Front Suspension Advice Request

[Jetaway]

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.

How did you do that? I go see a little finesse and in my case, many bad words, could get the right side out, but how do you get the bushing past the connection to the steering column on the left side?

Chris

[doradox]

I put mine in without removing the rack at all. 15 minute job. Are these an aftermarket bushing?

Steve

[Jetaway]

I put mine in without removing the rack at all. 15 minute job. Are these an aftermarket bushing?

Steve

Haven't ordered them yet, so don't know. Must be something I'm missing here. The diagram shows a roundish piece that surrounds the steering rack. A misshapen donut, of sorts. Is the bushing a two-piece fitting that goes on over and under the rack?

Chris

[LeonV]

Haven't ordered them yet, so don't know. Must be something I'm missing here. The diagram shows a roundish piece that surrounds the steering rack. A misshapen donut, of sorts. Is the bushing a two-piece fitting that goes on over and under the rack?

Chris

Basically, yes. They're hinged in a way, one side is cut and the other isn't in order to get the bushings in and out. I don't remember the exact geometry of removing the rack with the engine in, but I can tell you that it is possible! You will have to get creative with angles, and twist, etc.

Edited January 21, 2012 by LeonV
Typo

[doradox]

The bushing is split. One piece but open. You can just take the clamps off, slip out the old bushing, then slip in the new one. Leave the rack in place.

Steve

[Jetaway]

OK, bushing down. Am I correct in assuming that if I don't need to pull the rack for the bushings, I can also replace the boots without pulling the rack?

Chris

[Jetaway]

The project took a bit longer than I anticapted and actually, isn't competely done even now. When it finally came together, I ended up using:

From Rock Auto:

Sway Bar Mount Bushings (Moog)

Compression Rod Bushings (Moog)

Rack and Pinion Oil Seal (Don't remember)

Sway Bar Tower Bushings* (Moog)

Transverse Link Mount Bushing (Raybestos Pro)

Steering Rack Boots (Raybestos Commercial)

From MotorSports:

Ball Joints (555 or Triple 5-- Japan)

Sway Bar Towers* (OEM-like, no bushings, used modified Moogs from Rock Auto)

From Winchester Automotive on Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, CA: (And interestingly enough, located right next to the apartment building we lived in during our first year in the Bay Area.)

Steering Rack Bushings (Energy)

From J. Milano Farm And Industrial Hardware:

Replacements for every nut, bolt, and washer removed during the adventure. About $35 in all. I didn't price everything out on line but Milano was probably cheaper and no less than competitive, moreso since no shipping charges.

And a plug for J. Milano. Holy Batman, Robin! Do you like going to Harbor Freight or other hardware stores, looking at stuff, and picking up a tool or two that you may not have a purpose in mind for, but trust yourself to come up with a use for it eventually? Then J. Milano = nirvana. Is a city streetlight keeping you on at night? In Aisle 14 you'll find an adjustable wrench and in Aisle 12 a socket and driver large enough to remove any nut in town. How about a plumb? Or a bob? Not sure which it is, but they have them in 4 oz, 5 oz, 6 oz, and 8 oz. weights.

Closer to the business at hand, they have 12 feet of wall with, I believe 7 shelves of metric _bolts_. All class 9, as are the nuts and washers found across the aisle from the bolts. I was able to find an exact replacement for every bolt save the M14 X 1.5 X 85 for mounting the transverse link. But I was able to substitute a longer bolt that had the critical unthreaded 60 mm where the bushing fit over it.

Located at the edge of beautiful and possibly bankrupt Stockton, California just to the west of I-5 on the south side of Charter Way (aka ML King Blvd). Open Monday through Friday till 5:00, no checks accepted.

Stockton Nissan:

No thanks. Took my order for bolts (using Nissan part numbers), I called back five days later and was told they couldn't get one size. Called back three days later, the M14's were still on their way from Tennessee. Called back a week later, they hadn't arrived yet. I bailed to J. Milano and they haven't called me yet. Screw'em. Do they think that someone who is buying factory-supplied bolts for a four-decade old car is trying to keep his only car running so he can make it in to work? Idiots.

I took my time, obviously, with the project. Always smothered anything I was planning on removing with penetrant 12 -- 24 hours before even attempting removal. Most parts came apart with remarkably little struggle.

The bolt connecting the steering column to the steering gear pinion was the single most difficult part to remove during the adventure. So difficult, in fact, the bugger snapped and I ended up having to pick up a tap to clean out the threads on the bracket. Second place went to the transverse link mounting bolts, but a really long breaker bar borrowed from the semi-truck driver / mechanic across the street did the trick.

I degreased and cleaned everything removed and all body side attachment areas as well. Compared sides, looked for stress marks, nicks, etc., and not finding any painted the transverse links, compression rods, and sway bar with VHT rollbar and undercarriage paint.

Pulled the steering rack and dissembled it for cleaning (to be described in a seperate post).

The greatest difficulty during reassembly was a dead-heat between the compression rod bushings and sway bar. Ended up enlisting my 15 year old son for the former and a bottle jack for the latter.

How does it feel on the road? Better, much better. No more rattles over bumps, much less kickback through the steering wheel and seems (I didn't drive it for six weeks, so can't say definitively.) more responsive to steering inputs. Of course, one would hope to have improvement as the ball joints were toast, the steering rack couplers close to shreded and one of the transverse link bushings had more play in it than six-year olds at recess.

Didn't solve all the problems though. I had hoped that the positive camber on the passenger side would be resolved. Alas, it has not, and I'm (heavy sigh) pretty sure the problem is somewhere up where the strut mounts to the body. Maybe the insulator, maybe the bearings, maybe both or something else as yet undiscovered. I'm on spring break next week so, once again, it looks as if I will be spending some quality time with grease, brake fluid, and small debris particles aiming for my eyes.

Chris

[Oiluj]

I didn'tack the engine up when replacing the steering rack busings. Just took some effort.