A while ago I hammered it doing about 15mph while rolling along in 1st gear. There was a clunk from the rear and it made a noise that night when rolling. I thought I had broken a tooth off the ring gear, or pinion.

However, the noise dissapeared the next day and its been quiet ever since.

Recently though the car has begun to exhibit more and more body roll, and the rear end seems to be shifting side to side when I slalom. Its been getting worse and worse as time goes by.

2 years ago in april I put KYB Gas-adjust shocks all around, and replaced the worn shock bushings with new rubber ones. I haven't done any work to the rear end or rear suspension other than that.

What could cause this feeling? The shocks still seem to be doing there job just fine, when I do the compression test by pushing down on the rear of the car the shocks compress then return to resting with less than 1 bounce. I don't see any oily residue on the shock shafts that would indicate them being blown out. Also, the sway bar end links though worn are not broken. The sway bar mounting bushings are still soft, and not missing any chunks of rubber.

I suppose the only thing to do would be to put it inthe air and see if anything is broken. Would a disintigrated torque arm bushing up front, or panhard bar bushing cause this kind of feeling? The panhard bar doesn't seem to be cracked, or bent in any way. If I push side to side on the rear of the car nothing seems to be moving, there aren't any unusual noises either. I can only hear the odd stuff when I am driving the car.

If the lower control arm bushings, or LCA's were bad what kind of symptoms would I look for?

 

Did You Check Your Transmission Mount. Some times It make wierd sounds and doesnt seem like its coming from their. If it is the control arm their might been seperation in the bushing or crackes. Sorry for the bad spelling just dont feel like fixing it.

 

I thought about that, but on hard down shifts, or WOT upshifts its solid as a rock there. I replaced the trans mount with a Energy suspension poly mount last year. Its still in great condition.

Could the torque arm mount cause this kind of problem?

 

I think it could be the torque arm mount, but would more likely be an issue with the panhard bar if your endlinks are fine.

 

Check your top shock mounts (pull out the back seat to see them) and make sure they aren't broken out.

Make sure your Panhard bar isn't bent.

 

Should I be able to wiggle the rims in and out about a 1/8th of an inch? I haven't measured it exactly, but they move enough to make a noise like metal hitting metal. What do you think about this? Last 15 to 20 seconds of video you can hear it clunking back and forth. I think I should be worried about that, don't you?
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/thirdgen89gta/axel.mov
The axel is a BW 9bolt, what retains the axel shafts?

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The LCA's and their bushings are good
The TQ arm mount is good up front, along with the transmount. The bolts are tight where the TQ arm connects to the axel.
The Panhard bar, and bushings are in good shape, no excess movement, none at all actually.

Only thing left to check are the upper shock mounts when I put the car down.

 

In the 9-bolt, the only thing retaining the axle, is the axle bearings. (which are in turn retained by - you guessed it - the retainer)

Sounds like you need to pop them out of there and get some new ones pressed on.

 

Ugh, in that case I don't think I'll bother. The posi is blown out on the axel. I'd rather buy a used 4th gen LS1 rear or a 91/92 10bolt with the PBR calipers and just do stuff to that.

Or I'd go with another 9bolt if I could find one in good shape with the PBR calipers.

I got some money coming in this week, and there should be plenty left over to buy a good used axel.

 

Rob, what type of wear would I look for inside the pumpkin when it comes to the retainer?

I'm assuming Timken would be the bearing of choice if I decide to put a bandaid on this one. I don't feel like rebuilding the posi.

 

The retainer isn't in the pumpkin; it's out at the end of the axle tubes. It's like a thin plate of metal that bolts on.... might use the brake backing plate bolts to hold it on, I don't really remember on that model of rear. I doubt it would be possible for it to wear noticeably without some major disaster occurring long before you could notice it.

Whatever it is, it'll be pretty obvious. You take off the calipers, the backing plates, and the retainer; pop the axle out with a slide hammer (AutoZone is your friend); and get the bearings & seals pressed off and back on. It's not a whole lot of either work or money. Probably less than $100 total parts and labor if you pull the axles, and about as much work as doing all 4 brakes.

 

Thanks. I wasn't really worried about the work, just was curious if you knew what type of wear to look for. I think I priced bearings at one point because the rear end does whine when I turn left or right. Very noticible inside the car without the rear carpet.

I checked the upper shock mounts today, and those are still good. So I guess my culprit lies in the rear end. Oh well, needed a new one anyways.