What did I break?!

[moyest]

Oops :stupid:

I was under my car in the weekend, tightening nuts & bolts (a favourite pass-time).

I found a single nut on the rear suspension (one on the lefthand transverse link, one on the righthand transverse link) which looked really loose. Just a small nut (12mm?).

One of them tightened successfully. The other sheered the bolt off!!

WHAT WAS THAT BOLT?

It is described in my Haines manual (in figure 11.34 on page 180 - the section titled "rear suspension strut and springs removal and installation") as a "TRANSVERSE LINK INNER BOLT".

Can someone please tell me what the TRANSVERSE LINK INNER BOLT does?

???

[240ZX]

If the fastener I'm thinking of points down and is at the center outside end of the transverse link, it is likely the tappered locking bolt for the transverse link spindle. It can be replaced by driving whats left of the bolt up and out.

[moyest]

Oooo, "tapered"?

Does that mean it's a tricky bolt to find? I'll need a replacement. Hardware store, or something more specialised?

[webdawg1]

That's a pretty special bolt. (See picture) You should be able to get one from the following website: http://www.nissanparts.cc The bad news is shipping will probably be somewhat high for just the one bolt. You might try your local Nissan dealership if you have one near you. The P/N for the bolt is 55565-E4100 I also see them out on eBay from time to time too.

webdawg1

Spindle Bolt Lock Pin.bmp

[Bubbleguinea]

and the bad news with me is i didnt even try to put those in when i changed the whole back suspension...just torqued down both sides of the spindle and i check it eveytime i do an oil change, all is well...she aint goin anywhere...

[Mike]

You might want to think twice about tightening all of your bolts every weekend/month without using some kind of torque wrench. You could end up over tightening something and causing damage. Your sheared off nut is a good example. Buy a good Craftsman torque wrench and set it to the correct ft/lbs before tightening.

[EScanlon]

You might want to think twice about tightening all of your bolts every weekend/month without using some kind of torque wrench. You could end up over tightening something and causing damage. Your sheared off nut is a good example. Buy a good Craftsman torque wrench and set it to the correct ft/lbs before tightening.

Mike makes a couple of excellent points. If you aren't driving the car hard, there really shouldn't be a need to be re-tightening bolts/nuts that often. Properly torqued bolts/nuts should stay put! And if there is, then you have a completely different problem...why is that happening?

A torque wrench and your FSM will allow you to tighten down just about every nut/bolt you find. Granted you might need more than one torque wrench, but that's how the engineers designed the car, with torque tolerances on the fasteners. Why do you think it's such a bear to find the right size bolt head for the strength of the bolt used? (Hint: Datsun did not use standard head sizes for the strength of the bolt)

But a final note on torque wrenches regardless of size or range, make sure that when you put them away in their protective case (and get one if you don't have one), you ZERO the wrench. Don't just turn the setting until it clicks at the bottom of the scale, put it at ZERO. (This is from my days as a CTK Supervisor in the Air Force.)

The reasoning for this is simple, the torque wrench has in it's internal workings a spring that has been calibrated. If you maintain the pressure on this spring when it is not in use, you will eventually change the calibration on it. Conversely, if you loosen the wrench below the 0 mark, you could loosen components that need to be precisely aligned in order to read properly. Although this may seem nit-picky, don't forget that in the AF you are dealing with aircraft where the tolerance factors are very strict. We used to send our torque wrenches out every quarter for certification.

FWIW

Enrique

[GunnerRob]

Mike, Enrique.

That is very good information to have. Thanks for all of that. I know that I wouldn't have known about Craftsman being a choice of torque wrench or about setting it at zero. I learned something new today and I appreciate it!

[ChrisA]

Along these same lines, if you happen to own any precision measuring devices, like micrometers, calipers, depth gauges etc. You should never put them away in their cases with the jaws closed together. Always leave a small gap between the jaws. It throws their calibration off as well. Learned this years ago from my Grandpa who was a machinist.

FWIW,

Chris

[240ZX]

Along these same lines, if you happen to own any precision measuring devices, like micrometers, calipers, depth gauges etc. You should never put them away in their cases with the jaws closed together. Always leave a small gap between the jaws. It throws their calibration off as well. Learned this years ago from my Grandpa who was a machinist.

FWIW,

Chris

Good advise.......If I remember correctly, leaving the jaws together allows the anvils to corrode over time, throwing the zero calibration off. Again, very good advise!

[EScanlon]

And on the chain of good advice, you know those little chiclets that you get when you buy certain items of electronics? The ones that say "Do Not Eat"? Well, those are actually dessicants (air driers). Next time you get one, throw it in your tool box, or any box with tools that, as this thread points out, would be affected by humidity and rust. That it will eventually get saturated is irrelevant, it will have done it's job while in there. When you get another one, swap it out.

Enrique