Anybody install this themselves? For the life of me, I can't get the freaking nuts loose for the bolts that secure the transverse links that have to come out for the bar to go in. Things wouldn't budge even after cranking on it for a long time with my corded electric impact wrench. Damn things are only supposed to be tightened to about 100 ft/lbs. WTF gives??? Any suggestions?

 

I don't think they lock-tite nuts at the factory. There is nothing in the service manual about it upon reassembly of these components. They torque things to spec (often OVER spec, I've found) and some nuts have crimped end threads to lock them on, once installed.

My electric impact wrench goes to 240 ft/lbs and I've used it successfully on many other areas of the car, including full suspension install, so these things must be so over-torqued it's rediculous. I DID have the car raised and could get at it from all angles and have a variety of extensions and universal joints available for the impact wrench; improper procedure was not an issue.

I've done ALL my own installs on my car to this point and I'd hate to have to take it to a shop for two freaking nuts... I have an air impact gun, but I'd have to lug home a large compressor from work to use it; just not sure if it's worth the effort. I could probably talk one of the techs at my dealer into doing it for $30 or so. We'll see how ambitous I feel...

Good idea on the lube.

 

Have you tried using a breaker bar to loosen it? You'll need room underneath to do it though. It's a lot easier when it's on a lift. If you have a tire/muffler shop close by, you can probably ask them if you can use their lift to do this. Pay them $10 and they will usually oblige.

 

Yeah, that's an idea. I couldn't do much with my breaker bar with it on jack stands. I'd prob just lug home the compressor for the air gun before I did that, though. I'm getting too lazy any more to muscle things loose...

 

Let me know how it turns out. I have the three GT Spec braces installed and my Z definitely feels tighter. I guess I will reap the real benefits when I take it to the track next time. I'm thinking about attending the 2-day The Drivers Edge next month at the Texas World Speedway.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I cranked on it a while with the elec impoct gun and did no damage to the nut, so I'll give the air gun a try, since I already took a compressor home from work to do it. I was lazy at the time b/c I was also doing pulley swap and didn't feel like pulling the wheels off to get a good angle and leverage on the breaker bar, but if all else fails, that's what I'll do. I just wish they had put the bolt in from the other side, so it could be installed like the rear, by only removing the nut.

 

Here's how I did it: Raise the car up enough so you can lay sideways. Put your feet on your driver's side front rim for support, grab your wrench with both hands and apply pressure with both hands and feet to that bolt. Sorta like "standing up" and it should come off. Tip: those bolts are EXTREMELY TIGHT and might require the aid of a little brother or friend to tug on the wrench on the other end with a rope or something. Yes i know, sounds pretty ghetto but that's what you gotta do without the aid of a lift!

 

Yeah, if the air gun doesn't do it, I'll just yank the wheels and **** the steering so I have a good shot on it from the side with the 18" breaker bar. Then I can just stand on it or squat it, depending on what side I'm on. I couldn't get it up in the air far enough to do it that way from underneath.

 

Whew! Finally got the damn nuts loose and the front bar on. Air tools were pretty much useless. I had to pull the wheels and crank like a MF-er to break the nuts loose. You really need TWO breker bars, since once you break the nuts loose, the bolt starts rotating. Anyway, it was easy once I got them loose. Took a little jiggling things around to get the bolts back in once the bar was in place, but ut went pretty smoothly. Only thing I don't like is that the bar sits practically right under the oil drain plug. That's going to provide some future fun, I'm sure. I may have to invest in one of those oil drain valves. Was well after dark once I finished, so I haven't driven it yet. I'll post impressions once I do.

 

Ok, this is probably a stupid question after the fact, but what purpose do the big fat washers that come with the bars serve? I didn't see any vital purpose for them and didn't use them; clearance was not an issue, so puttin them behind the bar would be useless and the bolts/nuts that secure the bar are nearly as large in diameter as the washers, so they wouldn't serve in helping to secure the bars either. Am I missing something? I just didn't see any point in taking up valuable threads on the bolts with washers; there are no extra for the nuts to grab with the bar in place as it is...

 

I did not use some of the washers since I wanted to use as much of the bolt thread as possible for the nuts. I needed to make sure they were really tight.

 

Ok, glad I'm not the only one. Love the bars, BTW. Couldn't tell much difference with just the rear, maybe a little, but I could feel the front immediately. Haven't been able to take my favorite high speed S-curve yet, though to really see the diff.; been hitting traffic ahead of me every damn day this week (today it was another Z driving like a granny! )

Just wish they would make a rear lateral bar that would clear the Nismo exhaust; looks like those bracing points would really help tighten up the rear moreso than the other bar...