Guest needwaymorespeed Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 Have read a couple of posts regarding the tc rods breaking-especialy after putting in new poly bushings. Anyone heard of this or experienced this?? Is it something that we need to be concerned of ? he thoughts of breaking one gives me the shivvers! Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Scala Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 I've read the same posts you have. I have a set of poly bushings but haven't put them in yet untill I get more info on tension rod breakage. Some of the rods that break may have had hairline cracks in them. Maybe a magnaflux inspection of the rods during teardown would be a worthwhile thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted September 5, 2001 Share Posted September 5, 2001 i havent seen a GOOD tc rod break ever, now i have seen some where the bushings were so bad they wore away part of the shaft and i have seen bent ones from accidents. and i have seen the TC mount from the frame break away from rust.... thats the scary part... if the rod appears to be good i wouldnt worry about it .. if its iffy looking then replace it, but hairline cracks ?? i dunno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted September 6, 2001 Share Posted September 6, 2001 I think a good cautionary note here is to install these in the same manner as all the suspension bushings, and that is to do the final tightening (compression of the bushing) with the suspension in it's normal ride height rather than at full droop. This way there is no preloading torsion on the bushings (or the rod and arms). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Would it be a good idea to have a spare set of T/C rods on hand? I mean, if I spot a set on eBay or new somewhere, should I snap them up? whould there be an advantageto have atight-fitting over tube on the rod, maybe strengthening the rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I don't know what a "good" TC rod looks like, but I saw Dennis and Peggy Hale break one that had been on their "Datserati" 510 for 10+ years with poly bushings. Just popped at an autox maybe 7 years ago or so, no warning or anything, just snapped. Anyone who knows them knows their stuff is well maintained. They are not rare, I wouldn't go snapping them up off of ebay for $50 a piece or anything. The key to the TC rod failures is stressing the TC rods with stiff poly bushings. Run rubber bushings like they were designed for, or one rubber one G machine. Still haven't heard of anyone trying poly in front and rubber in rear, but I suspect that would work well too, and the poly in the front would cure dartiness under braking. Of course a rod end on an adjustable rod is the best since it can easily move through the entire range of motion with no bind or stress on the rod from the up and down movement. There's been a lot of discussion about this in the past few months, so search the archives in the brakes/wheels/suspension forum. I doubt anything will be said that hasn't already been said. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 From what I gathered by the recent posts, the rod snapped at the bushing end (where the step in rod diameter is), which tells me the rod has some degree of flexibility throughout its length (preventing failure) but that the bushings focus the stresses into such a small area that cannot handle these movements without overstressing the material. Ideally, the less resistance to radial movement the T/C bushing has, the better, as in any suspension pivot point. The purpose of these poly bushings is to resist compression under heavy braking, and the only economical way to do this is a stiffer bushing, but a price is paid in resisting this compression. The old ball & socket (the G machine ones?) modification was IMHO a better way to do it. Then you ideally have only a compressive load on the rod, and not a combination of compression and shear as with the bushings (though, I wonder about the rear half of this modification being it's a normal bushing, which does not assist the front half's pivoting action). What are the pitfalls of this modification (ball & socket) in the long run? I've got a kit that I've never used, but am considering its installment. Any comments from current or past users? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad-ManQ45 Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 The delrin/aluminum cup cobined with stock rear bushing is the way I am going. Eventually I'll have to replace the front setup again because it will wear. Some have well over 30K on them so no issue for me... The next best setuo would be poly front and stock rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Breaking a TC rod is not the "Oh My God!" event some folks make it out to be. Remember, there's a lower control arm, strut, and anti-roll bar all still connected. You'll feel a vagueness in the steering especially under braking and a loss of some directionl stability. But, the car's not going to explode, fly off the road into a ditch, or roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I drove my old brown 240 with no bushings on the driver's side TC rod for weeks (nut backed off). The only thing I really noticed was that the tire seemed to rub the fender when backing and turning at the same time Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Breaking a TC rod is not the "Oh My God!" event some folks make it out to be. Remember, there's a lower control arm, strut, and anti-roll bar all still connected. You'll feel a vagueness in the steering especially under braking and a loss of some directionl stability. But, the car's not going to explode, fly off the road into a ditch, or roll. 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. I'd rather mine not break... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxtman Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 I've been using the poly bushings for years. The key is to use the proper lubricant on the bushongs to allow the rod to pivot as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Breaking a TC rod is not the "Oh My God!" event some folks make it out to be. I was concerned some, but more about being able to control the car to come to a smooth or safe stop. If the thing breaks on the highway, you should be able to keep control to the next exit or wherever you can get , like home, or just onto a street so you can drive carefully around corners and avoid deep holes or bumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-280ZX Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Well...having had my tension rod snapped near the end (like many others with urethene bushings), I can say it wasn't an "Oh my god!" experience. I hear a snap, a clang clang. Then when I went to brake....it pulled...hard! It also took out a small chunk out of my fiberglass side shirts, but not a noticeable amount. As far as them being rare, for the 1st Gen. Z's, getting them doesn't seem to be a problem. Nobody makes them anymore the ZX's though, except ZBarn...and those are used. Finally, if you have urethene bushings and are worried about such an event occuring, either go with a G-Machines setup (mines on the way) or as zxtman said, keep them well lubricated. Pivoting is key Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afshin Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 It depends when it breaks, if it's during a hard turn or high speed, you bet it's a "oh my God" event, if it happens at low speed or while driving straight, then you'r fine. Mine happened at high speed whith a divider next to me, it certainly was scary. Just imagine it happening on a mountain road or when racing..., heck the other Zar flipped over 4 times because of the rod snapping. You only live once, i certainly would not down play it just because it might cause a bad accident sometimes as opposed to every time. I like to drive fast/race and then come home smiling with myself and the car in one piece every time, at least if I can help it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-280ZX Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 this is true...i was only traveling at 40 or so MPH. If I had been going faster...it would've been like that time my brakes went out while traveling at over 50 MPH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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