SIMON HOLTBY

I have been replacing the bushes on my rear control arms. What pieces of junk they are. When I pressed out the first bush I nearly destroyed the arm as I thought the bush fitted into a sleve and squashed the arm a bit. I straightened it out and welded/boxed it up.

While I was under the rear I had a look at the panhard rod, the bushes seemed OK but the bar was bent. Now the axle is centered OK so I'm wanting to know. Should the bar be dead straight or does it have a slight bend/curve to it? I'd have though it would lose its rigidity if it was bent and be prone to flexeng. But how come the axle is centered OK with a bent bar?

If it should be straight I think I'll buy some steel rod and weld the ends of my bar on. First call would have been to steve spohn, its just shipping, UK import duty, vat, tax. We even have to pay sales tax on the american shipping cost!
Finally do the panhard bushes press out OK?

Thanks for any replies

Simon

MdFormula350

i think they should be straight, the aftermarket ones are straight also..

SIMON HOLTBY

Thanks fd , can anyone else take a look at their car and confirm this, please?

Thanks

Simon

RB83L69

It is supposed to be absolutely straight.

REVLIMIT

yea the panhard bar was supposed to be straight. If its bent I suggest you get a new one. Also the stock one is weak as hell. You can stand on it and it will bend down to the ground. After I put the Spohn Adjustible tubular one it changed the car alot. I felt a huge difference. Some people say they didnt really feel a difference. But I guess its cause I push my car to the limit around turns. A point past grip style driving.

SIMON HOLTBY

Thanks again, so it should be dead straight.

Has anyone ever removed the bushes from a panhard rod? I think it involves pushing the center sleeve out and then removing the rubber from each side. It doesnt look like a straight push from one side like the Lca bushes.

I have been chaseing a handling problem with my car ever since I bought it. When I corner with any speed the car becomes twitchy which is unnerving. It is hard to tell but it could be comeing from the back end.

Simon

REVLIMIT

Yea the panhard bar coudl be causing that. Camaros have a problem with feeling like hte rear end is seperate from the front. As if you turn the wheel, the front turns and then after that the back comes. After I changed the panhard bar it seemed as if it was one peice. WHen I turn the car moves together. The effect is even greater if you also replace the rear control arms.

SIMON HOLTBY

Just a quick update. I removed my panhard rod and it was quite badly bent.
I tried to remove the bushes but couldn't work out how too without destroying them.
I hacksawed off and ground smooth the ends of the rod and got some 1 1/4" tubing and welded the ends back on. To stop the rubber bushes melting I put the ends in a bowl of water so the bit that needed welding was just above the water line.
Handling is a vast improvement just from this but I also adjusted the adjustment screw on the steering box and it has taken out a lot of free play on the steering. A good days work for little money!

Thanks
Simon

MikeC.86Roc

iTrader: (10)

Just an observation, but why on earth would you go through all that trouble of replacing that stuff without installing new bushings? Are the bushings relatively new? I put a new adjustable Lakewood panhard bar that is powdercoated and came with poly bushings and grease fittings up under my car for less then 100 bucks!

I my 86 Iroc, I once completely did all the front and rear bushings though. I can't exactly remember, but I think I did press out the center collars though. Then I might have just hacked up the rubber with my air buzzsaw getting them out since I was replacing em with poly mounts.

How's the handleing now? Did it make a big difference? Keep us posted!

SIMON HOLTBY

Mike,

You cant believe how cheap parts for our cars seem when I look through a catalogue such as Summit . Its just the cost is so much more as I live in Great Britain. Shipping taxes etc.

For example shipping on a set of headers was $200 and tax was $120
We have to improvise in doing repairs, obtaining /making parts etc
The bushes were probably original ones but as i said the handling is much improved.
Imagine a straight drinking straw, press at each end and youll have to press quite hard to bend it. Now bend it slightly and then press at each end. The straw will bend over double real easy. Thats how I look at a bent panhard rod.

Next problem to fix is a rear wheel bearing on a 9 bolt rear. I have got the shaft out but it is a strange looking bearing. I'll go into town to a bearing dealers and see if they have a match. I'll have to reuse the oil seal and inner bearing retainer

Simon

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

The panhard rods are straight, but the brace right above them IS bent...wierd huh??

Ed

uk89camaro

Simon,
I replaced my panhard and LCA's with Hotchkiss gear this Monday. The mechanic may not have tossed the old Panhard if you want it? Gimme a PM.

Paul

SIMON HOLTBY

paul,

Thanks for offering me your panhard rod. But to be honest I'm very happy with the rod I made myself. For anyone with a welder and angle grinder these things are easy to make.
I read another post of yours the other day regarding the AAC forum. It could be a useful place for us UK owners to converse. Another site I found was www.fbodyeurope.org it is based in Germany I think.
Third Gen.org has to be about the best most informative site for any type of car I have come across and I think is the best place to post any problems we may have, due to the huge amount of knowledge here.
Hope new parts have made an improvement

Thanks again

Simon

88 Camaro 350 IROC

uk89camaro

No probs.
Hope to catch up with you at some shows this year.
Paul

erictheviking

Hi Simon,
I've had 2 Camaros and BOTH of them had bent panhard rods.The present car has a home made bar (glad to see you've done the same).The only difference is with the ends.One end is a polygraphite bush while the other is a spherical bearing.I read somewhere that this is the best setup and stops it binding like 2xpolygraphite ends.But who knows everybody will have their own opinion on this,even the manufacturers.