Removing trailing arms without dropping transmission?

[Novelty Fashion]

I have been busy with life, and only able to sporadically hit the rear wheel bearing job. Yes, I'm still at it weeks later. Life is that hectic.

Anyway, I'm relenting and removing the whole trailing arm to go to a shop to press out the races. There just isn't enough room under the car to get enough leverage with a hammer to drive them out.

Job was going well, but now I've hit a wall. The 22mm bolt and nut at the pivot point are giving me hell. There seems to be no room between the 22mm nut and the transmission to get a bar on it. I can get a short socket fit on it, but with a bar on it, it won't go in place.

And even if I could, it's so tight on there, I can't get enough leverage on the bolt end to get it to budge but more than a fraction of an inch at a time.

The search function led to some threads about this, and the only feedback I could find was along the lines of, "I removed my trailing arms. It was easy."

How about some tips, tricks and techniques? What works and what doesn't? Pitfalls?

Thanks. With any luck, I should have this damn thing wrapped up soon.

[full quack]

That all depends on if anybody has removed and flipped around, the through bolts on the pivot bushing, at some earlier time when the trans was / if dropped.

If the bolts are as they left the factory, they cannot be slide completely out, without hitting the trans.

Mark

[Novelty Fashion]

Originally Posted by full quack

That all depends on if anybody has removed and flipped around, the through bolts on the pivot bushing, at some earlier time when the trans was / if dropped.

If the bolts are as they left the factory, they cannot be slide completely out, without hitting the trans.

Mark

They appear to be flipped around, so they could slide out.

Problem is, I can't get a socket on the nut on the inside, without hitting the transmission. I've cut down a socket with an angle grinder, and still no dice.

Is there a special tool?

[full quack]

I think I used a wierd curved box end wrench on mine, but it was too long ago, and I'm too old to remember exactly....sighhhh.

Mark

[Novelty Fashion]

Oh my, I don't know why I didn't think of that!

A deep-offset box end would likely be the ticket.

I'll see if there are any available locally.

[JFairman]

Funny.. I just took my right side one out last wekend and the left side one out yesterday to install monoballs in them.

I put a floor jack under the transmision mount and removed the two bolts that go through it into the torsion tube. Then lowered the transmission mount about 1/4" and pushed/shoved that end of the transaxle an inch or so away from the 22mm nut I wanted to remove. You can move that end of the transaxle back and forth about 2-3 inches sideways on a floor jack with wheels.

After that there's plenty of room to put the box end of a 22mm combination wrench on that nut. I used an old Sears wrench. I mention that because different brands have the angled box end at slighty different angles and the Sears one I have fit it good.

The passenger side is a little easier because there are no fuel lines and cables that are in the way. On the driver side you can move them out of the way to get a wrench in there.

Now the fun part.
Laying on my side under the car it is really hard for me to loosen that nut. It's on tight and it's impossible to get your arms in the right position to really push the wrench hard.
I had a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 22mm socket and 3" extension on the bolt head with the ratchet handle against something hard so it would stop it from turning if it tried to. I was doing it myself so that had to work.

I couldn't get the 22mm nut loose with just the one wrench so I took the box end of another long combination wrench and hooked it sideways onto one jaw of the open end at the other end of the combo wrench. The wrenches are not designed to be used like that but it works and there was no other way to get that much length and leverage on the 22mm combination wrench.

Got the passenger side nut loose that way with my hands and arms while laying on my side under the car but couldn't get the super tight driver side nut loose by hand.
So, I laid on my back under the car and while hanging on to the header tubes and carefully pushing the wrench hard with my foot, it finally broke loose. What a relief!

Then I put the 22mm socket and extension on an air ratchet and spun the M14x1.5 bolt out of the trailing arm bushing and the chassis pickup point for it.

It worked... Now there's alot more work to do getting it all back together with monoballs and polybronze bushings on the springplates and then alighned and corner balanced by myself.

good luck with yours... it's not easy but feels good when you get it done.

[Novelty Fashion]

Wow, sounds like a bit of work, but doable. That was an excellent explanation.

I'm stopping work for today. After multiple trips to the store for other stuff, and being flummoxed by that bolt, my Fun Meter is pegged.

Gonna tackle it more this weekend, but now I need a cold one.