Hey Guys

 

The car in question is an 88 GL wagon 4wd D/R. I noticed recently that the two rear wheels are jutting outward at the bottom {Sorry no pics available right now}. Think of someone laying a pallet of bricks on the roof rack, and the wheels collapsing from the weight.

 

At first I suspected a diff failure, but there is no play or looseness with the wheels off the ground. In fact, they seem to track symetrically. No other obvious mechanical or visual problems. However, when the weight is on the wheels, they are no longer parellel.

 

I now suspect that the unibody might have stretched by hitting a pothole or something. I haven't yet tried measuring reference points on the body, as this would be the last resort. Any other ideas or theories?

 

thanks, John

Hey Guys

 

The car in question is an 88 GL wagon 4wd D/R. I noticed recently that the two rear wheels are jutting outward at the bottom {Sorry no pics available right now}. Think of someone laying a pallet of bricks on the roof rack, and the wheels collapsing from the weight.

 

At first I suspected a diff failure, but there is no play or looseness with the wheels off the ground. In fact, they seem to track symetrically. No other obvious mechanical or visual problems. However, when the weight is on the wheels, they are no longer parellel.

 

I now suspect that the unibody might have stretched by hitting a pothole or something. I haven't yet tried measuring reference points on the body, as this would be the last resort. Any other ideas or theories?

 

thanks, John

The rear crossmember has rotted out. The crossmember is a pipe that provides attachment points for the two rear control arms and the nose of the rear differential. Salt and dirt can build up in the tube and rot it from the inside out. It then starts shearing in the middle over where the differential attaches to it. They can also start folding where the outer mount of the control arms attach. It's not that hard to replace, though you need to be careful not to shear off the 4 bolts that go into the body.

 

Do not drive the car like this, it will break all the way. It's a job anyone with basic tools can do in a driveway. Support the car on jackstands, remove the 4 control arm bolts, the 4 driveshaft bolts, the one differential mount bolt, and the 4 body bolts. The crossmember drops out and you install a fresh one.

Appreciate the response. That would make sense, and could have been caused by rough winter driving.

 

I'll check it out as soon as I get home. Like I said, everything looked good visually, though I didn't crawl all the way underneath. Still a lot of snow on the ground in C-Bus...

 

thanks, John

could be wheel bearings or loose axle nuts. which car is this? is it one of the ones i have seen?

 

BTW i have a complete spfi harness and intake if you are still looking for one.

 

I will most likely be out to Jim's sometime in march. I'd make the extra leg to columbus if you will be around. hollar at me milesfox@yahoo.com

Also Depends on the height of the car if your suspension is shot it will have a bad lean.