Rear end link bolt tightening procedure/issue
 

Happy holidays folks.

I'm in the process of replacing the rear end links on my 87. Everything is back in place. Bolts were threaded to trailing arms by hand then quickly became VERY difficult to tighten with a 1/2" wrench setup, so tight I was afraid it may be damaging the t-arm so i quit. I feel like I was using 50+ lb-ft. The links are not binding and slide easily on the bolts. New links and hardware came from our host.

Is this normal and just the torque-to-yield process? Any insight is appreciated.

Never force a bolt into threads. Check and clean them, chase them if necessary.

Check that the bolt threads are the correct pitch. I don’t recall the details, but when I replaced my rear swaybar drop links, the new bolts supplied with the links were the right diameter, but wrong thread pitch. Same behavior you are seeing. I almost trashed the threads in one of the trailing arms before realizing.

—Best, Dave


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