GazC2

Ok so made a little bit of progress today got the calipers of both sides and stripped of the various brackets etc, however a couple of issues someone has obviously tried to get the trailing arms of before and made a bit of a mess of the head on one of the front trailing arm bolt .

could someone confirm the socket size for these bolts it would appear to be a 19mm ? but even an 18mm seems slack on the one that`s a bit rounded.


I have used a 19 on the other side it wont budge either !.

The other thing is I have approached things in slightly the wrong order, I removed the springs/damper to build up the new ones in hindsight I should have left all this attached including the calipers and had a go at the driveshaft retaining nuts as mentioned in plenty other posts they are tighter than a ducks ****, not a huge problem I will fit the new ones and drop it back on the wheels and get a bigger bar !

On a slightly different note removing the sharks fins let me have a look at the corrosion on the passenger rear quarter which I knew about when I bought the car a bit like clinchy`s car going to have to cut out a chunk of the rear quarter its visible both inside and outside the panel. you can just about see the rust bubbles under the paint in the pictures.

the sharks fin retaining clips have been bodged back on so will probbaly look for another one to replace as part of next winters respray

Mr.Spacely

For a second I thought "how did he get a pic of my shark fin?"

Must be a common problem!

boxsey911

Those bodges on the sharks fin are really common. Mine were the same. I think some folk mustn't have the patience to work out how to get them off properly and just pull the damn things off.

GazC2

So all bolts on both sides now slack and ready to strip off took the discs off tonight and discovered one set of brake shoes had disintegrated

I have the shoes and springs etc removed however one question is how does the handbrake cable come out of the hub ? is the ferrule just pushed in and corroded in ?

any help appreciated

Gaz

Jacke2c

You will need to be ready to disassemble the parking brake assembly. The cable comes through a hole in the housing and is held in place by a pin which is held in place by its position when installed correctly (I know this sounds crazy) but all you have to do is get enough slack and get the cable and leverage arm rolled out far enough and the retaining pin will fall out. Then it is a matter of just sliding the cable through the hole. Watch when you take it appart, because when you get enough slack the pin will fall out and it is easy to lose! (don't ask me how I found out)

GazC2

Cheers for that twoshoes, I got the shoe assembly etc all off no probs and I know what you mean about the small retaining pin, all I was left with was the cable which would then not pull out the back of the hub, I assume its corroded in but is it meant to just pull out the hub ?

sml

from memory, my guess is 19mm

i had to take the car to the mechanic.
he used a fixed spanner with a 1m metal pole ... and he cracked it.

i had zero chance trying to do it whilst the car was just jacked-up on the ground.

summary:
1. fixed 19mm spanner
2. 1m metal pipe
3. hoist (not jack).
4. penetrant lubricant stuff like WD40, or RP7

GazC2

SML, bolts are now all loosened off

for reference for anyone else the front trailing arm bolt is 18mm

GazC2

So more progress tonight both trailing arms removed from car all pretty painless,

however the carnage continues.

Both wheel bearings shot
One set of handbrake shoes Shot
Handbrake cables seized in trailing arm, disconnected them inside the car and pulled them out, one side shot
Also noticed rubber pipe connecting to oil tank is split.

on the positive side the spring plates/rubbers appear in decent condition

the parts list is growing would have been so easy just to fit the new springs and shocks and leave it at that !

Jacke2c

When it is finished right.. new bearings, parking brake shoes, and oil line to tank... you will feel much better know about that part of your ride. I did mine last summer and it surprised me how much quieter my car was with new bearings. Also, new shoes all around really inspires confidence in my daily driver. I am about to do the suspension mode in a couple of months.. new shocks and springs, and Walrod bushings as well as new brake lines. Inch by inch, change is a cinch.... yard by yard change is hard. I bite off projects like this in 8 mos. increments as my budget allows... and each time the reward is there. I am looking forward to a long summer vacation across South Western Canada and down highway 1 then back to Alabama... gives me something to shoot for. I watch with great interest the wales runs and the London guys doing their thing and I am glad I have rennlist friends from around the world...ps, I just bought a keyless system from Tore from Norway...should be here next week

GazC2

Two shoes I hear what your saying and I know it will be worth it in the end,

some more progress today got the arms cleaned up, one of the reasons i ended up here was that I felt if you were putting new springs and shocks on, if the rest of the suspension components are worn your not going to get the real benefit.

so I am rebushing the trailing arm with powerflex, however I am surprised how good the front bushes look, but realistically after 150,000miles it can only help by replacing them

As ever more stripping has brought the need for more new parts ! original drop links by the look of them.

Vandit

Great thread. Please keep us updated.

These are all areas I want to address on my car. I've began to slowly accumulate parts for the job.


Did you have to remove the rear axles at the transaxle in order to remove the trailing arms?

Ghengis

Hey Gaz, lots of fine work going on there - I wish I had the confidence to get stuck in like that.

Regarding your shark fin clips, mine were the same and I was going to bin them for some new ones until someone on here or 911uk put me onto a product called Plastex. I have managed to repair the tabs and they are pretty strong - I have since removed and refitted them and they held up well.

Give it a go it may well save you a few pennies. See below for the repair.


Cheers

Thomas

GazC2

Vandit, the drive shafts came out with a small tap once the hub nut was off which was the final thing to do before lifting the arm out, so both still attached to the transmission.

so a bit of a recap.

All bolts have been hard to get off process has been repeated soaking in rost off then a go with the impact wrench and long breaker bar front bolts rounding off didnt help.
( Small point spraying the front bolt from the backside may help penetration)

Handbrake cables- I would do this different next time the ferrule at the back of the hubs on both sides were stuck fast with corrosion (still cant get one out) no particular reason to take these out better disconnecting on inside of car and pull them through ( I have to replace mine now because we damaged them trying to take them out)

Additonal costs (although not totally unexpexted)

Handbrake shoes on one side were in bits (plus cables)
Wheel bearings both sides need replaced
Drop links need replaced
Spring plates have surface corrosion and need refinished (not sure best option for this)

so probably another £350 in that lot

Now that I need to do the bearings will I need to put the arm back on to pull the hub off with a puller ?

GazC2

Ghengis,

I will bear the plastex in mind when I pull the rest of the sill covers.

The intention was to refurb the spring plates give them a rub down remove the rust and repaint, the drivers side in pretty good condition however the passenger side rubber boot has come adrift from the metal still seems to be plenty grease
inside and the movement/resistance seems similar between the two , ideally it needs replaced ebay here we come because the new price is nuts.