PhilbertZ Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Hello all, Great forum here - learning a lot and having an adventure with my (new to me) 1980 ZX. I was replacing the clutch master cylinder today and while under the car, noticed that many of the bushings in the front of the car were badly cracked. I'm semi-familiar with cars and repair work, but have not done suspension work yet. The photos below show the bushings I found and their condition. My questions are: 1) what are these (control arm bushings?) 2) Do they *need* to be replaced, and if so, can it wait? 3) What kits are avaialable to replace them/how much is it going to run me for parts (I want to do myself)? Thanks in advance for any help! Phil Photos: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Those are sway bar end link bushings and tension control rod bushings. You can fund replacements in rubber or urethane through multiple suppliers. (Motorsport Auto, Black Dragon, etc.). They do not NEED to be replaced, but you should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam393 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC06A/234100AX Urethane bushings are a great upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilbertZ Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks so much guys! Do these kits usually come with instructions for where each bushing goes? Seems like it would be easy to mistakenly swap them since the sizes are so similar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryb Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 I believe they are the same size. Your sway bar bushing are just compressed and distorted from old age. Get new ones!!! Your ride will be much tighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiCowboy Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks so much guys! Do these kits usually come with instructions for where each bushing goes? Seems like it would be easy to mistakenly swap them since the sizes are so similar... If the sway bar end links and T/C rod bushings look that bad, you should also replace your sway bar frame bushings too. I replaced all my front suspension bushings with Energy Suspension urethane for < $40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Also read this http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=91528&highlight=rod+snapped There is another thread about the breaking situation but I can't seem to find it right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilbertZ Posted April 7, 2008 Author Share Posted April 7, 2008 Also read this http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=91528&highlight=rod+snapped There is another thread about the breaking situation but I can't seem to find it right now. Oh man, that's not encouraging! So, the moral is...Poly bushings can be "too hard" and cause bits to break under load? So you need to mix it up with rubber and poly? It also mentioned tightening to spec under load while the car is on the ground....it's kind of hard to do that when I need to put the car UP to get under there and replace/tighten things...am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Yeah I think it's poly in the front and rubber in the back, i will have to check when I get home. and for it being under load or not maybe theres a local shop with a pit that you can use for a few minutes, at my old job we had a few people come in and use the pit for brief moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Hey, your bushings look just like mine! What would happen if one of them was to crack completely off and just leave a nice metal on metal joint in the suspension? We wouldn't be looking at a drastic failure, would we? I really need to replace mine, but I think I might just end up pulling the l28e and the 5 speed out of my zx to drop into an s30. Well see where it all goes, but if I end up going that route my bushings will need some serious work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilbertZ Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 bump for a good Q....I'm guessing metal on metal can't be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linchpin360 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 It also mentioned tightening to spec under load while the car is on the ground....it's kind of hard to do that when I need to put the car UP to get under there and replace/tighten things...am I missing something? after replacing the bushings, dont tighten them up all the way. take it to a shop with an alignment rack, lift it, tighten them up while the wheels are touching the rack. all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpavolka Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Hey, your bushings look just like mine! What would happen if one of them was to crack completely off and just leave a nice metal on metal joint in the suspension? We wouldn't be looking at a drastic failure, would we? I really need to replace mine, but I think I might just end up pulling the l28e and the 5 speed out of my zx to drop into an s30. Well see where it all goes, but if I end up going that route my bushings will need some serious work I don't think there would be failure but there would not be much point to your sway bar as it would be pretty loose. It's never going to hit that hard there, it would be more gradual as you turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSD Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 There won't be failure, not to mention, I drove a 88 olds for a year without the links.. lol. Still runs like a champ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 But also if you loose one of your TC rod bushings when you brake you're car will veer in that direction. Kind of scary but controllable if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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