Jump to content
SAU Community

Suspension Part Replacement

mii11x
 Share

Recommended Posts

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

So I have a 93 models gtst and have decided to replace bushes etc as being 20years old they would be thrashed out. I would love to do this myself at home but not having a press or access to one makes it hard for me to part with all the labour costs involved. Obviously I would need to pay for alignment.

Was thinking I could however buy new parts ie front upper and lower control arms, a-arms, rear upper and lower links etc and fit them all myself without the need for buying new bushes, the need of a press as well as not paying labour. Nismo parts I can get from RHD.

I would not know if my current parts are bent in anyway(im the only owner the car has had since japan) but the bushes are pretty much shot. How would you know if your arms etc are bent actually??

Your thoughts on buying nismo parts and replacing myself, or pay someone to fit new bushes to old parts.

Cheers

Mick

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/426868-suspension-part-replacement/
Share on other sites
djr81 Grand Master

djr81

Posted
Posted

The likelihood of them being bent is pretty small and even if they are Nissan arms are cheap as chips to buy second hand. So I wouldnt factor that in. Easiest way to tell is to look at them.

If you want to go DIY I would remove the arms etc and then take them somewhere and pay them to press the bushes out. You can install the new bushes and refit the arms etc yourself. Then just get it checked over and aligned. Will be massively cheaper than the Nismo option.

darksky34 Mentor

darksky34

Posted
Posted

yes as above said, take the arms out bring them to mechanic they can press bushes out and even put them back in, will be minimal cost! otherwise just buy brand new nismo/aftermarket arms if available...but obviously that will cost more than just replacing bushes alone.

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So an update to my situation, took the car to wholesale suspension at Penrith, and as I thought almost all my bushes are cactus.....I was surprised to see how much movement there actually was in certain links with my shit bushes......definitely didn't feel too bad driving around but it probably was the cause of 54week old tein super streets slightly leaking(3 corners) and my tyres wearing out uneven though.

So all new bushes are being installed, where I can adjustable bushes will be fitted. Just have to wait and see if my teins will be repaired under warranty (stupid of me to fit them knowing that I had a problem last year with my old g4 coils all leaking....should of have it checked out by a pro last year before fitting the teins). Hopefully they will repair them under warranty and I can get some adjustable sway bars fitted.

The guys down there have been great, though I don't have the car back yet I will definitely recommend them to anyone who asks. Ive noticed wholesale suspension being mentioned on the forums a bit and wondering if they do a sau discount (if they do will it only apply to paying members??)

Tommmay Enthusiast

Tommmay

Posted
Posted

So an update to my situation, took the car to wholesale suspension at Penrith, and as I thought almost all my bushes are cactus.....I was surprised to see how much movement there actually was in certain links with my shit bushes......definitely didn't feel too bad driving around but it probably was the cause of 54week old tein super streets slightly leaking(3 corners) and my tyres wearing out uneven though.

So all new bushes are being installed, where I can adjustable bushes will be fitted. Just have to wait and see if my teins will be repaired under warranty (stupid of me to fit them knowing that I had a problem last year with my old g4 coils all leaking....should of have it checked out by a pro last year before fitting the teins). Hopefully they will repair them under warranty and I can get some adjustable sway bars fitted.

The guys down there have been great, though I don't have the car back yet I will definitely recommend them to anyone who asks. Ive noticed wholesale suspension being mentioned on the forums a bit and wondering if they do a sau discount (if they do will it only apply to paying members??)

How did you go with this

Much improvement

And what was the cost around?

Cheers

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ok so an update....

car was due to be picked up this arvo.........my teins were repaired under warranty so opted for whiteline adj swaybars also.........however I just received a phonecall stating a problem with the new front swaybar......there is only around 3mm clearance between itself and the sump(so ive been told). Wholesale suspension have told me that it sits too close for there liking so they are going to try a gtr swaybar instead.

Has anyone else noticed minimal clearance between there swaybar and the sump?? I should mention that I have an rb25 det engine, im not sure if this engine is taller than a 20, but having said that, the 32 did come out with a rb25de, so we both don't understand why there is so little clearance. Any other thoughts??

cheers guys

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

How did you go with this

Much improvement

And what was the cost around?

Cheers

as above mate, don't have car back yet.......meant to be around the 3k mark all up......as soon as wholesale sort out the front swaybar and I pick it up ill let you know on the improvement(I am guessing it will be a completely different drive however)

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

GTR bar won't fit.

I have 25DET Neo in R32 and Whiteline 24mm bar in front. No problem with bar being anywhere near the sump.

Im guessing he should have been told that by whiteline, however they are sending a grt bar to them to trial, I guess because its a 22mm bar instead of 24mm. how much clearance do you have??

last time I checked the engine still seemed stirdy in its place, but could it be engine mounts. I mean if they are collapsed a bit, this would reduce the clearance right?

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

GTR anti-roll bar won't fit at all. See my post above yours.

spose they figure that out themselves. any other thoughts as to why it wouldn't fit??

sorry I have not seen the car since it went to the suspension place so I cant actually see for myself the problem. only been told over the phone.

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ok, I finally got the car back. only had the chance to drive it home penrith to campbelltown along northern road and all I have to say so far is amazing. no squeaks, creaks, knocks, clunks or anything anymore. steering is massively improved, will be taking it out later on this evening for a bit more spirited driving so ill have more of an evaluation later on the handling side of things.

big thanks must go to wholesale suspension at Penrith, in particular matt, chris and dean. id highly recommend these guys to anyone.

out of curiosity, what do you guys have your swaybars set at?....ie hard or soft. I had mine set as soft for the timebeing.

mii11x Community Regular

mii11x

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Awesome!! Money definitely well spent.

The car feels so much more balanced through turns, feels as though the body remains "flatter" through accelerated turning. Body roll has been significantly reduced. Turn in response has improved immensely, to the point where I feel as though I'm learning to turn the vehicle again on the same roads.

Previous to the upgrades I would turn in, car would turn in slowly and heavily, body roll in opposite direction, then ease the wheel back to straight.....Now, I'm turning into the corner, waiting for body roll, waiting, waiting, shit I have to adjust steering input or ill hit the inside corner, then ease the wheel back to straight. On corner exits I've noticed that I'm having to release the steering wheel earlier too - the car just keeps on turning in.

The steering of the car feels easier and lighter, like I'm not fighting the steering wheel anymore.

I still have to play with the shock adjustments to get the feel I would like, there is no easy way to do this apart from set them, drive around for a couple of weeks then readjust, will take some time but I'm in no rush really. Also, have to play with the sway bar settings to see what I like. As stated earlier, I had them installed on soft settings front and rear, seems as though most have the front set to hard so I'll have to try that in the next couple of weeks also.

I don't have squeaks, creaks, knocks, thuds when driving/turning, turning in and out of driveways anymore. One thing I have noticed however is a light clunking noise when on and off throttle which I'm assuming is the diff - backlash?? from what I've read on here, so the next task on my list is to diagnose and remedy that.

  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • oHBoy.
      Starter motor replacment teeth count.

      By oHBoy. · Posted

      I had 3 counts over the last couple of weeks once where i got stranded at a jdm paint yard booking in some work. 2nd time was moving the car into the drive way for the inspection and the 3rd was during the inspection for the co2 leak test. Fix: 1st, car off for a hour and half disconnected battery 10mins 4th try car started 2nd, 5th try started 3rd, countless time starting disconnected battery dude was under the hood listening to the starting sequence fuel pump ect.   
    • GTSBoy
      Mistakes were made, my R34 Story

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      This. As for your options - I suggest remote mounting the Nissan sensor further away on a length of steel tube. That tube to have a loop in it to handle vibration, etc etc. You will need to either put a tee and a bleed fitting near the sensor, or crack the fitting at the sensor to bleed it full of oil when you first set it up, otherwise you won't get the line filled. But this is a small problem. Just needs enough access to get it done.
    • suko
      J50 clock date suddenly reset to January 1

      By suko · Posted

      The time is always correct. Only the date is wrong. It currently thinks it is January 19. Tomorrow it will say it is January 20. The date and time are ( should be ! ) retrieved from the GPS navigation system.
    • MBS206
      Mistakes were made, my R34 Story

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Buy yourself a set of easy outs. See if they will get a good bite in and unthread it.   Very very lucky the whole sender didn't let go while on the track and cost you a motor!
    • Kinkstaah
      Mistakes were made, my R34 Story

      By Kinkstaah · Posted

      Well GTSBoy, prepare yourself further. I did a track day with 1/2 a day prep on Friday, inpromptu. The good news is that I got home, and didn't drive the car into a wall. Everything seemed mostly okay. The car was even a little faster than it was last time. I also got to get some good datalog data too. I also noticed a tiny bit of knock which was (luckily?) recorded. All I know is the knock sensors got recalibrated.... and are notorious for false knock. So I don't know if they are too sensitive, not sensitive enough... or some other third option. But I reduced timing anyway. It wasn't every pull through the session either. Think along the lines of -1 degree of timing for say, three instances while at the top of 4th in a 20 minute all-hot-lap session. Unfortunately at the end of session 2... I noticed a little oil. I borrowed some jack stands and a jack and took a look under there, but as is often the case, messing around with it kinda half cleaned it up, it was not conclusive where it was coming from. I decided to give it another go and see how it was. The amount of oil was maybe one/two small drops. I did another 20 minute session and car went well, and I was just starting to get into it and not be terrified of driving on track. I pulled over and checked in the pits and saw this: This is where I called it, packed up and went home as I live ~20 min from the track with a VERY VERY CLOSE EYE on Oil Pressure on the way home. The volume wasn't much but you never know. I checked it today when I had my own space/tools/time to find out what was going on, wanted to clean it up, run the car and see if any of the fittings from around the oil filter were causing it. I have like.. 5 fittings there, so I suspected one was (hopefully?) the culprit. It became immediately apparent as soon as I looked around more closely. 795d266d-a034-4b8c-89c9-d83860f5d00a.mp4       This is the R34 GTT oil sender connected via an adapter to an oil cooler block I have installed which runs AN lines to my cooler (and back). There's also an oil temp sensor on top.  Just after that video, I attempted to unthread the sensor to see if it's loose/worn and it disintegrated in my hand. So yes. I am glad I noticed that oil because it would appear that complete and utter catastrophic engine failure was about 1 second of engine runtime away. I did try to drill the fitting out, and only succeeded in drilling the middle hole much larger and now there's a... smooth hole in there with what looks like a damn sleeve still incredibly tight in there. Not really sure how to proceed from here. My options: 1) Find someone who can remove the stuck fitting, and use a steel adapter so it won't fatigue? (Female BSPT for the R34 sender to 1/8NPT male - HARD to find). IF it isn't possible to remove - Buy a new block ($320) and have someone tap a new 1/8NPT in the top of it ($????) and hope the steel adapter works better. 2) Buy a new block and give up on the OEM pressure sender for the dash entirely, and use the supplied 1/8 NPT for the oil temp sender. Having the oil pressure read 0 in the dash with the warning lamp will give me a lot of anxiety driving around. I do have the actual GM sensor/sender working, but it needs OBD2 as a gauge. If I'm datalogging I don't actually have a readout of what the gauge is currently displaying. 3) Other? Find a new location for the OEM sender? Though I don't know of anywhere that will work. I also don't know if a steel adapter is actually functionally smart here. It's clearly leveraged itself through vibration of the motor and snapped in half. This doesn't seem like a setup a smart person would replicate given the weight of the OEM sender. Still pretty happy being lucky for once and seeing this at the absolute last moment before bye bye motor in a big way, even if an adapter is apparently 6 weeks+ delivery and I have no way to free the current stuck/potentially destroyed threads in the current oil block.
×
×
  • Create New...