Handling Problems ...
08-28-2002, 10:42 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 37
Handling Problems ...
I have an all stock 1992 240SX SE with 135K miles .. Of late my car behaves unpredictably at high speed lane changes ...When driving on left lanes the driver side front end seems to go down quite a bit making it less safe to speed ...
Am i having a bad strut or is it one of those numerous bushings that has gone bad or would putting in a fromt strut tower bar help .... I read somewhere that an allignment might fix this ... I am sorta confused ... Still in college and without too much money to blow, I would certainly appreciate if any of you techies can suggest what might be the problem ..
thx in advance ...
Am i having a bad strut or is it one of those numerous bushings that has gone bad or would putting in a fromt strut tower bar help .... I read somewhere that an allignment might fix this ... I am sorta confused ... Still in college and without too much money to blow, I would certainly appreciate if any of you techies can suggest what might be the problem ..
thx in advance ...
08-28-2002, 12:13 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: SO CAL
Posts: 62
Sounds like a possible bad shock. Try parking the car on a level surface and giving a firm downward push on each fender if one side seems like it drops easier and lower look more into that corner. If you know how to do the work yourself (not that hard if you have the tools) you can pull the shock off that corner and check it. I doubt its a bushing but if it is just replace them all when you pull the shock to check it.
Statik
Statik
08-29-2002, 06:22 AM
#4
Contributing Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 709
to test if your shock is bad- push on it repetedly and get the whole corner of the car moving up and down, stop quickly. if the car continues to bounce- your shock is blown. the car should stop bouncing almost immediatly.
to me it sounds like an alignment problem or maybe wheels that are in need of balancing.
to me it sounds like an alignment problem or maybe wheels that are in need of balancing.
09-05-2002, 10:16 PM
#5
Contributing Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 680
Sounds like t/c rod bushings.
Have you checked them? Are they leaking goo?
They usually show their age on high speed lane changes and hard braking (the car will kind of 'dart' to one side when you initially press the brakes).
PDM sells replacement t/c bushings for not too much money. You can do the swap yourself if you have:
17mm socket and ratchet.
17mm wrench
Drill (you will need it to remove the rubber)
Files / knives / screwdrivers (you'll see - for attacking the rubber)
Hacksaw (to cut the sleeve in the t/c rod so you can pry it out)
Press or big *** vise
New Poly t/c rod bushings (almost forgot!)
This job can be done without jacking up the car - I did it (and I'm certainly not a skinny guy).
1 - Use the 17mm socket to remove the nuts that hold the t/c rod to the lower control arm.
2 - Use the 17mm wrench and socket to remove the front bolt securing the lollipop end of the t/c rod to the mounting bracket.
3 - remove the t/c rod.
4 - attack the rubber. Use whatever you have to - drills, knives, ect. Eventually you want to pop that whole metal hunk out of the center. The clean up any remaining rubber and goo.
5 - Cut the sleeve. You will need to make a cut in the sleeve itself in order to pry it out. If you have a nice press, you can probably just press the whole bushing/sleeve out... but you don't, so cut the sleeve and then pry it in towards the center so you can overlap the edges and remove it.
6 - press in new bushing. Lube everything up and press that baby in. It may take a few tries. I kept trying to get it to go in perfectly straight and then backed off when it kinked sideways. After about 8 attempts, I just said screw it and kept tightening the vise after it went crooked and the thing went in just fine. Afer the bushing is in the t/r rod, you will have to press the metal sleeve into the center - this is much easier.
7 - re-install t/c rod. You'll need to slip the lca side in under that guard thing first. Leave everything lose until you have the front bolt through. My car seemed to settle while I was playing with the bushings, so I had to push back on the wheel to get my front bolt in properly. Final tightening should be done with the car on the ground (if you jacked it up).
So you should be able to do it with a good sepection of hand tools. If you don't have a vise, you can probably press it in with one of those loaner press kits. I borrowed one from Autozone for one of my balljoints - they charged me $103 when I took it and credited me $103 when I returned it. Ifyou have the tools or access to them and an afternoon, you can change them for ~$50 out of pocket (assuming ground shipping).
-Justin
http://www.saltgod.org
Have you checked them? Are they leaking goo?
They usually show their age on high speed lane changes and hard braking (the car will kind of 'dart' to one side when you initially press the brakes).
PDM sells replacement t/c bushings for not too much money. You can do the swap yourself if you have:
17mm socket and ratchet.
17mm wrench
Drill (you will need it to remove the rubber)
Files / knives / screwdrivers (you'll see - for attacking the rubber)
Hacksaw (to cut the sleeve in the t/c rod so you can pry it out)
Press or big *** vise
New Poly t/c rod bushings (almost forgot!)
This job can be done without jacking up the car - I did it (and I'm certainly not a skinny guy).
1 - Use the 17mm socket to remove the nuts that hold the t/c rod to the lower control arm.
2 - Use the 17mm wrench and socket to remove the front bolt securing the lollipop end of the t/c rod to the mounting bracket.
3 - remove the t/c rod.
4 - attack the rubber. Use whatever you have to - drills, knives, ect. Eventually you want to pop that whole metal hunk out of the center. The clean up any remaining rubber and goo.
5 - Cut the sleeve. You will need to make a cut in the sleeve itself in order to pry it out. If you have a nice press, you can probably just press the whole bushing/sleeve out... but you don't, so cut the sleeve and then pry it in towards the center so you can overlap the edges and remove it.
6 - press in new bushing. Lube everything up and press that baby in. It may take a few tries. I kept trying to get it to go in perfectly straight and then backed off when it kinked sideways. After about 8 attempts, I just said screw it and kept tightening the vise after it went crooked and the thing went in just fine. Afer the bushing is in the t/r rod, you will have to press the metal sleeve into the center - this is much easier.
7 - re-install t/c rod. You'll need to slip the lca side in under that guard thing first. Leave everything lose until you have the front bolt through. My car seemed to settle while I was playing with the bushings, so I had to push back on the wheel to get my front bolt in properly. Final tightening should be done with the car on the ground (if you jacked it up).
So you should be able to do it with a good sepection of hand tools. If you don't have a vise, you can probably press it in with one of those loaner press kits. I borrowed one from Autozone for one of my balljoints - they charged me $103 when I took it and credited me $103 when I returned it. Ifyou have the tools or access to them and an afternoon, you can change them for ~$50 out of pocket (assuming ground shipping).
-Justin
http://www.saltgod.org
08-09-2003, 01:53 PM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Troy, NY
Posts: 2
I have an 89 240 and one of these bushings had a hole in it that you could stick a screwdriver in, and the other was just leaking. Replacing these did WAY more than replacing the struts. Its a huge differece, and totally worth it. I got energy suspension bushings from courtesy nissan for 45 shipped. Their website said only for s14, but they fit perfectly on mine. They also have whiteline and nismo ones.
I followed the above directions and have a bit to add.
First off, you really need to press the rubber part out first. The screw press from autozone works really well, and leaves some rubber behind. Take a hacksaw and screwdriver/chizel, and cut to the sleeve, and wedge the rubber out. Then, be really carefull when cutting because it is really easy to hit the rod. After the sleeve is completely cut, it is really easy to slip the sleeve out with a screwdriver.
When pressing the new one in, I found if you have the metal center of the bushing sticking out into the void of the TC Rod, this limits the amout that the bushing can tilt, thus allowing it to press right in. With the autozone press, i was able to actually place the metal center of the busthing into the bottom of the press, so it was perfectly aligned during the pressing process.
The first one took like 4 hours, the second took less than one :-p Good luck!
I followed the above directions and have a bit to add.
First off, you really need to press the rubber part out first. The screw press from autozone works really well, and leaves some rubber behind. Take a hacksaw and screwdriver/chizel, and cut to the sleeve, and wedge the rubber out. Then, be really carefull when cutting because it is really easy to hit the rod. After the sleeve is completely cut, it is really easy to slip the sleeve out with a screwdriver.
When pressing the new one in, I found if you have the metal center of the bushing sticking out into the void of the TC Rod, this limits the amout that the bushing can tilt, thus allowing it to press right in. With the autozone press, i was able to actually place the metal center of the busthing into the bottom of the press, so it was perfectly aligned during the pressing process.
The first one took like 4 hours, the second took less than one :-p Good luck!
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