So tonight my Random Tch Arm broke - it just sheared off the top and bottom plates at the differential, across the forward bolt holes. Pretty good for a street tired V6, eh?

So I need a replacement, since I threw the stocker out. Anyone have a used one I can take off your hands?

Thanks,
Jeff

I have the stock torque arm off my '02 Z-28. Don't know if it would be worth the expense of shipping it from NJ. It probably won't hold up as well as your Random Tech did either. PM me if you're interested.

Have you priced them at salvage? Might not cost much more than UPS would charge for shipping. But I have one I don't need.

Why not just have it welded back together with more bracing?

Me too. I'm 3 miles from a 98295 WA shipping point. Ex-1999 Firehawk $10 bucks for my trouble and you pay shipping?

*slap to the head* yeah, great idea!

Got a friend to weld it up for me, no extra bracing though. Now at least I'm street driveable until I get a replacement.

Thanks for the stock offers, guys - I think I'm going to keep with an aftermarket, maybe Random will sell me just the part I broke, since the rest of the arm is in great shape.

-Jeff

Did you take any pics of it when it was out of the car on where it broke?

Totally forgot on the pics.

There's 2 bolts that tie the arm to the differential. The arm broke across the front bolt holes, both top and bottom. There was a spot of rust on the face of the lower break, with a shiny face in another area. Top was a grainy, powdery break.

I'm thinking that my old brake hop problem started a crack in the lower side (shock tensile load when a wheel jumps up, locks, and hits the ground), which slowly spread until it snapped. From there, the top half flexed back and forth until it broke soon after.

One last update:

Random is selling me just the bracket side for ~$80 (regular price ~$130), shipping out today. Thanks again for all the offers on sending me a stocker.

The rep (as well as my friend who welded it) said that any looseness in the bolts may cause the failure, as the bracket torques and stretches the bolt holes. So a warning to all to check and make sure that the bolts are still to torque - I think I'm going to blue loctite mine..

-Jeff

I'd put red loctite on them minimum 266 or 271 IIRC. I also torqued the bolts to 110 ft-lbs. If that doesn't work you'll want to wire the bolts.

The R/T differential bracket is pretty beefy, I also suspect it was just loose bolts-a common problem.

FWIW, Spohn sells replacement bolts. I don't know if they are actually a stronger grade. I'm not sure it's wise to keep reinstalling the stock bolts (though replacing them has been on my todo list forever).

Probably the same 10.9 class bolts. I'd just get the proper length 14mm 10.9 class bolts with a flange head and a lock nut. I'd get a nice yellow zinc chromate plating if available.