Trailing arm r+r. Level of difficulty?
 

Hey all,
I need to find out the level of difficulty for this job. Could my brother help (no real experience) or should I have a pro (like brad) help?
Thanks
Korijo

This is not too bad of a job. Stright fwd. The only trick is removing the old bushings. Some folks burn out the old bushings; personally, I like the drill method to remove some of the old bushing material followed with silicon spray and lots of muscle. Be sure to hold onto the alignment shims. Hard to find replacements. Also, a good time to replace the rubber brake lines

Another point, the car will need to be aligned afterwards. Corner balance is a good thing too. To avoid aligning the car twice, I recommend doing all the front end work also. This could include front bushings, ball joints, Turbo Tie rods, struts, etc.

Does anyone know of an alignment shop in the Mid-West who knows how to perform this kind of alignment..the rear end and corner balance. I live in Columbia, MO (middle of MO) and am willing to drive to any neighboring states to get this done.

If I can't find anybody around here I may have to make a road trip to CA this summer..

SAC

I spent a lot of time fighting with rear control arm bushings. In the end I learned I should have used the press in the first place. It doesn't require anything fancy. I ended up using a buddies $99 Harbor Freight "automotive shop press". Works equally well for installing them.

it's not a hard job. I burned my bushings out without any problems using a plumbers hand torch with the hotter tip on it. be prepared for a smelly mess though if you go this route.

They don't all burn out easily. I used MAPP gas on mine and they still wouldn't come out.

it takes some work heating them. get them really hot and then puncture a hole in the bushing with a screwdriver. not sure what that does exactly, but after that they came out easy.

BTW...I think the key is the torch with the hotter tip.

Press.

Takes me 15 minutes per control arm.

Korijo,

find a shop close by and buddy up with the owner. Life with a 914 will be much easier.

B

Glad I found this thread, rather than start another one.

Half my questions are answered.

I've never had a trailing arm completely off. When powdercoating the trailing arm, any areas to definately avoid?

-Rusty

Avoid getting powder on:

The inside area where the bushings will go

The inside area for the rear wheel bearing

put bolts in every threaded hole in the control arm.

You dont want to chase threads for 3 hours trying to get powder out of them.

B

I would avoid the surface that the caliper mounts on, also.

Thank you for the replies! :)

-Rusty

Brad's list is right on. I didn't tape off the caliper mounting surface. I used a scotchbrite disc on the die grinder after coating. Worked great.