Trailing Arms

[z34mightymachine]

Wanted to know if these trailing arms will fit my 92 Lumina z34. http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-05-Grand-Prix-Regal-Monte-Carlo-Rear-Trailing-Arms-/360189766155?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item53dcfbaa0b

[Schurkey]

Contact the manufacturer?

[white4d96]

IIRC the 1G and 2G TA's are the same length. Don't quote me on that.

[RobertISaar]

yeah, they're the same length.... word on the street is that the 00-05 police impala trailing arms are a decent upgrade over the U-channel units.

[White93z34]

They'll fit just fine, but its also about $100 more then I'd pay for a set of trailing arms. I guess if you are dead set on poly bushings its a way to go, but otherwise the $12-$20 each doorman squarestock trailing arms work just fine.

[jman093]

Yeah they'll fit. Other than cop cars and the V8 cars, they've been the same flimsy trailing arms on all w-bodies from 1988 to today. I personally don't like poly bushings for the trailing arms like those you posted. Poly would be great on the lateral links though. For a better trailing arm, either find those cop car ones Saar mentioned or V8 car arms. There's also some GMPP ones that you might be able to find used. This would be a lot cheaper too. I actually bought a pair of the V8 arms from a GP GXP for $15 and just installed them on my brother's 96 GP a couple hours ago.

[Grand Moff Joseph]

Yeah they'll fit. Other than cop cars and the V8 cars, they've been the same flimsy trailing arms on all w-bodies from 1988 to today. I personally don't like poly bushings for the trailing arms like those you posted. Poly would be great on the lateral links though. For a better trailing arm, either find those cop car ones Saar mentioned or V8 car arms. There's also some GMPP ones that you might be able to find used. This would be a lot cheaper too. I actually bought a pair of the V8 arms from a GP GXP for $15 and just installed them on my brother's 96 GP a couple hours ago.

 

This post is relevant to my interests, as I'm looking at new suspension parts for my 1G Lumina too.

 

I'm pretty sure that Energy suspension has poly bushings for both lateral links and trailing arms. What causes them to not work as well in the trailing arms?

 

And, I did not realize that GXP trailing arms would work too. They literally bolted right in?

[White93z34]

There are 3 different styles of stock trailing arms 1988-2013 w-bodys

 

Crappy U channel found on 95% of the cars

GMPP/Police impala ones (literally the GMPP ones were 2 impala ones sold zip tied together with a GMPP sticker on them)

Squarestock ones, I THINK they started using these late production on cars with bigger then 16 inch wheels, I believe all the late w-bodys have these now.

 

You can take a trailing arm off of a 2013 Impala and bolt it on a 1988 Grand Prix

 

Now as for aftermarket/replacement arms

You can buy the police/GMPP arms, the GMPP kit is discontinued now, but you can buy the individual ones for ~$65 each last I checked, no thanks

You can buy doorman squarestock arms that are exactly like the GM ones that they put on late w-bodys for $10-$20 each, no brainer IMHO.

Or you can spend the big money on aftermarket arms

[Timm]

For reference:

 

Dorman Website:

Buick Century 2005-97; Buick Lacrosse 2007-05; Buick Regal 2004-88; Chevrolet Impala 2007-00; Chevrolet Lumina 2000-90; Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2007-95; Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 1997-88; Oldsmobile Intrigue 2002-98; Pontiac Grand Prix 2007-88.

Rear Left; Rear Right; Trailing Arm

 

O'Reilly: $26.99 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DOR6/905501.oap?ck=Search_905-501_-1_3928&keyword=905-501

Autozone: $46.99 http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Trailing-Arm/_/N-8oyjc?filterByKeyWord=905-501&fromString=search&isSearchByPartNumber=true

Advance: $26.99 http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_rear-trailing-arm-dorman--oe-solutions_15511028-p?searchTerm=905-501&zoneAssigned=1

[RobertISaar]

WTF Vatozone?

[Galaxie500XL]

Any real advantage, one over the other, if yours is currently in good shape, and not needing immediate replacement?

[Andrew]

For reference:

 

Dorman Website: 905-501

 

O'Reilly: $26.99 http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/DOR6/905501.oap?ck=Search_905-501_-1_3928&keyword=905-501

Autozone: $46.99 http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Trailing-Arm/_/N-8oyjc?filterByKeyWord=905-501&fromString=search&isSearchByPartNumber=true

Advance: $26.99 http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_rear-trailing-arm-dorman--oe-solutions_15511028-p?searchTerm=905-501&zoneAssigned=1

Or on Rockauto for $11.50

[z34mightymachine]

Thanks Guys it does make sense price wise to just go with the Dorman like Chris said. Any difference in ride quality with the aftermarket ones with the poly bushing? or is it the same.

[jman093]

This post is relevant to my interests, as I'm looking at new suspension parts for my 1G Lumina too.

 

I'm pretty sure that Energy suspension has poly bushings for both lateral links and trailing arms. What causes them to not work as well in the trailing arms?

 

And, I did not realize that GXP trailing arms would work too. They literally bolted right in?

 

Thanks Guys it does make sense price wise to just go with the Dorman like Chris said. Any difference in ride quality with the aftermarket ones with the poly bushing? or is it the same.

 

Yep, they bolt right in same hardware and everything. GM hasn't changed the design since it came out in 1988. I'm not aware of anyone pressing in an ES bushing in a stock trailing arm, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a pair that fit. I've only seen the aftermarket bars like OP posted that have polys.

 

The reason I personally think poly bushings are a bad idea in the trailing arms because they have to deflect during suspension movement. When the lateral arms move up and down the trailing arm is going to move side to side a little in addition to up and down. Poly bushings don't deflect a whole lot. They deflect a little, so I imagine there's likely enough deflection that it won't cause wonky handling characteristics from a bound up suspension, but it will still make the ride harsher/noisier. Rubber bushings isolates really well even under deflection. A deflecting poly bushing transmits almost everything through the vehicle. Bumps feel more harsh, but they particularly sound a lot louder/harsher from the noise being transmitted into the cabin. I've read some posts by 3rd gen w-body cars on other forums who went bonkers with poly that seemed to verify this. I don't really understand what good the bushings would do anyways since there isn't a lot of fore-and-aft load on the trailing arm under heavy cornering. That load is on the lateral links. The place to put poly bushings would be on those. It would prevent + camber gain in the rear tires, which can be seen in the tires folding under in the rear of my old GTP below (along with the front as well). This is the same reason poly control arm bushings are such a popular mod for the front end. So finding lateral links that are like the trailing arms the original post contained would likely be very beneficial for the rear of the car, especially if used in conjunction with an addco sway bar.

 

 

 

There are 3 different styles of stock trailing arms 1988-2013 w-bodys

 

Crappy U channel found on 95% of the cars

GMPP/Police impala ones (literally the GMPP ones were 2 impala ones sold zip tied together with a GMPP sticker on them)

Squarestock ones, I THINK they started using these late production on cars with bigger then 16 inch wheels, I believe all the late w-bodys have these now.

 

You can take a trailing arm off of a 2013 Impala and bolt it on a 1988 Grand Prix

 

Now as for aftermarket/replacement arms

You can buy the police/GMPP arms, the GMPP kit is discontinued now, but you can buy the individual ones for ~$65 each last I checked, no thanks

You can buy doorman squarestock arms that are exactly like the GM ones that they put on late w-bodys for $10-$20 each, no brainer IMHO.

Or you can spend the big money on aftermarket arms

 

Maybe on some late 3rd gens they've started using V8 bars on everything, but I've only seen the old u channel. Even my mother's 3G Impala with 17's has u-channel yet. Yeah, the dorman ones are pretty similar to the V8 ones with the square tubing, but FWIW, they are not exactly like them. The V8 ones are offset to clear the wider tires those cars had. I also tend to believe GM used a better bushing for a V8 powered performance car or heavy-duty cop car than dorman did in a $12 replacement arm. I've noticed at work the last few years that aftermarket parts' bushings always seem to decay at much more accelerated rates than what OE's use. So that's why I always use GMPP or V8 ones. They are easy and cheap enough to find. There is no doubt however the dorman square tubing is better than the stock u-channel though. GM may have just as well used zipties. Did ALL of the cop cars get the GMPP style arm or was there another kind as well?

 

 

Any real advantage, one over the other, if yours is currently in good shape, and not needing immediate replacement?

 

Any of them are lot stronger. That u-channel is ridiculously flimsy. Should hold the suspension tighter and will also not bend so easily.

Edited June 14, 2013 by jman093

[White93z34]

Ok, I musta been wrong about that one.

 

The Doorman ones are offset like the OE ones though.

[Crazy K]

dorman is the way to go. I have swapped dorman onto several cars, and even a car that had new U channels had an improvement with square stock arms. The cars feel like they want to go in the direction you point em with less wishy washy movement that comes from the rear.

[RareGMFan]

GMPP/Police impala ones (literally the GMPP ones were 2 impala ones sold zip tied together with a GMPP sticker on them)

 

They did the same thing with the "GMPP" sway bars, I believe. They're just beefed up Police impala bars marketed as GMPP.

 

 

 

You can buy the police/GMPP arms, the GMPP kit is discontinued now, but you can buy the individual ones for ~$65 each last I checked, no thanks

 

Pretty sure the trailing arms are discontinued, period. At least they were from what everyone said when I was trying to track down a pair for my GTP suspension overhaul. The only way you can find them now is to look for used ones in the classifieds.

Edited June 15, 2013 by RareGMFan

[White93z34]

Last I looked for them I could find the bars on an individual basis (of course I've long since lost the P/N) no problem but I laughed at paying $65+ plus each for them when the GMPP Kit was like $40 for both.

 

Edit: P/N was: 15856683 but it looks like its been superseded for the squarestock arms or unavailable all together. So you were indeed right.

Edited June 15, 2013 by White93z34

[JimMadsen]

Think I paid 25 plus tax each for the dormans at Napa, my stock u arm on the right was bent about an inch out of line

[Buick666]

Might be willing to pick some of a 9C1 Impala and the local scrapyard around my place.

I really want to 'beef' up the suspention components.

[white4d96]

I think I got Dormans through RockAuto for like fifteen bucks apiece.

[Buick666]

Just saw the MOOG trailling arms on rockauto.com.

Are they square tubing??

[Andrew]

nope. the Moogs look to be the stamped u-channel design. Stick with the Dormans.

[Imp558]

Is Dorman still the popular vote? WBS has a boxed arms they sell for $49.99, The current price on Dorman is $12.13 at Rockauto. I'll flip the extra for the WBS arms if they're an improvement.

 

Also, did anybody ever post alignment specs for the Gen II lat link upgrade?

http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/52415-where-to-buy-obtain-gen1-lateral-links

Edited April 9, 2014 by Imp558

[intern8tion9l]

Dorman works for me