Now that I have the car on the road somewhat i am noticing something> When i bought the car my knowledge concerning the Hell Hole and all its related issues was practically nil.

I am noticing the rear passenger side wheel is leaning in a little at the top. Both sides seem a little slanted but passenger side looks to be a little more.

There is a small hell hole but i don't see extensive rotting or rust. not sure where to look.

So i need to research a little to see what's going on. I read some where that shims are used to slant the wheels for AX. Maybe the PO did this?

What and where can i check to see what is causing this slanting.

Going to work on it this afternoon and i can take some pics.

Cracked suspension ear.
or rusted - they rust from the inside out.
Or maybe just bad alignment.

But I would stop driving on it until you made sure the ear was sound.
Get it in the air, pull the wheel, and start looking.

Zach

1 springs (too low or sagging causes negative camber)
2 alignment (get rid of the neg camber)
3 maybe a rusted inner suspension console

In that order. Hopefully number three is not a problem.

The slant or camber gets more pronounced by removing shims. You can add shims to get rid of it, but you really need to determine the condition of the mount first.

So if I get it up on jack stands again UGH! and look for something funny? Where to the shims go?

How is rear alignment done?

I had this issue and found a bad, almost non-existant, trailing arm bushing. The arm flopped all over the place.

a samll hole in teh hell hole is a sign that means you need to dig deeper. sorry but thats the facts metal eating acid gets in even small holes and can devestate the rockers, and can work into the suspenion pick up point. mine was bad and had to be repaired by mc mark some years ago (still going strong)

you need to get the car upon a stand and investigate some more. hopefully it is not too bad.

some photos of the "small hell hole' might help us diagnois this, also a nice photo of the trailing arm attachmnet points will be helpfull also.

goodluck

Here's what it looks like when you're completely missing the inner trailing arm bushing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t34yqRL7Jc0

If this has happened suddenly and you have an otherwise solid car, I would suspect that one of the rear trailing arm bushings has torn loose. Jack it up and see if and where it moves.

Don't cheap out and buy the Weltmeister bushings, you'll be replacing those in less than a year (ask me how I know).

The Elephant PolyBronze setup was an easy install. Pricey, but everything fit exactly as it should.

Took a quick look but no camera. I jacked the car up and grabbed the wheel as in the video. Solid as a rock.

I looked around the jack donut and saw a hole about 3" and flaking around the donut square but metal still seemed strong.

So it looks like there is a 3" hell hole and another 3" hole below.

Suspension ear (hangy down semi circle thing) looks good.

I'll try and get pics of the hell hole and bottom.

You all mention alignment. How is camber adjusted? Where do i look for any shims?

The trailing arm is put in with a really long bolt that pivots on the inner and outer suspension ears.
The inner one cracks and tears away over time...this is common.

the outer ear or mount is where the shims go.
The shims go between the body and the trailing arm mount and you can see them without jacking the car up...just look in front of the wheel and you will see how the outer trailing arm attaches.
As you can imagine, the inner ear stays fixed and as you add shims to the outer ear, it reduces negative camber...it twists the pivot point.

Best thing to do is get you car to a 914 shop...ask here for a shop nearby and have them look at your car to suggest your strategy.

One thing that George mentioned is true...the coild springs wear out.
A new set of springs will lift the car back up and fix a small sag in the wheels.

If the rust is to extensive, then you may have other things moving that are affecting the ride....but a new set of springs is cheap and will reset your suspension.

RIch

With all due respect. I'd check for #3 first. That way you wouldn't have to pay for #2 or #1 until "after" the rust repair -- if needed.

You are pretty close to me. Feel free to PM me and bring it by sometime and I'll take a look.

Still no camera in hand . I raised the car. With the rear wheels on, and on the passenger side, i am able to grab the coil and move it about 1/4" up and down. It's not tight. The driver's side seems a lot tighter, can't really move it around.
Is this the sign of a bad coil. How do i know if my coils are bad? The loose passenger side is maybe 1/2" to 1' lower in back than the driver's side. Car levels out when I sit in it...I'm 6'3", 220.

Oh, i also have red Konis...

What color are the springs (if they have any color)?

Stock springs dont get loose when you lift the car.
Shorter 140 or 180 lb springs do get loose when you lift the car.
You need to take some pics or get someone to look at your car.

Rich

Eric has the right order. Check inner suspension console first and thoroughly.
With all due disrespect the guy who suggested springs first sells replacement springs...... of his own manufacture .
I've seen them installed. The car looked like it was still on jack stands.

The suspension console actually looks good. Just a hole at the bottom of the way bottom of the hell hole area and then just below that next to the jack donut.

I'm guessing that the car sat at one point and there was a drip from the battery that ate through straight down. I don't think fixing the hole will change any suspension things. It's in a different area.

All the suspension braces and console look good. Also looks like I don't have any shims either side.

The springs don;t have color and are not short. They are in their seats. But I can squeeze the coils of the bad one almost together like a spring compressor.

If i jack up the bad side an inch or so and if the wheel evens up with the other side, can I assume I need springs?

Ok, I had a '74 that squatted in the rear .... springs were gone .... installed new ones (Troutman) and ride height came back to normal.

Stock were black with green stripe (one or two) on one of the coils.

Spring sag is like old boobs .... oh well.

That's not in the spirit of 914 repair...we just buy parts until it works.

I have a pair of very good, stock springs you can use to see if that's your problem. If they work for you they can be yours for cheap.