Scary ride on the freeway

Unknown · October 2006

As I was driving my 52 Hornet on the freeway at lunch I noticed that when I accelerated, the back end of the car would swing to the right a little, and if I lifted my foot off (the gas) the car would swing to the left. If I was on a track, I would say I was "waaay loose". At first I thought I had extremely low tire pressure, but that checked out to be ok. I am at work, so I haven't checked everything out, but nothing seems to be broke or missing.

This condition is first noticeable around 45 -50 mph., and downright scary at 75 mph. Simple lane changes were a challenge.

Has any one experienced this, or have any suggestions about how to correct this situation.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated!

Terry

Unknown · October 2006

Be sure to carefully check your rear springs for broken leaves, U bolts for tightness & front & rear shackle bushings for wear.

junkcarfann · October 2006

Has this ever happend before?

Unknown · October 2006

I felt it on a short hop on another freeway about three weeks ago, but it was a concrete freeway with grooves, and I have noticed that all of my cars feel a little squirrely on that section of freeway.

Since my first post today I have driven it about 40 miles on several types of roads and there is definately something wrong. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and there aren't any noises that I can hear, but it is still there.

Still confused,

Terry

[Deleted User] · October 2006

Kahuna, Check the bushings in the Panard bar, It sounds like the same thing my 54 coupe was doing, after changing the bushings in the panard bar and going to radial tires, it is almost completely gone. I believe that if I had gotten new bushings ( I used some from a car that had a bent panard ) It would have totally eliminated the problem. Also check for leaking or bent shocks.
Bob Hickson

junkcarfann · October 2006

Get the car up on jackstands that support the car but not the rear axle before driving again and check everything at the rear. Something is loose, causing the axle to twist one way under torque, and flop back the other way under decelleration.

On my 1940, the bracket for the Panhard bar broke off the axle housing, but it did not affect the car like you describe. It just made a clanking noise, so I bungee-corded it to the axle, and drove it that way for a while, with no ill handling effects.

In fact, some cheaper Hudsons (not stepdowns, I think, but earlier models) had no panhard bar at all.

So I do not think a malfunctioning Panhard bar would cause such a severe symptom.

Likewise, I have never seen a bad shock cause such a drastic reaction.

Instead, it sounds like the axle is not secure vis-a-vis the car. One side is probably loose. The cause could be anything related to the frame, the springs, the axle, and the parts that connect those pieces.

It could be caused by frame rot where the spring attaches (likely on a Stepdown), or a broken spring, or a broken or loose U-bolt(s) that hold the axle to the spring.

It should not be difficult to detect, and you should not drive the car at speed until it is fixed. Good Luck.

SuperDave · October 2006

I experienced this same problem while driving someone elses stock car. It would drift one direction under acceleration and snap back the other direction on decelleration. Darned near impossible to drive and down right dangerous. It turned out to be a right axle tube that was loose in the center housing. The factory welds failed and let the outer tube twist. Scarey to say the least. Never saw this happen before and never again. The rear was a chevy '"c" clip type. Constructed much like our Hudsons. Check that and look for any looseness in the ubolts. Find the problem before it gets worse.

Good Luck. Dave w

MikeWA · October 2006

I've gotta think its something in the attachment of the rear end to the springs to the frame (or the attachment of the axle tube itself), and not a problem with the panhard bar, simply because very few other cars of the period even had a panhard bar. Until I got into this Hudson thing, I always thought the only cars with panhard bars in the rear were the coil spring Buicks and such. A car with longitudinal rear springs (one on each side, attached in front of and in back of the rear end) should be fine on normal acceleration- you shouldn't have any strange stuff going on unless you are accelerating hard enough to "wind up" the springs, which is highly unlikely with a 308. Something's gotta be loose, and it should be fairly obvious when you jack it up and get under it.

[Deleted User] · October 2006

I fear you have either an axle bearing that is bad or a hub nut loose. Both will create this sensation when at speed and changing lanes. I would like to point out too that the axle bearings are lubricated through the removal of a plug which is located on the rear end housing back of the brake backing plate. If these bearings are not lubricated, the bearings will seize. A seized bearing will shear off the end of the axle with catastrophic results. I have seen the results of this on two cars ... both occurred at 60 MPH or better speed... it takes a very strong set of arms to keep the Hudson going straight when this happens... let us know what you find.

Good Luck and be safe.

Unknown · October 2006

Thanks everyone for all of your input and suggestions. Tomorrow is looking like a good day for an inspection, sice my wife seems to be a bit irratated with me anyway. But that is another story. I'll crawl under the car and stay out of her way, and maybe get lucky and find the problem. I'll let you all know what I find.

Thanks again,

Terry

Unknown · October 2006

Terry,

One not so obvious thing could be a broken on damaged cord in one of the tires. I have had this happen to two different vehicles. If you don't come up with an obvious mechanical issue, you might want to check the tires out. If you have two mounted tires available, try changing out a pair at a time. If the problem goes away, put one tire at a time back on the car. This lets you isolate the "bad" tire.

Keep us posted on the results. This is the information that is good to share!

George T

[Deleted User] · October 2006

Hi Hudson Dave here . You may want to look closely at the center pins on the springs . Look close to see if you can see any shiny spots on the spring forward or aft on the spring it self . just a thought . Hudson Dave [url]www.FatWhiteWalls.com:cool:[/url]

Scary ride on the freeway

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