Loose Guide Rod Mount
 

I got to drive this car down a short dirt road today. Everything was fine and very tight except I noticed a slight clunking on the drivers side going over small bumps.

After that I got up on the interstate and noticed a 'Wallowing/Shaking' feeling in the floor and steering wheel. I made it home from work with no damage and checked underneath.

Here is what I found. Everything looks really tight except where the torsion bar goes through a large bushing on the body. If I jack the drivers side up about 3 inches, grab the tire and shake it fore and aft the torsion bar moves in and out of this bushing about 1/8" to 1/4" inch.

It looks like this can be tightened from behind where the back of the torsion bar comes out of the back of the bushing? Is this correct.

The car is basically off the road until I fix this. The vibration is pretty bad at speed.

got a pic? The bushings could be shot and need to be replaced. That and the upper control arm and lower control arm bushings. I remember doing that job... really helped

torsion bar, yes. But thats more of a British term(though correct but). We call them sway bars.
I got confused and thought I was on the DMC forum

Here is the affected part. It is not a control arm but is connected to the LCA. I have done LCA bushings on about 15 different cars. None of them had this rod.

This picture is out of one of DIY articles in the Resources section. It looks like he is calling it a "guide rod mount"?

My question is can I tighten the BIG nut on the back of this mount? Or do I need to replace the mount.

These mounts have been replaced recently and look really good. They look just like the new ones in the picture below. Just that this side is loose.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/g...speed58/18.jpg

hmmm a new guide rod mount has failed, possibly...depends on what brand was used. I've never really played with those. I want to say you can't adjust it since its a "mount". Was the entire front suspension rebuilt or just these? Also, check the wheel bearings and make sure the nut securing them is tight not not too tight(or loose).

Thanks Joe... I checked the wheel bearings and all the rest of the suspension last week. Everything is really tight. No problems at all. I just overlooked these parts because they were new! Go figure...

I just got the car in the air so I can see everything better. Some of the suspension has been replaced. Not all of it. These mounts are new. Probably Chinese garbage.

After looking closely at the mount, it cannot be tightened. It needs to be replaced.

Where is a good place to source a part like this? I want the real deal not cheap garbage.

Thanks again,

AJ

look at the top of the page... fastlane

Yes, that is a guide rod. It sounds like your rear mount has failed.

Yep.. Both of them are bad. The drivers side is real bad. It has about 1/4" of play in it. The passengers side has about 1/8" play.

The car shakes so bad it is not drivable. Anything over 25MPH is a serious vibration. Everything was fine until I headed down that dirt road. It was actually a pretty smooth road too.

I already ordered a set, 5-7 days UPS ground. I'm having a hard time finding the ones for the front that mount in the LCA? Are these considered the "kit"? Most places don't show a picture.

are you using fastlane?

also, I think replacing those might require a spring compressor.. not sure but possibly

I think your right. It looks like all I have to do is compress the spring just enough to remove the lower spring perch in order to gain access to the front guide rod mount.

Or, maybe I can just compress the spring, unbolt the rear guide rod mount bolts then lower the control arm enough to spin the old rear mount out of the guide rod? This would probably be easier if possible...

I would measure everything first so they wind up exactly where they were. I'm sure it will need an alignment afterwards. I just soaked everything with liquid wrench in preparation.

be careful with the springs..They are like an armed bomb ready to go off. I hate removing springs

if you count threads and match them up after you might be close to the original specs. I would take the car to the dealership to get an alignment since they are the only one to do it right. If some tire shop says "yeah we can do it, we compensate for not having the spreader bar" go somewhere else.