Well, here it is:


:eek: :eek: :eek:

:rolleyes:

Well, I guess I have an excuse to go buy the Smart Struts. :D :yesnod: :crazy: :smash:


[Modified by 79MakoL82, 6:31 PM 7/27/2002]

 

Bwahahahaahahaha :) bend-a-camber :D

 

Very common. You can straightem the rods in a press and they should be fine to use.

Shannon

 

Usually when you see this it is an attempt to adjust beyound the limits of the eccentric cam. New bushing may help but more than likely the side yokes are worn and need to be replaced. I realize that isn't what you want to hear but you do need to check the side yokes. This is a "must do". There should be almost "zero" in and out movement. Check it out and repost what you find.

 

No problemo guys. I'm in the middle of tearing the rear end apart to do a re-build. That includes diff re-build and TA re-build with new side yolks, smart struts, bushings, spring, u-joints, etc. I just LOVE Bubba work. :D

:crazy: :smash:

 

My struts were Bubba-ized like that and the side yoke were worn all the way to the snap ring groves. :smash:

 

bahahahha

:lol: :lol: :conehead :conehead

 

Some people should never work on cars. Man! :eek:

AC

 

i thought you were really asking, so i was going to respond :bb .....
nevermind. (looks away,whistling)

 

Speaking of smart struts, I'm still trying to figure out what's factual and what's promo language in the VB&P catalog copy. I just upgraded my rear with a 330 lb. monospring (460 coils in front), Bilstein sport shocks all around and replaced assorted bushings where needed. What's the advantage of upgrading the struts on my '81?

 

runner, your busy tonight, aren't you? either that or just bored, i suppose.
i've heard smart struts are the single biggest improvement to the rear suspension of a c-3. i don't have them yet but they are definately on the shopping list.
the reason they are an improvement is because they relocate the inner pick-up point for the strut rod. if you look at your rear suspension you'll notice there is only about 4" between the centerline of the half-shaft and the centerline of the strut rod. on the outside pick-up points, there is 5-6". this non-parallel of the rear suspension can create radical camber changes between lightly loaded and heavily loaded conditions. for instance, when your driving the car down the freeway at 65 the rear camber is at it's natural adjustment (where ever your alignment shop set it, we'll assume 0* for this example). all of a sudden a semi blows a tire and a big chunck of tread flies infront of you. when you swerve to the left (for the purposes of our example) you shift the load to the right. as the body rolls it lifts the inside (left) tire somewhat and compressed the outside tire. your inside tire can go positive, as much as 2* while your outside tire goes way negative, 2-3*. now when you swerve back so you don't fly off the road, the exact opposite happens. the suspension does all this in a matter of a split second. this kind of geometry transition is very difficult on the suspension and tires to keep undercontrol.
with smart struts, that transition is substantially reduced, supposedly under 1*.
well, that is the long version. make sense?

 

Looks like someone jacked the car up with a 4x4 on the jack.When I worked at the dealership we had lifts that would contact the rear about the same position as those bends.

 

Uh, Engineering Materials 101 - what you see is plastic deformation. Almost half of the strength of the material has been destroyed. Bending it back will take another 1/2 from what is left...leaving a very weak point where the strength of the material is about 1/4 of what it originally had...unless it just breaks off while trying to bend it back. In other words, you need some new rods.

 

Mine looked like this also. Additionally, Bubba had spot welded the camber adjustment bolts in position.

Ordering smart struts tomorrow!!