I think the previous owner had a side impact (totalling a Civic--wahoo) that pushed in the right rear wheel, bending both the panhard rod (that connects chassis to the axle) and the brace below it on the differential. When I go over speedbumps, the rear suspension hits the bumpstops almost immediately. I used to think my springs were bad, but now I'm thinking the bent rod is acting like a shorter rod, pulling the rear of my car into a permanent squatting position. Now, obviously I have to fix or replace the panhard rod (which should I do?) but is this the reason why only my right rear wheel spins when I nail the throttle or is it just that my posi's shot or is my diff busted or what? Please help! --Chris

 

Your panhard bar keeps the axel centered, I would definitely get it replaced it could help you out there.


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88 Camaro Sport Coupe
2.8L V6 173ci
K&N Air Filters
JET Underdrive Pulleys

 

The only thing the panhard rod does, is keep the axle centered. Your one tire fire problem is due to the fact that you posi is shot or you don't have one. What year is your car? Up to '89 I think, the panhard rod bolts right to the chasis and to the axle. When seen from the rear, the panhard rod is on an angle. The problem with this is that the vehicles center of gravity is the center of the panhard rod. To lower the center of gravity, GM made a bracket that bolts to the chasis with another brace. The result of this change is that now the panhard rod is parallel with the road, and is the same heigth as the axle, which lowers the center of gravity. Depending on the year of your car, you may have to fix/ replace that brace to the panhard bracket. The bent panhard rod won't cause the rear to bottom out, that's the shocks/springs problem.

 

Still sounds like a good reason to upgrade to get a new boxed or tube panhard rod...

 

Thanks for the info, guys. So the panhard rod isn't my one-legger problem. I just thought since it connects my sprung chassis to my unsprung axle, it might be pulling the chassis down... Now, my right tire is always the one spinning when I nail the gas. That's just that a non-WS6 Trans Am doesn't have a posi right? It isn't a broken left axle or anything serious like that is it? Alright, so what panhard rod would you suggest? A hotchkis adjustible unit?

 

hotchkis too expensive. i bought the lakewood adjustable for $83.95 through summit.