Rear suspension problems

chromebumpers

solid fixture here in the forum
Staff member
Again, I noticed problems when cleaning the area around the rear. The strut rods seem to have a bend in them - how does this happen? I noticed the adjusting cams are a bit out of whack. Would I have an easier time replacing the strut rods with adjustable rods and eliminating playing with the adjusting cams?





 
Many of the C3 Owners do upgrade to the adjustable strut rods Rich.
Seem to be satisfied with final results.

C4 Corvettes slightly different IRS rear layout.
2 dogbone mounts in each forward corner. Adjustable camber cams.
Adjustable rear toe bars.
 
READ THIS LINK

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=9657&p=35826#p35826

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=9653

http://www.quickperformance.com/Suspens ... ep_44.html

I sent an email request to GTR1999 to hopefully get involved here in this thread because he has extensive experience in this area... and Ive always found its better to ask some one with more experience in an area that to guess or rely on a comparatively low level of experience

btw its very common for most of the rear suspension bolts to be rather badly rusted so Id suggest repeated sprays of several different penetrating oils on damn near any bolts you see several times, a day over several days before attempting to remove, adjust or replacement

and yes obviously bushings need to be replaced

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Chrome Bumpers
The stock strut rods work fine for most applications. Your rods are bent from either an old style lift or more likely a mechanic attempting to align the IRS when parts are worn or damaged. Bent rods can be straightened or just replaced. You can buy the adjustable ones if you like but I would be more concerned to check the IRS and repair items that need attention. Look at the arms for any sign of dents in them because the front shim & bolt is almost always rust seized on these cars alignment techs will bend the arms to set toe and the rods to set camber. It appears the diff and IRS have some age to them, you probably have side axle wear, possibly a weak spring, and rotted bushings. I can see what looks like oil leaks at the side seals and pinion seal.

I would check the arms for rot/rust, check the bearing play, bushing play, rotor runout, diff for leaks, diff axles for endplay, spring for being bent upward, and the rubber bushings. If your car hasn't been touched in 40 years be prepared to rebuild it but once properly done will give new life to the car.
 
gtr1999 said:
"Look at the arms for any sign of dents in them because the front shim & bolt is almost always rust seized on these cars"

You got that right. I replaced my trailing arm bushings on my 78 a few years ago. My driver’s side trailing arm bolt, bushing and shims were rusted together as one unit. The alignment guy tried to remove the shims but couldn't. He was very familiar with the issues as he’s an old Corvette enthusiast as well. I ended up using a sawzall with about 8 blades to cut mine off. I needed 8 blades because you only use the tip of the blade so it dulls quickly. Replaced the bolt and shims with stainless so hopefully it won’t be a problem in the future. I’ll share some pictures of the ordeal later.
 
Hi Rich
That mini inductor looks interesting. I gave away (2) 3kw huge inductors and those would cherry a steel rod in seconds. The problem with the forward bolt is it will seize in the center of the bushing. It will interesting if it works on that bolt, be sure to post what you find.
 
Here's what I had to cut through. If you look closely you can see the bolt outline in the center of the bushing sleeve. It's one piece after 30years. It would be interesting to see if the induction trick worked on these. Sure would make live easier. That is a neat tool.
 

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Induction heating might also be good for sex offenders, although I guess it wouldn't work in reality, but they might not know that.



 

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I think that would only work as intended with a 60 penney nail inserted inside the offensive part, as the heads generated thru magnetic current reversal
 
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