dg0013

I have a 86 camaro 2.8. i was driving home the other day, not slow, but nothing crazy, when i started hearing a scraping sound every time i break. There was also a knocking sound when i would switch from driver to reverse. (i know that sounds like a driveshaft issue, but my u-joints seem fairly tight). i had someone watch as i drove 5 miles an hour and softly applied the breaks, and the muffler mount is scraping the ground. what could cause the front end to take such a nose dive that the exhaust mount (under the drivers seat) would scrape th e ground a 5 miles an hour????

dirtywhiteZ28

It would kinda seem like even if the front strut was blown that the spring would have enough guts to hold the nose safely up, unless that spring broke which you would know about when it happened or maybe the brake bias has gotten to the point that only the front brakes are stopping the car. You might want to inspect the rear brakes and make sure they are ok. The fronts usually have a squel tab to let you know there wore out but the rear shoes don't.

dg0013

if it helps with any ideas, i KNOW i need bushings on the front end, and there is vibration in the suspension when i brake. the only time the exhaust mount drags the ground is when i break, never when i turn or hit a bump or anything. I know this sounds like it should be in the brakes section, but im almost positive it is a suspension problem.

dirtywhiteZ28

Well I am not entirely familiar with the construction of the V6 cars, but, the exhaust on the V8's is routed on the Passenger side of the drive shaft not the Drivers side like you stated in the start. If a friend says he saw something dragging on the Drivers side of the vehicle I would suspect it was the torque arm, if it has somehow broken free of the metal clam shell thats supposed to retain it to the tailshaft of the transmission I would think you would hear it every time you accelerated bump the floor board, and every time you hit the brakes it would potentially scrap the ground, in a very dangerous way, can you imagine a steel VAULTING POLE????? now if the rear transmission mount was broken it might only be appearent when you attempted to lift the trans. with a long pry bar from below the mount. That could also explain How the torque arm was able to slip out of the bracket.
Beyond that the only way the front of the car can nose dive far enough to allow your exhaust to make contact with the ground is if there is a failure in the braking system. A sway bar only controls side to side body roll in cornering, the struts only DAMPEN the springs, They do NOT support the vehicle in any way at all. If the spring were broken you would have spit it out from under the car by now, if the strut was total blown and the spring had fatiuged to the point it would allow the car to contact the ground then you would SEE the car sitting with the nose pointed at the dirt when it was sitting still in the drive way.
The only thing left is if the muffler hanger at the rear of the car has been knocked out of the rubber mount or broken free of the undercarrage entirely and the exhuast is resting on the rear axle. Of course if that was the case you would hear it bounce and rattle with every little bump groove or seam in the road.

Ben92

shocks dont control ride height, springs do. I would say you have a broken spring?