This can't be good...
 

I just took the car to get to the other side of campus for a minute and during a left turn I heard and felt what I thought may be my Passenger-Side Rear tire rubbing. When I heard it again a few seconds later on another turn, I pulled over into a parking lot & looked at the car. Here's what I observed:

• The entire back end of car is/was lifted up & I can fit almost 5 fingers between the tire & fender on the drivers side, and squeeze 4 in the Passenger-side.
• Passenger side rear wheel looks like it's on a slant in
• I can move the body of the car by pushing on the fender.

I slowly crept back to my place after that. I also noticed that there is a "Jello Effect" (for lack of better words) for a few seconds when you jerk the wheel.

Miscellaneous info:

• The parking lot has not been plowed since the last storm an there are small hard bumps/hills of packed snow/ice all over the lot and in every parking spot. Could the car being parked overnight with 1 tire on one of these bumps caused this?
• Stock shocks.
• Stock springs with Heater hose & rubber isolator removed (July 2009)
• 25k mile Rear-end swapped in (August 2009)

What does this sound like to you guys? I'm pretty concerned and it sucks because I'm down at Rutgers now with no access to even a jack and basic tools. I'll try to provide answers to any other questions you guys may have as best I can...





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Are you saying the driverside rear sits higher than the passenger side?

see if the drivers side rear wheel looks angled in as well. the curves of our rear fenders can make it look that way.

sort of sounds like a panhard bar issue. for some reason maybe it loosened up or bent and is allowing the rear to shift back and forth under the car a bit. it would explain the rubbing, moving, and jello effect.

btw the car doesn't look to be too much higher than normal:
http://i26.tinypic.com/k3oxhy.jpg

that pic might've been pre-heater hose but it's not a huge difference

Correct.

Creeper-
That picture was before the heater hose/!rubber isolators. Up til yesterday, the car sat noticeably lower.
In comparison to the the Passenger-Side wheel, the drivers' side wheel doesn't seem to be slanted in at all.


Just went out side and I could rock the car by simply pushing on the rear fenders a little bit

look at the springs, make sure they are seated correctly

It does sound like a panhard bar issue. Is all you suspension stock? Maybe the rubber bushings are crapping out.

Kirk-
The only modifications I have made to the suspension to this point are Poly Front & Rear endlinks, 32mm front swaybar, and the Heater-Hose mod. The suspension is otherwise stock.

Before you drive the car any more, get under there with a flashlight and inspect it!

Report back when you do.

i could be your rear, one time when i broke mine the drivers side was higher than the passenger for some reason

Points to Creeper.
I just got home and stopped at the car before coming in. With the mounds of ice & snow on the ground, I couldn't get under, but did manage to reach my arm around the D/S wheel... the Panhard Bar was completely off on the drivers side--it was just hanging.

How does that even happen? Is it harmful to drive the car to a friend's house/garage nearby?

Mucho thank you to everyone btw

get a bolt and nut for it and throw it in there. don't drive the car since the rear will walk around itself every time you hit the gas

Could be as simple as it not being torqued properly after the rear swap, and it has loosened over time. Driving around in this snow would be enough to put it over the edge.

I would not recommend driving it, but if it's only a couple of miles and you can do it very slowly, it might not cause any real damage.

Once you get it fixed, make sure you inspect and re-tighten the rest of the bolts in the rear suspension, not only could they possibly have not been torqued properly after the swap, but with the panhard bar loose, they have all had additional stress on them.

- Justin

Yeah, I'll be driving it over to Brian's house this week; he's about 5 miles away from here, so it's not so bad.


I tried calling Napa in South Plainfield but they couldn't find the bolt in the computer. Does anyone know the Part-Number? It's the bolt that holds the Panhard bar on the driver's side.

A Napa or whatever won't have a bolt part number. My guess is you can get the correct size gr8 bolt off the shelf at a hardware store. Or go to a dealer & order it.

What one?
http://www.compnine.com/largeimg/950103MF07-001.gif

spohn and umi should carry it as well. 3 and 4 in the diagram would be the nut and bolt though.

003 11516933 BOLT,R/AXL TIE ROD(8.900) $1.67
004 11515744 NUT,HFH,M12X1.75,14THK,25.6 O.D.,10,ZC(R/AXL TIE ROD) $4.38

Not sure of length, but it appears to be a 12x1.75. Hardware store, lowes or fastenal, get a gr8 bolt, 2 washers & a nylock nut and you're good to go. No? Hell, you have 2 more there, pull one out and take it with you to match.

Try a WTB in the classified, someone must have one., Hell, I might but I won't be able to find it for 2 weeks.

I'd guess 3, 4 & 12 since there's nothing holding the driver's-side end on.

I see no part # for 12. Looks like the bushing, you'll need to check with the dealer. You sure it is gone?

There are two 11s listed, FE2/F41 and FE4. In case you want a used rod.



Note to all. When you do suspension & brake work, like change a rear, triple check your fasteners, and recheck after a few 100 miles.

yayyy! unfortunately i probably have to forfeit those points because there's a 50/50 chance it was me who didn't tighten it enough, although i do recall going over everything twice with a breaker bar. oh well, glad it's nothing major.

i would try to get whats in there. it has the larger smooth section that the bushing rides on. i'm sure you could get something very close but i bet you could just get one from a partout.

Isn't the bolt stepped and only goes in one way? I think one side of the bracket has a larger hole than the other.

yes exactly. its been a little bit since i've had one in hand but i thought it was just like you described.

The panhard bar is the primary locating member (laterally) for the rear diff., so with out it there isn't much (shocks, LCA's, TA, sway bar?) keeping the rear from shifting side to side. I wouldn't drive it at all. Get a bolt in there, even an ill fitting one temporarily to get to a garage or something. You could go around a turn and the rear could shift, maybe enough to cut a tire on the fender lip or something worse.

The bolt may have been tightened enough, but if it was reused from a previous install it probably lost its crush or the nyloc was worn out and didn't hold.

Don't drive it.

see what happens when you work at a place other then my garage