moondance

I noticed today when my car was up on a rack that my rear axle was slightly too far over to the left. Anyone know what would cause this? Ive only had the car three weeks so I dont know about what my have happened before I got it. It does not seem to ride down the road weird other than the pull from the tires. As well the tires dont seem to wear incorrectly. Any help would be great, thanks.

CheshireCat

Were the rear tires supported by the lift or were they hanging down?

The nature of the rear suspension on these cars includes the panhard bar which keeps the rear axel centered at normal ride height. Because of geometry, when the ride height changes (springs compress or expand) the rear axel will shift a little because of the arc of its non-fixed end. If it is on a lift with the wheels not supported, it will definately shift. Look again with the car on the ground.

moondance

The wheels were hanging when on the lift. I looked when it was on the ground and its still off. It made no difference at all.I would say if it was moved over about half an inch it would be center. So any ideas on what would make it be a bit over? I mean technically Im not sure this is the original rear end since I didnt always own the car. But if it was too short or something it would be too short on both sides.

moondance

/bump

SC/TA

Has the car been lowered? If so you may need an adjustable panhard bar.

moondance

Nope not lowered that I can tell

98creamsickle

Ill tell you exactly what happened... previous owner whipped it out and smacked a curb... it takes the slightest bend to the the panhard bar to shift. Buy an adjustable one (or stock) and replace, problem solved. Been there done that.

moondance

What is the panhard bar exactly? I looked that up on autozone and it came up with nothing lol. Also where is it exactly under there.

9T8W66

All these cars are biased to the left from the factory (never seen one that wasn't).
You need an adjustable panhard bar to recenter the rear or you can move up to a Watt's link.

moondance

So its normal for the Camaro to have an off center rear axle? I mean the center chunk seems to be in the center of the car just the wheels do not look center with the body.

9T8W66

Correct
You will also notice that the car sits slighty higher on the Left side this is also normal.

moondance

Wow thats weird. I always thought cars were symetrical

moondance

Mine is actually sitting higher on the passenger side. So the passenger side is the one that is inset a bit and higher. What causes them to sit higher on one side? Although you said the left side and mine is opposite unless you ment the left as youre looking at the car from the front

9T8W66

It should be the Left (driver side) that sits higher. (untill the driver sits in the car)
You might want to check your rear spring orientation because over time they tend to move. The lower pigtails of the rear coils should both point towards the front of the car.
Also depending on which way the car turns left or right the rearend will raise or lower. this an inherent part of the Panhard suspension.

moondance

Well, guess you were right, I had it looked at when the shop was checking out some other items and they said nothing under the car was bent. Not the panhard bar the the traction bars or frame. They said everything looked perfect. Weird though that it would come stock off set like that lol. Now all I need is 1k to fix the small issues with the engine. Apparently its a good deal for parts and labor to replace an O2, redo the seals on the tranny, redo the front and rear seals, redo the gasket on the oil pan and replace the plugs cap and rotor lol. So much stuff so little cash.