Front Suspension Advice Request

[rcb280z]

Chris, I too had the dreaded steering wheel shake for awhile. The thing that worked for me was having steel sleeves installed in the lugnut holes and then "road forcing" the wheels and tires. Took 98% of the shake away. I chalk up the other 2% to the CA roads! The steel sleeves were because I have the early center force wheels and they later discovered this to be a problem with them. It's all good now. Good luck

[Jetaway]

Chris, I too had the dreaded steering wheel shake for awhile. The thing that worked for me was having steel sleeves installed in the lugnut holes and then "road forcing" the wheels and tires. Took 98% of the shake away. I chalk up the other 2% to the CA roads! The steel sleeves were because I have the early center force wheels and they later discovered this to be a problem with them. It's all good now. Good luck

What's "road forcing?"

I hear you on the roads, brother. There are stretches of arterials around here that I won't do the speed limit for fear of breaking or bending something. And that's not just in my Z either, but also in a newish 4000 lb. crossover. Roads are getting scary bad out here.

Chris

[Mike W]

Chris,

A few comments and hopefully a few answers to your questions.

First, on the control arm, you do not need to buy the whole assembly but you will need to remove the old rubber / metal bushing from the end that attaches to the frame. It is the same for the rear control arms as well. There is a lot of info on the site with regard to techniques that other members have used to do this, up to and including buring out the old rubber part, but needless to say whatever method you end up using it is still a PITA. Personally, I use a hole drill that is slightly smaller than the ID of the bushing and drill out the rubber part. That will give you pretty good direct access to the metal sleeve. I end up using a hack saw and very carefully cut through the sleeve in a couple of places so that I can then use a punch to literally "peel" out the old bushing. I did this just this past week to my fron control arms. One of them turned out to be a breeze while the other was a real PITA to get out. Here's some pictures from the work that I did on my rear moustache bar that I think will give you a good idea. It is a different component, but the process for removing the bushing is the same.

In addition, the rubber bushing is still available from Nissan and the part number is:

54535-E4100

I bought these about a year ago and they were still available and so I would expect the same now. Either Courtesy Nissan in Dallas or Gastonian Nissan should have them.

I also invested in a fairly inexpensive blast cabinet from Harbor Freight when I started all of this and it has been worth its weight in gold. I have sand blasted all of my components down to bare metal and then painted them. Essentially the same thing you are doing except I dod this with a blaster while you are using some sort of chemical to remove rust, etc. It sounds to me like the blasting is easier (and perhaps cheaper) but you do need to have the room for one as well as a compressor.

For paint I ended up using Rust Encapsulator from Eastwood as my primer and then Satin Black Chassis Paint for the finish (also from Eastwood) and am very happy with the result. See the pictures above of my rear control arm for reference.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I would be happy to help where I can.

Mike.

[Jetaway]

Chris,

A few comments and hopefully a few answers to your questions.

First, on the control arm, you do not need to buy the whole assembly but you will need to remove the old rubber / metal bushing from the end that attaches to the frame. It is the same for the rear control arms as well. There is a lot of info on the site with regard to techniques that other members have used to do this, up to and including buring out the old rubber part, but needless to say whatever method you end up using it is still a PITA. Personally, I use a hole drill that is slightly smaller than the ID of the bushing and drill out the rubber part. That will give you pretty good direct access to the metal sleeve. I end up using a hack saw and very carefully cut through the sleeve in a couple of places so that I can then use a punch to literally "peel" out the old bushing. I did this just this past week to my fron control arms. One of them turned out to be a breeze while the other was a real PITA to get out. Here's some pictures from the work that I did on my rear moustache bar that I think will give you a good idea. It is a different component, but the process for removing the bushing is the same.

In addition, the rubber bushing is still available from Nissan and the part number is:

54535-E4100

I bought these about a year ago and they were still available and so I would expect the same now. Either Courtesy Nissan in Dallas or Gastonian Nissan should have them.

Mike,

Thanks. The bushing pictured sure looks similar to the front control arm bushing. But why can't it be pressed out? I realize that pressing on the rubber or inner metal tube would just rip out the rubber without moving the outer tube, but why couldn't you use something like a socket or a disc small enough to fit inside the control arm proper but wide enough to get enough surface on the outer bushing tube for high pressure?

Now that I bothered to look, that is the part number. Wonder why the FSM said to replace the whole control arm? Cost more for the mechanic's labor to get the old bushing out than a new arm? At least when the car was new?

I'd love to have a powder blaster, but I'm afraid that if I had one and an air compressor to power it, the Z would join my other car parked outside my "2-car" garage.

Chris

[jfa.series1]

Chris,

You have pretty well identified the reason for the FSM to recommend replacement of the LCA assembly: pressing out the old bushing is not an easy task and requires exactly the correct dia. tool to hit the bushing and not the surrounding LCA. My approach years ago was to hacksaw sections out of the bushing until I could get enough relief to pry out the remainder. Pressing in a new bushing does not have the tool mating problem.

Another paint alternative for your suspension parts is POR-15. A bit touchy to use but a resulting finish that is almost indestructrable.

Good luck!

Jim

[rcb280z]

Chris, sorry it's taking so long to answer your question. Been troubleshooting a Z problem of my own. When Big Brand tire center did my "road forcing" balance the tech said they balance the tire to the rim and high speed spin it. The equipment used today at most of the tire centers aren't calibrated as often as they should be according to this tech. And just a 1/2 oz out will give the Z a front end shimmy if that is where it is. If it's in the rear you'll feel it in the seat. It cost me 40 bucks for the front. And I was about to tear my front end apart. If you haven't done it yet and are not confident in who you use to balance your wheels, it is worth a shot. One of my friends just had to have his front rims and tires road forced on his altima because one of his wheels are out of round and he is happy with the outcome.

Bob

[Jetaway]

Chris,

You have pretty well identified the reason for the FSM to recommend replacement of the LCA assembly: pressing out the old bushing is not an easy task and requires exactly the correct dia. tool to hit the bushing and not the surrounding LCA. My approach years ago was to hacksaw sections out of the bushing until I could get enough relief to pry out the remainder. Pressing in a new bushing does not have the tool mating problem.

Another paint alternative for your suspension parts is POR-15. A bit touchy to use but a resulting finish that is almost indestructrable.

Good luck!

Jim

Jim,

I went for it and found that a 1 inch Craftsman socket fit the bill. Gave the area flame for a couple of minutes then used a friend's small press. Came out easier than any of the U-Joints I've taken apart. It looks like the front-most bushing in Mike W's 4th photo above, though the rubber in mine was falling apart. I didn't have rust like in his mustache bar to deal with, and I've only pressed one out so far, so complications could well develop.

Chris

[Jetaway]

Chris, sorry it's taking so long to answer your question. Been troubleshooting a Z problem of my own. When Big Brand tire center did my "road forcing" balance the tech said they balance the tire to the rim and high speed spin it. The equipment used today at most of the tire centers aren't calibrated as often as they should be according to this tech. And just a 1/2 oz out will give the Z a front end shimmy if that is where it is. If it's in the rear you'll feel it in the seat. It cost me 40 bucks for the front. And I was about to tear my front end apart. If you haven't done it yet and are not confident in who you use to balance your wheels, it is worth a shot. One of my friends just had to have his front rims and tires road forced on his altima because one of his wheels are out of round and he is happy with the outcome.

Bob

So "road forcing" is a high speed spin balance? At least at a shop that calibrates their equipment properly. I gotta admit, it does sound cool.

Chris

[Jetaway]

Back in the very distant past, (mid-1980's), my 1st 240Z got the front-end wobblies. Not bad, just enough to be annoying.

After talking with a tech guy at MSA, I replaced the streeing rack bushings. Completely solved the problem.

Julio (or anyone else who cares to respond),

To replace the bushings, I need to pull the steering rack. My manuals all say to loosen the engine mount bolts and either lift or jack the engine up a little bit for clearance. I don't have a lift, so I'll have to use a jack. But where do I put it? I see only three places, the oil pan, the valve cover and the front crank, none of which seem like real great choices. So what's the best place to jack up the engine?

Chris

[Mike W]

Chris,

I faced the same dilemma a few weeks ago when I was trying to remove my rack and was planning to purchase a lift but could not find one in my area at the time. It turns out that I am also sourcing some parts for this rebulid from Z Specialities and was discussing this issue with him. He recommendedd just jacking the engine from the oil pan, which I must admit did not feel really good to me. I had visions of collapsing my oil pan and getting myself into a real mess. In any case I decided to try it and used a 20 ton bottle jack with a board on top that is about 12" x 12" x 1.5" and set it all under the pan. I then proceeded to loosen my mounting bolts most if not all of the way and slowly began jacking the engine up, ever so little at a time so I could see if anything detrimental was happening and stop it before it got too late.

It ended up working like a champ. I raised the engine about an inch and that was all I needed to clear the rack so I could get it out. After that I lowered the engine back down on the loosened mounts so as to take the weight off of the pan, and that is how it is sitting right now. I am sourcing a powder coated engine cross member from Z Specialities so I can swap out a refurbished one with my old one as I start to put things back together, but for now it is just sitting in there with loose bolts and everything seems fine. If you do decide to try this just keep an eye out on your upper radiator hose to ensure that you do not stretch or twist it too tightly. It was not an issue on my car.

Hope that helps. This method worked great for me.

Mike.

[LeonV]

I was lazy and didn't jack the engine up when doing rack bushings. It took some work but I got it out and back in. I don't know if I saved any time, but it required no engine movement.

[Jetaway]

Chris,

I faced the same dilemma a few weeks ago when I was trying to remove my rack and was planning to purchase a lift but could not find one in my area at the time. It turns out that I am also sourcing some parts for this rebulid from Z Specialities and was discussing this issue with him. He recommendedd just jacking the engine from the oil pan, which I must admit did not feel really good to me. I had visions of collapsing my oil pan and getting myself into a real mess. In any case I decided to try it and used a 20 ton bottle jack with a board on top that is about 12" x 12" x 1.5" and set it all under the pan. I then proceeded to loosen my mounting bolts most if not all of the way and slowly began jacking the engine up, ever so little at a time so I could see if anything detrimental was happening and stop it before it got too late.

It ended up working like a champ. I raised the engine about an inch and that was all I needed to clear the rack so I could get it out. After that I lowered the engine back down on the loosened mounts so as to take the weight off of the pan, and that is how it is sitting right now. I am sourcing a powder coated engine cross member from Z Specialities so I can swap out a refurbished one with my old one as I start to put things back together, but for now it is just sitting in there with loose bolts and everything seems fine. If you do decide to try this just keep an eye out on your upper radiator hose to ensure that you do not stretch or twist it too tightly. It was not an issue on my car.

Hope that helps. This method worked great for me.

Mike.

Seems reasonable to me. The oil pan looks cast, not just sheet metal so it should be pretty strong. I don't have a board that thick, but putting a decent piece of plywood on the pan and a 2 X 4 between the plywood and the jack should spread the force out sufficiently.

Good tip on watching the coolant hose. I think my top is OK, but the lower might just have its own ideas.

Thanks,

Chris