rear trailing arm bushes

[Phil B]

I'm in the process of getting my '84 County with a 4BD1t back on the road.
After replacing and/or refurbishing most of the drive train and suspension I've got to the stage where a road test was in order.
The first concern I noted with a metalic "clack" in the drive train on acceleration and deacceleration.
Secondly I noticed a quite dramatic and scary pull to the left under hard acceleration.
I managed to get to 80km and that's where it got "interesting".
A bump in the road caused an alternate pull to the left and as soon as I reduced power it pulled to the right!
Scared the **** out of me!

Anyway, safely back home I checked all the components again and found some play in the trailing arm bushes where they join the trailing arm to the axle.

I took it apart this weekend and the bushes literally fell apart !!
Puts the new ones in and road tested on the same road, problem solved.
I can only assume that the pull to the left was caused by the engine torgue causing "rear steer" through the badly worn bushes and the "clack" was the metal on metal where the bushes had worn through.
$30 and 2hr solution to a very scary problem.

Regards,

[Bearman]

Well done Phil, yes this will cause it. Also check the bolts and bushes in the A frame on top of the rear axle. Any wear in them will also cause the same effect.

[Phil B]

Thanks Brian.
I have checked the A frame ball joint and bushes and they appear to have been replaced recently.
The large bushes on the chassis side of the trailing arms also looked new so I stupidly assumed that the trailing arm bushes on the axle had been replaced as well.
Silly me.

Regards,