Broken trailing arm bolt and electrical issue: finale

[jangell]

Just wanted to post the end result from my now-closed thread:


Getting the Broken Bolt Out

To fix the broken trailing arm bolt, I got some 45 degree offset wrenches that allowed me to break the jam nut free, then used a normal box wrench to get the nut the rest of the way off.

Unfortunately, I could not get vice grips on the remains of the bolt, or at least not enough to turn it. I resigned to removing the trailing arm. That wasn't actually too bad, but my hopes of not draining the brake system were crushed when I found that I couldn't get the trailing arm out of the way. I disconnected the line at the trailing arm so I could set the arm assigned. I knocked off some flaking epoxy and POR-15'ed it while it was out.

I then had to go out and buy a 90 degree power drill and a series of cobalt drill bits so I could drill out the bolt. I used some cutting fluid for good measures, and it actually worked pretty well, and I got through the bolt fairly quickly (although not quite straight).

I then made the mistake of using an EZ Out, which I only succeeded in snapping off in the bolt.

As expected, drilling had no effect on the EZ Out, but an hour or two with a Dremel and some grinding bits did disintegrate it. This worked much better than trying to drill it. I switched back to successively larger drill bits to finish off the bolt, and at one point it the bolt itself started spinning. I still couldn't get vice grips on it, so I used another EZ Out. This also snapped, but not before spinning enough of the bolt out that I could unscrew it by hand.

I cleaned up the ground and mount with some sand paper to make sure there was a good electrical connection, put in a new grade 10.9 steel 30mm long bolt M8 1.25 bolt (black, because I didn't pay attention to that when I ordered them from McMaster-Carr), a new similar grade black nut, and a new nylock jam nut. I put trailing arm back on, and then I took the forward end of the arm off again when I realized I forgot to put the big washer and shim back on. <sigh>

I reattached the brake line, and found that the captive nut bit that keeps the brake line from spinning while you tighten the caliper side brake line to it wasn't holding anymore, but I was able to get it tight enough that it doesn't leak, so I think I'm good.

Remounted the rotor and caliper, bled the system, went for a drive, and everything looked good.


Electrical Problems

Well, for the suspension. Brakes were a bit soft, and I still had my electrical problem. In fact, the car stalled as I pulled into the driveway, with relays behind the passenger seat rapidly clicking in a way that indicated a loose connection. It also refused to start again. I wasn't able to figure it out before the battery died, so I used the winch I had mounted to the floor of the garage for just this purpose to get it back inside (plus a chain and two ratchet straps, because the cable wasn't long enough to reach the car -- I'd intended to winch cars in after being towed home, not stuck half way down the driveway).

Once the battery recharged, I started tracking down what could cause this problem. Of course, the car started fine now. I checked my EFI diagram and saw that the relevant relays are powered from the white bundle from the main relay, and the brown always-on wire. The main relay is driven by the ignition switch. I had replaced the steering rack and the steering bushing about a month and a half ago, so I wondered if the problem was under the dash. I reached under and started tugging on random wires with the key on (engine off), and lo and behold, the relays started clicking.

So all of this appears to be because I didn't firmly reconnect the 5 pin ignition connector to the harness. it must have been just loose enough that it would momentarily break the connection when I hit a bump or something. There was a roughly 8" extension cable between the harness and the steering wheel side of the cable. I removed that, since the harness reaches just fine without it, and it's one less connection to worry about.


Success!

I re-bled the brakes and took it out for a drive, and everything worked great. Brake pedal is firm, no flashing battery light when I aimed for bumps and pot holes and the like. So I think everything is fixed. At least for this part, anyway.


Thanks again to everyone for the help!

-- Joe

[Josh]

Glad you are up and running!

That electrical issue sounds frustrating, these Lucas connectors in our cars are not the best at times.

[82DMC12]

I too had big problems with those stupid 13mm bolts and nuts that hold the T/A bracket to the frame. I broke the head off the bolt on the passenger side on the front of the bracket. I got lucky and the broken stud came out with the lock nut but only after using my angle grinder to cut most of the stud off so I had enough clearance to get the nut+stud out. What a bad design. I guess they figured no one would ever replace those parts. I almost cut a hole in the frame near the transmission so I could get a socket on the lock nut. That was my next option but got lucky after giving it one more go.