Trailing arms: Johnny Joint install - pics

MYBAD79

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Started on the Johnny Joint installation yesterday. I bought two used trailing arm assemblies from forum member Clutchdust so now I can take my time rebuilding the bearings and the arms while my '79 is still driveable :)

I started with a hole saw:

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This has to be the quickest way to remove the old bushing :lol:

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Here's the housing for the Johnny Joint fitted into the trailing arm.

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and welded in place.... not a very beautiful weld but structurally I'm not worried :amused:

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Johhny Joints: here's the info from Currie's website:

Currie's Johnny Joint® offer 30 degrees of unrestricted movement in any direction as compared to 22 degrees on a common heim joint. The bushing in the Johnny Joint® rod ends are made with a high density, "tough 88" urethane that encases the inner ball. Its a very durable material and it is impervious to weather. The special ball is heat treated steel for extra strength. and on the 2" and 2 1/2" models the ball is cross drilled for thru-bolt lubrication.
 
Karsten, Is the 2" width in the specs the width of the shell or the ball? Did you get the greasable bolt?
 
I removed the spindle and the bearings. Next weekend I'll start blasting parts....

The seals did not look too good:

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This is the inner seal, I'll have to have a look at the new seal to see if it's supposed to be flat or not....

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Here's the dust cap... looks crushed....

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inside of dust cap:

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Those weird flat seals are the original ones. The inner one has 3 "tabs" folded over to secure the 2 sides together. It's basically 2 metal rings with the rubber seal wedged in between. IMO these are a lot nicer than the aftermarket thin stamped steel with vulcanized rubber ones. The stock oens are very sturdy and do not easily deform when pressing them in.
 
Is that dust cap crushed or is it supposed to be not parallel ??
[edit] ... just saw a pic in one of the catalogs.... it's parallel ... guess I'll have to order more new parts....
 
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progress: I welded the first trailing arm. The factory stitch welds were more than cheap... more grinding and sandblasting later.... :3rd:

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Can't measure to the bushing, mine is already cut out. I can take more measurements when the second trailing arm arrives... hopefully tonight...

I measured next to the bushing and it's roughly 2 1/8" (tape measure only)

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The project was stalled for two days because it seemed like USPS lost one of these 40+lbs boxes.... fortunately the second arm arrived today :smash:

I cut the bushing out, and welded the JohnnyJoint sleeve. The first trailing arm is sandblasted....
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JohnnyJoint and stock bushing:
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JohnnyJoint and sleeve

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hole in trailing arm and JJ sleeve:

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more progress expected for this weekend :smash::smash:
 
Did you measure it before you cut it?


Yes I did.... I was going to send you a PM ....

Measured with straight piece of aluminum barstock and tape measure: it's 2" to the metal next to the bushing and just a tad over 1.5" to the bushing.

The two arms I have here are within 1/8".... the first one is 2.125", the other one pretty close to 2.000"

Bushing thickness will change that 1.688" dimension.... no way you can stake the busing within a few thou..... length of the inner sleeve is another variable....
 
Is the bushing on the stock arm 2" wide?

Yes, maybe a little over 2". No idea if that one is stock or aftermarket though....

The wheel bearings on the first TA are press fit, on this one it's slip fit.. guess I can use this spindle as my setup tool :cool:
 
Here are a few pics that show the butt ugly factory welds.... I doubt that the frame welds are any better....
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Finally blasted... I moved the parking brake bracket to the top of the arm...

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And covered in two coats of white epoxy:

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Got all the small stuff sandblasted and painted with two part epoxy - nasty stuff. The HarborFreight $100 benchtop blaster performed well.


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I was going to replace these plates but since there's nothing wrong with the old ones I decided to blast and paint. New plates are only $60 or so, it is absolutely not worth restoring the old plates but now I can proudly say my backing plates are original :p

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I'll start working on the bearings today.
 
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