Need help w/ trailing arm & sway bar drop link

KFC911 · 06:52 AM

Oops, lets try this again...

KFC911 · 09-19-2003, 06:53 AM

I was re-indexing my rear torsion bars last night, and noticed that (what appears to be) one of the drop link 'sleeves' has seemingly pulled out a bit from the aluminum trailing arm. Here's a picture depicting what I'm talking about:

Have I done any 'real' damage here, and would it be OK to (with a C-clamp) simply press it back into the trailing arm? I apologize for the fuzziness of the attached picture (...at least I hope it's here), and am looking for the best way to deal with this. Thanks![

rob justice · rob justice's Garage

They are ment to be like that - I will post photo later but it looks ok

KFC911 · 09-19-2003, 08:21 AM

Thanks Rob, You've made my day a lot better! I noticed this late last night, and thought for sure that I'd screwed something up...

911pcars · 09-19-2003, 11:17 AM

I've never seen the drop link threaded insert pull out of a control arm before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I don't think "They are ment to be like that'.

Once you press the insert back in, I would center punch the area around the insert to keep it in place. If it comes out far enough, when cornering, the suspension will put a load on it and possibly distort the boss.

MHO,
Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

KFC911 · 09-19-2003, 11:25 AM

Thanks Sherwood! I spotted this late last night (and I had the car jacked up on one side only), so I did not compare it with the other side. That's the first thing I'm going to do when I get home, but I sure don't remember it looking like that before. I'll repost when I get more info, but thanks again for you suggestion!
Have a great weekend everyone!!!

rob justice · rob justice's Garage

here's the photo