MrJlr

Sunday morning and I'm up at 5:30am...about 6:30 I get going...
I had done this once before - about 5 or 6 years ago...u-joints, shocks, strut rods and leaf spring and trailing arms...
Doing it again to clean her up !

Some before pics.....VERY dirty under there.










Plastic bags and gloves.....GOTTA have 'em.


New parts...




Take off the brake calipers first...remove the brake line and then it's just 2 bolts...




ALWAYS use a line wrench...!


Then, use a floor jack and take the tension off one side of the leaf spring... Use a socket or a wrench at the top and remove the bottom nut... Same on both sides.


4 big bolts and the leaf spring comes right off...


Bag and tag everything...


I don't use my spare tire so I removed the upper cover too...


Unbolt the inner side of the strut rods...


Unbolt the shock from the top and bottom...
Small hammer to knock out the lower...and the strut rods come off.


Old vs New.....can you say Van Steel ???!!!!!


Wonder why my allignment was so far off....also look how much beefier the new part is...


So right in the middle of all this, my girlfriend's Jeep top shows up.
I had to take 2 hours fitting her new top....PITA !
From this:


With this:


To this:


Now....back to MY car !!! LOL !
Remove the half shafts...4 bolts on each end...
Not rocket science...


Last - the dreaded trailing arms ! Mines a Calif car and I've had them off before.... STILL a PITA ! I hate that one stupid bolt.....geez.... Anyway....they do come off...


Not really that many parts when you see it all layed out...


Here's something I do...since I know I'll be putting it all back together soon...I take EVERY tool I used and put them all in a baggie so I dont have to find them again...


And there she is.....stripped down and ready to get cleaned up, painted and put back together with new parts...woo-hoo !



NOW - a question for the experts.
As long as I have the trailing arms off, what should I do or how should I inspect them...? They were rebuild about 5 or 6 years ago, but as long as they're off, what should I look for ???

Stay tuned for updates.....

damoroso

Now all the hard work's done!!

It's not a bad project as long as the trailing arms don't put up a fight. I just did a similar project on my 81, but replaced the aluminium diffy with an iron unit. I used all Vansteel parts and was really pleased with the quality and customer service. It was well worth the effort, looking forward to seeing yours done!





As far as what to look foron the TA's, just like any bushings, check the pivot bushings on the trailing arms,now would be a good time to change them if needed. Also, if the pivot bolts are corroded, I'd change those, but if they were rebuilt 5 or 6 years ago, and you haven't put 100K miles on them or had issues with them, I'd think they'd be in good shape.

jordan89

You did a lot for a day. I still have to do that on mine. Keep us posted.

MrJlr

Thank you ! All total I only think it took about 4 hours to tear it down....CLEANING it up and painting it will be the hardest part !
More to come....

MrJlr

"NOW - a question for the experts.
As long as I have the trailing arms off, what should I do or how should I inspect them...? They were rebuild about 5 or 6 years ago, but as long as they're off, what should I look for ???"


Anything ???

redvetracr

one question...........where are the pics of the GF?

MrJlr

She doesnt show up on film or in mirrors....!

redvetracr

she only comes out at night and sleeps in a coffin?

MrJlr

If she was Elvira, I'd NEVER leave the house !

Ironcross

By the way your work is great on the Vette. Taking all those underneath pictures can you photo the battery ground.....Now to the Jeep, whose top {brand} is it, and how do you like the fit of the 1/2 door windows and in general the rest of the fit.....I was going to order a sail cloth Bestop for mine.....

thanks,
Wally Knoch

AEKDB

MrJlr

The Jeep top is a Besttop....got it online at tops 4 less (Google it...) - about $490. The fit was PERFECT. Delivered in 2 days too !

But.....I regress - for this is a Corvette forum...!
I'll post a pic of the battery area and ground as soon as I have time to get under there again.....probably be a couple days though...I work a lot !

Any experts wanna chime in on my question about the trailing arms ? Come on guys !

shoptek

No comment on the TA's, but a GREAT play by play with pics

UBETRUN

Thank you for those pictures, makes a rearend job seem much less intimidating.

RATT7

Great tech write up and pics !!

MrJlr

Thank you !

I kinda wanted to show some of the guys the with even the most basic hand tools, even "hard" or intimidating jobs can be done at home...in your own garage for very little money...

This project involves basic wrenches, a socket set, a hammer, a floor jack & stands, pliers, paint and a few new inexpensive parts. A machanic would charge hundreds - if not more to do this.

Not to mention, you get to say "I did it all myself" !

Mike Ward

Interesting write up and pics. I especially like the one showing the end of the stock lower strut rod- the bushing deformation (very normal) helps illustrate that the strut is under constant tensional load.

I'd just clean up the hardware cosmetically and reinstall it.

Evershark

While you have the TAs out it is a good time to make, at least, a subjective test on wear. Put the arm in a vise and then move the hub side to side to determine any "play" between inner and outer bearings.
The bearings are shimmed to about .003-.005in which is difficult to feel.
So, if you feel any movement it's too much.
Also, it's a good time to repack them with grease. There is a tool you can buy from any vette supplier that helps repacking w/o breaking down the bearing assembly.
Enjoyed the pics on the clean up. Nice job.
Cheers,

rcread

Cool radio.

MrJlr

Ya like that ??? I love it.....the volume switch crackles....it's ugly....it's old....PERFECT for garage hang out, working on cars, drinking beer kind of radio !

Grumpy 427

Congrats, i gather your trailing arm bolts came out rather easily? Mine forced me to buy a new saws-all and cut them out. Do you have any better pictures of your exhaust, where it goes around the tranny? Which exhaust kit did you use.