suspension problems on 280z

[thefastestz]

My 78 280z has a weird suspension problem(I think it's a suspension problem) The car drives great on a smooth road, but when the car hits a

good series of bumps it makes a noise that i belive is coming from the rear passanger side. It kinda sounds like a flat tire. Accompanied by this noise some times is the rear pulls right. It feels like the tire wants to come off. This even happens at speeds between 15-30mph.

Now the bumps i'm referring to are not that bad as my 240z easily goes over them at 20-25mph. I put on new tires and the car has been sitting almost a year since it's been driven. Help!!

Thanx,

Ernie H.

fstr240z@excite.com

73 240z(my babe)

78 280z(my soon to be daily driver)

[2ManyZs]

First things to check are the suspension bushings on the control arms, mustache bar, and perhaps the diff mount. You should also check the mounting nuts on top of the strut housing to make sure they are tight.

Something else to check would be the gland nut on top of the strut cartridge to make sure that is still in place( just look through the spring coils) as they have been known to loosen or strip if the suspension has been bottoming out.

More than one bad bushing can cause the noise but since you say it affects the handling, I'm inclined to look towards the strut mount, the control arm bushings or the strut cartridge gland nut.

Take a good look at all the mounting points to make sure all the bolts are tight as well.

[thefastestz]

It think it is the wheel bearings in the drive shaft that turns the passenger rear tire.

The reason I think so is cause when i jacked the car up the rear passenger wheel can move back and forth quite a bit.

Or am I wrong?

[2ManyZs]

Your gonna need to check that out thoroughly. It could be the bearing in the stub axle, it could the the whole rear control arm that is moving due to bad bushings.

Pull the tire and wheel and find out for sure where the problem is. I'm not sure what you mean by back and forth but you'll need to find out if it is in the control arm, or if it is in the hub itself. Hopefully it is the bushing in the control arm which will be fairly easy to replace, the stub axle bearings are a bit harder.

[thefastestz]

Thanx 2many,

will I know if it is the hub bearing if only the wheel moves?

Well what I mean by move is that I can move the wheel towards the differentail and away in an in/out motion.

I think last i checked the rear control arm was moving also, if it does move That would mean the rear stub bearing, right?

Thanx again,

I will probably check it out again in a little while.

[2ManyZs]

In and out would be most likely the stub axle bearings....:disappoin

The only other thing that could cause this would be a broken stub axle...that's even worse then the bearings.....

Stub axles aren't to difficult once you get the retaining nut off the inside flange, and that is what gives most people the biggest headache. They take a large socket that most people don't usually have and they are "staked" on the sides as a means to lock them on the stub axle as well.

You might also need a slide hammer to pull the stub axle once you get the retaining nut off, at least, that's the easiest way to pull it....

Bearings and the seal should be readily available so the parts aren't the problem... it's getting it apart..

MSA, VB, Courtesy Nissan and a few other should be able to com eup with the parts pretty easily... not sure about current prices though..

And you will need a torque wrench when you put the retaining nut back on as that is what gives you the proper preload on the stub axle bearings.