kaibiagi Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 (edited) Hey, stupid question but do these rubber mustache bushings look ok to reuse? I was installing my new t3 RCAs and eibach springs and decided to check all the diff mounts while I was there. Not sure if this is ok to keep using. I don't really want to use poly and I can't find any new rubber bushings online. There is some cracking around the edges but it looks ok-ish? The 4 puck things are hard as rocks and chipping a bit on the sides (I can get pics of those too if necessary). Not the end of the world if I have to switch to poly, but I'd love to avoid breaking out the Sawzall and torch if I don't have to. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Edit: on another note, my front diff mount is absolutely destroyed. I will be replacing it with a new rubber mount. Is the RT style mount from TechnoVersions needed/recommended in addition to a new stock mount or would I be good with just a new stock mount? It's just a stock R180 + L28, so no big power or anything. I already have to wait a week for the stock mount to come in, so everyone in my dorm parking lot is already gonna think I'm a dumbass while my car is on jack stands for a week. Also, if I do end up switching to poly, would something like a rubber washer or sound deadening material on top be a good idea to try to reduce some of the additional NVH? Again, thanks for the help. Edited September 24 by kaibiagi added more stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 The mustache bar bushings look okay. A new front diff mount will probably tighten things up a lot, worth doing. People have been very happy with the stock mount, if you can find it. The PU bushings were made for racing applications and pseudo-performance mods. I'd just do the front mount and see how things work. Not really sure what you mean by the "puck things". By the way, you can remove the mustache bar bushings by just heating the metal around the rubber while pulling or pressing on the bushing. The bond will loosen and they'll slide right put. The smokey bonfire approach is dramatic but unnecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaibiagi Posted September 24 Author Share Posted September 24 @NewZedThanks, i'll reuse them then. I bought the stock style one from ZCarDepot, so it should be here in a couple days. I'll throw that in and see how it affects things. If it still clunks, maybe I'll try buying the mount from TechnoVersions. I'll attach some pics of the puck things. They go on top of and below the bushing itself, and are surrounded by metal washers. 3 of the 4 pucks appear to be rock hard rubber, and have the washer stuck to them. The other one seems to be a poly material (the washer fell off of it when I took it off. From my research online, it appears these are not stock? I looked and found some wavy looking rubber washers on some cars, seemingly for the purpose of NVH reduction. My guess is that a previous owner replaced those with these solid rubber ones at some point. I might just go to a Home Depot and see if I can find a similar size replacement for these, and maybe drill holes in them to simulate the wavyness of the OEM ones and help reduce NVH. Thanks for the tip about removing the mustache bar bushings. It sounds like I won't be doing that, but that would be much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 I see what you mean about the pucks. Looks like a 240Z? Later ones were scalloped. If there's a gap and they're hard you can get a clunk when the diff and mustache bar twist under acceleration or deceleration. Or just from riding over bumpy roads. I haven't seen separate aftermarket parts, kind of surprising. Seems easy to reproduce. Here's some part numbers if you want to look around for NOS. Any year will work, the difference is the shape. 30 and 31 - https://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/axle/rear-suspension The shifting clunk usually comes from the diff nose rising up then dropping back down, because of a loose front mount. The basic problem, that Nissan also was trying to solve, is that if things are too tight you get diff noise/whine transmitted in to the body. If they're too loose you get thumping and clunking. It's a balancing procedure. Probably best to ease your way to where you want to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaibiagi Posted September 24 Author Share Posted September 24 It's a 76 280z. I've seen the scalloped ones, but it seems to be impossible to find OEM style replacements from my searching. There is no gap, but they are definitely hard. I'm pretty confident the source of my clunk is the front differential mount, because it seems totally busted from what I can see from the bottom. My plan is to buy these rubber spacers on Amazon and drill the inner diameter out to 22mm to fit the end of the mustache bar bushing. Then I would drill holes horizontally through it to make it a little softer to kinda simulate the stock part. I have new metal washers with my poly bushings, so I'll just throw those on and hopefully call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaibiagi Posted October 6 Author Share Posted October 6 This is what I ended up with using those rubber spacers. No weird noises during test drive and there is no clunk anymore since replacing front diff mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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