Rs4S Front Radius Rod Bush Replacement

[hks33]

Hi fellow stagea enthusiasts and owners,

Seem to have encountered a few minor problems the other week, Long story short it was raining extremely hard when I was coming upto a set of traffic lights. Friend of mine was in the car with me and he screamed all of a sudden for me to watch the curb which I was a safe distance away from, Locked the steering wheel to the right hand side after being shocked and completely surprised and understeered up a curb. As a result of clipping the curb and the car going slightly up it I have annoyingly twisted my left radius rod bush and moved my engine crossmember to the right. By about half a centimetre to a centimetre and bent bolts in the process which hold it I'am led to believe according to a friend of mine and his fellow co workers at his tyre fitting/suspension shop. Need some straight answers because I need to fix these issues before my car is sold as a buyer is 100% interested on purchasing it and I have had to put off the sale unfortunately for a bit.

Questions which I have to ask are will I be able to replace my front radius rod bushes with these aftermarket units in the link without having to go aftermarket all the way around the OEM Nissan bushes I got quoted from Nissan would cost me around $90ea thought I may be able to save a bit of money and time whilst making some improvement by going aftermarket before it's sold. http://justjap.com/s...&cat=398&page=1

Second question is what process is involved in rectifying the issue with my crossmember and moving it back to the left where it should be sitting. Got a quote for $800 off a friend but I thought it was a bit steep and cannot justify spending 800 before the car is sold. Have worked in crash repairs for most of my past career but was a car painter so I don't have much experience in the panel beating section but I know for a fact the job is alot smaller then they claim.

Best regards and looking forwards to your responses Chris.

Edited July 5, 2012 by hks33

[KiwiRS4T]

When I fitted adjustable castor arms I sold my stock ones for $30 the pair so you may be able to pick some up cheap. Skyline ones will do too. The bushes you have linked to will do the job - if your castor is the same L and R then you can install the bushes so as to provide maximum castor (it won't be that much) or for similar money you could get fully adjustable castor arms. I'm in NZ so can't help you with the chassis straightening!

[hks33]

From what I'm lead to believe I need the GT-R style ones (4wd) only...

Skyline ones will not work from my understanding. What do you mean in relation to my castor from the left and right being the same shouldn't it be the same all ready?

[KiwiRS4T]

Yes GTR Skyline - here's some:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/nissan/suspension/auction-490757269.htm

Yes castor L and R should be the same but may not be as a result of hitting kerb and might still be out after chassis straightening in which case you can use the adjustables to correct.

If it is the same L and R then the above arms would be your best bet (simple to fit no press needed).

[wolverine]

I wouldn't bother buying a press in bush since there are plenty of reasonably priced aftermarket adjustable radius rods with polyurethane bushes available.

In your shoes I would look for a second hand standard.

[hks33]

Do the ones which I added a link to in this thread have to be pressed in?

[KiwiRS4T]

Do the ones which I added a link to in this thread have to be pressed in?

Yes or you can use a vise but if you don't have access to a press then you have to cut/burn the old ones out. If you are not going to keep the car 2nd hand stockers make the most sense.

[hks33]

With limited Stagea parts for sale currently on the forums I would have thought it would be hard for me to find 1 of radius rod bushes though..

[wolverine]

Yeah but ask in FS section for GTR radius rods see what is out there.

[KiwiRS4T]

With limited Stagea parts for sale currently on the forums I would have thought it would be hard for me to find 1 of radius rod bushes though..

Not second hand bushes second hand rods (Stagea or GTR). If you buy the TradeMe ones linked above it should only cost you about $AU 60 or 70 with postage.

[hks33]

The actual radius rod bush needs replacing not the rod... Was told that the radius rod bush is twisted incase you misinterpreted what I had mentioned in the thread?

[KiwiRS4T]

No I understand your problem but it is easier to just replace the whole rod with another than to remove and replace the bush. You could buy the ones from TradeMe, or post up a wanted ad in the Stagea and the general "parts wanted" section of this site or phone around the wreckers

[hks33]

Oh I understand now thanks for the information.. I would have thought it would cost me more doing it that way where as I could replace only the bush.

[adey88]

I am replacing my stock rods (with a Whiteline adjustable bush already pressed in) next week - if you are still looking for some in a weeks time send me a PM!

[hks33]

Are these adjustable rods with the bushes pressed in? I'm assuming there's no variant between both manual and automatic.

Could you please PM me a price pretty interested if it's moderately priced.

[Raysboostin]

As for your crossmember issue i may be able to shead some light on that. A long time ago i hit a gutter in much the same fashion (although in a crappy VS ute) and the damage to the crossmember was substantial.

First thing to do is check all the welds on the crossmember. If any are even cracked it must be replaced. Ditto if theres any bent areas.

Secondly check it for square. It will need to be measured to make sure its not warped or twisted in any direction. If it is, it must be replaced.

Finally, the whole car must be put on a rack and checked that the chassis is still straight. Its easier than u think to tweak the rails. Uve mentioned the bolts being bent so theres a good chance its tweaked. Although being in smash repair im sure u would have done most of these checks.

As for the $800 that sounds cheap to me. Personally I'd want to make sure everything is done properly with no corners cut. Otherwise the car will never drive right no matter how much u wheel align it. When my old ute was checked the crossmember was bent, twisted and cracked! It also had damaged the radius rod bush, which later turned out to be a bent rod. As well as a split lower control arm bush. So make sure everything is examined very very carefully.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Raysboostin