Can anyone help ??? Please.....

I have owned my MK1V Supra for the last nine years with no real problems until recently. About 5 yrs ago i put 19" alloys on it with 275/30x19 on the rear and 235/35x19 on the front, then had it lowered. The car drove like it was on rails perfectly until about a year ago i took it for an mot and they failed it due to excessive play on the nearside rear upper control arm. They advised me that the bushes had gone and that i should replace them. Upon investigation i was informed that i would have to replace the entire upper control arm as you cannot buy the bushes seperately. So i bought one and had it fitted by a mechanic friend of mine. I then took it to have a geometry check ( wheels only ) to get everything back in true. Since then i have had a major problem with the rear end. When driving over manhole covers the rear end moves vigorously from side to side (left to right ) as if wobbling, to the extent that if the road conditions are wet and i am travelling at say 60mph and go over a manhole cover it is extremely difficult to keep control of the vehicle, to keep it in a straight line, almost losing the rear end completely. Can anyone advise a solution to this unusual / dangerous problem ?? has anyone experienced anything similar ?? I am reluctant to spend bundles of money on another geometry check only for the problem to still remain. The car has been off the road for two years but i intend to get it back on the road for spring but i must sort this major problem out and i really do not know who to turn to for help. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Gary.

is it definatly the bushes and not the ball joint aswel?

if its the ball joint then that warrants a full arm replacement but if its just the bushes you can get a set of poly bushes to replace the stock bushes

I honestly not sure but the entire upper control arm has been replaced as i was told i could not get the bushes seperately so i just bought a new one and had it fitted...

Check your rear sway bar and make sure it isnt damaged.

Not sure 100% on teh Supra's rear set up, but its definately linked to bushes.

I have had BMWs that do this and they do it due to worn trailing arm bushes. The trailing arms go from the hus upto the chassis from the rear hub heading towards the front of the car. When these generate play the rear end starts to move and adverse conditions magnify the issue. If the Supra has trailing arms then this will be your problem otherwise its some other rear end suspenion bushes that have play in them.

Also, when you have your geometry done, you need to have a full geometry set up not a basic one. Supra's respond to this exceptionally well.

Also, when you have your geometry done, you need to have a full geometry set up not a basic one. Supra's respond to this exceptionally well.

i agree i had a four wheel check done on mine and it drove like new i went here http://www.protyre.co.uk/aboutus.aspx

Thanks for the advice everyone i will look into all of these suggestions. I am not very mechanically minded myself but i love the car to bits and just want to get it back to its former glory. Any further suggestions will be welcomed. Thank you.

Was the arm replaced with a brand new Toyota one? Have the other joints been check on the rear (and I mean everything). Are they all confirmed as withing Toyota OEM specifications? Even Toyota won't do these basic checks, or have the information to do so, let alone non-specialist independants.

After replacing any suspension component the car shbould go for a full and profesional geometry allignment. The stock settings simply do not work once the wheels and/or suspension coilovers are changed. Only a custom setup will work.

Try somewhere like Wheels in Motion or Centre Gravity for full details. WIM might be your closest option.

The upper control arm was oem however it was secondhand from a breakers yard. As for having the rest of the rearend checked i would say this has not been done however i would have hoped that it was checked when i had my geometry or at least on he mot when they failed it on the upper control arm bushes.....again this is something else for me to investigate and i appreciate all of the advice / suggestions i am receiving. Many thanks to you all.

Do you know if the factory tollerances were checked prior to installing the scrap item?

If it's from a breakers yard, without factory checks it could well be worse than the one that came off the car. Every time I've bought suspension parts from breakers they have been bent or had too much play. It's never visible though.

These cars need a specialist and custom geo once you change any aspect of the wheels or suspension. Garages, MOT centre's, etc will not have a clue.

These cars need a specialist and custom geo once you change any aspect of the wheels or suspension. Garages, MOT centre's, etc will not have a clue.

thats not ENTIRELY true.. bodyshop mechanics like me have to know about all this stuff and are put on the courses for it

oviously we dont get taught about custom setups but with the training anyway we understand it all and know what can fix what and what adjusting 1 thing can do to another but ill definatly agree with the MOT stations as they just have a crappy laser system for adjusting tow