cycleguy04

I have this image in my mind of the diff housing rolling forward, spitting the springs out, and the car falling off the stands and killing me as soon as I take out the torque arm bolts at the tranny. Am I crazy or is this something that can actually happen?

Veaceonee

iTrader: (1)

Nope, your crazy. . That cannot happen unless you disconnect the drive shaft, brake lines, and lower control arms. Even then, the planets will have to align and hell freeze over at the same time for that scenario to happen.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Yeah not a prob at all. If the rear end does rotate it will only move 1/2" at most.

I have done many and never had any movement.

cycleguy04

Drive shaft is out. I don't know what the brake lines would have to do with it, but they are still connected. I was just thinking, the suspension not being a four link, and the torque arm free whats holding it?

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

I've done it. Its no problem.

Easy solution though is to put some jack stands on the rear frame rails and support the car there. As if you were going to remove the axle all together.

Then there is no way in hell that car should ever move.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

The springs support the car, and the LCA and Panhard bar acts as a stabilizer keeping the rear from going anywhere.

It will rotate, but not that much.

cycleguy04

The pan hard bar was never connected. It's there, but I reallized when I started working on the car, it's just hanging there.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Then it sounds like your rear end is NOT attached.

You need to support the unibody of the car and let the axle hang then.

Every bit of advice people have given you so far is on a car that has all of the mountings except for the Torque Arm attached.

Either bolt everything up, or support the car like you were going to be removing the axle.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Aka, like this:

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Nope; won't happen like that.

For one reason, the spring perches are BEHIND the axle tubes; the rear would rotate rearwards, not forwards.

But that aside:

Best way to handle it is to jack up the rear of the car, and put the "frame" on one pair of jack stands, immediately in front of the mount point of the LCAs. Then raise the rear by the pumpkin about an inch; just enough to lift it off the shocks. Then put another pair of jack stands under the axle tubes, making sure they hold the rear off the shock stops; remember, the axle tubes, NOT the shock brackets, NOT the spring perches, NOT anything else besides the axle tubes.

With it like that, you can move the front of the TA around with one finger. You can take it completely out and put it back in effortlessly.

Panhard bar is irrelevant.

cycleguy04

Ok, thanks.

cycleguy04

Well, I unbolted the torque arm with the e-brake on, rear wheels chocked, and the front end on jack stands. The diff actually rolled a very tiny bit sending the torque upward toward the body. Not very much at all though. I had a friend help me and he was confident that it wouldn't move at all. He was under the car when it rolled a little bit. Needless to say he got a little quiet when it rolled, but if anything the torque arm would have stopped it from rolling once it hit the top of the tranny tunnel.

MoJoe

iTrader: (5)

As you found out, it is the floor pan that prevents the torque arm from moving up too much, which limits the amount of axle rotation.

Since the springs (perches) are to the rear of the axle, when the is any weight (force) on the axle through the springs, that force tries to rotate that axle pinion UP.

With the shocks connected, there is always a little spring tension pushing down on the rear of the axle, holding the nose/pinion/torque arm up.