Gary, I believe that you keep the sleeve for poly bushings, but that new Nissan bushings have the sleeve bonded to the new bushing. So for factory bushings, the sleeve must come out.

Do you have the new bushings yet? If not, simply leave the sleeve in place until you get them and you can see for yourself. Can't get hurt that way.

Hi Arne. No, I don't have the replacement bushings yet. However, I did find a picture of the part in another thread asking basically the same question, with no responses.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31765&highlight=mustache+bar

My thought is that if the sleeves have to come out, I'd prefer to do it before painting the mustache bar.

Gary S.

That picture sure seems to confirm it to me, for factory bushings the sleeves must come out.

I learn something new every day......Didn't know that the mustache bushings were still available. If factory bushings are used, a machine shop can press in and out the new sleeve encased bushings.

i have a 20ton bench press that im using to replace my bushings. your more than welcome to come over and use since im in houston too.

you know i looked at the date this was a revived from the dead thrread.

Edited March 14, 200916 yr by overdrivex

Just to follow up, my Nissan mustache bar bushings arrived today. And as can be seen in the first photo, the new bushing will not fit into the end loop with the old sleeve still in place (the old rubber inserts were removed previously). So, I employed a technique that has been used for removing the spindle pin bushing sleeves. I used a cutting wheel to cut two notches about 1/2 inch apart on the rolled edge (not quite cutting all the way through). Then, after reorienting the bar in the vice, I used a sawzall to make two parallel cuts through the inside of the sleeve, being careful not to cut into the mustache bar loop proper. Next, vice-grips were used to pull down the tang and wiggle out the sectioned piece. Finally, the bench vise was handy for squeezing the sleeve in so that it could be removed.

Gary S.

Edited April 1, 200916 yr by 7T1240
Incomplete title

Good job Gary, looks clean, with very little scuffing or cut marks. I went with the Urethane for the 260Z and did a few pics in my gallory right after. Stunk up the whole garage when I burnt them out.

Toni and Steve were at Golden Gardens, you missed a Beautiful day with a couple very nice S30's. See you at Canby??

Dave.

Edited April 1, 200916 yr by Zs-ondabrain

Stunk up the whole garage when I burnt them out.

I used progressively larger drill bits to remove most of the rubber, then a wire brush on a drill to hone out the rest. In this way I was able to avoid the stink in the garage AND THE IRE OF THE MRS.

See you at Canby??

Dave.

I'm hoping so...I plan on attending.

Gary S.

Hey Zs-ondabrain,

When you went with Urethane, did you notice more gear whine from your diff? Ever since I switched to urethane on my mustache bar, the gear whine is more noticeable. Or my diff just happened to start making this noise right after the install.

Zedyne,

You mentioned noticeable gear wine noise now. I am about to do the same thing to my Z this weekend but am now worried about the noise. How bad is it exactly? Have you gotten used to it or is it brain numbing?

I have a bad clunk as well. I have poly tranny mounts and a brand new OEM front diff mount and it's STILL clunking very easily. The clunk can be heard just babying it into 1st gear and when on/off throttle (like in traffic). We jacked the car up and noticed when i lift the clutch into gear the diff is swaying around under the car, everything is moving around including the mustache bar. The only old rubber left is the mustache bar rubber, and it looks fairly worn. Can something failing inside the diff cause this loud clunk possibly? There is no whine or growls coming from it.

Based on your description the clunk is almost certainly the moustache bar (rear diff member) bushings. However, if the diff has been moving around as much as you say, and you're not just exagerating, you could also have some u-joints. I recommend taking care of moustache bar bushings first and see if that fixes it. U-joints are a pain in the arse.

Edited April 23, 200916 yr by =Enigma=

Based on your description the clunk is almost certainly the moustache bar (rear diff member) bushings. However, if the diff has been moving around as much as you say, and you're not just exagerating, you could also have some u-joints. I recommend taking care of moustache bar bushings first and see if that fixes it. U-joints are a pain in the arse.

Thanks for the advice. I am almost certain as well that its the mustache bar bushings. I actually have upgraded to 280ZX Turbo CV shafts and 280Z stub axles a while back. The Diff is a R200 w/ 4.11 gearing WEeeee! .