Got a 92 Civic LX with 189,000 miles, rear brakes are drums.

I'm trying to change my Trailing Arm Bushings(the whole bushing..metal ring,etc) on my Civic. A few week ago I tried it with the arm still on the car..didn't work out too well because the arm was moving too much & I never had enough space to do anything anyway. So today I decided to try & take the Trailing arm off to replace the bushings..and I knew I had to disconnect the brake & E-Brake line...The brake line was a snap...BUT the damn E-Brake wasn't! I took the drum, brakes & the springs off to get to the E-Brake to see THIS:


This is how it looks from a little further:


And this is how the E-Brake line looks from behind the drum..There's a big nut back there(can't really see in the pic) that's about the size of a O2 sensor nut holding the E-Brake line to the back of the drum:


I don't know what to do! In the 1st pic it looks like a small clamp(not like those clamps in the engine) around the e-brake line that has to be broken off, but I don't wanna break it off because I don't know if the cable will retract or something.

I know there's a way of getting the e-brake off but HOW? I'm just stuck!

P.S: I don't have a Wrench big enough for that sucker in the 2nd pic, even if I did I don't think it would fit in that small space, I already tried it with the o2 Sensor socket..and no dice!

 

There are just clips there on the cable (the goldish piece) just have to squeeze them in and the cable will come out, it is a bit of a B*tch to do. Try a screw driver or pliers.

 

I think the trick is a 12 mm box end wrench, or similar tool with an approximately round hole of the proper size. Slide the box end over the end of the cable on the part that is inside the drum. Press it all the way down onto the clips. This should press the fingers in so you can then pull the cable out of the hole in the brake plate.

 

Ok...I managed to get everything else off to get the trailing arm down but only the e-brake cable is left on there. I have enough space to hammer the bushings in but here comes the problem I had also on the first try(weeks ago) with the bushings: They just won't hammer in properly.

Tried hammering a 32mm socket with 10 inch extension on the sucker & it goes in 1/3 of the way but it's like it can't go any further. I'm using a 3lb forged hammer & I'm about to use it's BIG Brother on it(10lb long Hammer), I'm afraid I'm gonna bend the trailing arm all up with that much force.

So...I had an idea....if I could shave some of the metal layer off the Bushing ring then maybe it could fit. I'm thinking of using a deep Socket(any size) and a Impact wrench..but I need some kind of paper or wrap to shave it with.

Or maybe someone has another idea on how to make homemade metal shaver?

 

Take the arms off of the car completely and you can get more leverage, or take them to a shop and have the bushings pressed in and out. The brake cable is easy to remove once you know how.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Schley-SCH6510.../dp/B000HI0PUK

Should've picked up one of these... I know it's an expensive tool but considering the mess you've gone through to do it another way, it's worth it lol. I bought one to use on my car and I've used it to do a friends Integra. Lent it out to another friend with an Integra. Worked great each time. Make doing the job 10x easier and faster. Not to mention you can do this while the arm is still on the car. If you can afford it, buy the tool and you can either sell it or rent it out to people and get you money back..

Since I haven't tried this job any other way, I don't really have any ideas. However, I really advise against shaving any metal from the bushing. It's ment to have a very snug fit, which is why they are so hard to get in and out without using the proper tool.

 

I was thinking about buying the tool but the cost is like as high as my Cable/Internet bill.

But anyway....I FINALLY put the bushings on after taking the drum brakes apart, removing the parking cable & taking the arm off. It was so freaking time consuming to put the drum brakes back together, put the arm back on & Bleed the system. Altogether took 7 hours.

My real worry was trying to get the bushings in. But I discovered a SPECIFIC technique that I couldn't find in all the "Trailing arm bushings" threads. You hammer at the top & bottom, while you hold the top of the bushing with your hand you hammer at the bottom 1-2 times & do the same for the bottom(holding the top), have to hammer really hard tho, and watch your holding hand when hammering.

This is just for anyone that has trouble with the hammer method.

P.S: I think I'll get the Honda press tool next time around.