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Thread: 1969 911S trailing Arm Bushing replacement

  1. #1
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    1969 911S trailing Arm Bushing replacement

    I've got the engine and transmission out of my car and I discovered that the trailing arm bushings look ratty-

    I saw the Elephant Racing video where bushings were replaced without removing the trailing arms from the car and the related E brake and rear caliper bleeding.
    I like that.

    Are the steel arms more difficult to service than the aluminum arms as is the case when replacing wheel bearings?

    Do the steel arms have similar pressed in steel inserts that need to be removed and replaced like the aluminum arms?

    Has anyone replaced the bushings in a steel arm without removing it and the related anguish?



    I hope to ride to Hershey in a couple of weeks now that my MFI is back on the engine...
    That long project seems like enough to chew right now... H&R assured me it is plug & play and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
    But I'm also hedging my bet with extra time and effort if CMA fails me.

    I intend to drop the engine again (I'm getting pretty good at it.) to strip off all the old undercoating this Fall and Winter.

    Would it make sense to ride this Summer on the old bushings and wait to tackle these bushings in the Fall since there are no handling symptoms (yet).
    I do get a creaking sound when entering my steep driveway. Everything else is normal.

    OR is it a simple matter to use the tools I made to R&R the wheel bearings and get some new bushings installed now.

    Thanks!

    See you at Hershey?????
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  2. #2
    I'd like to see that video! I suspect you are thinking of the large wheel bearing at the other end. Those can be R & R'd with the right tools (SIR Tool bearing kit) in the car all day.

    Those "flan-block" rubber bushes are completely encased by the torsion tube brackets. There's no way to do that in the car. Steel/aluminum no difference in method or difficulty. But you're gonna need to get them out of the car and on an arbor press.
    Mark Smedley
    '59 VW Typ I
    '69 911T 2.7
    '86 930
    '04 GT3
    '16 Boxster GTS
    '08 MBZ AMG CLK 63 Black Series

  3. #3
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    Thanks Mark.

    I am referring to the trailing arm bushings. And yes there are a few ways of replacing them with the arm still i the car. See the Elephant Racing video selling their clever tool to grab the bushing outer shell for extraction with a (Claw?) hammer.

    I have decided to let this go till winter since there is no problem except they are ugly.

    The way I take similar fittings called cutlass bearings out of prop shaft struts is to make a slice in the shell with a hacksaw blade in two spots 45 degrees apart almost all the way through but not into the strut (banana) and the shells will collapse and be able to be coaxed out.

    Yes I have replaced BOTH wheel bearings in this 50 year old 911 and both jobs were character building-

    That's why I used good German bearings and not the junk so widely available today.

    Thanks again for the reply.

    Gene

  4. #4
    OK.....found the video.

    They have, short of the outer CV joint and brake line disconnect, .....removed the trailing arm! It's just hanging there by the axle and brake lines. I had this image

    of them somehow actually removing the bushings with the trailing arm in place...."in the car" ...."in place"...semantics. It's out of the car just hanging there!

    So it can be done....if you like crawling around (no lift) and fighting those things dangling below the car. Since you have already disconnected it from the spring

    plate, you may have lost your rear alignment anyway. I know, I know mark the bolts. Hmmmm?

    I do like their little extractor thingy, BUT! I'd still rather disconnect a couple more components and have that trailing arm out where I can clean it up and work with

    it on a proper press with arbors rather beating on a dangling moving target.

    Maybe it's an age/money thing...I have a lift and a hydraulic table. So no more feats of terrorizing balance with a floor jack removing drive trains. Beating on

    dangling trailing arms sorta fits that category. The other side of the coin here is that this may well be a quicker method for a production, "get it on the road" shop.

    My garage queens, and me, for that matter are allergic to big dirty hammers! I understand they have their place. Just my opinion...I could be wrong.
    Mark Smedley
    '59 VW Typ I
    '69 911T 2.7
    '86 930
    '04 GT3
    '16 Boxster GTS
    '08 MBZ AMG CLK 63 Black Series

  5. #5
    Agreed, you are adding at most 2 hours to completely pull them from the car and you don't risk damaging a brake line. Plus, while out, you can clean/paint.
    Renn-Spot - Cars & parts For Sale - http://renn-spot.blogspot.com/
    1970 911"S" - Black (originally silver)
    1974 911"S" - Silver
    1973 911"T" - Bahia Red - Now Sold
    10 sec 67 VW
    Early "S" Registry #439

  6. #6
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    I don't have a lift- My cave isn't tall enough for one...

  7. #7
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    Took mine to a alinement shop that works on Porsches. Like Johnson Alinement owner Steve Alericon replaced spring plate bushings and also lowered the car for me. It took most of the afternoon to complete. He is in Torrance Calif.
    1. Chris-Early S Registry#205
    2. '70 911S Tangerine
    3. '68 911L Euro Ossi Blue

  8. #8
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    Thanks- I'm on east coast....

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