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I am wrapping up a trailing arm bushing installation job on my 71. I am to the point where I am ready to bleed the brakes and put the tires back on. Service manual says to tighten pivot bolt nut to 45-55 ftlb with weight of the car on the wheels. I do not see how I can get a torque wrench on the nut with the tires off on jack stands let alone with the wheels on the ground!! How is this done?
Not sure if this works but with frame supported by stands, no wheel on car, jack the control arm up to the approximate position it would be in under load.
Agree..
Isn’t there a cotter pin as well? So you need to align as well. So torque spec +/-?
come to think of it i don’t think tightened at ride hide, only front control arm bushings. I can’t remember maybe i did. I used rubber but i wonder if poly not tightened at ride height would cause premature failure..
So far so good.
Last edited by interpon; Aug 27, 2023 at 08:39 AM.
Agree..
Isn’t there a cotter pin as well? So you need to align as well. So torque spec +/-?
come to think of it i don’t think tightened at ride hide, only front control arm bushings. I can’t remember maybe i did. I used rubber but i wonder if poly not tightened at ride height would cause premature failure..
So far so good.
Put a similar size bolt in a vice and torque the nut to 45 ft-lbs, then get a feel for how much effort it takes to manually turn the nut. You need to line up the castle nut slots with the cotter pin hole so you are likely going to increase the torque value anyway. Not worth obsessing over exact torque values here.
Put a similar size bolt in a vice and torque the nut to 45 ft-lbs, then get a feel for how much effort it takes to manually turn the nut. You need to line up the castle nut slots with the cotter pin hole so you are likely going to increase the torque value anyway. Not worth obsessing over exact torque values here.
It isn’t a cylinder head. I have different “protocols” depending on the torque value. 45 foot pounds is a regular box end wrench with moderate force. You can validate using a torque wrench if it makes you more comfortable.
My 2 cents...
It is supposed to be torqued to between 45 - 55 ft-lbs. then backed off to the first slot in the castle nut for the cotter pin install...
So the final torque should be less than 55 ft lbs but above 45 ft lbs...
You could always torque to 55 with the wheel off, install the wheel, drop the car on the ground, THEN loosen the castle nut to the first slot and install the cotter pin...
I believe this is the intent...
Trailing Arm Pivot Bolt Nut
