So This Fell Off My Car Today

[Gary in NJ]

My wife and I decided to enjoy a perfect autumn day yesterday and we drove the 240Z down to New Hope PA for lunch. As I was pulling into a parking lot I heard something hit the ground and drag. As I turned the wheel in the opposite to get into a parking spot I heard a loud THUNK. I knew something just broke.

Sure enough, when my wife got out of the car she said, "I think you lost a shock". "Not possible" I told her. And when I looked at the ground behind the car I found this:

I saw this attached to the car when I first got it and tried to research it's origins. I can't find it in the FSM, as an accessory or on the Fiche. It appeared to be a steering damper, attached to the frame and right side steering arm.

In any event, we drove home the 50 mile distance and I never missed the part that was now behind my seat. The car handled perfectly, didn't have any wheel shake...nothing. It's possible that this was installed 30-40 years ago to address a problem that no longer exists.

Does anyone know what this is?

[cygnusx1]

Either A) someone installed a steering damper on your car at some point. OR You picked up some road debris in the form of a shock, and it just fell off.

[Gary in NJ]

No, it was installed before it was uninstalled. When I first got the car and did my inspection I came across this damper attached as described. I definitely feel off my car.

I could probably repair the worn bushings and reinstall it, but I don't seem to need it.

[5thhorsemann]

Has your car been converted to a power steering rack?! Why would you put a damper on a manual steering rack for non off road use? If anything the car should steer easier. Put it on the shelf as a conversation piece.

[alternativez]

Some manual rack and pinion steering systems have a damper. It just absorbs the bumps before they jiggle your steering wheel, and it slows the steering reaction slightly to sort of "refine" the feel of the car. You can push/pull the shaft and see if it has any damping action in it, but it has likely become somewhat ineffective due to age and wear, so you probably wouldn't feel any difference now that it has fallen off. If you are happy without it, don't worry about it. If you want the full effect of it, replace it. If you haven't lately, I would suggest a thorough inspection of all steering components and bushings, etc. for wear, and for safety. I suppose those things could pose a danger themselves if they would somehow "freeze up." I have one on the 320i rack that I put into my 76 2002 BMW. I kept it on the rack, and I think it hardly has any effect, but it's still there. Can you imagine the conditions in which a steering damper works? Probably a piece with a fairly short life span. Great looking car, BTW, and your wife must be a pretty good sport and car savvy as well, lucky guy, as am I. Enjoy!

[Brubaker]

If this part fell off, clearly a nut unraveled itself. I would check if any other suspension parts are loose and did the nut holding this part on hold anything else on.

[Travel'n Man]

My Ford '29 Roadster has a anti-shimmy damper that looks very much like that...............never seen one on a Z before! It did resolve the shimmy on my Roadster though!

[Gary in NJ]

It's been a while since I was under the Z so it's time to get under there and pull/push on things. With that said, the rubber bushings failed on this damper and caused it to simply slide off its mounts.

It will stay off the car since I can't detect its purpose, although I should probably do a high-speed run to be sure (high-speed in my Z is 60-70 mph). I find it odd that I can't find a reference to such a part in any of the usual Z catalogs.

[John Coffey]

That is not a Nissan or approved dealer installed part. Someone added it in your car's life to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Throw it away, you're better off without it.

[gnosez]

I completely agree with Mr. Coffey and for grins, here's my "what didn't fall off my car": http://zccne.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1319228533/s-new/

[26th-Z]

Early Z-cars with stock wheels and shock absorbers were notorious for wheel shimmy. That steering damper was put on some time ago to address the problem. But I notice that you have custom wheels and I'll bet your shocks have been replaced with something like a KYB gas shock. You no longer need the steering damper.