T/C Rod Bushing Replacement

[catfish78]

Hi guys.

I just finished replacing the bushings on my T/C rods - Thanks to Blue's tech tips at the Atlantic Z club!

I had a problem however with the cups that hold the bushings in place on the frame. This cup is supposed to be pressed into the frame and is not removable. Well on my car the cups are rusted and have detached from the frame. I've called my mechanic at a local z shop and he didn't think you can buy any replacement components for these.

I've gone ahead and replaced the bushings, washers and sleaves anyway. I put the cups into the bushings and torqued down the T/C rod to the frame. I couldn't feel any discernable 'play' in the end of the T/C rod even though the cups are pretty much floating against the frame.

Anyone else have this problem and found a fix? What complications will I have if I leave this set up as is?

Thanks for your feedback.

[jmortensen]

You could have a shop weld them back in. It would be a very good idea to make sure this pocket area isn't weak. If it needs to be reinforced it should be reinforced now. I had a friend with a VERY rusty Z go around a turn kind of hard and hit a bump and the rusty TC area literally exploded, sending him into the curb and further damaging the rusted frame rail to the point where the car got totalled.

[catfish78]

The metal around the frame is very sound but for some reason these cups have detached. Everything else is also in very good shape, including the T/C rod. This is my very concern with the lateral movement, this will put pressure on the metal and begin carving out the metal around the hole where the T/C rod goes through. I'll need a shop to fabricate these cups as there is not enough metal left on them to tack weld onto the frame.