Removing rear trailing arm center bearings.

[moneymanager]

On some of the early cars, possibly only the 72, you have to pull the transmission (or maybe use a Sawzall) to remove the M-14 bolt securing the trailing arms where they are attached to the body/chassis.
Anyone know if this is necessary on the 74's?
And, while we're in there, what kind of wrench fits on the bolt/nut head at the inside next to the transmission? There isn't much space there.
Any other tips? The several writeups I've seen all say this is a nasty job but don't offer much advice.

[Trackrash]

Are you sure your bushings are shot? I replaced mine on my '71. The ones I removed were fine!

Same with a friend of mine. Also a '71.

The biggest challenge is actually removing the old bushing from the control arm. My friend had to use a sawsall!

Much easier to drop the trans out of the way.

Maybe others have done it with out dropping the trans?

[moneymanager]

May or may not be shot, they make a lot of noise. A shot of silicon will quiet them for a day or two then it is back.

[Dan J]

I think on a 74 you have to remove the trans or use a sawzall (which is super easy)
Then replace the bolts with allen head bolts.
If you have dents in the torsion bar tube near the head of the bolt you can get the bolt out

[RSTarga]

Mine were changed without dropping the tranny, (73)

[moneymanager]

Thanks. So the "dents" in the torsion bar tube are there to allow the bolt to come out?

[Charles Freeborn]

It depends on which way the bolts were installed at the factory. They can face either way. Mine were nuts on the inside, so I was able to slide them out without drama. I don't remember exactly what the wrench combination was, but not exotic, as I did it without anything special. Probably a box end and a breaker bar with a socket.
And we're off! '74 Rear Suspension Rebuild
-C

[moneymanager]

Long after the fact, for the record and a future reader, my 74 had the 'dimples' referred to above and the bolts slid out as they should. More important, the 40 year old rubber control arm bushing came out in about 10 pieces... these things DO wear out despite much lore that they don't.