Removing the subframe and trailing arms together

[felix_666]

Rear subframe and trailing arm removal

This article is for those who haven't tinkered with their 02 much, it super easy and straight forward, just take all the precautions and time you need. I'm not going to give it an estimated time because i think its important that people take it at their own rate, particularly when this is your first time.

All the normal precautions and conditions apply to this article, it’s your life so take all the necessary safety measures, as my old man always tells me:

“Measure twice, cut once”

Penetrate

The very first thing I do before working on an area of my car is to soak it with penetrate the night before, lay down some newspaper and go to town with that stuff. The cheaper stuff will work much the same as the more expensive stuff, provided you let it sit over night. Every nut and bolt I mention in this article should be sprayed!

Jacking

Firstly back off the wheel nuts. Make sure you have chocks at the wheels. Jack the rear of the car up from your preferred location (the diff for me). I must also point out that I had already jacked the front of the car and put it on stands as I took off the front subframe. Refer to figure.

Jacking and stands

I jacked the car high enough so that I could roll the rear sub out with the wheels on for easy transport, so the car needed to be high enough for the wheels to clear the petrol tank.

Support the frame as shown in the pics with a 2x4 on each stand to distribute the load better. My sills were in very good condition so I had no fear of using them, however if you do have any concerns, maybe find an alternative method as shown in many other threads (maybe someone could reply with those links?)

Exhaust

The exhaust is the first part to be removed, but isn’t necessary on some cars (you’ll work it out). I entirely removed the exhaust as I am restoring the car (but you could get away with removing just the muffler), this is pretty self explanatory, just find those U bolts, unscrew them, and pull. Don’t forget to penetrate these parts beforehand. There might be some other rubber parts that need removal before the muffler will slip away.

Driveshaft

Removing the driveshaft (DS) where it connects to the diff is easier without the exhaust attached. There are 4 bolts that need to be removed, make sure you use a spanner or socket on each side (might be a bit tough as they are subject to large torsional loads and have probably never been touched – use penetrate). Once the shaft is loose try and tie it up put of the way. I don’t think that you need to remove the DS centre bearing to remove the entire DS to drop the subframe.

Bits and pieces

Check your stands are nice and sturdy (as they should of already been). Make sure the jack is under a flat part of the diff (where some numbers are printed seems like a good spot).

flat spot of diff and diff bolts at top of pic

Remove the road wheels and disconnect the brake hard lines, so yes you need to drain the brake fluid, or try to put plastic wrap over the reservoir and then place the lid back on. Although, this never works as well as removing the brake fluid altogether.

Removing the hard brake lines

You need to detach the handbrake cable somewhere. Either at the handbrake itself, or from the brake shoes which involves pulling apart the rear brakes. I simply removed the cables from the handbrake lever – both methods are probably explained in any manual. Don’t forget to pull out the end plugs if you remove the cables via the handle as seen in figure (they are tough to pull out – be patient).

removing bolts to release handbrake cables (dont forget to remove the lever before pulling the cables through)

annoying end plugs

Disconnect the shocks by unscrewing them from the where they connect to the trailing arms.

Subframe

Loosen the following nuts: the nuts attaching the diff to the diff bracket. The nuts that hold the metal arms to the body and the nuts that hold the subframe to the body. Refer to the pics.

metal arms

subframe bolts

Make sure the jack is taking load all the while so it easier to loosen the nuts.

Now stand back and double check everything.

Remove the metal arms and the subframe nuts completely. Most people have said that you need to whack the bolts up through the car to remove the sub entirely, but I wasn’t able to as they were stuck, but I had enough clearance to leave them in place. So if you are able to remove the long bolts do so, it makes things a bit easier later, to do so leave the nut at the end of the bolt to prevent damage to the bolt when hitting it with a BFH. Now completely remove the diff bolts slowly to ensure the jack is taking the load.

From here it is simple, slowly let down the jack, but at small increments stop and check things are going smoothly.

If you weren’t able to remove the sub bolts, lower the jack in small increments and pull on the subframe mounts as they will be stuck on the bolts. While doing so spray some penetrate into the mount area and be patient.

nearly lost it

all good

[felix_666]

I'm open to criticism, especially if there is a safer or easier method of doing something.

cheers

[robspeed]

I'm open to criticism, especially if there is a safer or easier method of doing something.

cheers

This is AWESOME!! Pics and everything!! If i was half a brain smarter i would have articled this by now... ;-)

[dubois]

First, thank you for taking the time to write this. These articles are better than what one can get out any manual. The pictures are great. They do take time to write, and for that, one should be most appreciative

An observation: I love your jack stands, however, the pyramid below the diff. reminds me of a game we used to play. No matter because it will give the next person an idea what can be used, if lacking some of the tools/ facilities, etc. When there is a will there is a way. Good going!