what is the bar that the carrier bearing connects to in a pontiac 97 firebird?

[Vallica]

i replaced the original drive shaft in my 97 firebird awhile back and i recently decided to look for some places for weight reduction, the new drive shaft is a single piece and so i no longer needed a carrier bearing, i then though "well since i don't need the bearing anymore i guess i don't need this bar that connects from my transmission to the differential... well i removed it and to my dismay the car began to sit about 3 inches shorter and now sounds like its grinding, kinda like my shocks are bad, now i know that ive needed new shocks for awhile but with the removal of the bar it's gotten ALOT worse so all i'm really asking is was that bar made not only for the carrier bearing but also to support the rear end? it doesnt make sense to me that you would support the rear end with the transmittion so if you could PLEASE ELABORATE i need to fix this soon. any help would be GREATLY apreciated

 

[R_T_71]

I think you are refering to the torsion bar.Yes you need it for several reasons lol
I hope that the noise you are hearing is not the rear end getting chewed up.Might wanna take the cover off and make sure.

 

[Zimgxp]

It keeps the axle from rotating under load.

 

[AndersonRacing44]

put it back in.

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[Zimgxp]

It is called the torque arm. You need to reinstall it.