Anybody know or can check on the bolt sizes for a Gen I trailing arm? There are two bolts in the back and one bolt in the front that attach the arm to the frame.
Thanks, Dave

16x90. Thread pitch is 1.50 I believe.

Excuse my ignorance, but what size socket would I need to get these bolts off the truck?

Thanks again.

Metric 24mm or 15/16ths SAE. Torque 'em back to about 95 ft/lbs.

That's what I needed to know. Thanks very much. Called the Stealer and the concensus from the boys was 17 mm. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> I've got a 17 so I knew it wasn't that small.

I gave you the wrong torque value. Memory bank must be burning up.

According to Haynes, the trailing arm-to-axle bolts should be torqued to 137-220 ft/lbs. The trailing arm-to-frame nuts should be torqued to 94-108 ft/lbs. The lateral rod nuts should torqued to 80-94 ft/lbs.

I just finished reinstalling mine with new bushings. Not much to it, but my 1/2" torque wrench maxes out at 160 ft/lbs so that's where I torqued the axle bolts. Good thing it stopped there, 'cause I couldn't have pulled them any tighter while lying on the floor.

Hey, where did you get the new bushings? How much did they cost and did your old ones look bad?

Thanks

I got 'em from the dealer. Without my asking he offered me a 15% discount from retail since I was using a business check to pay (every little bit helps).

The front bushings cost me $5.97 each (x 4 = $23.88)
The axle bushings cost me $19.06 each (x 4 = $76.24)
The lateral rod bushings cost me $3.20 each (x 2 = $6.40)

I could not have removed the old axle bushings myself unless I cut them out so to save time and effort I had the local NAPA machine shop remove and install them plus the lateral rod bushings. They charged me $100 which I thought was high but at least it's done. If you have a friend with a good hydraulic press maybe you can save some of that charge. Caveat: According to the NAPA machinist it took over 2,000 lbs. of force to push the old axle bushings out of the trailing arms.

The old ones were not in bad condition, but they had hardened somewhat. The new ones were more easily compressed so maybe I'll see a difference but I doubt it will be much - if anything. From what I saw I would not recommend the replacement to anyone unless they're like me and enjoy spending money on old cars and trucks - but I'm doing a complete suspension overhaul so I won't ever have to wonder if anything needs to be done in that area.

Also replaced all of the rear stabilizer bar bushings. The end bushings were in rough shape. I found the stabilizer bar axle bushings to be fine but replaced them on principle.

Now I've moved back to the front and find myself in the position of waiting for the dealer to open on Monday so I can order the socket for removing/adjusting the hub/drive axle nut. Checked all of the local auto parts stores today and all I could find was a 6 tooth that might have worked if I ground off 5 of the teeth. Decided to wait since I'm in no hurry.

If you wish to borrow a front hub socket, send me an email or PM.

Mark, that's really, really super of you to offer, but I might as well add one to my tool drawers if they're not too expensive since I'll need it again someday if I don't replace the brake rotors this time.

If the dealer price gives me pause I might take you up on the offer. Thanks again. Your willingness to help is what makes forums like this great.