alignment did not put a cotter pin into the bolt/castle nut, and it's worked its way loose and now is completely pooched. I was able to add a couple washers and get it snug enough to get my alignment done, but I think I'd feel more comfortable if I just change the damn thing.

Has anyone else run into this? It's a little scary the passenger side they had apart to work on my e brake and that bearing was loose, and the trailing arm bolt is now stripped. I'd take it back there and ream them, but I'll just go somewhere else from now on.

 

Trailing arm bolt ?
Wheel bearing = who did that ?

It might help, NO it would help tremendously if you included pictures of what your working with so we have a better understanding of your issue.

Also no help as we have no clue where you live.

 

Are you talking about the trailing arm bolt that is a pivot for the entire trailing arm; the bolt that attaches the trailing arm to the frame? That bolt functions as a pivot pin. Don't understand the comment about stripped threads. To function, a pivot pin doesn't need threads. The threads, castle nut, cotter pin on this bolt are only needed to keep the bolt, functioning as a pin in place. Notice there is NO ft-lb tightness specification on this bolt. I can understand that if this pin has stripped threads something is wrong. There's nothing that should be able to strip these threads. Assuming the pivot pin; your "bolt," hasn't chewed a bigger hole in the frame, it has nothing to do with alignment.

I'm trying to imagine what happened....some of the repro bolts used as a pivot pin where incorrectly, extensively threaded so that the threaded part of the repro bolt now mated up against the pivot hole in the frame and after a time the threads chewed the hole bigger. That would bugger threads that shouldn't be there. The threads of the pivot bolt should NOT touch the frame.

These pivot pins; aka "bolts" experience shear forces only. The entire accelerating force of the rear wheels, to accelerate the entire car, pushes on these two relatively small diameter pins. That's a lot of pounds force of shear pressure on the pins to accelerate a 3500 pound car. If where the pins mate up to the frame are threaded, that pounds of force will chew into the frame,

 

That is comforting. I believe they overtightened the pin when doing the alignment, and stripped it out. The drivers side appears to be fine, and still has the cotter pin intact.
I was just concerned because the castle nut was finger tight with no cotter pin in sight.

 

Two solutions. Check to see if the bolt threads are stripped or the castle nut is stripped. If it's the nut, replace it with a new one. I would chase the threads with a die of the same size. You could also replace the nut and bolt with a new one. All the major vendors carry them. Just unload any force on the trailing arm and remove the bolt. Drive the new bolt in. I would add some grease on the bolt to ease it in. Jerry

 

Had my alignment done today, old mechanic told me he had to shim the hell out of the inside, I figure because of the new stub shafts not being pushed out 3/8".
I ordered a new bolt, not sure how that happened but when I put them in last year it was completely fine, with a cotter pin. The shop I had taken it to previously did not put a pin in, apparently.
Alignment guys hate our cars, but I don't!