Rear trailing arm bushings

[steves sl]

Before I damage anything. What is the correct way to replace the rear trailing arm bushing at the differential? I can't find anything in the BBB.

[Raymond]

Hi Steve,
It's pretty straightforward.  At the leading edge of the trailing arm, there is a center bolt and three around the outside of the cap.  I usually brace the trailing arm with a jack and remove all of the bolts at once.  Then you can lower the jack to release the spring pressure.  The rear springs are quite docile compared to the front.  When you replace the bushing, it helps to put some grease in the bushing to make seating it a bit easier.  The tricky part is getting the trailing arm to line up when you start to compress the spring with the jack.  The arm wants to move, side-to-side.  This is where you grunt and curse a lot.  Joe Alexander has made a center bolt with an eccentric cone on it that helps guide the thing into place.  However, you can do it with some help from a friend.  I have not found it makes any difference which bolt you put in first, just as long as you do eventually get all in and seated properly. 

Good luck.

[steves sl]

Thank You. I have the trailing arms removed. How do you remove the rear bushing? It appears that the large bolt type has to be reinstalled and that the bushing is then pressed out.

[Mike K]

I undertook this job last December, here are some links & tips to make life easier, it's worth going through all of the info I've collated below.
Definitely a 2 man job

REAR BUSHINGS:
Look a this video for the Control Arm Bushing replacement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPbL9HTHZg0

I definitely recommend you rent or buy one of these bush pressing kits, it will save a lot of time and sweat.
I didn't have one and it was a real pain in the butt using clamps etc.

Step by step guide to replacing bushings:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=11244.0

I also purchased one of these ring spanners to remove the nuts on the rear of the arm:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KS-Tools-517-0936-Slogging-spanner/dp/B001NYQX08/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505546190&sr=8-2&keywords=ks+tools+36mm

Also use liquid soap, not grease, to lubricate the bushings when fitting them at the rear of the arms.

REINSTALLING CONTROL ARMS:
I made my own centering tool for reinstallation of the rubber donuts, I don't think I would have managed without this.
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=25173.msg180173#msg180173

https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=11236.msg75106#msg75106

Compressed the rear springs prior to installation and secured with webbing straps which I cut off after the springs were in place.
Much easier to do this as you jack the arm back into place, you're not fighting the spring wanting to go its own way and the trailing arm moving horizontally:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=25262.msg180644#msg180644

When raising the trailing arm back into place, the positioning of the trolley jack is also very important, . i.e. place it further back along the trailing arm this gives you more flexibility.
See pic below.

There's also a debate about which side up the rubber donuts should go back in. I found that it was only possible to install them 1 way - with the larger orifice on the donut ontop.

Secured the rubber donuts with cable ties into the cup at front of the arm. You can cut off the cable ties once everything's in place.
Use liquid soap NOT grease to help donuts slide up the centering tool.

Lastly- we had to tie ratchet straps to the axle and pull it /shift it slightly back with my BMW X5, in order to help line up the trailing arms back into position as we jacked them up.

It took 1 1/2 days to do this job.

Best,
Mike