rear Panhard rod

[lesholmes]

My question what would cause the panhard bar at the rear of the axle to snap in two,on my 1978/124/spider. any thought on the matter would help,I am at loss with this one. Homer

[bobplyler]

It may have been jacked up using the panhard rod. A no-no.

[lesholmes]

dont think it was jacked at the break,the bar is hollow and the break is for to aft, allmost centre of the bar. homer

[mgbgtn]

My 73 has been welded there as well. I wondered if it was caused by hitting a curb while cornering a little enthusiaticly.

[lesholmes]

When you had your panhard/rod welded did you have any support added or did they just weld end to end, how long ago? has it lasted OK and are you happy with the result and drive. and thank you for your feed/back. Homer

[djape1977]

rust?

[mgbgtn]

I got the car as a restoration project the PO started but got cancer and was too sick to finish so I don't know when it was welded but it looks like a good quality weld that was reenforced.

[lesholmes]

Absulutly no rust shiny bright metal clean break, has to be stress! Homer

[maytag]

if the break is fore-aft, then the car was likely pulled from that point. that sucks, but frequently a tow-driver will loop around that and yank it onto a flatbed.

I have repaired mine. I added a piece of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" steel angle to it, about 24" long, and welded it in several 2" ling "stitches" on both sides. it is definitely stronger now than ever before.

[KidDingo]

The Panhard rod on mine was affected by battery acid corrosion. The drain tubes from the battery tray in the trunk (it's an '81) dripped acid onto the rod. Luckily I got to it before it caused too much damage.

Could this have been a contributor to your situation? Acid weakened the rod so when it was yanked, it snapped... ?

[BEEK]

the one on my car is aluminum tube, with heim joints, never had a failure

[81SPIDERMATT]

mine also broke.... never thought to ask why.... i assumed stress .... also while back there i noticed bushings or grommets for my trailing arms ( from car to rear end 2 long and 2 short) were almost non existent.... as well as one of the long arms was bent.... i thought that because everything was not lined up right and tight that that caused it..bought a new one ... replaced the bent arm and all the bushings.... sure helped my cornering.....

maybe could be that

[tonyfromjersey]

Mine broke too. I figured it was stress, improper towing, or jacking the car improperly. It wasn't too difficult to replace, with Scott's help. I have done the front bushings but not the rears, I'll probably do them this winter.

[81SPIDERMATT]

Mine broke too. I figured it was stress, improper towing, or jacking the car improperly. It wasn't too difficult to replace, with Scott's help. I have done the front bushings but not the rears, I'll probably do them this winter.

depends on the year of your car ... i think 79 or earlier you can replace the bushings on the trailing arms.... mine i had to burn them out with a torch and used a bushing kit... could not find replacements for my 81... sort of a PITA... but as usual .. i have more time than money... if i had to do it over i would have saved up and replaced them all

[fiat218]

Mine broke too. I figured it was stress, improper towing, or jacking the car improperly. It wasn't too difficult to replace, with Scott's help. I have done the front bushings but not the rears, I'll probably do them this winter.

depends on the year of your car ... i think 79 or earlier you can replace the bushings on the trailing arms.... mine i had to burn them out with a torch and used a bushing kit... could not find replacements for my 81... sort of a PITA... but as usual .. i have more time than money... if i had to do it over i would have saved up and replaced them all

I replaced the arms on my 80 ,all 4