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Victory! Many tools and different approaches were tried. In the end, a reciprocal saw, Diablo Metal blades(bent quite a few, and dulled them), lots of cutting oil, and my best idea, a hand held pneumatic chisel. Used a dremal tool to smooth it all out and ready to move forward.
You forgot one tool: tenacity. It's no wonder a pro shop doing that job charges upwards of $1500....
I tell you now, those people that complain about cutting that metal bushing out are a bunch of wimps! LOL Try cutting out this chunk of metal! Yes, I am now firm believer that the saw/chisel method is way better. Of course, with any luck, I will never do it again...... On the Tenacity comment, that was what my wife said when I decided I wanted to Marry her years ago. I wore her down. LOL
Last edited by Jim Stephens; Dec 4, 2019 at 03:29 AM.
Dumb question, any issue with using a little oil or grease on the bushing to help get it in? I do have some silicon spray in my garage if that is a better choice?
Quick update, the bushing are installed. Went in without any issues at all and very easy. If we have the time tomorrow we will get the Diff installed tomorrow evening. My son has a busy schedule, so might need to wait for the weekend. Pictures to follow.
Last edited by Jim Stephens; Dec 6, 2019 at 03:10 AM.
This made me laugh hard! Made me think of when I was the service manager at a high volume shop a few years ago.
"OK, Phil, you pi$$ed me off by taking the last donut.... you go work on pulling that PT Cruiser's engine."
"Awww, Mike, you f**ker, do I gottttaaaaa????? "
Ahem, that actually happened.
With one of our dailys being a turbo PT I can feel his pain! I had to change the oil in it yesterday for the first time since we got it. I sat there thinking "holy crap, I would have to drop this from below if I ever needed to!"
Finally we are moving forward. Got the dif. installed, and the axles and drive shaft. All new bolts. Will torque everything down tomorrow. There is a vent hose that you have to connect on the top of the dif. Pain to get on and the clamp over with no room. Beyond that went smoothly.
Next step is to install the aluminum inserts for the subframe bushings. Then install he new exhaust. Then see how it drives.
Tonight I got the driveshaft, axles and Diff torqued down. Then started the next project which is installing the z1 bushing inserts. Lot of bolts involved, but not too bad. Definitely took it slow in getting the subframe dropped as it is a little unnerving having all that mass loose over your head. Spent some time figuring out the best and safest approach. Got everything loose and the rear bushing installed first and then threaded on the bolts just enough and then lowered the diff to cause the front part of the subframe to drop. I would say the guy at Z1 must have a degree in marketing. Not quite as simple as described, but not that bad either. Just drop them in, right, used rubber mallet to bang in the rear ones and that went fine. Fiddled a lot with the driver side rear top bushing trying to seat it well. Finally found a spot where it felt like it was "square" and went with that. They really don't describe what you you should "feel" or how it should lock in correctly at all in the manual. Going to add a link to a video where a guy is doing the install and runs into the exact thing I ran into with the exact same bushing location. Not a big deal in the end. So, everything is bolted back in place for the night and will torque it all down Sunday. Got a full day of fun tomorrow. Going to race Electric boats in the morning, picking up my son at the house mid-afternoon and we are going to our first drift event in Houston to check it out. Should be fun. https://www.facebook.com/events/530398130804804/
Not sure if we will have the time on Sunday, but all that remains is to torque down my work from today, Re-install that "W" frame. Odd piece of metal for sure? Then install the new cat back Nismo dual exhaust and done!
Here is the video that kinda sums up what I was dealing with. Same exact thing this guy was doing. Trying to figure out where it sits right. Long video, but around the 13 min mark you will see him really working with it for 3 or 4 minutes trying to get ok with it.
And so it begins. I just bought a project car for my son(15) and I(55 years old) to work on. A 2005 350z Enthusiast model I think (yellow paint job). The good news is the car only has 47k well document miles on it and looks beautiful. The bad news or good(still not sure on this one) is the last owner started making the car a track car(I guess) and taking things out (like airbags) and putting things in like Momo steering wheel and 2k car stereo system that rocks!. The other good news is the Mechanical is solid with apparently no mods at all. The car did get an entirely new clutch in 10k miles ago. Going to have to prioritize on the projects. The good news is my son is enthusiastic and can climb under the dash etc, the good news is also I am financially able to do what needs to be done. LOL First goal is to get it through an inspection and street legal. For fun, and input from others who have been down this path before me, I thought I would document and ask questions along the way. I would classify myself as a mechanically inclined rookie not afraid to figure stuff out.
1. First question is one headlight has condensation in it and he tells me a crack. I know I need to replace the headlight, but what one should I buy? Seems to be a variety of them out there.
2. Horn does not work on Momo steering wheel. Pretty certain that needs to be fixed. I see lot's of stuff on the web on this one, so no answer needed unless you have a tip on what to look for. I will pop it open and see what is in there wiring wise. If you know a good link or wiring diagram or something let me know.
3. Change the tint to street legal as I literally I was pulled over by DPS State Trooper 10 miles after I purchased the vehicle! Luckily, he let me off with a Warning.
I will add some pictures shortly to get it started. Also,should the previous owner be on this website and recognizes his car, take no offense, we all have different goals for our car and mine are just now evolving. Starting pictures next.
Good luck
Last edited by Marvy7491; Dec 7, 2019 at 05:00 AM.
If you can make it through this video...I am concerned for you..LOL I knew it was his "phrase", but what the heck!
My son and I finished torque'ing up the bolts from the sub-member bushing inserts and installed the new Nismo exhaust system and finally brought her back onto her own four feet. It made my day that my son did the complete bolt up and torque of the exhaust system as I just watched on. He has really gone from no knowledge of using tools to something way more than that in a short time. Seems to enjoy it as well! Great day when you finish a project. We took the car out for a spin and she was running great! Some comments about our ride. One, I am thrilled with the new Nismo S exhaust. Just enough growl when you get on the throttle, but quiet when you are just cruising down the road. No drone or anything approaching it. So quiet we actually are hearing a few rattles now. LOL My son made me keep the old exhaust because he was concerned I was robbing him of that sports car sound. He was grinning from ear to ear and we both agreed we are happy with it. Now we can hear the stereo and each other talking while we are driving. The only downside is you can no longer see my shiny new Z1 Diff Cover. LOL. Words cannot express how loud the Agency exhaust was. Of course, everyone has different goals for their car so many will love it.
Next on to the handling. So, with the new Differential bushings and the Z1 bushing inserts. Excellent results. Very subtle to no noticeable increase in noise, vibration or harshness. What I did notice is that the entire rear of the car feels more "planted" and "stable" by a long shot. It feels like the car went from a wiggle from side to side to none whatsoever. I have no track time or racing back ground, but I feel the car is more stable and planted. I cannot wait to get to the new suspension and sway bars later, but this was a very great improvement to the car! Thanks for the help from everyone. First time I have ever personally done more than an oil change so just happy we got this car back together successfully.
There are more projects to come. 1. Valve Cover replacement, plugs, oil. (all in my garage in a box) 2. Shocks and Sway Bar 3. Get that air bag light on the driver steering wheel off (I am taking it to the dealership for that one, I have replaced everything involved.)
For at least a few weeks we are going to just drive the car and enjoy it, before we do the next thing.
Last edited by Jim Stephens; Dec 8, 2019 at 02:17 PM.
Hey, by the way, see how the license plate on the front of the car is just zip tied to the grill? I was wondering if there are any cool license plate mounts that can do that offset kind of look. Zip Ties are not cutting it for me.
Hey, by the way, see how the license plate on the front of the car is just zip tied to the grill? I was wondering if there are any cool license plate mounts that can do that offset kind of look. Zip Ties are not cutting it for me.
Am so happy you guys are enjoying the car, seeing father in son doing these kind of projects makes me smile. I love it when my oldest works on these projects with me. Knew you would be happy with the rear bushings. Gives such a great confidence while driving. Absolutely loving the direction ya'll are taking with your build.
I did an under mount for my front license plate. If i can find the bracket i used will link it, Autozone no longer carries the one i have.
We went to a drifting event on Saturday. No racing. Just people running cars for fun all weekend. Check out the Z and the Volvo. By the way, 1/2 of the cars there were 350z’s.
