Traling arm swap?

[Jseuss]

Hey guys, its jack the owner of kalamazoos dirtiest 944. Anywho my rear end has been giving me all sorts of trouble, making some very ominous squeals, grinds and moans. I believe at least one of my stub axles is worn and causing the squealing and some of the grinding. I also have a terrible alignment problem, but i cant pinpoint the source of the play. After sourcing new stub axles (insanely expensive) i began to think about swapping in tan entire trailing arm assembly from a later 944 (mines an'83) as they can be had very cheaply . Ive heard the swap is doable but i havent got a very clear picture of whats in store. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Brando]

A lot of man-hours. You're talking about swapping in the rear part of the car, essentially.

[Rasta Monsta]

Go for it. . .not that hard.

[Jseuss]

If i were to pick up the trailing arm assembly, including hubs, what would i need to complete the install?

[Icey1174]

If I remember correctly, I just had my arms out to replace my rear wheel bearings. Take the rotor off and take your parking brake out. Disconnect your parking brake cable. A slide hammer makes taking the rotor off and replacing it a piece of cake. Get three steel lug nuts to use with the slide hammer if you use it or you will ruin your aluminum lug nuts.

You have to disconnect the half shaft (cv joint) from the hub. Because you are taking the arm out you may be able to get away with only disconnecting the half shaft at the hub rather than removing the entire shaft. Now would be a good time to remove the entire shaft and repack the cvs with grease anyway. Make sure you "wake up" the screws before you try to remove them and make sure they are well seated in the screw head. They should come out without a problem nut can be easily striped if you are not careful. If you strip it you can use a pair of vise grips to get it out.

Next to would disconnect the parking brake cable's little brackets that are screwed onto the arm to get the brake cable off the arm. These brackets hold the brake line as well and there is a disconnect for the brake line on the last bracket.

You have to remove the lower shock nut and bolt that attach the arm to the shock (very easy), remove 3 nuts and bolts along the arm that hold it to the car (mine with covered in grime, but came off without a problem), then remove the nut and bolt on the upper part of the arm (this one too was fairly easy to get off).

Within the three nuts and bolts that are together there is an oblong hole that will adjust your alignment when you put it back together.

I think clarks has a write up for removing them. Check there and see too. He would have to torque specs as well.

[Jseuss]

excellent, it sounds like i should be able to do this easily. Are there perhaps any other upgrades, or maintenance i should do while im in there?

[Icey1174]

You might as well change the parking brake shoes while it is all apart.

Take the half shaft off and grease both CVs well.

Now is the perfect time to replace the rear wheel bearings. You have full access to them now. I think I paid about $50 for both my rear bearings on here. The hub comes off real easy with the slide hammer. If you don't have one you can rent it from Auto Zone.

Changing the transmission fluid now might be a good idea. I did mine while it was all apart. Everything was very accessible.

That's about it. Depends on your budget, time, and you true intentions with the car. Grease for the CVs is about $10, rear wheel bearings were about $50, not sure on the parking brake shoes, and the transmission fluid was about $25 (I used Mobil 1).

Brake pads are not a bad idea if you need them. You will also have to bleed the brake lines as they were opened. I did not flush my brake fluid, I just bled them. They bled real quick. Now would be a real good time to flush you brake fluid as you will have two of the calipers open already.

Clarks's has the full write up for all these things. Read them for an exact set of details for the job.

[Jseuss]

alright, everything seems to be coming together. Are there any particular years i should look for that may be sturdier than others? I happen to go through sidewalls and rear bearings pretty fast and as far as i'm concerned sturdier is better, to hell with weight. So any suggestions?

[Icey1174]

The rear wheel bearing are pretty heavy duty if you ask me and they are pressed into the arm. I think once they are replaced you will be good for a very long time, if not forever.

Get a new set of tires and keep them properly inflated. You should not have problems with your sidewalls unless you are low on air or beat them on curbs. If you are racing you might want a better tire for the track.