BDJeff

Yes, this is a stock, non-coil over, setup. My intent was to replace the 48 year old strut with something from today. Direct replacement. I'll have to recheck the springs but I'm pretty sure they were against the bump in the upper and lower cups. But if it's the springs, I'd have to have screwed up the same on both sides as it seems to be level. Nothing obvious, it may be a little while before I get to tear back into it as I've got another car I have to get prepped for a trip in July.

I drove it around the block after I put it all together. Probably about 1 mile. with a couple of bumps That surely should have been far enough to settle the suspension. All rubber soft goods, no polyurethane so it should settle in pretty quickly. I guess my question is are the Tokico struts a direct replacement (I've not measured the lengthe difference, if any) or should I have done something else when I changed the struts? Is the Tokico a direct change out?

Still running the stock springs. Is that a problem? Should I have changed the springs and struts at the same time?

Yes, I have the box here in my hand. Definitely BZ3015. Good idea though. Anything else?

I checked with the folks where I bought these and apparently, even though these are gas shocks, the ride height shouldn't be affected. So the only other thing that would make this kind of difference is the springs. Can they be installed wrong? Is there an up or down orientation and does that make a difference?

Yes, thank you. I figured that out when I started to assemble that part. Everything went back together with no further problems, I think I was over thinking the compression rods. But OK, so what's going on here? I replaced the original struts with Tokico Illumina adjustable struts, I found their recommendation here on this forum. I think I got the last two available. But now the ride height is a couple of inches too high and the tires angle in at the bottom. It appears the shocks are too long and have jacked up the suspension to a much higher point. I didn't compare the old vs. new, do the Illumina's come in different lengths? Or have I cleverly installed something upside down?

I've gone thru and replaced all of the "soft goods" pieces of my front suspension ('71 Series II) and have finally got it all reassembled. I should have bought L & R stamps and stamped everything as I took it off because, ultimately, I got it all mixed up but finally sorted in the end. All back together now but a couple of questions. The compression rods that locate the transverse link have tightened up at different locations. The left side is even with the nut, the right side is about a half inch further out. I measured the distance between the lower control arm and the frame mount on each side and it's the same. Is it possible the rods are two different lengths? I forgot to check and it's too much work to pull them off and check. Could it be something else I may have missed? Second, when I torqued up the big bolt that secures the transvers link, I noticed the bushing no longer moves. DUh! So the suspension movement is only the flexing of the inner rubber. So when I torqued the bolt, I first jacked the suspension up to it's normal operating point so the rubber in the bushing is sort of splitting the difference between operating position and assembly position. Does this sound right?

Also, there is a hole it the right side of the rack. Is it for a zerk fitting that's fallen out? It doesn't seem to have any threads but I'm still cleaning it out. Is it a "reservoir" item #25 here and if so, does anybody have a picture of what it looks like? http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Steering/SteeringGear/tabid/1746/Default.aspx

Great thread, addresses most of what I'm doing. However, one thing not mentioned is how should the tie-rod end fit in it's socket? Mine are pretty stiff and feels like there may be some flat spots inside. Has anyone taken them apart? The grease seems OK, not all stiff and old. Should they move freely or is stiff OK?

Do the early series II have boots over the struts? I can't tell from the diagram

Success! "Well there's your problem!" Looks like I was battling 48 years of rust. Lots of Kroll and I finally manned up with the MAP gas. I made a sleeve out of heavy wall PVC and used an impact wrench to try and pull the strut up the tube. Sort of working in the blind and the strut rod spun until it all tightened up but it worked. Now I have to figure out how to clean the tube, probably with a wire wheel and a drill extension. Thanks for all the suggestions and support.

OK, this isn't cooperating at all. I've tried the MAPP gas but am probably being too timid with the heat. I guess I should be heating the whole length of the tube? Conceivably I'm fighting 48 years of corrosion between the tube and the strut, correct? Just to be sure, once I remove the gland nut, there's no cir-clips or hidden set screws I'm missing? Nothing holds the cartridge in the tube other than the big nut, right?

Excellent, thanks for the tips. I hadn't considered heat but I was considering a slide hammer. The main point is I have all the retaining stuff out of the way and it's only stuck by "habit" :-) I also read someplace about what appeared to be a strut without the cartridge, just a spring and damper fluid with seals on some of the very early models. What's that all about?

I'm going thru the front suspension of my '71 Series II and am having trouble figuring out how to remove the old strut cartridge. I've searched and mostly get that I need to remove the big nut (I have) and the cartridge will slide out. It may be original so it may have 46 years of inertia holding it in but perhaps I'm missing something. No access from below, all the instructions seem to say I just pull it out. I've soaked the area with Aero-Kroll but no luck. Any suggestions? What am I missing?

Looking to do the throttle linkage upgrade to get rid of the off idle surge but would like a spare bell crank before I start.

WARNING: ZOMBIE THREAD.. Any of you folks still out there? I got my Z last year off Bring a Trailer, still going thru it. Is there a Houston Z club? I can't find anything that's newer than about 4 years old. I'd like to get together sometime after the new year with some locals. On another note, is there any wrecking yards here that have old Z's?

Thanks for the link Phil but unfortunately I'm one of those dinosaurs that don't do social media. But we're getting heavy pressure to join by our kids so maybe sometime soon.

Yes indeed he did. I was all set to buy a set based on the info in this thread but they are no longer available. So my question was, if the Illumina are NLA, what to use instead for similar performance (No Koni's, way too expensive)?

Anybody out there? Surely someone has a good ride without the Illuminas?

Bump

So the Tokico Illumina are no longer available. What is an equivalent replacement? I'm looking for an adjustable shock and am looking for a comfortable ride, not a track setup. Any suggestions?

Har har har, glad I asked. I guess I'll store it next to my Flux Capacitor when I'm done with it

I just bought ball joints, tie rod ends, and boots for the front suspension refresh. This came in the box (I missed exactly which one). What is it and what is it used for?

I only mention it because there are some applications where the coolant is used to heat a spot at the bottom of the manifold to mitigate any fuel pooling from throttle changes. It doesn't matter what the ambient conditions are. Maybe just carbs with accelerator pumps? It's been 35 years since I've wrenched on a Z so I've forgotten most of the details. I haven't dug into my cooling system yet to see if this is the case with a Z. Edit: I just looked at the cartoon at the top of the page and it looks like this is the case, there seems to be heating spots in the manifold. Anybody know for sure?

I just bought one almost identical to this one for $15,150 so yes, it appears to be a good deal. But I agree with some of the other guys, if you're going to modd it up, you're paying a lot for stuff you're going to remove/change anyway.