1931 Pierce-Arrow Rear Axle Torque Arm Flex Joint Post-Repair Installation Hint

I thought this might be helpful to someone in future: after repairing the fabric joint where the forward end of the torque arm grounds to the frame, I found I was going to have to raise it at least 5 to 6 inches to get the bolts back in, and as this movement is greatly resisted by the rear chassis springs, it tales some force. I found that if I tried to jack under the arm it twisted and it was a seemingly impossible job to get all the bolts back in.

I ended up installing all the parts including the bracket, on the arm then using four suitable lengths of all-thread rod to pull the bracket up into place. Once it was in suitable position to be able to install the four bolts to the crossmember, I placed a jack underneath the bracket to hold everything in place, then removed the two all-thread rods on the passenger side, so I could move the aluminum brake rod bracket into place, then I installed the two bolts on that side (3/8-24 I believe) and replaced the two driver’s side all thread rods with the appropriate bolts likewise.

This worked very well, did not damage the bracket and just took a little time to accomplish.