my axle is about 2 inches off center, my panhard rod is bent. should i get an aftermarket panhard rod or stock one? i have 30 summit bucks that are going to expire soon... Can i change the panhard rod myself without lifting the back end? i dont want to jack up the back end since the axle is out of alignment...i think i might make something worse. and how will the axle get centered again? till it center itself when i remove the bent panhard rod?

 

I would get an aftermarket. Stronger, ligher, prettier, and (IMO) worth the cash.
You can change them without jacking, but...lol. Not very easy. I set my rear end over the ramp to the garage at my house to have extra clearance. Not alot of fun. You have to ben all over the place to do it.
As for recentering, what ever one you buy should be preset to factory specs. If you have lowered the car, then it will be off. Mine, however, due to spring sag, was lower than stock. I got the adjustable one from Spohn, and had to self adjust the rear to make it centered (as well as I could) by eye.




Camera isn't centered, so it looks off, but I measured it after that and scoothed it better centered.

 

so would it be a bad idea to lift the back by the axle housing? how do i get the axle to center without lifting it? are those scrape marks on the panhard rod brace a bad sign? the brace is not bent

 

I just drove my rar on ramps and unbolted. To get it back in with a new stock sized bar I was 1/2 off. I just had my dad push on one side of the car in the back so the body would move over and it bolted right into place. Takes less then an hour to remove and add new one. Unless old bolts are seized in there.

 

You can jack the rear of the car up with it bent, and tires on something, car on stands.

It would be best of the body was on stands, and rear axle hanging "freely" to help align all the bolts.

I would go aftermarket as well.. I would advise adjustable, but not necessarly rod-ended as shown unless you really push the car to its limits.


I would guess the panhard bar is hitting the brace, and making the brace "buckle" or move.. causing the scratches.

 

i suppose i could back the car onto ramps then get a jack under the body and jack the car off and remove the ramps. im kinda skinny so i can fit under the car fine, the only reason why i would need to lift the back is to properly center the axle. I was told once i remove this old bent panhard rod, the axle should center back up. is this true? Im going to get the $110 lakewood adjustable panhard rod. the LCA's look fine and straight, so does the torque arm. im really hoping i dont have frame damage.

do these look like they will give me trouble?


here is the wheel by the way...anyone know where i can get another wheel?


here is the drivers side


here is the passenger side, notice how much more the wheel sticks out

 

help me i miss driving the car

i think the wheel bearing is shot too, i dont know if i want to attempt to do that

 

Getting the weight off the rear end would make things easier. Once the rod is out, the rear will swing to a more natural position than it is now. Putting the rod in (preferably a adjustable one) should get it back into the right place. I would measure just to be sure, though.
As for the wheel bearings, I don't have experience with it, so I can't help you, sorry.

 

If you need the car asap, go to a junk yard and grab one.

I would order an adjustable one and put it in some day when its nice out.



Appears you hit a curb, so many things could be bad now. Bent rim, bent axle, seals fubar......


Start with what you know.. The panhard is bent, pull the rim off and take to a tire shop and have them check to see if its still good.

 

yes it did hit a curb. i drove it home (about 5 miles) and no backlash in the rear diff, no bearing or gear noises. just the tire making a squishing noise cause the rim is bent and smashing into the tire. The wheel does make a clicking noise when i shake it so i think the bearing did get damaged...maybe not that badly. where should i look for a Z28 wheel? At least there is no body damage

 

car-part.com

If you cant find one there, I have a connection thats about 1 hour away from me.

 

how much should i expect to pay for a Z28 wheel?

 

Will depend on who its from, where you live, what kinda condition, etc etc. No good honest answer.

 

If u bent the rim and the panhard bar, I would recommend yanking the axle out to just to check it out to see if its bent or if you beat up the c -clip retaining it.

later
Jeremy

 

 

Unless we're talking about an adjustable panhard bar (which may be adjusted improperly at purchase), wouldn't simply installing a new (non-bent) panhard by default automatically re-align the rear? I've had the rear out of 3 Fbods, swapped a 4th gen rear into one of mine, and simply bolted everything back up and it all seemed to be properly aligned by default once it was all reinstalled.

If I'm right, then it's simply a matter of jacking the car up and putting stands under the frame (just in front of the LCA's), then jacking the rear end housing (to take the weight off) and removing/installing the panhard bar, isn't it?

And it looks like the rim is definitely toast from the pic I saw. Check the classified here for a rim or 2.

If your going to do rear bearings, then also a good time to replace rear brake parts (if drum) since it all has to come off anyways. Or just do the LS1 disc brake conversion!

And while your under there, new poly sway bar bushings and end links. Shocks and springs maybe?

Maybe a hi-flo muffler too? Well, if going that far, then might as well replace the in-tank pump too!

OK, OK - I'll stop! LOL - it's too much fun spending someone elses money!!!

 

to set an adjustable pan-hard properly, you measure from the front of one control arm to the back of the opposite control arm. Measure both(measures like an "x") and adjust until the measuresments are equal, and voila! one diff, square under the car. also I highly recommend staying slightly further away from curbs...(sorry, couldn't resist...)

p.s. - blame your g/f...

 

the car already has headers and flowmaster cat back

i ordered the Lakewood adjustable panhard rod. once i get it installed and center the rear as best as i can, im going to have it aligned. yes the rim is very "toast", im going to check the junkyards this week. how much should i expect to pay for a decent quality Z28 wheel? im also thinking about getting 2 new tires for the back considering they are the reason the back end broke loose in the rain and the car did a 360 into a curb. anyone have any suggestions? i can only afford about 50 bucks a tire.

 

An alignment isn't going to do anything for that. Don't waste your money.

 

unless you also curbed the front, don't waste time/money on an alignment. I've nevver seen a shop adjust the back, the square the front off of the back. Just follow the steps I listed above, it'll be square. -

 

If you go to a more private shop, where you can actually speak to the mechanic, rather then some counter boys(or females). They will work on the rear as well, but then you will pay for a 4wheel alignment, rather then a 2wheel.

 

well i want them to put it on a Hunter machine or whatever computer machine they use to tell me how far the rear wheels are out of alignment. this could tell me if the LCAs are bent, if the frame is bent, if the torque arm is bent....i know all about having to align a rear end from school, in fact they have hunter machine there (i dont think they will let me use it though). i might have some rear camber issues too, who knows.

i did hit the drivers side (same side as the rear) on the curb but not as bad...curb rash isnt very noticeable up front. no noises from the front, no excessive play, no bearing noise, tie rods fine, control arms look fine but i didnt get that good of a look cause i havent been under the car yet.

i did not notice the car drifting or being out of alignment when i drove it home (about 1 mile, thats the only time ive driven it)

ive been told those little scrape marks on the upper panhard bar means i might have frame damage. here is the pic again

 

when I was at TK, we had the Hunter dsp 600(newest as of a year or two ago) - on a rear-drive platform it didn't give any rear specs, simply told you how to align the front to square it w/ the rear...

 

also, if you have rea caster/camber issues, you've bent the diff housing/axles, so yes, you've probably bent the frame...How hard did you curb that thing?????

 

well when i look at it i dont see any camber, im just overly concerned about the car i guess lol. I hit the curb going about 25-30 (blaming it on the crappy goodyear eagle GT II, NEVER use these tires, in fact they were pulled off the market. previous owner had them put on btw)

the panhard rod came in today! i cant wait to get out there tomorrow and get this car closer to being on the road. ive been depressed cause i havent driven it since jan 2

should i do anything about the track bar brace (upper panhard rod)? should i loosen the bolts on the brace just in case...those scratch marks scare me, im thinking i should at least remove it, maybe measure it to see if it got bent, and tighten it back up.

it doesnt look that hard to change the wheel bearings...take off the axle shafts or whatever they are called and get a bearing puller. ive been told its very difficult to change the wheel bearings in the rear....what am i missing here lol.

 

usually the hardest part about changing rear wheel bearings is getting the old ones out. Otherwise, it's not hard, just takes little time. - W/ the age of our cars, especially if you haven't changed the gear lube, I'd do it as preventative maintenance if nothing else...

 

i got the nut off the passenger side rod bolt....i dont have a socket that quite fits over the bolt...its still stuck in there....should i try hammering it out or does it need to be screwed out?

 

i got it to break loose but i think im just turning the bolt but its not comming out. does it need to be hammered out?

 

Yes, hammer on it. Be careful not to bend the bracket.

Removing rear wheel bearings: I use a metal pole of some nature (can be a piece of copper water pipe, electrical conduit, tomato stake, . . .) and knock it out from the other side. Insert the pole in one axle tube all the way to the opposite side to knock out that bearing.

Don't forget to remove the seal first. Use the inner end of the axle at an angle, get behind the seal, and pop it right out.

RBob.

 

ive been hammering on it with all my might and its not going anywhere. this sucks because i dont have a saw zaw or any power tools for that matter.

i finally got the rear axle to center, but it required removing the sway bar bushings. i guess the sway bar got shifted.

my rear wheels are kind of hard to turn. i can make them turn but they wont spin freely. how hard should the wheels be to turn? im also getting a squeaking noise comming from somewhere in the tranny when i turn the rear wheels. The rear wheels dont tilt or have any play in them...maybe its because the axle can move freely. i will have to check again when i get the new panhard rod in (whenever that might be....)

 

lol no replies... i got a sawzall today...none of the blades that came with it will go through the bolt, what blade would u guys recommend?

by the way, will i only be able to get new bolts from chevy?

 

I don't know about the blades or much of the other stuff, but usually smaller more numerous blades are better for metals.
As for the bolts, I know that Spohns sells them.Spohn's bolt. My bolts came out pretty easy, but then mine hadn't been hit like that.
As for wheel spin, if it is in nuetral, it should be pretty easy. Mine were. Nice way to check about the posi too, lol.