I had a problem with a squeaky suspension and finally figured out that the spring on the right side was rubbing against the frame. On the other side there is about half an inch of clearance. I also noticed that all of the pins on the center of the watts link were bent at a considerable angle. It seems to me that the center hole axis and the 2 pins (bolts) on the center link should all be parallel. On mine, one of the bolts is about 30 degrees from the axis of the center line and the other is almost that bad. Is that the way it should be?

Also, even with the watts link removed, the rear is still shifted about half an inch. Is there any way to fix that? I'm going to loosen all the control arm bolts and see if that helps. Any other ideas?

 

Sounds like somebody slid into a curb or something of that nature. Control arms may be bent as well. Maybe shocks too? I dunno, but there's probably not much there that couldn't be fixed with a good old american beating... Er, unless this is a car used for Shows or Racing... If its a daily driver then just bust out the sledge and feel those frustrations melt away.

 

The centerline of the control arms do have an offset. Compare the right and left sides to each other. It does sound like it has been curbed. If that's the case, you might start looking for new control arms. I can't see the watts arms bending, unless it was a major side impact.

 

Its not the watts arms, but the mounting pins that bent if I'm reading it right...

 

OK, somedays I need to read better. The mounting pins on the watts link pivot arm, the part that bolts to the rearend, should point straight forward along the centerline of the car. The mounting points for the links and control arms are all inline or transverse with the centerline of the body. Offsets needed to mounts the arms and links are built into the arms and links themselves.