trailing arm question

[QUOTE=mikeee]79,r...I take more  pictures while I work then Hollywood! But I have never tried posting any,sorry.However let me tell you all of my progress,mistakes so others can learn.I came home today and put arm in my press with some pressure.I then put the torch down around base of spindle near inner bearing.This was after I removed the dust cover.As I heated I applied more pressure.I knew I was boogerin the threads on the spindle,but this thing has to come apart!After about 10 min. of heat and pressure this spindle broke free with a BANG,which I knew was going to happen....all is good,ALMOST.The threads on the spindle are shot and the now disassembled T/arm is bent from the pressure.So those are 2 pcs. I will have to find.Hopefully and with more caution I won't have same trouble on drivers side,which came  out very easily today[/QUOTE]

Ooops! That sux! Lots of folks would rather buy t-arms already set up...no shame in that! I've always had good luck with the, myself, but...now that I've said that...

Anyway, here's a breakdown of the parts back there, and the bolts/nuts I was referring to.

                                                    click for link

I had the same problem taking them apart on my '72. I beat on the spindle nut while it was still on the spindle, but to no avail. I damaged the threads slightly but not too bad. I realized that that wasn't gonna work. I ordered an impact removal tool specific for this type of removal from one of the Corvette catalogs. That was the ticket. It worked like a charm. I also ordered a tap & die kit from the same catalog to repair those damaged threads. You can't find a die for the spindle threads any other way. But it comes with others that do, and probably will, come in handy for all of us that like to DIY.

hi,
if you just want to remove just the spindle, do you just remove the nut and "hammer" the spindle out?
or do you need to remove(unbolt) more?
thanks
joe

hey paul,
do you have an update on that web site (ebay) for the trailing arm rebuilders?
may consider going that route.

I am just putting my TAs back in, I had them rebuildt, and I'm glad I did. It too some new parts, some extra welding, etc. The spindle nut has to be torqued to like 250 ft lbs, and if you replace the bushings, they have to be compressed to a certain pressure, blah, blah, blah. I do 99% of the work myself, but NOT the TAs.

Joe,

[QUOTE=68vet427] hi, if you just want to remove just the spindle, do you just remove the nut and "hammer" the spindle out?or do you need to remove(unbolt) more?thanksjoe
[/QUOTE]

Well, it's a little more involved than that. The brakes need to be removed, of course. Once the spindle nut is off, the spindle will need to be pressed out of the spindle support. There are special tools for doing this with the whole assy still in the car, but they don't always work very well, and usually wind up breaking the support.
IMHO, it is best to remove the spindle support from the car to do the bearings. You can remove the entire trailing arm assy, or you can remove the support from the t-arm with it in the car.
Any way you look at it, this is not one of those Saturday afternoon jobs, even with all of the right tools.
There are special tools for setting up the bearing clearances, which must be done for the assy to survive. These tools allow for installing the spindle and bearings into the support and checking/changing the shims without having to repeatedly press the outer bearing on/off the spindle.
Rear spindle bearings on '63-'82 Corvettes are critical components of the IRS(independent rear suspension), and they need to be right. Too much play in them allows the rear tires to flop around when cornering, not to mention them failing rather quickly if too much play is allowed.

This is one of those areas of the car you may want to just go ahead and let an experienced Corvette person to do, or just bite the bullet and buy new/rebuilt t-arms or spindle assys from a reputable vendor.
my .002

hey joel,

i just want to remove the spindle,