Trailing arms

[Howie666]

I realise I am probably a long way from being the first, but this particular shock was news to me. For some time there has been a knock/squeak/rattle from the rear offside. I thought upper arm, maybe anti roll bar bush let go, broken spring.
None of those. The toe-in bracket on the trailing arm has rusted through
The nearside one isn't looking too clever either
I just bought a pair of passing decent ones. I will get them stripped and powder coated prior to having them fitted.
I knew about the upper arms, I didn't know about these!
My mechanic has assured me that once its done I won't need to worry about it again
So if you haven't experienced this yet, have a look at yours!

[Rickshaw]

After a bit of thought I'm not too sure about things now . By 'toe-in' bracket do you mean the Trailing Arm Mounting Bracket - I know these do rust and have bought some spares. Or do you mean another item attached to the rear trailing arm?. Either way I do appreciate the warning in your note.
On a related matter , I do notice that the trailing arms themselves are pretty rusted - but they are fairly solid things. Anyone any views as to how long they may last or whether something not to worry about. Had thought of derusting mine and treating.
Lastly , will be going to breakers next week but have never removed a rear trailing arm - is it a challenging job. Can't find a 'How to'. Any views welcome.

[Howie666]

Yes, sorry about the confusion. They are indeed the mounting brackets for the trailing arms. I get the impression that they are a common part to fail (and thus fail the MOT as well!)
If someone could get enough owners interested, it might be a good idea to have some made? I wondered about getting the arms refurbished as well. Lovely bloke called Geraint who created the ZT-T 500 had the rear suspension refurbed and powder coated in yellow. It looked smashing!

[Andy_with_a_screwdriver]

I think you mean this part below.
I've currently got my offside rear suspension stripped down for a refurbishment.
The trailing arm is in pretty good shape for 15 years old not really any corrosion. The rest of the suspension components
are far worse, I'm replacing all 3 bushes, upper and lower arms, anti-roll bar links, a clean up and paint and rust treatment throughout.

The bracket was showing signs of corrosion so I gave it a good clean up and painted it with hammerite, as well as the mounting position.

[Howie666]

I do indeed. Yours look mint as far as I can see

[Andy_with_a_screwdriver]

Looking better now
A clean up with these:
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pow...ush+Set/p24723

paint with this:

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pai...d+750ml/p46862

Then spray with this:

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Aut...ion+Wax/p41925

before refitting.

The only thing I'm worried about now is the toe-in angle, as you said the bracket position adjusts the trailing arm angle and should have marked it's position on removal. However since I've cleaned and painted the mounting as well it would have helped much

[Mike Noc]

That's the problem - cleaning up and painting the surrounding area loses all your marks.

I used a straght edge on the hub and marked the inner wheel arch liner to keep in the ballpark.



Will still get the tracking checked though once I get the MOT ticket.

The original brackets were in pretty bad shape, so they got binned.



One mounting bolt picked up on the way out, so as I didn't have a tap that size I knocked up a GhettoTech equivalent.

[DMGRS]

Hello all,
My apologies for dragging up this thread - but we've had a lot of emails requesting these and the thread they always seem to link to is this one.

Just to clarify, these are available new from us here (£39.99 per pair for the next week, usually £49.99 per pair) - https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/products/rea...0521-rgu100531

Apologies again for bringing up an old thread, but hopefully when people come across this they'll now be able to find the part.

[Benjaminsson]

Originally Posted by Mike Noc

That's the problem - cleaning up and painting the surrounding area loses all your marks.

I used a straght edge on the hub and marked the inner wheel arch liner to keep in the ballpark.

Hello Mike Noc.

I just want to say, many thanks for this advise. I live in Sweden and nobody I know here, was coming up with this idea.

Great!

[Mike Noc]

You are welcome. As an update I didn't get the tracking checked at a garage, but did check it myself with a Gunson Trackrite gauge and it was within limits, and the tyres have worn equally so far.