Dave,

Hope you might have some experience with removing the trailing arm from the frame pivot on a 79 Vette. I've un-hooked the spring, shock, strut rod, half shaft, brake line, parking brake cable, etc..., but trying to figure out how to "punch" the bolt out has got me. Is there a special tool for this. On my 79 there's minimal room to get the bolt pushed all the way thru and I'm even more concerned about trying to get the arm mounted back, with having to slide the bolt back thru a new pivot bushing, shims, etc...

My plan is to just take the whole arm, brake, and bearing assembly down to the Vette shop and have them replace the burnt bearings and anything else that needs it.

Any hints, tricks....

Bob Hichborn

-----Original Message-----
From: David Herlinger [mailto:DavidHerlinger@email.msn.com]
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 11:28 AM
To: Bob Hichborn
Subject: RE: 79 trailing arm removal

Hi Bob,

The through bolt is probably frozen (rusted) to the steel sleeve inside the rubber bushing.

First remove the slotted toe shims and try some liquid wrench--the bolt should easily tap out. However, if your frame is at all rusted then you will have to cut the bolt to remove the arm. I have cut many of these bolts out using a torch, but, you must be very careful. I don't recommend this method for home mechanics. The best way is to first remove the shims and then use a Sawzall to cut the bolt.

The cost to rebuild a rear torque arm is $150.00 labor plus parts. On a standard rebuild the parts run about $110.00. This includes all new Timken bearings, GM seals, spindle nut, spindle washer, endplay shim. new front bushing, Parking brake spring and hold down pins, p/b guide and misc. new nuts and lock washers.

Where you can get into a problem is if your assembly needs any of the hard parts such as: new spindle-bearing support-caliper bracket-torque arm. These parts can really run the bill up. Normally if a bad bearing is caught in time you won't require any of the hard parts. But, if the bearing has been let go too long it will spin on the spindle and also possibly spin the race in the bearing support. This can destroy both parts.

When we rebuild a torque arm it is first disassembled and all parts are hot tanked. The spindle is checked for size and run-out. The torque arm is checked for straightness. The bearing support and caliper bracket are also checked. (If your Corvette has ever been in and accident, or just clipped a curb, it will show if a part is bent)

Next all the parts are bead blasted, inspected again for cracks, and repainted as original. Finally, the torque arm is reassembled to factory specs with all new required parts. We also ask our customers to please bring us their brake rotor so we can mic. the thickness and match it to their spindle to correct any possible run-out problems. This last step is very important because excessive rotor run-out will cause a brake problem.

Hope this helps, Dave

Herlinger's Corvette Repair
(650)-969-5351
1230 Pear Ave. #3
Mountain View, CA 94043