WPEDirect

When I was bleeding the rear brakes, I wiggled the wheels up and down, left and right. THew Passenger side was real good and tight. The drivers side was loose up and down - very loose. I expected some slop, but this was surprising. After I removed the wheel, I noticed that it was pivoting on the swingarm bushing, and that I have aboout 3/4" shim pack on the outside and 1/2" shim pack on the inside. Is this normal?? Does this just mean that I need to replace the swingarm bushings? Does it mean my car got sideswiped at some point? My car is very 'nervous' on the road, especially on uneven road services. It will dart left and right in the lane, and in construction zones (blacktop, uneven) it's actually pretty hard to keep it in the lane. I know I need an alignment really bad, but cannot afford one right now. Can you do a 'poor man's alignment' and get close enough to stop eating tires every 1000 miles? Thanks! :confused:

foundvettelifeisgood

Is the attachment bolt and nut for the trailing arm secure when you wiggle the trailing arm? Is all the slop in the bushing or is the slop due to the lack of shims?

I hope you won't drive the car until you find the solution. :cheers:

Frank75

It might be the bushing as there's some movement visible here but not lots and lots. How did you have the car jacked and supported? I'm trying to understand how you overcame spring pressure to wiggle the tire (but it's pre-coffee so nothing is obvious to me)...

bnytro

http://www.vettenet.org/align.html http://www.vtr.org/maintain/diy-alignment.html http://www.corvettefaq.com/c3/diyalign.htm http://www.longacreracing.com/

this should help you :steering:

MIKER

It doesn't sound unusual.
If they are the original bushings, they are due for replacement.
Nah, it just sounds like a normally worn suspension.
I did my own 4-wheel alignment. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=436718

Van Steel

:iagree: You can do your own alignment but it's not going to be any good unless your bushings are good and in tact. If the bushings are bad and you align it it will be off again after 10 minutes of driving. I would sugest you get a rear end rebuild kit. It will give you all the bushings you need. Than you can align the car.

mrvette

Van Steel, you may have some insight on this....

Last November I replaced my 7 year old lower ball joints, well just last weekend I was totally shocked to find them bad, loose as a goose, again...
car driven maybe 10k miles if that....plenty of grease....I used McQuay norris joints from AZ....mistake??? they have a bad reputation?? this time I got the Perfect Circle brand...warrenty exchange...but now I"m paranoid...
the tires were flopping about 1/2 inch at tread with the looseness....and my car did develope a wander over road surfaces...now it's tight again...

do heavy bars and springs/shocks do that much damage to ball joints???

GENE

Van Steel

I would say it's the quality of the ball joints. Heavier bars and upgraded shocks are not a factor. TRW or MOOG make good ball joints. It's all how they are assembled.

GTR1999

Gene,
I had the same concerns about ball joints. I had a set go bad after 18k miles. These were bought from NAPA 20 years ago but I don't recall who made them for NAPA. I'm pretty sure they were not imported parts at the time. I bought a set of Moogs-bought with other stuff from Summit .
Gary

WPEDirect

I wish I had that luxury - this is my daily driver. It looks like all the slop is in the bushing. What is the best value in poly bushings? Does anyone sell just the swingarm bushings? I will eventually rebuild both front and rear suspensions, but do not have ANY funds available for Vette parts right now. Thanks for all the information, guys!

:seeya

foundvettelifeisgood

You can go to vettebrakes.com to find this:

Product ID: 41043 Category: Suspension Components
Poly T/Arm Bushing Kit w/shells
Description: Unlike rubber, poly bushings can be installed in your rear trailing arms without removing the arms from the car
Price: $59.95

Pulling the trailing arm is no day at the beach. You'll need some heavy tools and maybe a sawsall. You are liable to break or strip another part, like the lower shock mount, trying to free the trailing arm. I'm not sure if you can install the bushing without a press. Maybe someone can chime in. Good luck and be safe. That's one :cool: daily driver.

:cheers: