Handling problem! Rear "softness"
Handling problem! Rear "softness" Just wondered if anyone knows what my problem could be. The other day I was just in the process of getting on it and gave a good shot of throttle, right while I was passing over a large pot hole (didn't see that 
) The car had wheel spin in mid air, before crashing back down on the pavement and jolting me and my girlfriend with a break neck thrust. Ever since, when turning a hard left, it feels as though the *** end of the car is floating or swinging around. I checked out the suspension components and couldn't see anything. I'm wondering if a sway bar could be bent or something?
) The car had wheel spin in mid air, before crashing back down on the pavement and jolting me and my girlfriend with a break neck thrust. Ever since, when turning a hard left, it feels as though the *** end of the car is floating or swinging around. I checked out the suspension components and couldn't see anything. I'm wondering if a sway bar could be bent or something? 
Hello
I sounds like that was quite a ride....It could be a few things such as you might have broken a rear sway bar end links or a bushing in the lower control arm or pan hard bar got blown out. I would suggest checking some of that stuff out first and see what you come up with.
Hope that helps
Brad
I sounds like that was quite a ride....It could be a few things such as you might have broken a rear sway bar end links or a bushing in the lower control arm or pan hard bar got blown out. I would suggest checking some of that stuff out first and see what you come up with.
Hope that helps
Brad
Humm, well the De-Carbons didn't help with the mitigation of that pot hole. I remember when I switched to Koni's the first thing I noticed was that the back of the car was not "dancing" around as much when I got on it on a less than perfect piece of pavement.
I wonder if this event was significant enough to cause internal damage to the shock, thereby reducing the amount of damping that shock can provide. Therefore the back end feels floaty. If everything else is in good shape, i.e not bent, damaged or loose. Then this might be the issue.
Couple of other things to check out: Sway bar endlinks, trailing arm bushings, PHR bushings and Sway bar bushings. Usually one can't tell the condition of these parts without removing components from the car.
I wonder if this event was significant enough to cause internal damage to the shock, thereby reducing the amount of damping that shock can provide. Therefore the back end feels floaty. If everything else is in good shape, i.e not bent, damaged or loose. Then this might be the issue.
Couple of other things to check out: Sway bar endlinks, trailing arm bushings, PHR bushings and Sway bar bushings. Usually one can't tell the condition of these parts without removing components from the car.
TECH Resident
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Dallas, TX
The shocks are your issue. You will always have this to some extent w/ a live axle car but the poor deCarbon's are only exacerbating the issue. A quality damper will fix this. I don't have that problem anymore after going w/ Konis and I know what you mean; that is a very unsettling feeling.
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my car used to do this also.
when i got it it had(and still has)hypercoil springs on it and in the rear way some worn kyb shocks and the rear felt slopy then i swaped in some bilstien hd's and it went away so i would say its the shocks you could of just damaged one or both of them
when i got it it had(and still has)hypercoil springs on it and in the rear way some worn kyb shocks and the rear felt slopy then i swaped in some bilstien hd's and it went away so i would say its the shocks you could of just damaged one or both of them
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I agree with Major Lee Slow,check out your suspension parts and see if you can find anything.You are probably due for some new shocks.My t/a rode like a tank and handled like crap at 60k with the stock shocks.That's when I switched to Koni's and have been happy ever since.
Thanks guys 
So I would be ok to simply swap out the rear decarbons while leaving the fronts alone? It sounds like Konis are a favorite choice (part of 1le isn't it?), but what about the bilsteins? Any good?
So I would be ok to simply swap out the rear decarbons while leaving the fronts alone? It sounds like Konis are a favorite choice (part of 1le isn't it?), but what about the bilsteins? Any good? 
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,798
Likes: 16
From: St.Charles MO
Koni double adjustable were part of the 1LE package but the "popular" choice is the single adjustable which are much less expensive and arn't overkill like the DA's are said to be.
Bilstien HD's are said to be a good choice for the money. But I can tell you this, after having konis on my car I will never own another FBody without at least them.
Well I put it up in the shop, everything looks tight. However, now is also a small squeak in the rear when going over smaller bumps. Might be an excuse to step up the suspension a little 
This is the best time to tackle it, if you have the space. My car sits on jack stands in different stages of disassemble all winter as I go over the whole car with fine tooth comb. That way in the spring I know it's good to go
True. Received that, thanks very much. Very informative. Could a squeak possilby indicate a simple need for lube? Before I start tearing things off I just wanted to be certain that it's necessary. I don't quite know why the vehicle would give me that "swinging/floating" sensation when cornering hard if everything is so tight though? Would a wore out bushing really cause this? I'm wondering if the clicking I've had back there (since owning the car and also on my 95 bird) was indicating the beginning of bushing wear? It appears as if there is a substantial amount of polyurethane back there, which I like to see.
Ahhhh I didn't realize you had poly bushings. Yes poly bushings need to be re-greased yearly. Unlike the stock rubber bushings where all the desired movement of the two components is handled by the elasticity of the bushing poly bushings encounter relative motion between themselves and the mating part/fastener. Usually the movement is between the bushing's ID and the metal sleeve. Without the lube the force to overcome the friction between the two surfaces goes up and can cause a stick slip issue which can cause a "big" release in energy similar to the mechanism of an earth quake. This stick slip can cause all sorts of weird handling behaviors.
Second, poly bushings don't last forever. The wear and they creep/deform. Therefore some "slop" can develop. Note the loads on the bushings from driving the car are significantly higher than the loads generated by manually pulling/pushing on a suspension component. Bushings and balljoint are usually in really bad shape by the time things are loose enough to be moved by hand
Second, poly bushings don't last forever. The wear and they creep/deform. Therefore some "slop" can develop. Note the loads on the bushings from driving the car are significantly higher than the loads generated by manually pulling/pushing on a suspension component. Bushings and balljoint are usually in really bad shape by the time things are loose enough to be moved by hand