Trailing arm fractured

[S3_Steve]

My O/S trailing arm failed this lunchtime. Trying the usual places for a replacement. The question is how big a job is it to replace. I'm not a complete spanner novice, but having no garage or covered area to work in am I better off trying to get it trailered to the local independant.

Steve

[GreenV8S]

It'll mean taking the caliper, hub, brake lines off and taking the CV off then undo the front bolts. Assuming everything comes undone, it's just a pile of bolts that are all pretty obvious. If you start rounding things off life gets much harder.

[jed-s]

The trailing arm was the first job I did within days of collecting my S3. It is actually a very easy job although removing the hub nut takes some effort.

My notes on the job are here:

http://deadpineapple.net/tvr/suspensi

I did the job outside so you just need a dry day really. Only thing I would suggest is that if you buy the new arm from somewhere like TVR Car Parts then see if they can press the bushes in for you. My local garage did mine but the arm was an awkward shape for their press. Alternatively you could possibly get the arm repaired by one of the specialists (whose name escapes me at the moment) that allegedly has jigs to do this job.

[GreenV8S]

I believe Adrian Venn does this.

[s2andy]

Hi. I took my trailing arms off over Xmas. A couple of points too watch
1. I undid the 4 bolts securing the 'tracking' shims rather than undo the inside mount. This worked really well.
2. Check very carefully the brackets connecting the trailing arm to the outrigger. One of mine had a very nasty hole through the web which was practically invisible on a casual inspection. relatively easy to repair in situ with the right gear, but would have been very nasty if it had broken on the road.
3. I had to cut my brake flexi pipes as they were rusted solid. Guess what? the pipe fittings at the back are not the same as the front! Eventually tracked them down to a Talbot part at my local supplier.
Good Luck