lcbusa1300

Not sure what you mean in the first question. If you're referring to the picture, then no I meant that bushing. I know it sounds ridiculous considering those just slide on and off but it was completely seized. As you can see in the picture I eventually got mad and just shaved it off. Anyhow, yeah I know I created a much more solid path from my butt to the road with those bushings. I can now feel every crack in the road and even changes in road quality. I expected all of the noise except for the one i'm trying to describe. Yeah, I expected those noises, but not the one I'm failing to describe. It's not a steady, consistent roar but more like a unbalanced tire without the shaking. It comes and goes in a fairly timely manner. For instance, It'll "roar" for 5 miles, then get smooth for 5 miles and back and forth. I can't correlate it to any road quality or anything else. I can't find anything , so I'm reluctantly going to rule it off as metal on metal bushing noise and try not to mind it.

BTW, this is what it took to get one of the control arm bushings off. I ended up having to take the whole control arm/hub assembly/strut out together. I heated it with a torch, torqued on it with a 24inch pipe wrench before having to ultimately shave it off with a chisel. Never seen anything like that in my life. The other three slid right off by hand.

@RebekahsZ Ha in this case I'm glad you were wrong too. Once I got it apart I realized what you were talking about. The bushings were dry and sloppy but didn't look nearly as bad as I thought they were. What I had been looking at was the "Teethed" looking rubber between the big washers that I thought was suppose to be part of the bushings themselves. Yeah you're spot on about how they're made though. I drilled a hole in them then using that hole I took a saber saw and cut my way around. Then I scraped the remaining rubber out. Ill have to check into more toe options, those camber bushings were just the cheapest option. I guess you do indeed get what you pay for. @seattlejester I didn't think about teflon, unfortunately. I knew the control arm bushings being metal on metal was going to be noisy though, so I caked them in grease hoping that was help some, but I can't imagine it made much of a difference. @NewZed It's like a roaring sound. It'll roar a few miles then it'll get silent a few miles. It almost sounds like a hub bearing, but I have a hard time believing I've developed a bad wheel bearing since installing the bushings Sunday. Yes I installed the mustache bar bushings first and took it for a ride to see if they were indeed the culprit of my original problem, and they were. I drove it to town and back, and it was perfectly smooth other than the little bit of noise I expected from polyurethane mustache bar bushings. I brought it home and installed the control arm bushings. When I was done I took it for a ride, and the noise was immediate. That was my thinking though. I thought well since I did several things at once maybe I forgot something under there, but I've crawled back under there twice looking for something and can't find anything.

Well, it was the mustache bar bushings. Replaced them a couple days ago and it eliminated the shaking and clunk when I take off. While I was under there I replaced the control arm bushings with MSA's camber adjustment bushings which I'm not happy with at all. They allowed me to fix the toe issue I posted about a few months back. However, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who daily's their car. They are so noisy it almost makes me think I did something wrong. I've crawled under there twice and checked bolts and everything seems to be okay. I'm thinking about starting a new thread on this since I can't find any info about people running them.

Yeah I see what ya'll are saying. I guess I'm hanging on the hope it's the bushings and refusing to believe it may be something worse. I'll get some pictures in the morning and post them, and maybe we can clear a few things up.

Wow, just realized those are studs coming off the back of the differential. I'm guessing the differential has to drop to get the bar out. Dang.

Rebekah, I guess I'm not understanding your comment. The bushings are definitely shot. I can see shiny metal where the mustache bar has been clunking up and down. However, I can't guarantee this is the source of shaking. If it was a bearing, u joint, or unbalanced tire wouldn't it be consistent rather than only when I'm coasting? It's as smooth as butter as long as I'm applying throttle, but as soon as I let out it goes to rattling in the back. I'm no mechanic, but I assumed when I was in the gas the torque was holding the differential/mustache bar stationary, and when I'm coasting it's able to move about.

Thanks man, I figured as much. I racked my brain trying to figure out where that was coming from and somehow managed to overlook the largest, most visible bushings in the rear. I've got them on the way should have em swapped out next week.

I've recently developed horrible shake in the rear of my 280z when I'm off the gas. As long as I'm on the gas it's smooth, but when I take my foot off the gas it instantly starts to shake. This only occurs above 50 mph though. I jacked it up and looked today and noticed both my mustache bar bushings are literally gone. I don't know how I've over looked this before but I did. I'm obviously going to replace them anyways, but it'll be a few weeks before I get to it. So I'm curious ahead of time to see if anyone thinks this is the culprit or something else? BTW, I've checked the half shafts and they seem solid along with the ujoints. The differential mounts also seem solid. I also replaced the springs and struts 6 months ago so I know it's not that.

Thanks again for the input guys. My apologies for the misuse of any terminology. Thought I had a decent description of what was going on for my lack of knowledge i have on this sort of thing. I don't know why they wouldn't look at it. I guess since it isn't adjustable either way. They were pretty unprofessional though. When I told the guy what was going on, he immediately launched into how I should "drop an LS1 into it and do a straight axle conversion". It's hard to find professional opinions around here. I'll try somewhere else this weekend. I just changed both tie rod ends so I need an alignment anyways. Bottom line is, I agree about the bushings. Regardless of what it is, I'm thinking that's my cheapest and quickest solution.

I got the string out yesterday to get a rough measure and turns out its about 1/4 inch toed in on both sides. That's terrible! For some reason the right wears much faster than the left though. I took it to an alignment shop and they wouldn't even put it on the rack. They said there was nothing they could do and told me to take it to a body shop that does frame work and have them look at it. So I took it to the best collision place I know of and they said everything is straight. I dunno what to do besides order those camber bushings and give em a shot. I just don't wanna be throwing money at it hoping it fixes it. I love my Z but I'm considering selling.

Sorry for the delayed response. Been busy With the end of the semester and haven't had time to do anything. I installed coilovers over spring break but this issue was going on well before the install. I still haven't tried the bushings but its at the top of my list of things to do. It's so bad I'm having to go down to the tire shop in a bit and get a new tire. In November the tire was brand new.

@rebekahsz its on the passenger side. Sounds like a fairly simple install though. I just installed new struts and ground control coil overs over spring break last week, and was hoping that would fix some of the issue by some chance, but it didn't. I think it made it worse. I'm hoping it'll just be something as simple as a trashed bushing too, spindle pin is the worst case scenario to me. I've read those horror stories.

@socorob thanks man ill keep that in mind in case I need to press. I'll have to give Allens a call. I don't really have anyone In Slidell that I can trust.

Broke... lol story of my life. Okay good deal. I didn't look at that when I "checked it out". As far as I could see the control arm looked straight, but I'll look at the bushings and hangers as soon as I get back this weekend. Are the bushings something I can change myself or do they have to be pressed in?

Alright I'll try to find someone to take it to this week and have them check it out. The tire is wearing on the outside. I don't think the camber is off enough to wear a tire out in 3000 miles. I have ~ 75% tread on the inside and bald on the outside. The toe is clearly off though. It's visible to the naked eye. When I get above 55mph, that tire feels like its trying to hop.I just hate to pay $60 to "tire world" for the little guy that's been there 3 months to "look" at my car when chances are he's gonna tell me what I already know. I'm a college student and $60 is a lot of money. I don't mind the noise if those bushings will fix the issue.

Thanks. Can't find anything on poor man's toe adjuster. What I did find on hybridz kept tellin me the page is unavailable for some reason. I'm seeing people say the camber bushings can correct toe a little, but I guess I'm not seeing exactly how they work.

My right rear tire on my 78 280z is toed in badly. I'm going through a tire in about 3000 miles. In know the rear toe isn't adjustable on these cars so I'm not sure what to do. I've read some but can't find anything other than "car must've been hit on that side". As far as I know the car's never been wrecked. I jacked it up and looked today and nothing looks bent or out of place. Could it be the lower control arm spindle causing this? (Hopefully not). Anybody have a clue what could cause this? BTW. The left tire appears to be fine.

Still haven't been able to find the issue. It's happening more frequently now. Also, now my dash lights have quit working and my park brake light stays on. A few have told me those sound like symptoms of an ignition switch. That's a cheaper fix than the rest so should I try that first?

Update: Made the trip back home from school today for the holidays. 40 minutes on the dot, it surged/bumped a couple times then shut off. I could smell the burning smell again this time. So I eased over to the shoulder, stuck my head down by the transistor unit and couldn't smell anything in that area. While I was down there I noticed the transistor unit looked brand new… shiny black with white letters. I can't get in touch with the previous owner to find out if it was replaced. I noticed this time, when it shut off, the Ebrake light started flickering. This time, I didn't even let it cool. I immediately started it right back up and it ran for probably 40 more miles and did it again. I'm so puzzled.

Good deal, Thanks. I've found a couple used for <$100.

I took it to school and back today (~30 min) and it did it again. Ran great until almost home and just completely shut off. There was no smell this time though. The weird thing is, It starts right back up, goes about another mile then does it again. So it's about impossible to test for lack of spark or fuel or anything for that matter when the car starts right back up. I've searched and I can't find much on replacing the Ignition control module with one other than factory. Also, I dont trust myself with electrical components, and I've never touched a soldering iron. So, if installing a ICM from a different vehicle requires anything other than plug and play, I wouldn't feel comfortable. I know I should man up and do it but this is my DD and I don't think I should be experimenting. I guess I'll try and hunt a replacement down and just keep my trips under 30 minutes for the time being.

Good point, but I smelled it the second time too. I forgot to mention that.

Nice, good to know. Ill get to looking.

That's exactly what it does. Tach went to zero. My ole man told me it was probably an ignition module, but after seeing how much a replacement is I was hoping someone would tell me different. But I don't think the burning plastic smell could be result of that? Right?