im fairly new to the camaro family and in need of a little help. i just bought an 86 z28 for 500 bucks. the car runs strong and shifted smooth, there is only 1 problem... the back end of the car has a terrible wobble to it, and the faster you go the worse it gets. if you push on the quater panel above the rear wheel you can easily shift the cars weight about 2-3 inches to the other side... does anyone have a clue on what this could be..... i really havent had a chance to play with it yet but i was thinking either the sway bar is busted or a shock is more or less destroyed. any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks
eric

 

Sounds rather like the Panhard bar is broken or disconnected.

It's a piece that goes from the right side of the frame to the left side of the rear end; and holds the car centered over the rear.

If it's impaired in some way, get an aftermarket one. Stock ones cost as much as or more than the far better others. The Lakewood one with poly bushings is cheap and effective, or there's others available from numerous places including some of the sponsors of this board, that are a little more "premium".

These cars ALWAYS need rear shocks; and since the upper end of them just mounts into the floor pan, the sheet metal is often punched out from flexing. If you plan on keeping the car and turning it into a pleasant and functional driver, shocks and struts should be VERY HIGH on your list of maintenance; right behind changing ALL fluids including the rear end grease, a tune-up (plugs, wires, rotor, cap), a brake job, and fixing all the oil leaks.

 

thanks for the help i will check into it.... in the meantime anyone else have any ideas?

 

You need to get a friend to rock the car for you while you look underneath the car. Do it on level ground and do it safely. Note what is making noises and if you are not sure what the part is called, describe it on this forumn. Could be a lot of things, need to get under it and look. Again, do it safely. Badman

 

when i rocked it the other day i kid you not there was absolutly not a sound when doing so.... what are a few of the things that could cause this

 

anybody else with any good ideas???

 

Don't get me wrong. You need to get under the car or take it somewhere where you can put it up in the air and inspect the suspension. It could be literally dozens of things causing your problem. Without more info, we can't help you. It would only be guessing. Badman

 

i just wanted to say thanks you to the 2 guys that replied to my thread the first guy sofakingdom was 100% correct the panhard was in 2 pieces.
Once again thanks guys

 

That'll do it every time....

Here's what you need.
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...rt=LAK%2D20440

 

I was going to reply and say that all the differing opinions in the world won't fix your broken panhard bar

That one sofa showed is a STEAL. It's an adjustable length one for $100. That's hard to beat. If you NEVER intend to lower the car, you can avoid the adjustable one, but boy, that's hard to pass up for that price.