Success!
Tonight I was able to replace both of the rear trailing/radius arm bushings, the large single donuts that sit in front of each arm. To line up the rubber donut as I raised the arm, I ended up using a come-along. Since I had to move my arms back (not forward) approx 1 inch, I tied one end around the outer rear axle and the other end on my son’s truck. I used a large jack and jacked up the side I was working on under the rear spring so that the wheel was off the ground (this jack has small wheels and was facing forward towards the front of the car, jack handle facing the rear and protruding under the rear bumper). Then as my son tightened the come-along, I watched the arm move back. Then I would raise the arm with another small jack and check the alignment (this is a trial & error process)... Then lowered the arm, releasing the spring tension, then he would tighten the come-along (the tension must be off the spring and wheel off the ground for this to work properly. Once the arm was back far enough, I raised the arm with the other jack and the rubber donut slide right into place. My old rubber donuts were not installed properly. They were not only worn, but the center hole was no longer round but rather oval and very out of shape.
If anyone has any questions on how to do theirs, just ask me. Now that I have done this, it seems easy. Need to be very careful doing this procedure. The spring tension can be very dangerous. Note: I also used chocks to block in my wheels. The chocks really helped to ensure the car didn’t move when we were tensioning the come-along.
Thanks to all for you help!!!
Bob
bpossel
Memphis, TN.
1971 280SL
1997 E320
