Putting in a replacement L-28

[Av8ferg]

Okay a couple things I wanted to post about. Finally got the Steering Rack out. The tie rods were tough to get off even with a tie rod fork. Took an hour just to get those off. Once the whole front suspension is off I’ll take it to get powder coated satin black.
So here are a couple questions.
1. Steering Rack bushings. Seems to be a lot of thread history on these. I guess the 280 had one mounting point larger that the other unlike the 240. Here is a pic of mine . You can see how different the rubber bushings are between passenger and drivers side. I need to replace them. I’ve been opting for rubber over poly everywhere else. Does that matter on the steering rack or should I get rubber?
2. Here is a pic of my transmission crossmember. I don’t want to replace the bushings if I don’t need to here. I know the only option is poly of I remove mine. I think the rubber still is good but the hole isn’t perfectly centered anymore. Is it okay to keep these and forgo replacement?
Also I can’t find any Eibach lowering springs only Vogtland. I haven’t read great stuff about Vogtlands (harsher and coil thickness less so it doesn’t set perfectly) Anyone know a source for Eibachs? MSA is sold out and it’s 6 month minimum for back order. I can’t have my car on jack stands for that long.






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[Jeff G 78]

I would do poly for the steering rack as those take a beating.  The new poly ones are kind of a pain to seat, but once in, they hold the rack tighter. 

I don't see any tears on the crossmember bushings, so I'd leave the stock rubber in place.  It's easy to do that one later if needed.  

[Av8ferg]

So I was able to find rubber bushings for the steering rack but it seems people prefer the poly there.  I guess it provides better steering response? I just don’t want any squeaking so hopefully that’s not a problem.  I have rubber for all other bushings.   So Captain Obvious made an interesting observation regarding the steering rack brackets, the ones that connect the rack to the crossmember.  There are two half moon shaped brackets and looking at them they appear symmetrical but he had noticed a slight variation in them.  I went to test fit mine on the rack and discovered there is a front and back to these brackets.  If you put them on wrong there is a noticeable gap in the rear matting surface.  Astonishing, he was able to see the suttle difference in the way the bracket transitions to horizontal on the outer flange of the bracket.   See pics below.  
Also I was able to find a set of Eibach Lowering at California Datsun.  They way more money there but I don’t have a lot of options with COVID supply shortage on everything.  Anyway that vendor doesn’t delineate between 240z and 280z Eibach springs like all other online vendors. Can anyone confirm that the springs would in fact be different?  MSA has 240z Eibach springs but not 280z in stock.  This makes me think there is a difference.  Please pipe in if you know the answer or have an opinion about an alternative spring that is available, Votglands.  I need a solution, as I’m planing to build the rack and suspension back up in the next 14 days.  Sent the crossmember out for powder coat yesterday.  

Edited August 14, 2021 by Av8ferg

[Namerow]

I've never been very enthusiastic about poly bushings.  I know they appeal to the 'go fast' group, but they punish the car's occupants on roads that are anything other than perfect.  Here in the salt belt region, perfect roads are hard to find.  With wide, low-profile tires, poly bushings in the steering will amplify every seam and step in the pavement and feed the result right back into your wrists.  You may end up 'communicating with the road' a lot more than you really wanted to. 

That said, I see you live in North Carolina, so winter-damaged road surfaces may not be a concern.  And if you're only going to use the car for occasional fun blasts, you probably won't be behind the wheel long enough to notice.

Back in the day, a lot of 'enthusiast' owners decided that the original Z's steering system was too mushy.  Before poly bushings arrived on the scene, the solution was to: 1) substitute a hockey puck for the shaft coupler bush, and; 2) shim the mounting faces of the rack bushings.  While I don't recommend the hockey puck, you might consider the shimming strategy so that you can retain the rubber rack bushings.  It's a low-cost (and reversible) strategy for reducing compliance in the rack mounting. A suggested shimming material: 1mm polyethylene sheet stock (no worries about rust).

[Patcon]

Beware of California Datsun, he has a poor reputation

I can't answer the 240z / 280z spring question. I would suspect they're different because of curb weight changes

[Captain Obvious]

Here's some pics of the rack retaining straps that try to show the asymmetry I noticed.

I've never ever seen any chatter about it, but it appears to me that these straps have a "front and a back"? The difference is subtle... I've included a sketch I whipped up to exaggerate and highlight the difference:

The jury is still out on which way the straps should be installed, but here's what I found. I think the more gradual end goes towards the front of the car, but since I've never been in possession of a rack that hasn't been worked on in the past, I can't be sure:

 

Thoughts from the collective?

[Av8ferg]

48 minutes ago, Patcon said:

Beware of California Datsun, he has a poor reputation

I can't answer the 240z / 280z spring question. I would suspect they're different because of curb weight changes

Good to know.  I tried to contact Whitehead Performance (website states in stock).  I’ve gotten no response from him on email and his voicemail is full and not taking messages,  That never inspires confidence!   I may have to go with Vogtlands but I haven’t got much feedback in the forum about them.  MSA said it will be 2022 before Eibach are back in due to shipping and production delays .  Ports are backed up all over the US and shipping containers are scarce and rates have exploded.  The triple whammy.  

[Av8ferg]

13 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Here's some pics of the rack retaining straps that try to show the asymmetry I noticed.

I've never ever seen any chatter about it, but it appears to me that these straps have a "front and a back"? The difference is subtle... I've included a sketch I whipped up to exaggerate and highlight the difference:

 

The jury is still out on which way the straps should be installed, but here's what I found. I think the more gradual end goes towards the front of the car, but since I've never been in possession of a rack that hasn't been worked on in the past, I can't be sure:
 

Thoughts from the collective?

Bruce, concur with you 100%.  Do you agree the flange doesn’t sit flat if they’re installed backwards?  
Those brackets look pretty rusty!,, 🤣. How does the rack looks? 

[Captain Obvious]

I haven't held those retaining straps against the rack since I took them off. If I get a chance today, I'll do that and snap some pics. Back when I first noticed the seeming asymmetry, I'm sure I tried that, but I don't remember how it turned out. 

And yes, they're rusty. Not "bottom of the sea boat anchor" rusty, but typical "fifty year old east coast car" rusty.

[CanTechZ]

Interesting, Good eye @Captain Obvious. My front suspension is out so I thought I would check the clamps on my 7/70. I took the left clamp of and took measurements of the angle for the forward and rearward ends. The forward end measured 56 degrees and the rear measured 50 degrees, the bottom face was quite parallel for both ends. 

 

Thanks for posting this, I probably would have missed it. Good reference for when I go to reassemble at the end of my resto.

[Patcon]

2 hours ago, Av8ferg said:

Good to know.  I tried to contact Whitehead Performance (website states in stock).  I’ve gotten no response from him on email and his voicemail is full and not taking messages,  That never inspires confidence!   I may have to go with Vogtlands but I haven’t got much feedback in the forum about them.  MSA said it will be 2022 before Eibach are back in due to shipping and production delays .  Ports are backed up all over the US and shipping containers are scarce and rates have exploded.  The triple whammy.  

I recently ordered a lightened flywheel from them. it came in no problem. I have never tried to contact them. Supply is going to get worse as China just closed one of their major ports due to Covid

[Av8ferg]

I recently ordered a lightened flywheel from them. it came in no problem. I have never tried to contact them. Supply is going to get worse as China just closed one of their major ports due to Covid

I read about that port closure. I had heard from a bird that there “might” be issues at Whitehead but I feel better knowing you had a good experience.
I’ll order from there and see what happens. His prices are way better than CA Datsun and he does distinguish between 240z and 280z


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