8 replies to this topic

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

I've never messed w my suspension on the 228K beater other than new oe struts in the mid 1990s and I adjusted the dial on the torsion bars to get the front end back to proper height .  same time I did the struts to help w all the NYC potholes I was nailing.

 

Current condition. Everything else is original factory installed. Ball joint/streering joints tight.  Front suspention bushing cracking.  No leaking on shocks/strut.  All bounce basically just once when pushed - I assume that's good?

 

So, when I drive down the highway and hit waves in the the road making the car sway like a boatride, the car sort of spirals a little like you are going down a helix for a moment.

 

I noticed this over the years and assumed it was curved normally, compared it to #3 sitting next to it and saw it should be straight.

 

 

Stuck my head underneath and...

 

Car was salvage title in 1988-89 I never knew when I purchased.  So I think this is a left over casualty.

 

:Plan is to replace.  I haven't rotated the tires since in the last 30K miles.  Noticed LR tire is more worn than the rest.  Was a matching set of 4 when I bought them maybe 50K ago.

 

I hear a lot on panhard.  here are pix of mine

 

 

 

 

 

Car is currently jacked up and supported w blocks under the axle.  I grabbed the panhard and could just barely feel some movement in the direction of front end to rear end of the car.  I assume this is normal since it stick out so far and is sheet metal. I'll have to suport the body and remove the panhard bar to replace, then I can check the side to side motion if any (looks like its beefed up to support side to side, vs front to back.

 

 

So, question is... 

1) how do I check panhard mount to see if its degraded from its oem configuration.   

2) based on the description of helix feeling down rolling highway like floating in a boat, what do I need to be replacing?  Beyond panhard bar and all bushings?  Swing bearing?, shocks? springs?  Other unibody areas to investigate for rust weakness?

 

I haven't had my other cars on the highway in years to test the feel of those.  Maybe this is just how stock drives?   I won't know for sure until I take one the my others on the highway to know.

 

Any help and advice would be appreciated. I know nothing about suspensions.

 

Thnx d

 

[Indyman]

The reaction of your car to the waves on the pavement is not normal, the car should track straight. You also should not be able to feel movement in the panhard bar. If you can move it, think how much more an 1800 lb car will move it when the car travels over waves or bumps in the pavement. From your picture it's obvious the bar has been bent - it takes a lot of force to bend the steel in that bar, so the bushing is probably damaged too, and possibly the mounting bracket. It looks like your fuel tank has dents too. Some previous owner either hit something substantial, or the bar and tank were damaged when the car was moved by a forklift at whatever yard it was at. In any case, that bar needs to be rock solid it work correctly.

[rallyxcrx]

Chedda has a panhard rod and a mount reinforcement witch would be good. The front lower ball joints and tie rod ends should be checked for wear. The front radius arm rubber mount should be changed to polyurethane, this is the minimum mod for this. Cheapo shocks only last about 2 years, and its best to check them when they are removed from the car. Do a wheel alignment, and balance the tires, but be forewarned, you could have a bent axle, but this will be discovered during the alignment, Dave  

[JustinG]

This is a result of a few problems, and as u stated it has worsened over the years.. Firstly, your pillow ball mounts are worn outmcompletely. The other joints/bushings don't wear our because of their design. And then the second much more obvious problem is the panhard bar, easy replacement. And lastly, it sounds like the low speed dampening is gone from your struts. High speed can be fine (when you push down hard and it doesnt continue to bounce) but if you can simulate a wave like up/down movement slowly in your car by pushing on your front bumper repeatedly, then youll know for sure if your struts are done too..

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

Thnx for the replies all

I remember now when I moved to nyc years ago and towed my crx on a dolly,.. I got pulled over by a Suffolk cop on he northern state and I remember pulling over onto the shoulder and it was a wild roller coaster. I recall my oil pan getting a dent when I did the next change. so that might explain the pan hard bar.

cars jacked up, so I'll do this in steps to isolate the issue. I'll change out the pan hard and give the support a good tug w a metal rod in the mount to verify if it moves or it was just my fat body wiggling around while I was on my back. good point, if I can budge it, then there's a problem. at least the impact was opposite the pan mount! If mount is messed up, then I'll look into the mount conversion.

I seem to recall getting an all wheel alignment when I first bought the car 19 years ago. I think one of the spindles could have gotten a shim, but was close enough so I never did it. Might explain the wear on one tire. never had an all wheel align since. I might just drop in a replacement axle I have stored instead of just the bar.

I'll try that first before I get into the rest.

il try the wave thing to see if I can duplicate the condition. w the other red si parked next to this one! I can easily compare. 27 years on rear shocks, I just can't expect any more out of them. I don't want to get into replacing cheap shock in two years either.

thnx again! I'll post up when I get to it. cars jacked up waiting for me to finish the 60k mile maintenance overhaul.

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

cars sat since February. off to replace the panhead bar. the panhead mount it tight as he'll. I used a crow bar from multiple angle and nada. the drivers side tire is worn a bit more on the inside. tires were a matched set maybe twelve years old. I don't think I ever rotated them, so the inner wear is obvious from the rest of the tires.

what, we're is the pillow joint. I've never heard of that?

tierod, balls and steering rack good and tight.

I haven't dropped to car from it's jacked up position yet to test low speed wave on 87 yr old oe shocks.

no signs of dents, damage to axle. I have several spares to try later. but definately need to replace all suspension bushings. they are all original to car.

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

Swapped the bar today. There are 3 or 4 good stretches of highway that do this helix/wave thing. So I'll know in about a month. Bushing are shot, but don't have time to replace yet.

Will test for the low speed bounce now that the car is back on rubber.

When I installed the replacement, it was off center to the bolts by about 1/8". So that's how much shorter the bend made the pay hard bar.

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

okay, just clocked 2500 on her w the replaced bar. feels a lot better. now when I hit those particular spots on the Oklahomama boarder, I feel the car sway a little, like back and forth once I the rear, and that's it. keep in mind, this patch of road is a roller coaster. pitch goes up and down, as well as side to side. it's the side to side pitch of the road that made the car feel like a helix in the past. as I drove this patch, I watched the other cars in front of me. I saw their rear ends going up and down as well as side to side a little. we were all going 75.

when I put the new bar in place, I had to move the mount out about 1/8". so I suspect this bar dimension is pretty touchy on performance

[greasemonkeyreborne 5x1g's]

I took another road trip last month. this time the car was mostly empty-- no hunting gear, etc.... it was fine. so it must have been a combination of the excess weight and bent bar that gave me the helix feel down the highway on those large wavey bumps.

issue closed