Custom Trailing Arm Failure

WOW, $5K for that abortion? I'd be totally pissed. Even doing it right shouldn't cost anywhere near that. And I'm not surprised at all by the clunking, banging and spit-out u-joints.

Was this done by a candy shop or adult toy shop?

 

This guy has a GIANT operation. 6 lifts, a paint booth, a machine shop connected- the WORKS! Im speechless as well.

 

That is downright amazing. The rear end is bolted to the floor with that plate ~ Holy ****. No wonder it rides like **** it has no travel other then floor flex. And all the welds I can see look like they were done by a 2 year, blind kid, with no hands.
Do NOT drive that car until you find someone who knows what they are doing!

 

Looks to me like two SEPARATE plates that hit each other like a loud, hard steel snubber

 

WOW I really hate to see people get ripped like this. You could have bought a lot of tools with 5Gs. The guy that did the work should be ashamed at his lack of regard for your safety and anybody else on the road that was near that car. I enjoy doing the work to my cars as much as driving them.

 

So I have some experience with the 3rd gen 3 link style setup, it's the same as 93-02 4th gen F-Bodies.

So you have two lower control arms, and a torque arm in the middle. You could maybe adapt a stock or aftermarket torque arm. Some of them use a custom crossmember like this:



I've run a few, no problems. Stick with poly bushings as spherical rod ends get clanky.

If those goofy plates you have basically direct bolt up your pumpkin to the body that's a really goofy setup.

I don't know how far he is, but Spohn is in PA and he makes a full line of parts like this. I think it's www.spohn.net.

 

Wow, just wow.... I can't say enough about how bad that job is, and how ****ed it is in so many ways.

Now as far as a fix. You need REAL trailing arms, like some early 70's truck arms, or NASCAR arms. And a panhard bar.

check out this thread
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144403&highlight=trailing+arms

 

Speechless..........

And I think that my frame swap/extending the wheelbase was backyard........

 

WOW thats messed up to (put it nicely) it needs completely redone. Maybe a set of Parallel leaf springs could be done fairly easy on it.

 

Let's hear who's shop is responsible for this incredible feat of engineering. I'm sure they'd be proud to have it seen, you more than paid for the right to showcase their work and keep others from falling prey.

 

wow...bolted to sheet metal...
He needs to give you a full and complete refund. Without one second of back-talk.
and should be banned from ever touching another suspension setup. Ever.
He has absolutely no idea what he is doing and is risking people's lives - while at the same time ripping them off.

 

Ho-lee CHIT!

 

Hope you didn"t let this shop touch your front suspension.That is definitley ****,dangerous work there.

 

Cut it all out and start over again. And don't even think about driving the car anywhere with the rear like that. You're going to hurt yourself or someone else when that fails. Seriously, that could be some of the shoddiest work I have ever seen. You need to find another shop and get that rear suspension sorted out.

You also need to sue the shop that did this "work". It's really only be the grace of God that you didn't kill yourself or someone else. I know plenty of reputable attorneys in the Philly area through work and school (I just graduated and sit for the bar in 8 weeks), feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it.

Again, don't think about driving that car an inch like it is. You're on notice now of how messed up it is and if you hurt someone you're liable for damage as well. Take LOTS of pictures, and save all receipts and any written correspondence you have with the shop (emails, etc.). Do***ent all phone calls. If you pursue a lawsuit to recoup the money you spent, it will pay off.

 

I agree proud enough to charge 5gs should be proud enough to get some recognition surly earned.

 

Your DMV should have a "dealer and repairers" complaint/investigation department. In my state, it will take some time, but you fill out a form with pics, then go through the whole process until the DMV calls for the car to be trailered in, and be inspected by them. Once they have, that shop is in trouble.

 

Whatever you end up doing, make sure the suspension can articulate. One wheel all the way up and the other all the way down. Can it happen? To do so, you need a correct design and bushings that can do it. Drag cars don't need articulation. Street cars do. If there is no ability to articulate, then parts bend that are not intended to bend - and they fatigue and break.

Your original torque tube rear suspension could articulate. When you split the bones, you begin to lose the ability for the suspension to articulate.

 

x1000

 

I think it's the same " laser " that Dr. Evil used in the Austin Powers movie.

 

I stopped reading posts shortly after this one. Donny is correct as far as he goes here, but there is another geometry element SO OFTEN overlooked with 'trailing arm' suspension. The truck arm style (aka NASCAR) design, to be effective and not stress components, DEMANDS that the truck arms angle inward toward the driveshaft/u-joint where they attach to the frame. That is necessary because if they are seperated by any significant distance they TRY to twist the axle housing as the body rolls in a turn. Whatever is weakest will bend or break. By keeping the trailing arm's forward ends close to center, and especially when using the correct "I" beam style arm material, twist is dramatically minimized and whatever may remain can be absorbed by the truck arm itself.

This has been discussed several times, and at length, here on the HAMB. It is totally amazing to me that a shop would have so little comprehension of mechanical principles to do such shoddy work. Simply mindboggling!!

Ray

 

I would agree with this IF, and that's a BIG IF, this was a normal stock grocery getter vehicle. But it scares the bejesus out of me to involve the State when we are talking modified cars. We are never more than a whisker away from some do-gooder politician deciding we shouldn't be making "unauthorized" modifications to our automobiles. Think it can't happen here? Ask the the guys from Australia what they have to contend with in their vehicle regulations.

Ray

 

Should not be a concern. If the DMV cops in PA are like many others, they could care less if it is a custom car. They exist to protect the consumer and to make the shop's life miserable. In this case it would seem that the shop has it coming (unless there is more to the story than told here; however even if you specified exactly what they were supposed to do, the design and implementation are still faulty). Once there is a threat of DMV action, your shop will happily refund the money as they will not want to deal with a DMV action.

 

X2000

And those front bushings need to be compliant enough to 'rotate'. Many are not designed for this.

 

IF the state is involved, and the shop is licensed by the state, the threat of loss of license MAY result in a better outcome to the o.p. And a track record so in the future this might not happen to anyone else. Civil cases in court have a way of dragging out, and there is no guarantee that you can collect a judgement. But, a license hearing and state filed charges have a way of getting someone's attention. Usually.......

This shop needs to have some attention from a licensing body as that work was not shoddy, but criminal. Let's see,rear axle bolted to a floor pan, brake tubing loose on both sides not secured to the axle housing (on the photo of the left side you can see the eye hole on the brake line mount tab, obviously unsecured) the emergency brake cable zip tied to the lower arm, and the rear axle angle to the prop shaft out of line due to the axle being "rigidly" mounted to the body.

Even if this work was done at the express orders from the o.p. of what components, and how they were to be installed the shop has to refuse to do any job that is deemed unsafe. That should be common sense IMO.

Excepting for the emergency brake cable attachment, all the others are major safety hazards.

 

On top of everything else, the original trailing arms did angle inwards to the torque tube. They had the proper design in front of them before they screwed it all up.

 

Just because you used a 3rd gen Camaro axle doesn't mean it needs to use the 3rd gen arms, torque bar, etc. A rearend is a rearend, and it can be stripped of mounts and installed in any safe manner that works for your installation. The key word is SAFE, and that setup they did for you is anything but safe.
If the rearend brackets and trailing arms were long enough, and heavy enough, the need for the torque tube, or torque arm would be negated. Long trailing arms from a 1960's Chevy truck would work wonderful, and with a panhard bar and heavy brackets it would function nicely.
I'm sure sorry the shop did such poor work, but I'm really thankful you or your family didn't have a serious accident when that POS failed. I hope you get a good attorney (even though I hate suing) and not only get your money back, but enough to pay to get it done right by a reputable mechanic.

 

wow..... i'd be breaking my foot off in someone's *** and burning down a shop. that's just me and my vigilantie justice beliefs though.

 

Easy brother, I can be there in a half hour with a ice cold Heineken.

 

Id be cutting that mess out and start completely out and start fresh. That shop has no business doing fab work...Everything wrong has been noted. Sorry to beat this subject up man

 

yea, i'd like to know who did this as well... they should be proud of a big money suspension job like this one.