(G) rear arm/bushes quickie

Ive not done this job myself yet and im just speculating, sure your gonna have to take the brakes off but are yours disks or drums on the rear?

ive got drums on the rear i knew id have to take of the rear drums etc and the hub as well but i thought id have to disconnect brake pipes as well meaning id have to then bleed the brakes which i cant do.

if its only a case of unbolt everything then bolt it together i should manage just a case of how long it takes i guess.

also heard that the big bolt can be a nightmare to get undone/off

Just got under it and had a real good look.You won't need to touch the brake pipe.What I thought was the brake pipe is a thick wire which must be the ABS sensor?The brake pipe goes just above the trailing arm into the drum

cheers for that so it really is a case of just unbolt the old one and bolt on the new one, maybe not that easy tho.

when i order the arm am i better off buying the new bolt or maybe trying just now see if the old one will losen off first?

I can see they fitted a new bolt on mine so for a little extra I would.I think it took Fiat about an hour and a half to fit but they have the gear and do it every day.It would take me a day and a half

yeah im expecting to take at least the whole sat and prob onto the sun anything quicker then i'll be laughing

think i'll just order myself a new bolt and cut the old one off prob be easier and quicker i guess eh

That is what ive been led to beleive.

Did you get it done

Yes they did and mine is 10mm.

I know this as I had to drill it out.

Even though it is made from plastic it was in solid and was not going to move without breaking or at least spending a great deal of time on it.

Autoparts also guaranteed me next day delivery but after much harrying them it was a week!

You do get the main pivot bolt with the radius arm.

Radius arm coil spring is released when shock absorber is undone.

It may be better to disconnect the (fluid) brake pipe at the beam axle as you will have to get the back plate of the brake assembly over the stub axle and could possibly fracture something in trying to finangle the assembly over the stub axle.

Peat

hello

im ordering mine tomorro ( wed ). hopefully i have a 10mm hole so dont have to do any drilling.

do u have to compress the spring at all or does it just drop out?? ( dont wanna take my eye out with a flying spring )

No you do not need to compress spring, it will almost fallout when the arm is lowered.

Now getting it back in is another matter . . . . . just kidding!

Further to the radius arm bought from AUTOPARTS in B'ham after fitting and re-assembling the various parts, drove 20 yards and the ABS warning comes on.

The long and short of it is - Autoparts have drilled the ABS sensor hole (10mm type) in the wrong place OR it's a bad copy of the original arm as the ABS sensor is not close enough to the wheelhub magnetic strip (it does not protrude through the backplate sufficiently) it's approx 5mm short of the strip AND the gap is about 5mm too wide!

And they are not answering their phone!

hello

did u manage to get a hold of them??? take it that u will have to take arm back off the car then as the ABS light will fail mats etc? lucky i read this as i was away to phone and order the arm today think i may just spend the extra and get the genuine one from shop4parts although it may have to wait till friday now.

did u fit it yourself? how long did it take u?

No, have not contacted them so far. They are not answering the phone at any time.

You are right in assuming the arm may have to be replaced again unless I can find a work around. I have a spare ABS sensor (£50+) that I may whittle down until it is in the correct position especially as it looks like I'm stuck with this arm.

It will probably be better to get a new arm from elsewhere ot try fitting the bearing kit.

The backplate screws had to be drilled off as they were ceased and it took just under two hours with all the garage kit (lift, air tools, etc.) at hand, possibly take longer without it.

Wonder what the cost of the proper Fiat part might be.I had mine done under warranty so it does not say on the reciept