Afshin Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Hi Chris and ZR8ED, my experience was the same as yours, I heard a thump under the car, and then when I hit the brakes whoa! it pulled to the left like made. I looked further into the MSA (made by G machine) kit. Interestingly the same part is listed for both the Z and ZX in the VB catalogue (same part number) but in MSA is only listed for the Z. I guess it's working fine on Chris's Zx as well as the 510's. SO my final plan is to order the kit tomorrow, use stock bushing on the other side and put on the bump steer spacer to correct the angle. I think That should take care of the problem. It will greatly reduce any play, provide a pivot point with good range of motion and still have some (not much) vibration/shock dampening from the one bushing. The only down side as Jon mentioned will be shorter life span for the plastic socket, but it's cheap, easy to replace and Jon's looked OK after 30K miles. I could not find anyone making an adjustable rod end bar. But I found a site that sells the rod end, which I guess you could put on the stock rod after shortening it and threading it for the new adjustable rod end to go over (probably what Mike had in mind). http://mdmetric.com/rodend/homepag2.htm However this is much more work and would also involve modifying the chasis mount for inserting the bolt that would hold the rod end in place (actually not hard to do, just drill a hole on the side of hte factory mount plate, there is a nice picture of one on Jeff P's website). http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/280zxt/page20.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tickwon Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Mikelly, That was mine T/C rod I gave you. Hey at least you tried, right. I got to give you credit for that. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Hi Mike, I just found the pictures of your adjustable control arm and TC rod end set up for the Z in the spring 2002 sportZ mag. They look absolutely great. I have a question, the adapter that bolts on the chassis point, did you custom make it ? or can I buy it along with a spherical rod end which I could them customize/thread to the factory TC rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Yup, that part is a clevis bracket widely available through Stock Car Products (SCP) and elsewhere. All you need is a Right Hand 5/8th Die, and a large 12 inch cresent wrench and lots of spare TC ROds... You will not get them straight at first... So plan to have a few on hand. Then You will need a 7/8th steel tie rod tube, also sold through SCP, of the appropriate length (You measure and cut the old rods to match) and plan on having at least 1.5 inches of thread of the TC rod in the tube at all times... A left hand 5/8th Heim, lock nut, and a 5/8th bolt about 2 inches in length and you are there... Mike 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 I;m surprised that your broke. I've been running the G-Machine set-up for about 10 years now and I've never had a proublem. I can only assume that I drive my car about he same as you do yours. i wonder if where the set is one the rod is a stress point and maybe should be shot penned to help the longevity sand safety of this item on modified cars. Jeffp made me a set of adjustable rods a couple of years ago for me that are similar to what Mike is describing. They work good at making things more adjustable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted November 15, 2003 Author Share Posted November 15, 2003 Hi Cody. I used to have a l28ET hybrid Z before and another 280zxt , and never had the TC rods fail. That's why I originally started this post to see if it was a freak accident or an actual problem. Considering the amount of other members with broken TC rods, and after looking at the suspension more closely, I now consider it a "real" problem. Off course all TC rods are not going to fail, but even one in 20 is way too many (it seems to happen more with the 280ZX than the Z). Also you were using the G-machine set up which would take care of the problem since you did not have the 2 stiff poly bushings limiting the rods range of motion. I think the shot peening is also a good idea. Thanks for all the info Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 While I was modifying my lower control arms last night I paid particular attention to the TC orientation. At full droop the TC rod, once disconnected (released) from the lower control arm, maintains a "natural" position of maintaining the lower control arm about 3" higher than at droop, which is just about the static ride height. This surprised me somewhat being the car is lower than normal. I pushed around on the rod a bit to get a "feel" for it's flexibility, and now feel more confident that I can avoid some of the problems listed in this forum. BTW, I'm running the OEM rubber bushings with an extra washer (thick) between the steel end plates and the step in the rod so that the rubber is compressed more than normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Well I recomend using the clevis, Heim Joint and an adjustable tube. I know the Cone Killer Crew in Southern California couldn't seem to get it set up on their car, But i"ve sold about 45 sets of TC rods, some with the arms, some without. I've had ZERO complaints from any of the racers or street guys I've sold them to, and had several shops CALL ME and tell me how impressed they were with the design and function. Do the mod and do away with this issue. The die and all the materials will run you about $90! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 crap. i just installed these very same poly bushings in the tension rods of my 280zx, and i too was alarmed at how much force they exerted on the rod. Glad i read this post... hey afshin - i've got the same potential problem now.. - lemme make sure i've got this straight. - you're getting the g-machine tension rod kit from VB (using a rubber bushing on the other side) and also using the bumpsteer spacer kit that goes between the strut and steering knuckle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 73TPIZ Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Guys, I was putting brakes on my son's '94 Saturn SC1 in prep for selling it tues and they have an interesting setup. The sway bar is their TC rod. It pivots in the front and is attached to the lower control arm near the strut. it looks like a normal sway bar but its larger than 1" in dia and it goes directly into the lower arm sort of like the rear of our TC rod attaches to the Z's. Bad description but will try to get pics before i sell it tues. if anyone's familiar with this setup and more knowledgeable than me on suspension geometry please comment. Looks much stronger than our setup and kills 2 birds with 1 stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 nismo sells this piece that actually connects the tc rods to each other. dont know if that would help in s130 case though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DatsunATX Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 This happened to my father in his 72' and he fliped 4 times,the rod broke and the front left of the car dug into the ground, then the rear right lifted,I think he was going about 90 mph on 360, if you know ATX well enough you would know this road is very fun to drive fast on or slow if thats what your into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted November 18, 2003 Author Share Posted November 18, 2003 tom sixbey wrote hey afshin - i've got the same potential problem now.. - lemme make sure i've got this straight. - you're getting the g-machine tension rod kit from VB (using a rubber bushing on the other side) and also using the bumpsteer spacer kit that goes between the strut and steering knuckle Yup. I already have the G-machine kit, so I will be using it along with the bumpsteer spacers I got on ebay. This should take of the problem. However the set up that Mikelly suggested is still better. I already have the G-machine set up so I will do that instead for now and will switch to a full rod end set up when the g machine platic ball starts to wear. I also got new adjustable control arm bushing (allows for camber adjustment) to replace my old stock ones. Can't wait to get the car back on the road DatsunATX wrote This happened to my father in his 72' and he fliped 4 times,the rod broke and the front left of the car dug into the ground, then the rear right lifted Wow, I'm glad that didn't happen to me. However, I think more likely than the rod digging into the ground, the control arm and wheel moved back hitting the chassis, stopping the wheel and flipping the car over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DatsunATX Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 That is what he said happened not sure though, I saw the car it wasn't that bad.He had a roll cage in it so that helped alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 thanks afshin - i'll be doing the same.. - as for my control arm bushings, i went with the stock size poly's. my car is only lowered 1.5 inches, so i'm not too worried just yet about bumpsteer and the camber curve. I'll say this: those bushings were a nightmare to get out.. i had to use a 35 ton press to get them (and their outer sleeves) out! hope it goes smoothly for you. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffp Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 You are correct, the kit from MSA and VB are not designed for the ZX cars, but you can make them work. I installed the kit for a short time and they worked ok, but the pivit started getting worn. So I decided on rod ends. Turns out, that when I did the mods to the bracket to fit the rod ends, it made the kit work excellent. I drilled (7/8" hole saw) the standard hole through the bracket to fit the rod ends, but I was not able to get them installed as the couplers were short. So I was looking at the kit and decided to try it with the stock washer for the rubber part, and the insert fit the washer well. So what I ended up doing was to use the stock rubber part and washers on the strut side of the car, then install the big washer on the other side of the bracket, and it fit excellent, then the pivit and the aluminum part and a stock washer then the nut. That worked out very well, I was surprised as heck. I tightened them down and had the stock rubber to keep them tight. The car ran excellent, no binding, no noise. What I finished up doing on the car were the rod ends, and that has worked out well also, but the ride is a little harsher now, but that is ok for me. here is what it looks like. http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/280zxt/page20.html The car runs on rails now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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