93 Dodge Shadow ES rear axle help
I have a 1993 Dodge Shadow ES. My mom bought it new in 93 and it has been kept in very very good condition. My son is 18 years old and got his driver's license this past year and we kept this car for him. That may have been a mistake. The car has flawless paint, no rust or dents, perfect interior, and.....just over 22,000 miles. While "book value" isn't much on this car, it is practically a brand new car. It just happens to be 26 years old now. Long story short, this past Halloween it snowed here for the first time this year and it was the first time my son drove in those conditions by himself. While going through a roundabout, he was going too fast and spun around while exiting the roundabout. The car hit the concrete median directly on the rear passenger wheel. It bent the wheel itself and bent the entire wheel assembly so that the bottom of the wheel is pushed into the underside of the car further. I am rather confident that I need a replacement rear axle assembly but I am having a hard time finding anything. Does anyone on here have any ideas? If I can't fix it to meet safety standards, I'll probably think about just selling the car, which is a damn shame because of how nice it is.
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1986 LeBaron convertible, 2.2L T2 with A413. 1989 J convertible dash and console modified to fit.
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Is the axle itself bent or just the spindle? The spindle should be common to any of the K-based cars, the axles did vary depending on the vehicle and suspension package. Based on the tire size looks like the PN is 4656179 and was only on 1993-94 P bodies with the 195/60-15 tires.
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You can get a junkyard axle and replace it. I did that with a 93 Daytona, took a couple of days, being careful and treating it with a rust converter and paint. You have to remove the brake lines from it, the shocks, etc.
But my concern would be if there were further damage, such as the subframe having shifted. Inspect carefully to see if it's only the axle.
But my concern would be if there were further damage, such as the subframe having shifted. Inspect carefully to see if it's only the axle.
Definitely. If that happens to be the case then I'll have to involve someone with more expertise than what I have. Hopefully I can get my hands on a junkyard axle as it's really been a good long time since you've seen many Shadows or Dusters on the road. Most have rotted out and blown up long before now and probably crushed.
1966 Crown Coupe, 2016 200 S AWD, 1962 Lark Daytona V8.
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There were 2 rear axles listed for the 1993 P-body. The 4684178 is for models w/o P195/60R15 tires. The 4656179 is for models with P195/60R15 tires.
Use these Mopar part #'s for references in your search.
Use these Mopar part #'s for references in your search.
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Oddly enough, I did much the same thing to my 93 Shadow ES years ago...I was lucky to find a front wreck Shadow in a yard here and swapped out the entire assembly. There was no mount damage, the hit took out both lateral arms...I tried to pull them straight by chaining up the axle to a large tree and giving it a few tugs. It helped me drive the car around for the week or so it took to get the rear axle assembly. Good luck with your search, I think that you're right unfortunately....most of those cars were squashed and melted down years ago.
You can try www.car-part.com to search if you have trouble finding one. There are a few other sites too like that to help with the search.
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I bought my daughter an '88 Shadow and had to replace the rear axle/suspension. I was lucky that a friend of mine was parting out a Shelby Shadow, so I got the entire rear suspension from that. It's not a terrible job. I did it in the driveway by myself.
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Using this website, there appear to be several rear axles available for your car
Which of these apply to your car?
If you do find one, somewhere in the US, shipping is probably going to be very costly on such a large part, but it would be a shame to scrap the car for as long as it has been in your family, and the otherwise great condition it's in, and being older than your son, so I hope you can find the parts to fix it and keep it in the family
And if you do find repair parts, your son can help you with the work, it may give him an appreciation of taking care of things and he will be more careful in his driving
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You need a helper and a good solid piece of heavy twine to do this test.
Straighten the front wheels as much as possible. if the steering wheel WAS centered that helps.
Pop the hubcaps. With you on one end and your helper on the other measure the distance between axle centers on both sides. Got it?
Then measure the distance from the center of the rear axle to the edge of the cutout of the door. Do the other side. Are they eveb close to being equal?
A carpenter's level held vertically against the tire will give you some idea of the bend in the axle. the spindle needs to be meticulously inspected for tweaks. Does the tire rotate cleanly and evenly around in a circle? No tighter spots? grab the tire and shake it. any clicks or clunks?
Diesel truck repair shops have *special* service trucks come around and they know their business inside out and backwards. they repair destroyed and bent spindles and cross tubes. If they can fix a four ton SQHD drive axle on a Kenworth, they can fix your axle. Do not ever attempt to re-use wheel bearings or bearing races from a damaged axle. The axle can be straightened by heating. You need to first find a six-foot length of pipe that will fit over the spindle. if the axle it bent closer than six inches from the brake drum the entire axle needs to be replaced. Good luck!!
Straighten the front wheels as much as possible. if the steering wheel WAS centered that helps.
Pop the hubcaps. With you on one end and your helper on the other measure the distance between axle centers on both sides. Got it?
Then measure the distance from the center of the rear axle to the edge of the cutout of the door. Do the other side. Are they eveb close to being equal?
A carpenter's level held vertically against the tire will give you some idea of the bend in the axle. the spindle needs to be meticulously inspected for tweaks. Does the tire rotate cleanly and evenly around in a circle? No tighter spots? grab the tire and shake it. any clicks or clunks?
Diesel truck repair shops have *special* service trucks come around and they know their business inside out and backwards. they repair destroyed and bent spindles and cross tubes. If they can fix a four ton SQHD drive axle on a Kenworth, they can fix your axle. Do not ever attempt to re-use wheel bearings or bearing races from a damaged axle. The axle can be straightened by heating. You need to first find a six-foot length of pipe that will fit over the spindle. if the axle it bent closer than six inches from the brake drum the entire axle needs to be replaced. Good luck!!
I bought one for a 93 new yorker due to the spring perches being rusted off.
I actually didn't have too hard a time finding one, although this was 4 years ago.
The axle was cheap (100 bucks) Shipping was something like 125 bucks. It came pretty much complete with brakes/discs and all sorts of junk you need to remove.
You need to check CAREFULLY the spring perches for rust, and make sure that the rod located within the axle (you can see it from below) is not broken off at one end; that was a very common failure. It cannot be fixed. You can safely drive without the torsion bar attached, but it will make noise (clanks, squeaks, etc).
I actually didn't have too hard a time finding one, although this was 4 years ago.
The axle was cheap (100 bucks) Shipping was something like 125 bucks. It came pretty much complete with brakes/discs and all sorts of junk you need to remove.
You need to check CAREFULLY the spring perches for rust, and make sure that the rod located within the axle (you can see it from below) is not broken off at one end; that was a very common failure. It cannot be fixed. You can safely drive without the torsion bar attached, but it will make noise (clanks, squeaks, etc).
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