Re-bushing the entire car: Energy Suspension

[Ben's Z]

I want to tighten up the road manners of the 280. I think I am going to start with putting in all new urethane black energy suspension bushings. While I am doing this I plan on media blasting all the control arms and anything else I can get off the car and repainting them. What advice could you all give me? Should I start with the front or rear? Any particular bolts/bushings, etc. that will be a real pain in the arse to remove? Any special tools? I have the best Ingersoll Rand air impact money can buy 780 ft/lbs. reverse. How much time should I allow to do this?

Thanks guys!

[cozye]

Use lots of PB blaster, and leave the impact wrench in the drawer. Impact wrenches are no good on 40 year old cars.

Do the struts and springs at the same time.

Get new end links for the sway bar.

And forget about the spindle pins.

Oh, and it took me two weeks working on it in the evenings and weekends. I didn't paint any of the suspension pieces though, so it will be longer.

Edited May 1, 2011 by cozye

[pjoe]

If its the same as the 240...the rear outer bushing have a metal sleeve inside the control arm. Plan on using ALOT of heat and a chisel to get that sleeve out. Also I think on those same bushings I had to use the belt sander to take a small amount off the shoulder of the bushing to allow it to fit back in place. The sway bar bushings on mine were pretty hard to get on(the point where they mount to the frame in the front)and then getting the endlink hooked back up. The part on the frame was hard to get the bushing to close up all the way...but we finally got it and then used a c clamp to assist with the endlink. Dont know if it matters but theres no engine in my car right now. I think alot of people had problems with getting the pin out of the rear arm, mine wasn't a problem. Just used a punch and it came out.

Brian

[Z train]

There is a guy named Jan who posts as "Pomorza",just did this kit a month or two ago.

[Rainman]

Have you considered powder coating the parts? Since you're planning on media blasting everything, I thought it was worth mentioning. Just did the same thing to the suspension pieces of my early 260Z and went with the powder coating instead of paint as it is more resistant to rock chips and such. Don't mean to hijack your thread but here are a couple pics..

[Mike W]

I just got done doing this to the rear of my late 260Z although I opted for the OEM rubber bushings rather than poly. I did not want the harsher ride associated with poly nor the potential of noise that can be created by these bushings.

While I was at it I also opted to refresh the diff (clean, paint, new outer bearings and oils seals) so I literally had everything out of the rear end. I also rebuilt the half shafts with new U Joints as well as the drive shaft. Refreshed the electric fuel pump / filter assembly while I was at it as well. Also replaced the and brake cable which turned out to be a little trickier than I thouhgt. This project started as bushings and struts and ended up as a "while I have this apart I might as well ......................."

From a timing perspective, my son and I tore apart the rear (with the exception of the diff) and had it apart in less than a day. Over the course of the next 3 months I took apart all of the sub assemblies (ie struts, springs, shafts, diff, hand brake cable, etc), blasted them, painted them, and put them back together. My goal was to have this all completed by Easter when my son was going to visit me again and re-assemble the rear end. We met the target and had the car re-assembled and back on the road in a couple of days. I was in no hurry to get this completed so I took my time to do it right and would spend a few hours most evenings after work tackling each of the individual pieces.

I also considered power coating but in the end went with paint. I used Eastwood rust encapsulator as a primer and Eastwood Satin Chassis Black as a finish. All of the pieces came out great. I have included a few pictures so you can get an idea.

If you are going to go this far you will need some special tools. You will definitely want a spindle pin removal tool if you are going to refresh the outer control arm bearings. I have one of these and am willing to lend it out if that would help. If you are going to do the U Joints you definitely want a tool for this. I picked up one at Harbor Freight for about $40 and it worked great. I also purchased a large blast cabinet from Harbor Freight (for about $200) and it was worth it's weight in gold. I blasted just about everything and the only thing that did not fit inside was the sway bar which I had to clean by hand. Even if you go the powder coat route you should consider one of these.

The OEM bushings created some unique issues that you would not have with Poly as well. For example, on the mustache bar I needed to remove the inner sleeves, which were a royal PITA, but even more challenging was re-installing the new bushings and finding a way to "flare" the other end. I ended up having a spacial tool made to do this, which you can use on a large press, and can make that available for loan as well if someone wants to do this.

Finally, I went through the micro fiche of the rear end and made a spread sheet of every bolt, washer, nut and other miscellaneous hardware with the goal of getting all new stuff from Nissan. It turns out that some of the pieces are NLA so I ended up refeshing all of the hardware I was not able to source from Nissan in the blast cabinet which brought it all back to like new finish.

I also documented most every step with pictures and I must have hundreds, soif you need any to see some of the details just let me know.

With the rear now completed and like new again, I am anxious to get the front done, which I think will be an easier and faster process, but I have decided I need a little break so I can enjoy the car for a bit. I plan to start on the front in the next few months.

Hope that helps.

Let me know if there's any info you need as you go down this path.

Mike.

[cozye]

If its the same as the 240...the rear outer bushing have a metal sleeve inside the control arm. Plan on using ALOT of heat and a chisel to get that sleeve out.

You can use a hack saw, make a cut in the sleeve along the length of it, and it takes enough pressure off that you can easily tap it out with a screwdriver. 5 minute job.

[Powderkeg]

Ben,

Most of the bushings are pretty easy. The sway bar mount bushings and end links are the easiest.

Some do not use urethane bushings on the T/C rods because they are too stiff and can cause the rods to break. There are varying opinions about this.

I currently have the Performance T/C rod kit with aluminum socket from Black Dragon and works wonderfully.

Although I haven't done it yet...the rear control arm bushings ( with the spindle pins) are considered the "Right of Passage" of the Z car owner.

I sounds like you have all the fun tools. PB blaster and Kriol are your friends.

I also got the Street Racing Suspension DVD from Ztherapy and was very helpful.

Good luck!

Dave Ruiz

[Ben's Z]

Do you mind me asking what that powder coat job ran you?

Have you considered powder coating the parts? Since you're planning on media blasting everything, I thought it was worth mentioning. Just did the same thing to the suspension pieces of my early 260Z and went with the powder coating instead of paint as it is more resistant to rock chips and such. Don't mean to hijack your thread but here are a couple pics..

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[Rainman]

Hey Ben.. The powder coating job on the suspension cost about $1300. The job included every piece of the suspension and I didn't media blast the pieces myself.. Springs, sway bars, brake drums and backing plates, rotors and rotor shields, crossmember, fuel tank straps, under engine pan... Everything... Your project will likely cost less as you will be blasting everything yourself. I was able to save some labor costs because the shop allowed me to do all the high temp taping of areas that were not to be coated.

[socal70Z]

Hi, nice thread. I've had my 70 240z since about 1987, and everything, bushings, suspension, struts, tie rods, is original stock. I was thinking about this same type of job and would like feedback. On ebay there is a "DATSUN 240Z - TOTAL Polyurethane Bushing Kit - BLACK" kit listed. $180 with $25 shipping item #360203153676. It's from a z parts supplier in modesto, CA. Is this kit a good idea? Polyurethane vs. OEM rubber vs. Urethane? What about those suspension kits from Arizona Z Car, would they come with the bushings and no need to powder coat or paint because their replacing those parts right? Thanks for your opinions. Aaron

[LeonV]

"Urethane" is just short for "Polyurethane." No difference in the material.

I just completely rebuilt my suspension (early 260Z) with poly bushings, dampers and springs, ball joints, and tie rods. It feels great, much better than worn out stock stuff at least. It's not overly stiff for my tastes either.