greg320

iTrader: (1)

OK, to be fair I have ordered many part from Spohn in the past, that is why I was shocked by my latest experience. I ordered an adjustable torque arm for my 1992 Camaro and it came pronto. That is where my good experience stops. The crossmember left my transmission way too high. Thus the angle between the tranny(700R4) and the driveshaft is all wrong. My car feels like it is going to shake itself apart above 50 mph. Did you install it correctly you ask. Well yes, the guy installing this for me is an experienced race car fabricator, and has done several installs of Spohn tq arms on 4TH gens. So I ask my installer to talk to Spohn so I will not relay incorrect info. He says he had a 15 min talk with Steve that ended with Steve saying these are aftermarket parts, all but saying that if it does not fit, too bad. So now I have a very expensive part that my installer has to hack apart, then weld it back together. Spohn seems to have no remorse that this part is poorly engineered. I am left with a very expensive part I cannot return without paying a huge "restocking" fee. It is now my problem that a custom made "bolt on" part will destroy my car if my mechanic cannot figure out how to rework it. This treatment SUCKS. I will NEVER purchase anything from Spohn again.

samiam91RS

sounds pretty messed up, thats sad that that guy said that to dude trying to install it. guess ill never buy nothin from spohn, my friends saw this also and they wont ever bother with them either. good luck with that torque arm bro

dctrumpet

iTrader: (10)

Where in Illinois are you?

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Wow cant say i have had any problems with mine.

With the pinion angle set right, and front trq arm mount (that swinging mount) loose, it shouldnt be all that rough driving or vibrating or making much noise at all

This would be a first time i heard something like this

chevymec

iTrader: (5)

Is the TQ arm now mounted to the crossmember? If so are the 2 bolts that are in the pivot point overtightened? Is the pinion angle correct? Sounds like my car when i installed mine. I had overtightened the bolts for the pivot. I also had to set my pinion angle and had to live with some vibration while driving because of the new location of the TQ arm.

fast82z

iTrader: (1)

Mine seems fine with the -2.5 angle I have on it. Don't know how much that's worth since I also have solid motor mounts, but even still I say the vibration in the car is fine.

greg320

iTrader: (1)

Yes the pinion angle is correct. I do not know if the front bolts are overtightened. I can only guess that would have been the first thing the Spohn tech rep would have told my installer. I will ask him ASAP. I am in Gilberts, IL . Thanks for the replys ...Greg

glock

oh your right by me i live in algonquin ..howdy neighbor lol

smokefan

i have the spohn TQ arm on my car and i dont have any problems with it. the only noise i get is from the rod ends.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

Perhaps speaking to Steve personally would have been more productive.

JamesC

GTA matt

iTrader: (1)

i'm guessing you have an aftermarket polyurethane trans mount? i ran into the same proble and just made a spacer to drop the crossmember down a bit, no big deal. some aftermarket mounts are taller then others

RevItUpZ28

iTrader: (1)

Maybe Steve will chime in and give us his take on this. Hopefully you can get the torque arm to work for you without too much effort. Got any pics of it installed?

greg320

iTrader: (1)

First, thanks to all of you who responded with helpful suggestions. This board is truly the place to go when you need to know something about a third gen. I had my installer back of the front nuts a little most of the vibration is gone, but the angles still look excessive. The transmission cross member is a Spohn part as well and really seems to be more a problem than the arm itself. I guess what really is making me angry is that in a few minutes on this site I have gotten more help than in my conversations with the Spohn guys. I may still have to either shim the mount down ,or cut the mount and weld it. Is anyone here running the Spohn 301B with poly ends with the Spohn crossmember for the 700R4? If so, does the trans sit up high? Thanks to all.

Greg

greg320

iTrader: (1)

Oh, forgot to mention, yes I am using a poly trans mount. Got that from Spohn too. They claim it makes the trans sit at OEM height. I will try to get some pics of it installed and post them. Greg

greg320

iTrader: (1)

OK GUYS, thanks to you all for your tech info. Yes, the bolts at the pivot point needed to be backed off. We also had to cut and reweld the trans mount, but the geometry is correct now. I must say once the thing is installed it is a nice part. So change this thread to Buy Spohn torque arms, but get your tech here or you will not get it to work.

Thanks to all

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

See, something as simple as a mount....assess all parts before getting on just 1.

Have fun now, cant wait to get my full adjustable spohn suspension WOOT WOOT.

MADMAXGTA

iTrader: (1)

I have a SPOHN torque arm,hated it for the first week,after a few adjustments I love it..had the same problem with poly trans mounts,way to stiff makes a little vibration,so Im running a rubber mount,with my spohn adjustable torque arm with poly end mount.

89RsPower!

this topic is about the torque arm produced by spohn.

sailtexas186548

iTrader: (2)

yes, so someone with a spohn tq arm is giving info, that makes sense. or am i crazy....?

89RsPower!

No he's talking about a spoon torque arm. The topic is on spohn (pronounced sp hone) torque arms.

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

spoon tq arm, a simple mis spelling

in other words rspower is being a smart a**

MADMAXGTA

iTrader: (1)

yea I agree

89RsPower!

Yeah I thought that was self explanitory..

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

I have the torque arm/xmember combo. Ive been pretty happy with it so far. I had them relocate the pivot for the torque arm forward to within 2" of the xmember to prevent it from extracting the bolts out of the subframe rails. Steve did this for free. Same with the custom driveshaft for my TKO. He was kind enough to swap out the strange yoke (which wasnt made right) for the stock C6 yoke, so the service was pretty good.

Kat

iTrader: (4)

I just want to ask how are your engine mounts?

Dale

iTrader: (12)

Little late on the topic but..

I have one one for almost 3 years now. Heim joint adjustable. While I was slightly flustered at first, I have learned a few things and love it.

On the heim joints, just tightening them doesnt hold. You need to put locktight or silicone to jam it better or they will come loose often. Mainly the front one, ones at rear dont seem to have as much problem.

The front pivot joint.. I had to sand all the paint off the lower pivot parts. It would pop anytime it moved. I sanded the paint off and greased the sides of all that and its gone!

I have no vibrations with poly trans mount, trans appears to be in ok position, no wheel hop. It has also been in two different cars now with same results.

traumadrummer

I've got the Spohn adjustable torque arm, with xmission crossmember as well. It changed the feel and behavior of the car for the better. One common thread on this topic seems to be patience. Adjusting till we get it right is the deal. We do need to be aware that we're indeed putting aftermarket parts on the car and they will be different than oem. They'll change things, and in reality that's why we're doing it. Anytime one changes the oem engineering things can happen! So, patience and adjusting and generally it works out in the end. I agree about the usefullness of this board. Best place ever for really useful information and opinions. My questions to Spohn people were answered in a professional way. Remember, how one approaches a challenge determines the outcome. I had major issues with the parts at first, but we worked together and the car is so much better. Me? I love Spohn parts and support Steve's business. I have his LCAs, panhard rod, front/rear sway bars (my mechanic put the front one in upside down at first. NOT fun!) and TA. Next will be the SFCs and a wonder bar. My mechanic did have criticism for the quality of the poly bushings though. Guess we can't win 'em all!

draco587

heres an idea bolt the thing on yourself and get dirty then you will know what the problem is . dam pretty boy get dirty and do something your self istead of "my installer " doin everthing . dam kidds its called wrenchin not spendin daddys money so i can have a hot rod , wha wha wha its probably on backwards heheheh!!!!!!!!!

samiam91RS

dam i guess we got ourselves an ASE certified tech in the house?
lol
no but seriously, get dirty and do it. ill tell ya what. if and when you do anything to these cars, youll know them better and better every time

CRAMOS78

a big DITTO there, i installed mine and yeah a had a bit of trouble @ first, but after some trials and tribulations, things seem to have fallen into place....

had me worried there for a sec..

zee28

all this work for a part that claims to fit seems alittle much.the fact the guy couldnt get this help from steve is a real turn off.so steves site should say please refer to thirdgen.org for help if it doesnt work,dont call me.not good

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

HAHA, your right, doubt Steve would do that on his parts.

But DITTO+1 to what draco said...I was that kid that was going to have everyone build my car for me, exhaust, intake, gaskets...anything.

Well I have become quite the mechanic since I realized, if something goes wrong, and I did it, Ill know what to do different and the fact that I know why and how it might have happened, is a nice thing to know.

DIY = The only way to gain knowledge of YOUR car.

draco587

as a matter of fact i am ase certified . i worked for a chevrolet dealer from 85 to 92 so i worked on these when they were new. and the people who let someone else fix or modify there car then bitch about how its done kinda p*ss*S me off.i remember a kid whos daddy bought him a new iroc in like 88 and every month or so he would bring it back with the clutch ripped out and bald tires, then complain about it taking to long to get fixed under warranty.he had no idea . this guy probably never crawled under a car in his life please i would be embarresed to post some thing and say aaaaHH my mechanic said.wholy crap these cars are relativly easy to work on.i thought this was more for people who know what there doing to discuss diagnostic problems and kick around ideas.

Samdweezel05

iTrader: (1)

I agree that it's more fun and a great way to learn by working on your own stuff but it's not for everybody. My dad is a certified diesel mechanic and owned his own garage for many years. I was damn near raised in a garage. Welding, fabrication, body work and most all mechanical stuff comes easy to me. I am sure I could have done my wife and my taxes when we owned several rental properties and a seperate small business but I chose to let someone else do it that has more knowledge about it than me. As a side note, if you havn't been active as an ASE Tech since 92' than you arn't really ASE certified. You have to retest every 5 years to keep it current.

Phil