'82 Coupe, rear wheels askew

[Huw Powell]

> Well, I was followed home by another Audi, this one an '82 Coupe. This was a 
> lesson in buying a car in the snow. I sent it out to be cleaned and buffed. 
> The detailer pointed out to me that that the rear wheels are both moved over 
> about 2" to the driver's side. He doesn't have a lift, so looking under I see 
> what looks like a sway bar hanging down. It appears to be round, but could this 
> be the Panhard bar? Are there any other likely causes for the wheels to shift 
> over?

The rear axle is positioned by a pair of trailing arms and a panhard 
rod, which is U-shaped.  Here is an example:

http://www.humanspeakers.com/cgi-bin/audi_img.pl?image=rearaxl1.jpg

It's kind of lying on its rear.  The panhard rod attaches to the body 
near the right side trailing arm.

Sounds like yours might have taken a hit, bending the trailing arms 
perhaps.  Any 81-87 used rear axle assembly should set you straight 
again, or go for the 87.5 or fwd 88-92 80 to play with rear disc brakes.

I'm not sure how far off the wheels could sit if the panhard rod was 
simply disconnected.

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/