I thought that I would follow up post installation. I have now completely reassembled the torque arms to the car/axle. Recall that my initial reason for getting into the rear end was to replace the boot on the differential. As usual, this forum of persons experienced with this work was invaluable.
First, the torque arms. I installed the bushings with the ridged side up. Although there were differing viewpoints on the forum, I was ultimately swayed by the advice provided by Bud's Benz, the inner contour of the bushings best matching the contour of the mating feature on the car when in this orientation, the exploded diagram of this assembly (on the forum and in other places) depicting the same, and the experience noted on the level of difficulty installing them in the opposite orientation. Never-the-less, I very much appreciate the assistance and advice provided by everyone.
I will say that this is a two person job. I can't imagine doing this alone. I didn't use a specialty alignment tool. I used a mirror, and straps on the axle to pull/align the torque arm such that the hole in the bushing remained aligned over the mating feature. It was a slow and deliberate process. As long as I had maintained this alignment, I was able to jack the torque arm right into place without any real incident. I did use silicon spray to "encourage" the process.
Relative to the boot, I followed much of the guidance from the forum and removed the fuel tank and compensating spring. The amount of accessibility with these out of the way was well worth the additional work. The compensating spring is the challenge here. I couldn't quite get enough travel with the shocks disconnected for each axle to drop to the point where the spring was unloaded. Almost but not quite. The brake lines were the issue - there wasn't enough available travel with those connected. I started to disconnect those (figuring these should be replaced anyway) but they were not about to come loose without a fight. I chose not to take those on in addition to everything else. The spring came out easily enough but I had to make a simple tool (also found on the forum) to compress the spring in order to reinstall it.
The grand news is that the rear end has all new rubber, except the lateral adjustment. I didn't feel that I could get to that easily with the exhaust in position. They do need to be replaced (I have the parts) and I will replace them but I didn't want to take on the exhaust right now. I haven't had it on the road but I will in the next few days. I'm anxious to see/feel the results.
So thanks very much. I hope that I am able to also offer helpful advice for others doing this job in the future. It is not a job for the feint of heart or newbies. It is very involved, and anytime you are working with springs and heavily loaded suspension members, it can be dangerous.
Harry
