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Rear transverse links question


GnatGoSplat

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The rear transverse links, are all 4 individually attached in the center by separate nuts and bolts, or is there a single long bolt and nut for each pair?

If they are 4 separate nuts and bolts, how are they tightened during alignment when the technician has to hold the bolt to tighten the nut with the spring in the way?

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They are separate. I don't know what you mean by "how are they tightened." I've done plenty of alignments on these and have never had any trouble getting a wrench/socket on the bolt to loosen or tighten anything. Besides only one of the links can be moved (the rear I think) to set toe. The only difficult thing is if you want to completely remove the inside bolts on the front links to change the link. Stupid GM decided to put the bolts in from the front and not the back, meaning they contact the fuel tank before they are out, so you have to drop the fuel tank or subframe to get them out.

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Thanks, what I mean by how they're tightened is normally when you loosen a nut, you have to hold the bolt head with a wrench to keep it still or the nut & bolt will just spin. I haven't taken a look, but I thought it would be difficult to get another tool on the inside where the spring could be in the way.

 

I take it the entire link needs to be replaced if the bushings are bad?

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Thanks, what I mean by how they're tightened is normally when you loosen a nut, you have to hold the bolt head with a wrench to keep it still or the nut & bolt will just spin. I haven't taken a look, but I thought it would be difficult to get another tool on the inside where the spring could be in the way.

 

I take it the entire link needs to be replaced if the bushings are bad?

 

I'm not aware of any replacement bushings for them, so I think the link will need replaced. I don't ever recall having trouble getting a couple wrenches on both sides of the bolt, but if you do have to replace the link, the front one on each side is going to be difficult.

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The bushings are available, I got mine from rock auto. I had my subframe out at the time, and it took some good pounding to get the old ones out. New ones slide in pretty easy though

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Thanks, those are definitely for the transverse links that go side-to-side parallel to the spring? When I Google that P/N, the description comes back as being for the lateral links which I thought are the ones on the sides that go front to rear.

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Correct, lateral links side to side, parallel to the leaf. Front to rear are trailing arms. Those are harder bushings to find and you are better off just replacing the entire arm

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  • 1 month later...

Last week with cooler temps, I finally got motivated to get under the car and see what's up with it.

Reason I was asking about it is Sears wouldn't align the car, saying it needs a "LINK KIT" which needs dropping the tank, which they won't do. I assumed it was probably the bushings.

So I shake one of the wheels, and there is some play, but it's not the bushings. It appears to be a loose hub, which interestingly, makes no grinding or humming noise, but I'm 90% sure I see only the hub moving and I can even see the rotor moving within the caliper - which if it was a bushing, the entire knuckle would move including the caliper.

 

Think those guys just assumed play = bushings? Or do these cars really need some kind of alignment kit installed? I noticed my 89 has the eccentric cams installed, but the 94 doesn't and neither does my TGP.

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i had the cam bolts on my cutlass as well, but not the tgp. i can recall a shop refusing to align the cutlass once because those cam bolts were very rusted. i ended up taking it to a friend's shop to get under there with a torch to break the bolts free, then brought it back to the other place and they aligned it. not sure if that's the same thing you are dealing with

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