Trailing Arm Install - No Problem...

Well, we finally got all the stuff we needed (no we didn't) together to install the rest of the toys on her.  Fireboss and I meet over @ 71Shark's house to hopefully get her back feet on the ground again (no, it's not a Mustang). 

Anyway, we grab a tasty burger that April had ready for us and get ready to hang the passenger side trailing arm.  Not difficult at all, not too bad, in fact.  Shims go in relatively easy, as does the bolt and nut for the forward end of the trailing arm.  You have to insert the trailing arm, make sure the shims are in place on each side of the bushings and then insert the bolt.  Nothing to it, nothing at all... until we get ready to hang the new adjustable strut rod.  (NOTE: Much easier to hang the trailing arm with the shocks{New KYB's} out of the way) 

I hand Tim the new trailing arm, measured out to essentially where the old one was, and grab the lower shock bolt that ties the lower end of the strut rod to the trailing arm together.  Now the fun begins...

The bolt is a one way bolt, with the shock supposedly mounting on the engine side of the trailing arm.  No matter how hard you hit it, it won't go all the way thru if the mount for the strut rod is on the WRONG SIDE OF THE CAR!!!!
We spent about another 10 minutes or so second guessing our first diagnosis and trying to find a way around the obvious error.

Mind you, Stingray Jim and Jimmy had told me how easy trailing arms were to do and even loaned me the tools (didn't know Amish Strawberry jam was a GM Factory Tool .  After doing a dry run I decided to leave it to the professionals, after all, they couldn't possibly screw it up any worse than I could...or could they???....

Apparently, the guy that built them for me (and does all the stuff we're either too afraid of, know we will screw up or don't have the talent for) pulled them both down at the same time, painted and pressed in the bushings and hung the mounts backward.

But the fun didn't stop there...Joel, expect a PM tomorrow.  And I didn't get all the right bolts for the u-joints even thought I bought what I wrote down, the driveshaft connection at the rearend is different from the connection at the tranny (go figure).

We finally called it a nite and watched the last 30 laps of the NASCAR race tonight.

So....the guy out the spindle mounts on the wrong side of the car/t-arms?

Yep.

Oh yeah, when you put an aftermarket X-Member under the tranny, it's best to bolt up the parking brake BEFORE you fully install the X-Member.  Otherwise, you get to find out how easy it is to install TWICE, sort of.  71Shark was able to drop one side and we could get the bolt thru the mount. 

It also pays big dividends to have the cable around the wheel BEFORE you install it...

Well....look at it this way....you've got a TON of tech stuff for SB now....right?
So, after all the fun youse guys have had...is it done yet? Or is there still some other stuff ya need to finish?

Oh I am so glad you asked...  I'll be sending you a PM or an email with some pix to identify which way the thingie is supposed to go on the deal that causes the tranny to shift.  It has 4 possible ways to go and the one that is feasible makes Tim nervous.  He doesn't like the angle the cable is at on this one.

I'm in the middle of working a huge proposal for work that is due COB today.  I told them COB today to me meant 0600 EDT tomorrow.

Sometime after that, I'll get the stuff out to you.  The way the book shows, and the logical way, is down with the stud to the drivers side so the cable slips over and the clip goes thru the hole however, if you go this way, the rest of the fitting impacts the tranny pan.

Sounds like more "Fun with the Corvette" time to me !!!!

so where did you get a trailing arm? my corvette is in need of one and i was wondering where you picked one up from

[QUOTE=justin1980vette]so where did you get a trailing arm? my corvette is in need of one and i was wondering where you picked one up from[/QUOTE] Call Larry @ Corvette Specialties 763-784-8577........he'll help you........he's a member.