1988-305-tbi

So awhile back i purchased a UMI tunel mounted torque arm/ with D/S safety loop.


the worst rattling/vibration ever, no matter how it was adjusted. i contacted UMI and they told me to use a rubber bushing to cover up the problem??? doesn't make since to get this heavy duty torque arm and than use a weak rubber bushing?????



i remebered when i first installed it the trans height changed, i thought it raised the tranny a bit, but i was wrong... i installed the old crossmember and compared it to the new one and i realized that it actually lowered the trans about 7/16"


So now i put 3/8" spacers in the trans mount and bam, the vibrations have almost completly gone away, now the problem is that the drive shaft is 1/2" higher than before, causing it to rub the D/S safety loop. i'm guessing thats why UMI allowed the trans mount to be lowered to accommodate for the safety loop. you really do need the Safety loop with this torque arm though, all the vibration makes it feel like it may break at any second.

long story short i plan on getting rid of this T/A soon, and i don't advise anyone to use it either, it's not really a funtional design and is a pain to install

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

sounds like you're fighting the wrong pinion angle or the driveshaft isn't balanced properly.

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

if you sell it let me know

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

are you running a steel or aluminum driveline?? if you running a aluminum your okay...if steel I would start by throwing that in trash get an aluminum, and then try to find vibration.....
read this link https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...iveshafts.html

Also make sure you double check that nothing is rubbing line, like brake cable (that happened to me)

hope that helps some...

1988-305-tbi

yeah i got a 4th gen aluminum drive shaft, vibrations didn't start until the TA was installed, i had to pull the aluminum D/S, at first, and install the factory steel D/S beacause it didn't even fit inside the safety loop at first, i had to mod it to accept the aluminum D/S, even had to grind on my tranny tailhousing so the TA would fit, so now i need a new tail housing to put the factory TA on.

pinion angle has been set from -8 to pos 5 degrees with little to no effect on the vibrations

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

i have one, the torque arm, and so do many other people here and i have no issues a all. If you raised the trans, you changed the pinion angle, and if the problem went away or got better, then the pinion angle is the problem.

Set the pinion angle correctly, make sure the driveshaft and u-joints are good, then try again.

Or if you are looking to offload the torque arm for a good price, LMK, i'll buy another one as a spare.

***edit****

i just read your lsat post, missed it.

Something with your setup sounds wrong, you seem to have a lot of issues that i have never encountered, or heard of, with fitment on this arm.

1988-305-tbi

86TA... did this TA make your tranny sit 1/2" lower than normal, like mine does?? are you running a urethane mount or a rubber mount?



most people on here dont know to much about theese cars, when people talk about lowering everybody jumps in and says make sure you get an adjusatable panhard bar.... but no one ever mentions a panhard relocation bracket , way way more important than an adjustable bar alone. alot of people on here have lowered cars that they think handle good and don't think the panhard angle matters nearly as much as the lenghth, they put 18/19" rims combos with the same overall tire height, and they think there car handles good. ask about tire pressure recomendation and see how many say they run 35 psi all around, and it handles great. so it wouldn't suprise me if everyone thinks that this is ok, but it's not. people buy heavy duty TA to reduce deflection, then they install a rubber mount that allows deflection, and they pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

the odds are that mopst people on this board would get in my car, and say... there isn't any problem, wow it handles and rides so much better than my car, i don't get it


even UMI admitted they have problems with vibrations, and recomended a rubber bushing to cover up the problem

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

That recommendation went with the TA relocation piece as well. I passed.

JamesC

Shagwell

The tq arm itself can not physically cause a vibration. It may have severely applified a previously un-noticed vibration, or the change in pinion angle may have pushed a worn joint past its limit, but there is nothing about a non-rotating part that can cause a vibration.


saying "I have noticed that many/several people on here don't understand how the suspension in these cars works" would have been a considerably better way to word what I highlighted. I can gaurantee you that there are people on here that know considerably more than you think.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

im running a poly mount, and as for the trans, i have a tko600 mounted to the crossmember, never had the 700r4 on it, though it is the 700r4/t5 crossmember.

I dont see what a rubber trans mount will change, the vibrations are being transferred to the chassis through the new crossmember and torque arm, not the trans. People usually change to this part to remove stress from the trans tailshaft, and to loose the factory slop in the rubber crap bushings. With the rubber mount, the trans will move a little more, but that will not affect what the torque arm does.

This much more rigid mount will increase noise, i noticed an increase in road noise after i installed it, but i expected that. Again though, i have no issues at all with vibrations.

For that matter, before i did all this work i swapped a poly trans mount onto my old stock 700r4 and factory torque arm and picked up a vibration/noise.

If you car sounds like it going to fall apart, something else is wrong, there is just no way the torque arm could cause that much noise.

I noticed you have double adjustable rear control arms, they are not known to be the quietest things in the world. How old are they? the rod ends could be shot?


As for the comment, that most people here know nothing about these cars, i beg to differ. while there are quite a few people here who are clueless, there are many who know what they are talking about.

UMI Performance

Hello,

What we were trying to say was we found the polyurethane mounts such as the Energy Suspension or Prothane ones to offer vibrations. When in installed with our tunnel mounted torque arm the vibrations seem to increase and we do not recommend using these two items together on a street car. For a street car we do recommend the stock rubber transmission bushing.

We do not have any issues with this set-up and never had a complaint. It sounds like just a small issue with a easy fix.

Hope that helps,
Ryan