Rear suspension question....need some help please.....

[Amelio]

I have noticed that after a hard excel the car will move in the rear on a decal....it feels like when clutches are grabbing and kicks the car over a little. I really do think its a clutch issue (don't know for sure) I got GM lube with slip additive in the rear and the car has an Auburn unit. Its been doing this a long time but was not always there. I have noticed it has gotten worse.

I plan to turn the wick up and shoot for a 10 sec pass but I gotta correct this issue first.

I have the car up on stands right now...I started taking things off to look for an issue....I pulled the rear sway bar off and inspected all my bolts on the control arms for tightness. Not finding anything loose I started taking the lower control arms off. ( I have SS fully boxed arms) When doing this I noticed the 2 brackets that the lower control arm bolts to just off the axel would move......the bolt is tight but the two plates move back and fourth. I took the plates off and they show lots of wear from the movement.

My question is....should there be movement her for suspension travel or is this my problem? If its not supposed to move how do I correct it? As I said the bolts were tight but its obvious it does move.

I pulled the lower control arms out o inspect the bushings also.....one of the bushings was froze up....I got it out and cleaned and lubed it but no singes of damage.

I am going to keep digging.....

Suggestions welcome.

 

[KEVINS]

What keeps the drop down brackets from rotating in the factory LCA buckets? It looks like those brackets are not held in place and they are rotating back and forth?

ks

 

[Amelio]

"Kevins" That is exactly my question?!!

I would think they should not move at all this may be my problem...........are the drop down brackets supposed to be welded in?

I am trying to find info on this setup but I can not find anything that has the brackets....everything I find bolts directly to the factory ears on the axle housing.

 

[KEVINS]

ok.. That's the problem. Either weld or drill and run an extra bolt through each bracket to hold them in place. They need to be securely attached to the stock brackets so they can't move.

ks

 

[Amelio]

thanks Kevins.....I was just talking to Chuck Leeper......he said the same thing he said he had issues with them back when he was running them.

I now need to decide if I wanna mess with welding them in place or just replace them since they have been in the car for 12 years or so.....

Chuck recommended these......

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1978-1987...e-with-Spherical-Rod-Ends-Offset-Spacers.html


they look sweet and not priced too bad but by the time you get the uppers and new bushings its gonna be $500........ahhhhhh the story of going fast the money never stops leaving your pocket.

 

[JimP]

Are those southside machine arms and brackets because if they are they should have been welded in once you were happy with your pinion angle.

 

[charlief1]

The bracket is moving, but my worry is, have you re-enforced the LCA mount on the frame? Those SSM bars are know for tearing the lower mounts off the frame. If you haven't put a brace of some sort on them I'd take those damn things off or not try and launch in any way shape or form until you do. It will require welding to brace the frame mounts though. If you don't feel like doing that you can get a better relocation bracket for the UCA mounts on the frame and new uppers so you can adjust your IC location properly.

 

[Amelio]

Are those southside machine arms and brackets because if they are they should have been welded in once you were happy with your pinion angle.

Yeah they are south side's and n they were never welded in...this is obviously the movement I have been feeling in the car

 

[Amelio]

The bracket is moving, but my worry is, have you re-enforced the LCA mount on the frame? Those SSM bars are know for tearing the lower mounts off the frame. If you haven't put a brace of some sort on them I'd take those damn things off or not try and launch in any way shape or form until you do. It will require welding to brace the frame mounts though. If you don't feel like doing that you can get a better relocation bracket for the UCA mounts on the frame and new uppers so you can adjust your IC location properly.

No nothing has been welded or reinforced......do you have pics of someone doing this?

I am trying to decide if I want to weld these lower brackets on or buy new upper and lower control arms.

From what it looks like the Spohn control arms bolt in the stock location and there is no need for the drop down brackets. If running the Spohn arms do you still need to build a bracket and reinforce the frame?

 

[Amelio]

I am on the fence with this.....I don't drag race this car much at all as a matter of fact I just wanna get a 10 sec pass and then be done for a while. I know its plenty capable of a 10 sec pass but I am tired of saying that I want to go do it lol! I have another car that is pretty much setup for beating the crap out of so I plan to jut have my Buick as a fun street car which it is.

So if I decide to leave what I have and weld the brackets in....what is the correct pinion angle and how do I go by setting it before I burn the brackets in?

Is there a current write up on setting the pion angle? If so a link would be greatly appreciated.

 

[charlief1]

One of our members, Charles Long (board and real name) had the lower mounts ripped off his car because of those damn arms. I can show you the re-enforcement for them but don't have a pic of what they can do. These are the ones I made for my car because I didn't like the ones on the market, and I like fabricating.

 

[Amelio]

that's some nice fab work!

Do you know what the pinion angle should be?

I have been thinking about it and I may just weld these things in. I may do some braces like that but I am not gonna worry about it at the moment since this car is not going to see lots of track time

 

[charlief1]

Click on the link in KEVINS sig and it will explain more about setting pinion angle and IC location than you'll ever want to know. Charles' car was only driven on the street and he still ripped the LCA mounts off the frame so that's something to think about. Rude dog had me make him a set of those braces for his frame since he like the way I made them. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[2QUICK2B6]

always used metco lower control arms and uppers zero problems ... have them on 4 cars now

 

[JimP]

Check out "UMI performance as well", I run them and they went in and work great, I got the non adjustable but they have a set-up with adjustable upper arms that won't break the bank. They also make a control arm reinforcement frame brace kit for 139$ bolt in and includes the hardware. I have this as well but just haven't installed it yet.

 

[toofastforyou]

Amelio, I've had this setup a few years ago and yes, lowering the lower control arm's rear mouting point does work but like "KEVINS" said, either drill an extra hole and add a bolt to prevent them from rotating or do like I did and weld them in place and be done with it. Also, reinforcing the mounts on the frame is highly recommended!

Claude.

 

[Hot Air]

This is sure to create a firestorm of differing opinions but here goes!

In my humble opinion, the best available autocross suspension at this time is:

Front Suspension:
Ridetech's TruTurn front suspension with their 1.5" MuscleBar and DSE's lower frame braces and

Rear Suspension:
DSE's rear Swivel-Link upper/lower control arms with their adjustable 1.125" rear sway bar

Shocks:
Ridetech's 3-way adjustable coil-over shocks at all 4 corners.

Brakes:
Baer or ?? 14" front & 13" rear 6-piston disk brakes.

Tires:
BFG Rival's all the way....
Front wheels/tires - 9.5-10" wide wheels with 275-35-18 tires and
Rear wheels/tires - 10.5-11" wide wheels with 295-35-18 w/o frame shave or 11-11.5" wide wheels with 315-30-18 w/frame shave.

You will have a great handling G-Body! At least that is where I'm headed with my 1984GN.

Conrad