19/7/08 - Rebuilding the Trailing Arms

You will have read the article (HERE) about the problems I found with my trailing arms - so now on with the story of how to refurbish them.

Replacement bushes are available from Suzuki, for each trailing arm you require two axle end bushes and one body end bush.

The part numbers are:

Axle end: - 42682-81A00
Body end:- 46213-65D00

Be aware that originally Suzuki would only supply the complete trailing arm, they would not supply the bushes separately. Some dealers still think this is the case, simply quote the bush part numbers to them!

The picture below shows the new bushes. As you can see they are encased in a steel sleeve which is a real pain when it comes to pushing the old ones out.

There are two ways to remove the bushes. The first is to press them out with a hydraulic press. This is the method I went for. I went to the local garage and they pushed them out for beer money. However people started to leave the workshop when gauge on the press went through 35 tonnes!. They final moved at 38 tonnes.

Another way to remove them is to cut out the centre rubber section and then carefully saw two thin cuts in the remaining steel sleeve.

Again, installing the new bushes can be done in two ways. The first is an hydraulic press and the second is to use a garage vice (make sure the holes in the trailing arms are clean and greased, heat up the arms and freeze the bushes – I am told they will then go in!)

As I went for the hydraulic press method at the garage my next pictures jump straight to the completed item.

You will notice I have painted them up to look a bit smarter!

IMPORTANT. The axle end bushes have slots cut in them and according to Suzuki the orientation of the slots is important. See the diagram below. The slots (2) in the bushes (1) should line up along a centreline (3) and (4).

 

The Mount

The small crack in the rubbers could not be blamed for all the movement in the rear axle. However a quick look at the mounting points showed another problem. The top mounting hole has worn into an oval shape!

Here is the one on the other side which is ok.

There are two ways of repairing these, the first is to weld a steel washer over the hole. This is really a bit of a bodge and I wanted to make it strong and long lasting. The Internet forums recommended I make up a “Top Hat Washer”.

Now I do not have access to any machining tools, but a very kind person on the Internet did and said they would make some for me. I also believe you can find similar items in engineering suppliers.
I had to measure up to make the washers and the picture below shows the finished item and the template I sent to my friendly engineer to make them with. Yes, the template is simply a 2p coin and 2 x 5p coins – they were the correct dimensions for what I needed with a 12mm hole in the middle.

The trick is to now open out the oval hole in the mounting bracket to the point where the centre part of the washer fits the hole.

I simply filed out the hole until the washers fitted. The first picture shows the washer as it should be fitted, whilst the second picture shows the same washer fitted backwards to show how it fits in the hole.

I then filed out the other mount so that the other washer fits.

With both washers fitted I then welded them in. Now the bolt is a firm fit.

Finally the whole assembly is rebuilt.

Job done!

If you want to print this whole article out it is in the How to Guides as a PDF file.