mikewags

It's hard to get a good shot, especially with a small digital camera. Regardless, in person you can pretty easily tell its off. Would it be worth changing the differential gasket out during this project? (Don't know if it would be easier while the rear suspension is out).

I took a few more snapshots after pulling the car out of the garage. Back View http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0332.jpg Over rear fender (you can see the tire tapering in a bit) http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0339.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0339.jpg If I decide to go at it myself - this will be my workspace :stupid: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0338.jpg Ain't she a beaut. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0343.jpg

These photos are long overdue. http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/?action=view&current=IMG_0325.jpg You can see from this photo, the Right rear tire is angled inwards quite a bit. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0327.jpg General rear suspension under-carriage shot. I'll try to get some better photos, farther out perspective of how out of alignment that tire is. The mechanic told me the left was aiming outwards, but it really doesnt look like it is. See below: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a369/mikewags/Car/IMG_0322.jpg

I found these on EBAY. (Urethane) http://cgi.ebay.com/DATSUN-240Z-280Z-Rear-Control-Arm-Bushings-14-301B_W0QQitemZ360129090195QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item360129090195&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 Here's the MSA page you can find the rubbers. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/SSSC01C02 Does anyone know the difference between the INNER and OUTER control arm bushings? From the photos, I have seen what appear to be larger and smaller bushings that come in the set.

xcyter: I will plead ignorance to your misleading comments earlier, and offer you a BIN price of $300 for the car. I look forward to hearing from you.

Still have some thinking to do on this. Will need to borrow a good solid jack, stands, and ramps and will end up having the car boosted for a few weeks. The only thing keeping me from jumping on this project is the rear alignment issue. I need to be confident that replacing the bushings and spindle pins will fix the issue (if the plates aren't bent) - If they are bent I will need to address that by replacing them. If anybody has any good walkthroughs or references for this job, please post them here or let me know. Thanks!

Right of passage... Jeff, you make this job sound like some sort of quest or journey. Am I knighted upon completion? Thanks for the vote of confidence.

My rear control arm bushings will be replaced soon (either by myself or the mechanic). I want to be able to specify which kind should be put in. From what I have read online, they make Rubber (original) and Polyurethane - the latter holding up much better than rubber in the long run. What are the ideal type of bushings to have installed to replace the 33+ year cracked/worn rubber bushings? Input is appreciated. Thanks.

Well, this would be the first time i've taken the car into a shop for any work on the Z (except for when I took it to get the front tires aligned 6 + months ago). I have done everything else myself: (fuel filter, spark plugs, distributor/rotor/wires, filters, oil changes, starter, tail-lights, headlights, carpet install, wheel discs/calipers/shoes, dashboard removal and repair, and painting) to name a few. Of course none of these involved deep engine, tranny, or suspension work - and some are relatively "basic" fixes any Z-owner would expect to perform themselves. I would rather spend half as much doing it myself, but I do realize this is a hard job. It's just hard to drop $800 of labor into $100 dollars worth of parts.

Doing some research - the parts are marked up a bit : although the labor is what's really costing me here. I'm really starting to consider trying to do this myself, although I know i'd probably have to take the control arms to a machine shop with a hydraulic press to remove the bushings. Would you suggest this job being do-able by someone with little rear suspension experience, but general overall technical/mechanical skills?

*BUMP* UPDATE I got the quote from the mechanic today, and I wasn't prepared for the cost of the repairs. See below. Can I get some feedback on this estimate? On top of it, I will have to supply the Transverse Link Mounting Plates (which will be cheap) but altogether will bring this job up to about $1,000.

1974-1975 Bricklin Rare - and similar to the delorean- Maybe that's why I like it. More information http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9596/Bricklin-SV1.aspx

*BUMP* I've been pretty sick lately, and haven't gotten the estimate back from the mechanic yet. I will let you guys know whats up with this issue in the next few days.

I talked with John (gnosez) on the phone and he provided me with some really good advice on how to go about determining what is wrong here. The likelihood of the plates being bent out of alignment seems unlikely, albeit possible. I am going to get an estimate from my mechanic as to how much it will cost in labor to check the plates for me and replace (if they are bad) - along with the replacement of all the necessary bushings that have gone bad. From what the estimate reflect, I will then come to a conclusion on whether or not I will be checking the toe/plates myself. If the plates are indeed bad, John will be hooking me up with some replacements. Once again, I will keep everyone updated. I appreciate the responses to this unique situation - hopefully I can get this ironed out and see what is truly causing these alignment issues.

I talked to him this Morning. It turns out that it is the Transverse Link Mounting plates that he believes are the problem. He says they will have to come out to see if they are in fact bent, although he is confident this is it. He's had to deal with this problem 10 other times in the past 30 years he says. I told him i might have to order them from Arizona, and he mentioned Arizonazcar.com - I'm confident he knows his stuff.

Does Nissan sell these mounting plates new? He told me Nissan was having a hard time finding them. Also, how common is it for these plates to get bent? He seems to think my car was bumped at some point (maybe while parked) - If they hit the metal bumper, i wouldn't have seen any damage. This caused the plates to slightly bend left, which is in cause changing the direction of the tires. The right back seems to have more of an angle inwards the the left rear (angled left). Basically both tires are angled to the left. JM: Thanks for the pic. It will help a lot.

I haven't had any work done yet, but I did get a breakdown of the issue. The way he described the issue, was that there were 2 plates that mount the suspension to the car itself - he said that they were slightly bent and needed to be replaced or machined. This was causing both rear tires to be off. (left rear slighty aimed out - right aimed right <in>) this is causing the car's rear to drive at an angle. Not dangerous, but will eat up the rear treads quicker. Looking through the FSM, the only plate I see in the rear of the car is the Traverse Link Mounting Plates. Jmortenson: The plates you listed sound like the ones. Do you know the name of those? I'll just ask him what the name of these 'plates' are in the AM. I'm a bit puzzled.

Verdict is in...somewhat. Right rear is angled in and left rear is angled out. Some sort of "plates" are bent. I'll know more later. Control arm bushings need to be replaced as well. Worn out and cracked. :/

This is the initial post about my issue. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33281 The car wasn't hit. I eventually just noticed one day that the back right tire was angled...i'm not sure how it happened (maybe a pothole?)

I've got the car at the shop now with a guy who's a Z specialist. He's been working on Z's for over 30 years. I really just wanted an idea as to what i'll end up spending. I'll update this later.

Can someone throw me a quick figure as to how much a rear toe adjustment should cost. This is referring an earlier post about one of my tires being angled inwards, and needs to be adjusted. Ball park. My car is in the shop and need to decide based on the cost. Thanks!

Unrelated, but I wonder how a 280 would of taken that hit.

I had an alignment done less than 6 months ago, so I will be taking the car back and getting at least a diagnosis at that time. I had a friend get in the drivers seat, and the weight evened out the height of the back, although I don't know if that's normal or the way its supposed to be. I read a post on here saying that some people tweak the car that way to account for the drivers' weight.

Both Bounce. It's a rough estimate, but the measurements are about right.

I have the 1976 FSM. Keep in mind that is the year of my car 1976 280z So it's not an early Z. Thanks.