Trailing arms

[pommy]

G’day people, just fitted Gwyn Lewis rear trailing arms on my 2015 defender can anyone tell what torque settings should be used front and rear of arms can’t find any info thanks In advance Richard

[AK83]

I've been reading up on this stuff for my D1 too .. will end up doing a major suspension overhaul next year .. so just looking at as much info as I can before I get into it all.

But it seems they use the same values on the Defender as on the D1(at least .. dunno about RRCs and other stuff).

Large front nut needs 176Nm
The rear axle bolt can vary.
Going by RAVE:
if M16, requires 180Nm .. but
if 5/8 UNF/UNC then 136Nm

I dare say the bolt should be an M16(24mm head), but if it fits a 15/16" socket better it could be 5/8 bolt.
The problem with LR is.. who knows!? :bat: they mix'n'match metric and AF fastener sizes with randomly irregular abandon!

[pommy]

I've been reading up on this stuff for my D1 too .. will end up doing a major suspension overhaul next year .. so just looking at as much info as I can before I get into it all.

But it seems they use the same values on the Defender as on the D1(at least .. dunno about RRCs and other stuff).

Large front nut needs 176Nm
The rear axle bolt can vary.
Going by RAVE:
if M16, requires 180Nm .. but
if 5/8 UNF/UNC then 136Nm

I dare say the bolt should be an M16(24mm head), but if it fits a 15/16" socket better it could be 5/8 bolt.
The problem with LR is.. who knows!? :bat: they mix'n'match metric and AF fastener sizes with randomly irregular abandon!
Thanks AK just what I needed 👍

[Danjeffery]

G’day people, just fitted Gwyn Lewis rear trailing arms on my 2015 defender can anyone tell what torque settings should be used front and rear of arms can’t find any info thanks In advance Richard

Locktite the front nut also!
Mine came loose, found it just before it fell off. The nyloc didn’t help it any staying on there.

[pommy]

Locktite the front nut also!
Mine came loose, found it just before it fell off. The nyloc didn’t help it any staying on there.

That's what I was worried about thanks Dan

[Red90]

They should not be locktited. It is important that they are properly torqued AFTER the vehicle is sitting at normal ride height. And then re-check torque after some use. If you locktite them and then it settles, the bolt won't be tight. It is very important that all bushing bolts are maintained tight. Do not tighten the bolts until after it is sitting at the normal ride height.

[AK83]

Back in the day, I reckon I changed at least 3 or 4 of the rubber type leading bush on my RRC, and I've never had issues with loosening front nut.

I wouldn't locktite it either, as they're usually difficult enough to remove without the additional resistance of loctite.


Locktite the front nut also!
Mine came loose, found it just before it fell off. The nyloc didn’t help it any staying on there.

Did you use a new nut?
If so, probably just a bit of random bad luck in that it was one in a million that had dodgy nylon .. or something.
Was the other side also loose? if not ... as above on the side that did loosen.


I can't ever recall any nyloc nut having loosened on any of my vehicles.

[Danjeffery]

Yes both new nyloc nuts fitted, a nyloc nut is supposed to be a single use item.
Both done up to the right torque settings, whilst on the ground. Checked again after a little use, it didn’t come loose straight away. Would have been 9 months later with a bit of wheeling in there.
I found it loose on the way home from Levuka 4x4 Park. Camper trailer in tow and family all aboard. I was getting some rear steer and could tell something wasn’t right.
Running long travel suspension so the rear end moves a decent amount.
The passenger side nut was still tight and ok.
I only used a medium strength locktite so it can come off when needed. My rear trailing arm bushes chassis end don’t last.

[AK83]

Ah! OK .. a bit of a worry then.
Considering the passenger side was still ok, I'd say that one in a million rule gotcha!.. pity for you it wasn't in relation to winning tatts tho! :D


.... My rear trailing arm bushes chassis end don’t last.
My RRC back in the day gave me that grief basically every other year.
I persisted with them for a while, but more than the money was the unsettled handling it caused.
I use to use original rubber types(changed twice) in a few years, then discovered Rangie Spares(back then, now LRA) and they devised a cone shaped rubber bush, a bit longer lasting, but more importantly when it did wear, it still had OK handling, ie. no sudden, and unwanted sidestepping on some rough dirt/gravel roads.
They lasted a couple of years longer than the std rubber bushes, but when they looked a bit too shabby, I was alerted to poly bushes. I reckon they were still good after 10+ years of mainly easy, but some difficult use too.
Outlasted my resolve to fix all the rust on the RRC, so it was sold off cheaply(way too cheaply) eventually.

My plans at some point next year is to have my D1 with all poly bushes.

[Colmoore]

When I'm out bush I try to have a slide under the truck every couple of days (every day if it's super rough/corrugated) to just check on anything loosening up.
I also clean up thread ends and blob silicone on them to prevent loss of a nut if it does come loose.
As you know, on the corrugations anything can work loose in a short time!