Rear Suspension Arm Bush

There's a unique washer under the head of the bolt which has a tab bent up over one flat on the (specially modified) bolt. Have you folded this back down? It can be difficult to see under the accumulated detritus...

Almcl,

Yes I have the tab is bent right back nicely out of the way. I think the bolts just rusted in solid.

F.

I have ended up using an angle grinder to cut away the radius arm and then getting at the the remains of the bush. On one occation I had to carefully grind away the bolt itself where it goes through the radius arm. Just go slowly so that you don't damage the bracket holding the arm.

Yep same here. Got a bit violent with the angle grinder. All done now though.

Hi , i have just ordered the special bolts and locking washers and have the new bushes ready to install . I am going to soak the bolts with plus gas and hope that helps as they do not look that rusty but that does not mean alot as we all know.

I have jacked the rear side of the car with the standard jack plus a block of wood to give extra height and wanted to add a four leg axle stand for extra support which would be forward of the radius arm to body mounting bolt. I have had a quick look but mostly fllor pan in front of standard jacking point and wondered where other members supported the car while doing this job.

Also will a socket still fit on this so called special bolt ? If so can i use a impact wrench ? or does it have to be a spanner . Why is the special bolt CUT , is it to clear the metal tube when fitting the bolt ?

Thanks for help in advance.

Ring spanner is the best, and yes it is to clear the "tube" for the coilover bolt. The bolt rarely seize in the thread, it is mainly the radius arm bush that rust to the bolt. Try blue (the lowest grade) LockTite, it will keep moisture out and won't hold too hard. Even if stubborn heating to 100C will make the blue give up it's hold completely.

Per said:

Ring spanner is the best, and yes it is to clear the "tube" for the coilover bolt. The bolt rarely seize in the thread, it is mainly the radius arm bush that rust to the bolt. Try blue (the lowest grade) LockTite, it will keep moisture out and won't hold too hard. Even if stubborn heating to 100C will make the blue give up it's hold completely.

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I have sprayed the three bolts that hold the radius arm on and left it 25 mins . I then bent locking washers back and cut the wire tie on the other bolt and picked up the 19mm ring spanner and expecting big problems ..... I am pleased to say all three bolts came out very easy and the small strap bolt at the larger end looks like new on the thread part now removed. The shock mounting bolts now need to be removed in order to pull the special bolt out but can not see any problems for this side so far.

The large bush is stuck to the floor and needs a lever etc. Is this best to give the center of the bush a bang with a large screw driver where it joins the floor ? Any other way better ?

I just hope the other side bolts come out just as easy !

540itouring said:

I have sprayed the three bolts that hold the radius arm on and left it 25 mins . I then bent locking washers back and cut the wire tie on the other bolt and picked up the 19mm ring spanner and expecting big problems ..... I am pleased to say all three bolts came out very easy and the small strap bolt at the larger end looks like new on the thread part now removed. The shock mounting bolts now need to be removed in order to pull the special bolt out but can not see any problems for this side so far.

The large bush is stuck to the floor and needs a lever etc. Is this best to give the center of the bush a bang with a large screw driver where it joins the floor ? Any other way better ?

I just hope the other side bolts come out just as easy !

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A large screwdriver giving a few knocks (sideways) on the inside of the cup stuck to the floormounted "cup" will normally see it fall off (not sure if that was what you meant.)

The cup in the arm bush gets seized to the upside down 'dome' on the bodywork. As cold chisel between the two (in the gap just above the bush/arm) and a few huge belts with a lump hammer and off it will come. Support the car on the jacking point just to the side and behind the arm, OR jack up under the middle of the rear suspension under the diff on the cover plate and support it there. That way the suspension arm can still move.

When reassembling, do not tighten the small end bush on the suspension arm until the car is back on its wheels and the suspension and the suspension arm is in its normal position at its normal angle, otherwise the bush tends to fail quite quickly as it is under permanent stress.

Ok thanks for that info. I have just removed the special bolt and the center of the large bush has pulled out of the rubber so the radius arm is now out of the way. I can now get to the remains of the bush on the dome so hope to get this removed soon . I have soaked the part in plus gas so will give it a bang tomorrow night if i am in early as do not want to make alot of noise when its late. I will now work on removing the old bushes now the arm is off the car.

XJS lover said:

The cup in the arm bush gets seized to the upside down 'dome' on the bodywork. As cold chisel between the two (in the gap just above the bush/arm) and a few huge belts with a lump hammer and off it will come. Support the car on the jacking point just to the side and behind the arm, OR jack up under the middle of the rear suspension under the diff on the cover plate and support it there. That way the suspension arm can still move.

When reassembling, do not tighten the small end bush on the suspension arm until the car is back on its wheels and the suspension and the suspension arm is in its normal position at its normal angle, otherwise the bush tends to fail quite quickly as it is under permanent stress.

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I have done some more work on the removed arm today and have removed old bushes and refitted new ones. I have cleaned the arm up and removed surface rust , treated with meatal ready , and coated with por 15. I have done the same with the safety bracket . The finish is not as smooth as i would like but is ok and is a very hard black coating that i an sure will last a long time. I am also going to spray a waxoyl inside the arms through the holes in top of am as it will be easy to do this while the arm is off the car. when i refit this arm i will then start on the other side . I will also coat the bolts with copper slip and where the cup of large bush mounts to car to help prevent rust .

I will add some pics of the arm etc next.

I have just refitted the arm to the car and just need to torque the bolts up and then its on to the other side of the car. I am very happy with how it looks on the car now its bolted on.

http://tinyurl.com/8zc3f2b