Rear Suspension Rebuild Thread

[ksechler]

I was planning to wait until I had more done to start this thread, but what the heck...

Here's what I am starting with. It is a '76 280z. Completely stock and road worthy. It feels every bit it's age.

The intention of this restoration is to replace the bushings, springs, struts, sway bar and rear brakes. I will be lowering the car 1" and will also add a strut tower. When I'm done with all of my work (which will include the front end and motor) I want a classic with modern performance that I can take to the track once or twice a year (just for fun).

Here are the parts (front struts arrived later):

Before disassembly:

and after (see the spray can of penetrating oil? I used quite a bit!):

The disassembled parts as they came off the car:

And after I sandblasted them:

Control arms before and after sandblasting:

Painted control arms:

Here is a comparison of the struts. One is finished and the other not started.

Yesterday I pressed in new bearings and I have installed the outer bearings on the stub axles. This weekend I will either press in new bushings or attack the differential (yuck!)

[siteunseen]

Mine next? Your doing a great job. It appears very thorough too. I'm ready to do the struts now myself- I did mine backwards from yours, engine 1st then all the bushings in front and the steering rack. I'm hoping to get some tips from your work, thanks.

[EuroDat]

Nice job so far, looking forward to seeing your progress:classic:

I take it you mean "add a strut tower brace"?

Are you going to use urethane or original bushings? Some poeple don't like the hard ride you get from urethane.

Chas

[ksechler]

I take it you mean "add a strut tower brace"?

Are you going to use urethane or original bushings? Some poeple don't like the hard ride you get from urethane.

Chas

Yes, you are correct, I meant strut tower brace. You can see it in my parts picture. I am using Urethane. I want this car to handle. This will not be a daily driver so comfort is a lower priority.

[EuroDat]

Im using urethane as well. The handing is nothing short of brilliant. My advice is to install the Tensin rod kit from MSA http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC10/23-4190. Helps steering a lot especially when you go over bumps in corners.

I chose the black bushes, they are not as prone to squeak like the red. The black bushes are graphite inpregnated.

You also read a lot in forums about the bolts for the sway bars being too short. That is true to a degree. I used a block of wood between the body and the top of the bolt in the sway bar and jacked the control arm up until I could fit the nut.

Chas

[ksechler]

I did a little more work tonight greasing wheel bearings and testing the fit

Ready to go:

Together again:

The illumina shock, spring and strut exploded and ready to go together:

[EuroDat]

Nice photo blog of your rebuild/restore. Good detail photos:)

[ksechler]

Incredibly frustrating weekend. It seemed like everything I touched I f'd up. Lets start with the wheel bearings. I assembled the strut and stub axles and tightened everything down. I couldn't even turn the darn hub it was so tight. Knocked the whole thing apart realized the outer bearing wasn't seated all the way. Convinced it to be more seated with several blocks of wood and a BFH. Put it back together and It is still way too tight. So I tried the other strut. Same darn problem. So I decided that I needed to take them back to work and use our hydraulic press to be sure the bearings are seated, and yes before anyone says it, I did remember to put the spacer in. Even worse I got pissed and a lot ham handed and mushroomed one of the stub axles slightly. So I can add repairing those threads to my list of things to do. So in effect I did negative work. That was Saturday.

Today I decided to work on installing bushings. Let me tell you, I had a heck of a time getting the metal insert out that held the rubber bushing. I made a half-A$$ed attempt to cut a slit in it with a hack saw and then started pounding on it. 3 hours and many cuss words later it came out. I also wailed my thumb joint with a 1 pound sledge. That freaking hurt. So a word of advice, cutting a slit all the way though the sleeve is ABSOLUTELY mandatory. I did a better job on the second one and it came right out. So after two whole days of work I managed to install 2 bushings.

[EuroDat]

Sounds like a weekeing from hell. After a weekend like that, yes we have all had at one time or another, I generally stay away from the z for a couple of days.

The bushings are a right pain if you dont cut them with a hack saw first. I did one bush with the hack saw, but I was worried Id cut into the control arm so I ran a weld down the inside of the others with a stick arc welder and the smallest electrodes I had. When the weld cooled down the bushes tapped out easy.

There is something wrong with the dimmensions between the old and new bearings. Are the bearings turning freely before you mount the stub axles. Remember that these bearings dont require pre-load like the front wheel bearings and can actually have a small amount of end play. If the spacer is too short the bearings will lock up when you torque the nut. Check your spacer is not worn in any way. They are also matched to the hub and not interchangable. Once you torque the nut you should give the ends a tap with a soft hammer or drift to settle the bearings and then retorque, but your problem is something else. Just leave it for a couple of days and have another look at it.

Chas

[Zed Head]

Heat has a much bigger effect on hole size than many people imagine. Heat up the control arm ends and the old sleeves will probably press out (I pressed out both of the inner sleeves on my front control arms with a shop vise and a MAPP gas torch), heat up the strut housing and the bearings will probably press in easily. A propane or MAPP torch will do the job with about 5 minutes of applied flame. No serious chance of damaging the metal, it won't even get a glow going. Apply some preload with the press, start heating and things will move when they're ready.

The inverse of using the torch to get things out is preheating a press fit ring or collar, like the ring gear on a flywheel, before installing. Heating it, then letting it cool, makes a super tight fit. So if you have a super tight fit, heating will make it looser.

Edited December 17, 2012 by Zed Head

[ksechler]

An update on my wheel bearings. I found my problem and corrected it. I'm going to fully disclose what I did wrong. I'm gonna sound stupid but I do this in the hopes that I can save others from making the same mistakes:

When I first assembled the strut, the outer bearing was not fully pressed into place. As I tightened the stub axle nut the bearings began to bind because the weren't sitting on the spacer. Given enough torque the bearing probably would have seated, but given the circumsances I did one of the few smart things I did all weekend. I stopped, disassembled and tried to understand what was going on. I found the problem and was able to seat the bearing. Then I made mistake number 2. I was in a hurry because I was meeting a friend for dinner. I reassembled everything without the spacer. Now when I tightened everything up again the bearings bound. At this point I just gave up for a while. Today I took the whole thing apart, realized the spacer wasn't installed, installed the spacer and tightened the stub axle nut. The assembly feels fine. No play and it turns smoothly.

So my lessons:

1). Don't rush

2). If it doesn't seem right, it isn't

3). Pay attention to what your doing. There's no such thing as "extras"!

[EuroDat]

Good to see you solved the problem. When you are frustrated and in a hurry everything seems to go wrong. Murphys law;)