I hope someone has a magic bullet for this but Im not hopeful.  In anticipation of having a 4 wheel alignment I decided to check the trailing arm bolts to make sure they werent siezed to the trailing arms.  Of course they are, what was I thinking???  If anyone was going to be hammering on my baby, I wanted it to be me so I managed to get the drivers side broke loose but the passengers side is stuck tight.  Ive tried PB blaster, hammer and punch on the nut side of the bolt, wrench on the bolt side, blue language and a combination of all of the above.  Any ideas??  Im just not ready to tackle cutting the bolt and taking the TAs off and with limited work space to install new bolts, it looks like a real PITA to do.

Soak that puppy REAL GUD, then drive it around a while. The combination of penetrant and up/down motion of the t-arms might just break that thing loose. In order to get the best penetration of the PB Blaster, you may want to remove the shims(be sure to mark them and keep them in the same location) on either side of the t-arm so you can get directly at the bolt as it passes thru the bushing.
I've never had one that was seized up like that, but I've heard stories...plenty of them!
You might want to consider using an air hammer on the outer end...
I wouldn't recommend a smoke wrench for heating it up, but some folks have done that, too.
If all else fails, there's only one final solution..."sawz-all"

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Ill try driving it a little Joel.  Ive heard of  some using the blue tip wrench too but that one is out for me.  I have a sawsall but hope I dont have to use it.

Chip, that is one of the worst jobs, which you already know. They sell stainless steel bolts, shims, and cotter pin sets to replace the orginal. Now if you were to remove the body..................it would go a little easier (Sorry ebo made me type the last part...........)  

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Yep, Ive found the kits but havent found a willing midget to do the work yet.  Its like everything else with these cars, the universal instruction before doing ANY repair is Step 1. DISSASEMBLE THE ENTIRE VEHCILE  Step 2. Proceed with the repair.

Chip, that Joel dude knows his poop, bet cha the drivin bit does it. Can you get to it from your lift?  I'm guna hafta wopp Larry up side da head for always blamin me.       But he does have a lot of ebo in em

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LIFETIME MEMBER 151

[QUOTE=ebo]that Joel dude knows his poop[/QUOTE]


yesser....I'mma "poop-connoisseur"...





(oh st....did I say that out-loud?!?)

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
My Link


(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

[QUOTE=Adams' Apple]Soak that puppy REAL GUD, then drive it around a while. The combination of penetrant and up/down motion of the t-arms might just break that thing loose. In order to get the best penetration of the PB Blaster, you may want to remove the shims(be sure to mark them and keep them in the same location) on either side of the t-arm so you can get directly at the bolt as it passes thru the bushing.
I've never had one that was seized up like that, but I've heard stories...plenty of them!
You might want to consider using an air hammer on the outer end...
I wouldn't recommend a smoke wrench for heating it up, but some folks have done that, too.
If all else fails, there's only one final solution..."sawz-all" [/QUOTE]

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http://www.vetteprojects.com/bmv

i used a saws-all on the '76 and was rather a simple task... had to use a long blade, fine toothed.  Took about 10-15 minutes and had both trailing arms out, took a smaller sized bolt to knock out the rest of the bolt. 

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StingrayJim
NCM Lifetime Member #1936

Stingray's '76���������������������������� StingrayJr's '78���������������������������Lil Red '94

(click each one to see a bigger version)

Jim, if I have to go that route, is there any trick to getting the new bolt back in and through the T arms with the little bitty bit of work room there is?

I heard of this trick from a maintenance man were I work. I have not had the opportunity to try it so I don't know if it will work or not; but it is fairly simple and may be worth a try. Heat the nut and bolt up and melt wax over them. The wax will soak in to the threads and you should be able to loosen it. Let me know if you try it.

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I cut mine out as well; that was the easy part - the reinstall took the most time on my setup. and yes I thought about removing the body or at least lifting it off the mounts for more room - it was a passsing thought once I weighed all the work involved.

I had forgotten about that but saw that done many years ago at at local shop when I was a youngster.  If all else fails, Ill raid the Christmas candles.  Thanks.

[QUOTE=Crossfire1982]I had forgotten about that but saw that done many years ago at at local shop when I was a youngster.  If all else fails, Ill raid the Christmas candles.  Thanks.[/QUOTE] Chip, I actually never heard of that method. Keep us posted if it works. My hands were destroyed from that job. The worst job is this and the power brake booster. Another great job is stainless steel brake line install without the body off....

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We really didn't have much trouble getting the new bolts back into the trailing arms... it did take 2 of us to do it though,  one(me) holding the trailing arm somewhat aligned, and a buddy starting the bolt in, and then taking a hammer  to it(we had it up on a lift, so, it was about head level, that did make a ton of difference... but, once the bolt was started, just took a few good whacks and it was in place...

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StingrayJim
NCM Lifetime Member #1936

Stingray's '76���������������������������� StingrayJr's '78���������������������������Lil Red '94

(click each one to see a bigger version)

I found a youtube video on the candle wax trick while searching for help on this thing last night.  Same tecnique I remember from long ago.

[QUOTE=Crossfire1982]I found a youtube video on the candle wax trick while searching for help on this thing last night.  Same tecnique I remember from long ago.[/QUOTE] Thank you Chip, I learned a new trick. I forgot to mention the "JOY" of replacing the fuel lines with the body on Working on our cars can create words that you never knew could flow from your mouth. Good luck with the trailing arms........and thanx again!

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