TC bushings 280z 1975

[Dave WM]

while I was under the car snapping the down pipe bolt, I happened to notice the TC bushing looks in pretty sad shape, crack radiating from the center.

anyway I have some new bushing and everywhere is see people are replacing with the wheels off and the suspension hanging.

This seems to put the TC rod in sharp angle that seems like it would make it harder to compress and install the new bushings.

Is there a reason not to just do them when the car is on the ramps and the suspension is at a normal ride height? same applies to the sway bar end link bushings?

[Dave WM]

maybe I am just overthinking this. never mind.

[siteunseen]

I had to put a small bottle jack under the front tires and push them waaaay up in the fender wheel to get mine on.  After I got everything bolted up I dropped it down on the ground and torqued the nuts.

Edited March 10, 2017 by siteunseen

[Zed Head]

Actually, you've thought it out just about right.  I wish I had before I changed my bushings the first time.  Turns out that you can remove the TC rod and bushings while the car is on the ground, very easily.  Turn the wheel one way or the other and you can get to the front bolts/nuts.  The back nut can be reached from the top or the bottom.  Trying to do it with the wheel hanging is almost impossible.

[Dave WM]

OK here is how it went, 17mm came off pretty with box wrench on passenger side, driver I needed the air impact, still no big deal. After I got those loose I did the 14mm again no big deal other than digging thru the top layer of grease/grime from the leaking ball joints. Using the new AC delco parts I put it back in using two quick squeeze grip clamps to compress the bushing/washer enough to get the nut started. The driver side was a bit more of a challenge due to the heat shield making less room for the clamp, still not too hard just a bit fidlley.

tightened up until I could tell it was bottoming out on the metal sleeve. The 14mm's dropped right in (I had the car on ramps so everything pretty much just lines up) tighten them up and done.

I will revisit those when I get the ball joints, prob do the sway links then too. Oh one more thing, the ramps make it just a bit hard to get the air tools to work (if I had a shorter socket it would have been fine) as the ramp gets in the way a bit. I did have to hold the bolt from the top of course, but I found a little trick for that as well. Using a box wrench to hold it, I have a super powerful rare earth magnet that I stick to the wrench handle and some metal part of the car. this secures the top wrench well freeing up both hands to work the bottom.

 

[Dave WM]

read then work.. I went back and torqued the TC bushing body side to 40 (fsm has 33-40, not tight until it feels like the inner spacer is bottoming like I did).

[Captain Obvious]

Not that I'm doubting, but just to double check... Are you sure you got the washers and bushings in the correct way?

[Dave WM]

yes that is the way I did it, narrow flat side towards frame, rounded sides out. big washers dome in.

[Captain Obvious]

Excellent. I've removed original rubber bushings that were so crusty, deformed, and dryrotted, that it was pretty much impossible to discern what direction they actually started with!

[Zed Head]

My inner troublemaker can't resist posting this picture.  I remember having this conversation before and can't remember where it ended up.  I could go look at my car to see how I did mine, since I have also looked at old crusty apparently factory-installed bushings and made a determination.  The rubber in the drawing also doesn't have the rounded look of the replacement bushings.  I really don't know what's right or wrong, and the driver probably can't tell anyway, I'd think.  I think the groove is there to allow the bushing to flex without side-loading the rod end, and it comes in to play either way.  I'll just leave the picture from FA chapter, to ponder.  

Edited March 13, 2017 by Zed Head

[Dave WM]

I just did mine the way they came out, not sure if they were original, but on them the rounded side was out, the flat side was in, AND the replacements flat was much thinner about 1/2 the thickness of what came out.

[Zed Head]

I wonder if the concours guys know.  Seems like they should.  Maybe it's been overlooked over the years and awards will need to be returned for improper bushing orientation.