bent k-member or frame?
bent k-member or frame? i purchased a 97 camaro ss about a month ago and it leans to the front passenger side quite a bit. did a search and found that many people have this problem. i owned a 2000 z28 that did not have this issue. so, i get underneath the car and checked the k-member. on the passenger side, and little on the drivers side there is evidence at the rear most bolt that the k-member has slid about an inch from its normal position. you can see where the bolt and washer assembly used to be. this is also evident where the lower control arm is mounted but i think that is supposed to move, not sure. the other bolt that bolts to the frame where the body mount is fine as it has not moved. i looked at the frame rails and i did not see any kinks, bends, cracks, or evidence of repair. all the body lines line up and no major discernment in the gaps. i have noticed that the passenger wheel looks like it is pushed toward the rear of the car an inch or so. i hope it is something that is not too expensive to fix. maybe $1000 or less and i can deal with for now. the guy i bought it from said he hopped a curb and bent the spindle and replaced it. maybe there are some other things going on? i kinda want to keep the car because its a hardtop ss with the orange stripes and houndstooth interior, looks nice. got it for a decent price. watcha think??
oh man i had this problem, after flying into a corn field at 120. landed on all 4 tho lol. i ended up doing it right.. had the frame straitend. and had to get all new springs.. ( oem stock ones ). my car had the circle track lean to one side to it. i convinced everyone it was special edition. hahhahahah but now it sits great again. i
tyler, did you have any kinks in the frame? could you see where the frame was bent? i took mine to the frame and alignment shop today and he said the k-member looks like it was bent and you could kinda tell. he said the frame did not look to have any kinks or damage to it. i wonder could the spring be damaged on that side? how could the spring be damaged?
Hitting curbs sucks. Ask me how I know. My results were a bent wheel, killed the tie rods, ripped the inner boot cover, and whacked out the K member's alignment. Mine doesn't lean any, but the alignment is way whacked out. I'm putting in a tubular k member and a arms when everything goes back together. What is commonly not known is the stock k member is adjustable. It sounds like you have a major camber issue or something in the rear is bent. Such as a lower control arm, torque arm, maybe it bent the shock mount. These kinds of problems are really hard to figure out and diagnose. It's hard to look at something like a spindle and say if it's bent or not.
Hitting curbs sucks
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2
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From: El Paso
I'm curious about the same thing, I recently bought a 96 Z28 that was wrecked about a year ago. The guy was street racing, lost control and slid over a curb sideways over 80mph. The damage was quite extensive and I'm wondering if the k frame is bent or simply shifted out of position. Any input would be helpful. I just hope I won't need to replace that too. The damage includes but is no limited to 3 shattered rims, one shattered brake disc, bent rear lower control arm, mangled front lower control arm, broke the knuckle in half, bent the front sway bar brackets and end links, bent the tie rods all to hell, and the front passenger fender and hood shifted to the left slightly, bent axle shaft end, radiator is cracked, there's also a brace behind the transmission under the car that's slightly bent... that's about all I can think about at the moment
Last edited by HunterJ217; Sep 25, 2017 at 10:02 PM.
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There are pins that hold the k-member in place so it can be bolted up when mounted to the chassis. Have you tried to loosen that bolt to see what's going on? You can also take it to an alignment shop and see what they say. Seems if there's damage that obvious your tires will be destroyed in no time.
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Verdad Gallardo Registered User
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 2
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From: El Paso
Haven't had the chance to drive it yet. I'm still replacing the damaged parts under the car and I won't be able to move it to an alignment shop until all of the front suspension is back in the car. I just figure if I need to replace the k frame I can just do it while the suspension is out, but I don't want to replace it if I don't need to. It's only the passenger side that appears to have shifted forward about half an inch.
