oh ya....that requires dropping the sub frame as a whole unit...sorry for my confusion...
https://my350z.com/forum/8879429-post23.html

-J

 

i don't know if you mentioned this but i read from somewhere that it's best to use Teflon Lubricant. Do you recommend this or somekind of rust prevention spray between the cone and the bushing?

 

And its actually pretty dam easy, had mine off the car, bushings out and back up within 5 hours. No air tools were used, no lift , done on the floor of my garage. Next time i will be able to do it a bit faster.

 

^ werd......i agree....


-J

 

My car front end has been squirming and going over potholes with great discomforts. There's no vibration or rattle, but it just feels loose over bumpy roads. It's not the shocks because the damping and rebound are very tight. The rear is fine, only the front feels weird.

I will be replacing my compression bushings with SPL and my front lower control arm bushings with whiteline.

I will also replace my 70,000 miles front lower ball joints with cheap aftermarket stock replacements. I remember seeing a DIY guide somewhere just yesterday. I can't find it today. I frequent between G35driver and My350Z. I can't seem to find it on either forum!!! If you have the URL favorited, please show me the link! Thanks.

 

SIDE NOTE:

Something I just learned, if the stud on the ball joint is spinning when trying to get nut off, put some pressure on the arm. I used a jack, than impact and nut came right off.

 

^ yes...good note!

-J

 

J,

Im planning to do the translink bushings and then this..i know whiteline has bushing for the translink. Do they have bushing for the compression arm??..spl is kinda pricey for me..last, what do you recommend doing first?

man, you just dont know how you help us out with this "Sick" Diy of yours!!..

thanks,

-C

 

Nope, SPL is your only option, and even if whiteline, energy or anyone else made a rubber/poly bushing there, you wouldnt want it over SPL......a lowered car keeps the compression arm pointing upwards thus always pulling on the rubber even if the car is just sitting there.......so spl's bearing is the only thing that would work there and not tear since its solid and has no rubber...

SPL did great here......I walked into tons of machine shops looking to have some make and always got way high quotes for a pair of "specific peices that were a one time job" so it wasnt worth their while or mine for the price needed to make it worth it...

honestly, i would pay the spl price quick........as i did and drove to Austin to pick up 3 sets for me and friends i "coherest" into buying them...! lol..

I'm an engineer and do actual hands on problem solving everyday.....then I actually work at designing ways to fix, repair, etc.....so doing DIY's on my hobby is fun............glad it helps out everyone...

-J

 

No NVH problems on SPL? How is it on yours?..I bought the Energy Susp front arm kit from one of the vendors here. Hopefully it last longer than the stock ones. Both of my bushings are torn up. No wonder i get a 'Nervous front end' (steering wheel shakes when hits a bump)....

 

J- I bought ENERGY FRONT ARM KIT..Bushing for LCA,CA,UCA..deal to good to pass up!!..

Replaced the LCA bushings (still in good condition when i took it out but i replaced it anyway), Replaced CA bushing (both are shot!!!<--- my problem for jarring steering wheel during bumps)...UCA bushing to follow, soon!..

I used the press to put in the bushing on LCA. The press broke on my last set of CA bushing. I have to take it to NAPA Auto Parts (Vacaville,$24.00) to press it in for me. I did not know that some Napa Auto Parts have machine shops!!..

After re-installing both LCA and CA , did a figure 8 couple times, car tracks better specially on bumps, NO more vibration issue. Steering wheel jarring is gone..the car feels stable!!!!...

BY THE WAY, the bushing that is supposed to go on the NON tapered end of the arm will not go in. I ended up putting the bushing (RUBBER IN HEAT =EXPAND, IN COLD= SHRINKage..hahaha..thats sounds funny!!) in the freezer for an 1hr..then it became an easy put in!!!!..I hardly used any grease to push in...

I havent done the Upper Control Arm bushing yet...

here are the CA bushing installed..




-C

 

if its ok id like to share my experience with changing these out. this is for all the people who dont have a sears, scrap yard or napa who will touch bushings nearby. i decided to go with the energy bushings by the way.

first of all pb blaster is a must! its my first time using it and i sprayed all the bolts several times for a day or so. but i accidentally overlooked two bolts for the brace and its usefulness immediately became apparent haha.

another must is an impact, it makes life so much easier, especially for those 19mm compression bolts! i cannot emphasize that enough!

since i plan on putting energy bushings on the rear eventually and almost all the shops are closed on weekends i bought this press from harbor freight.


but be warned its kinda ghetto and if u look closely at the top left it got crooked and the metal bent a little bit. but it worked! here's the sockets i used from autozone to press the stock bushings out.



i used the 1-5/8" for bushings and the 76mm bearing socket as a receiver to get it started. only use this to get it started cuz there r tabs on the inside of the big socket that will catch the old bushing (which i think might be why the press bent?). once u get it started just use the arbor plates (as pictured) to press it the rest of the way out. after that i only used the press to put in the bushings that had to go into the non tapered side of the arm. but it was easy. with a little finesse everything was back in and torqued to spec.

i gotta say my stock bushings didnt look too bad even tho i knew they were torn but i was pleasantly surprised by much i noticed a difference with the energy ones! and i already have the whiteline translink and shock bushings done. no more steering wheel jiggle and it feels much tighter, def worth it!

 

With all of the success stories posted I figured this install would be a piece of cake. Second day now and I have given up on the passenger side as I stripped the hell out of one of the bolts holding on the underbrace (still need to get that off).
Moving on to the left wheel I was able to remove the underbrace, generously spraying each bolt with pb blaster. However I am stuck once again and this time I think its a big problem. I have a very heavy duty impact driver that I used on the main bolt and things went fine, but after removing the cotter pin from the other bolt and using the driver both the nut and the bolt spin together.. does that mean the bolt (that I believe is supposed to be part of the actual rod) has broken? Only reason I am thinking that may not be the case is that the rod is still firmly attached.
I am thinking of putting everything back together and taking it in as things just keep going wrong for me.
Any explanation to help me out would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

to keep the ball joint from spinning i put a jack underneath it and jacked it up about .25". that puts some pressure on it so it wont spin and u can get the ball joint nut off

 

I tried doing that but didn't seem to stop the bolt from spinning. Was there a certain placement on the rod you placed the jack?

 

Bookmarked... I need to do this ASAP

 

Are all you guys putting in these bushings daily driving your cars?

 

sorry i cant find a specific pic, but for ball joints i put my jack underneath it as highlighted in the pic. im at work ill try to get a better pic later

 

^ yes, that point works.....usually an impact spins the nut right off, but if you have too, jack up that point a bit to where it binds up the shaft in the ball joint to where only the nut spins free..

-J

 

The SPL bushing is hands down the best for the compression rod....

if your daily driving on a super lowered car or a car thats lowered slightly with huge 20 inch rims, then your gonna probably be hearing noise/clunks from when you hit bumps, etc...IMHO thats better than having torn oem bushings and crappy alignment causing crappy tire wear.....thus having to replace tires sooner..

the spl compression rod bushing is a friction free bushing, there is no oem rubber there to fight your steering inputs..

JUST FYI:
If your daily driving on a super lowered car = a car that's lowered slightly with huge 20 inch rims,

Those two are equal...they both equate to a compresson rod that is pointed UPWARDS due to the car being lowered....due to the suspension being altered with the configuration change combination of lowering and or bigger wheels..

This is hard to explain....

-J