Panhard rod bent?

[rjkoop]

I had a bit of a tight fit for the muffler/exhaust between the car and the panhard rod on my '81 Fiat Spider. Here's what the panhard rod looks like.



Front underneath looking up.


Looks bent too far to me. If so, can I remove the bolts holding it on, remove it, and straighten it? Is there pressure on the bolts and maybe I should jack up the car 1st? And I think the panhard rod is supposed to be a little bit bent on my '81. Also how do I determine how much it should be bent?

[vandor]

OMG, yes, it is bent. Looks like they used it to pull or tie down the car with it.

[4uall]

certainly looks bent to me

here is a few pics of mine fyi







no issues removing, no pressure on the bar

[rjkoop]

Thanks guys. I'll remove, try to straighten back to original, and reinstall. Hope I don't have anymore project creep... I hate project creep!

[AndyS]

once it is bent like that and you straighten it back, it will be weaker, as the metal tube gets damaged from being crimped . this happened on my car, and we had to sleeve it (welded a larger split tube in that area) where it was bent to make it stronger. nice side effect--it tightened up the rear and the car handled better afterwards.

[rjkoop]

once it is bent like that and you straighten it back, it will be weaker, as the metal tube gets damaged from being crimped . this happened on my car, and we had to sleeve it (welded a larger split tube in that area) where it was bent to make it stronger. nice side effect--it tightened up the rear and the car handled better afterwards.

Great info. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind when I remove.

[DieselSpider]

Its creased so your better off replacing it if your not equipped to weld in reinforcements.

[azruss]

+1 with Diesel on this. once that pipe has been crimped, it has lost its strength. if you sleeve it, you have added a bunch of weight. should be easy to find a used one.

[njoconnor]

While shopping for a used one, keep in mind that a new one from A/R is about $66, and comes with new bushings already installed.

Just sayin'.....

Neil

[rjkoop]

Yep. Ordering a new one for AR is the way to go for sure. If I do my best to straighten for now can I use it until I get the one from AR? I'm heading down to my sisters in NYC (where I'd get it shipped to) July 4th weekend so I couldn't get it until then.

[bobplyler]

I'd just leave it alone. Trying to unbend it will cause a loss of strength. A new one is the way to go.

[AndyS]

when they are bent like that, they can also throw off the rear alignment angles. the thing keeps stuff at the right angles back there.

[InfinityAero]

when they are bent like that, they can also throw off the rear alignment angles. the thing keeps stuff at the right angles back there.

Wow, what's the toe set to on this sucker? I've got an 1/8" of toe on on the left side of mine, I can only imagine how off the rear alignment is with that panhard rod...

[rjkoop]

After straightening and reinstalling a few moths ago car tracks straight and no uneven wear on tires. Had the alignment done and they didn't notice anything out of whack. That being said I'm probably redoing the rear suspension over the winter. And at that point I'll replace the panhard rod.

[InfinityAero]

After straightening and reinstalling a few moths ago car tracks straight and no uneven wear on tires. Had the alignment done and they didn't notice anything out of whack. That being said I'm probably redoing the rear suspension over the winter. And at that point I'll replace the panhard rod.

Crazy, you'd think with a rod that warped the thrust line would be way off, guess the components all wore together in a good way...