A community of enthusiasts dedicated to Nissan's SR20DE/SR20VE/SR20DET engines.
Start here: forum search. Be sure to search on what you're looking for before posting a new thread.
You are currently browsing the forum as a guest. In order to access special features, the image gallery, and post you will need to be a registered member. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the administrator.
Should be fun. Really bushings are a PITA. But this stuff needs to be done to make it worth of an engine.
Got that right. In the aftermath of my suspension install I need adjustable rear upper control arms, and new TC rod bushings (or I might just go with pillowball TC rods, there are several styles).
What suspension are you thinking of going with?
__________________
2002 Mazda Protege ES, mildly-modded daily driver
1990 240SR - the DET has landed. Kent's Funkay Disco
i went from blown TC bushings to pillowballs, and the difference was night and day, really tightened the whole front end up. yeah, have fun with those bushings, do you have a press, or are you burning them out?
Got that right. In the aftermath of my suspension install I need adjustable rear upper control arms, and new TC rod bushings (or I might just go with pillowball TC rods, there are several styles).
What suspension are you thinking of going with?
I went with the ES kit because of price and the fact it gives me a complete set of bushings (including the ones that all the spherical ones do not replace). It is only costing about $47 for the rear and $18 for the front. I wonder why you feel you need the TC Rod Bushings? Are you at the end of your adjustment on the other OEM adjustable pieces? I am also likely to make my own Spherical/adjustable bushings myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by black s13
I went from blown TC bushings to pillowballs, and the difference was night and day, really tightened the whole front end up. Yeah, have fun with those bushings, do you have a press, or are you burning them out?
I don’t have a press but I do have a good vice. I have burned bushings out of suspension pieces in B13/14’s before. Has anyone done the ES bushings for the S13 before? They say this is a brand new kit. They made a couple items for the S14 in the past but this is 8 bushings on each side for the rear. From my understanding that is all the links in the rear suspension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rittmeister
What suspension are you thinking of going with?
Either the 5 way adjustable or 16 way adjustable JIC.
I'll probably replace the TC rod bushings or the rods in total simply because they're a known problem area. The stock fluid-filled bushings typically wear out and/or rupture after enough use. My front end feels just fine right now after installing new tie-rod ends, but I haven't looked closely at the TC rods yet. Too bloody cold right now.
The adjustable rear upper arms are to deal with the camber created by lowering the car; I really don't want the tire wear I'm going to have if I drive the car the way it is now.
Have fun when you get the JIC's - I want full coilovers in the worst way but it's not in the cards until after the engine swap.
This is going to be a slow project buildup. Who can afford to do it all at once? Not me. I have heard about the TC rods bending but for $24 it was worth betting them done like this. As far as it bending over time, it would be pretty easy to just weld some support in to prevent that from happening.
Did I say bending? I've never heard of them bending (unless your saying they can bend when you install the bushings), I'm just talking about the bushings going bad pretty easily. And of course having the length of the TC rods be adjustable is a help for alignment purposes.
As for a slow buildup, mine will be the same. The suspension and wheels/tires did go on in the same day, but it took me about four months to accumulate all the parts, one piece at a time...
People on some forums have said that the arms can bend with the better bushings. I don't know but I wonder if 1 or 2 people had it happen and now everyone thinks there cars are next. I have no idea. Don't really care to much. If it bends. I will fix it.
Gotcha. I haven't run across that yet, though I haven't done specific searches yet about the TC rods either. With the thickness of those rods I'd imagine you'd need to hit a bump pretty hard with the wheels turned or something.
Either way, have fun with your install and let us know how it goes.
no no no, the rods dont bend, the front lower control arm breaks in half.
think of it this way, with the soft stock bushings/pillowballs the rod can move up and down, and also allows for some twist/rotation. when stiffer bushings are installed, the rod can only swing up and down. the problem is that the rod is not at a 90 degree angle to the LCA, and therefore needs to move more than just up and down, it needs to be able to twist. the LCA could be ripped in half right where the 2 bolts hold the T/C rod to it.
no no no, the rods dont bend, the front lower control arm breaks in half.
think of it this way, with the soft stock bushings/pillowballs the rod can move up and down, and also allows for some twist/rotation. when stiffer bushings are installed, the rod can only swing up and down. the problem is that the rod is not at a 90 degree angle to the LCA, and therefore needs to move more than just up and down, it needs to be able to twist. the LCA could be ripped in half right where the 2 bolts hold the T/C rod to it.
ive seen pictures, its not pretty at all.
So what is the solution? I know I have heard that the rods bend by some people. Does not mean its true of course. It would also seem that the Solid Bearings like JIC and others would make this even worse.
Actually, in my mind it would seem that a spherical bearing (pillowball) would allow as much or more movement than the stock fluid-filled bushing, but a stiffer bushing (Nismo/ES/Whiteline/whatever) would not allow the side-to-side flex that the other two would, thus resulting in the bent TC rods and broken control arms we've been talking about.
OTOH, hardly anyone has had a problem; I'd imagine it only happens under pretty extreme conditions, or where there's already a weakness or flaw in the suspension.
I was referring to sperical TC bushings being more likely to cause the problem. I have not been under my car alot but I thought it seemed like you could box in the Lower Control Arm real easily. I will do that if I ever break one.
piwballs move more than the stock viscous bushings. some people have taken the whiteline bushings and drilled holes all the way around them to make them more pliable, most just spend like $50 more and get pillowballs, seriously, just get SPL rods, theyre like $156.
quoted of zilvia:
"Replacing the liquid filled bushings in the TC Rods with urethane units has been known to actually stress and crack the LCA. This is a proven fact and has happened to a few members on FA. If you have worn TC Rod bushings you're best bet is to replace them with stock bushings or swap the entire rod assemblies with ones that use the pillow ball mount. "
If you guys are lookin for some parts for 240s, try www.thejdmstore.com they got a buttload of stuff, its used but most in great condition and prices are badass...
Also they are getting in a huge shipment of Yashio Factory items end of this month (I got the inside info) eheh
Urethane or harder rubber inserts on the TC rods puts added stress on the control arms. Some have reported cracked arms as a result. More importantly, urethane inserts don't allow enough lateral movement and that really messes up the suspension geometry. Not very important for a daily driver but for a track whore it makes a huge difference, especially when track prep alignments are desired.
Urethane or harder rubber inserts on the TC rods puts added stress on the control arms. Some have reported cracked arms as a result. More importantly, urethane inserts don't allow enough lateral movement and that really messes up the suspension geometry. Not very important for a daily driver but for a track whore it makes a huge difference, especially when track prep alignments are desired.
I understand what you are saying but I am having a hard time reconciling that with the JIC/TEIN/etc TC rods that everyone raves about. Why is it then good to use the spherical bearings in the TC position? I don't hear the same complaints about those.
)
