Just a friendly LCA WARNING

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96_S14_SE
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 11:10 am
Car: 96 S14 SE - 05 VW GTI 1.8t - 89 S13 coupe "gold on brown"

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Just giving you guys with poly tension rod bushings a reminder to do your periodic lower controll arm inspection for cracks.

For those not in the know, but with poly tension rod bushings, um they will cause your LCA to crack overtime. Its due not only to the stiffness of the material (as sperical bearings are infinately stiffer), but its limited range of motion thus promoting binding IIRC. Its been a cpl of years since I read up on it but Ive been checking since then.

Now those with stock rubber or spherical bearing tension rod bushings this isnt really an issue but a good thing to do just incase.

So um yeah, I have been hearing some left side creaking under braking and full left lock low speed turns and decided to check on it last night. I knew my boots are torn for my rack and was just checking to verify it was the tie rod. While I was under there I decided to do my periodic LCA inspection and low and behold found a 1" or so crack at the tension rod mount. Just now I pulled the tension rod up, with the car on the ground as I was going to tack weld it to hold it untill tommorow, when I was going to reinforce the holes and box in the LCA. I found the other side of the LCA cracked as well, but a little more severe. One good hit (pothole, uneven road conditions, speedbump, as Ive never hit anything solid / worse btw) at speed could have taken the entire tension rod mount of the LCA clean off :)

So tonight Im going out with assistance of a friend in his vehicle, and tommorow am going to fix and reinforce both sides. Ill also post a pic of before and after :)

So yeah check them LCA's


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Exar-Kun
Posts: 4131
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2002 1:33 pm
Car: 2005 350Z
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Yeah, deifnately a good idea to check that out..

or just buy heim joints which have a ROM to keep that from happening :)-chet

96_S14_SE
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 11:10 am
Car: 96 S14 SE - 05 VW GTI 1.8t - 89 S13 coupe "gold on brown"

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Yeah hiem jointed tension rods are best, which I would have done, IF I had enough to justify a switch from DSP to SM in SCCA SOLO2 :)

So Since I would get slaughtered in SM I kept my poly and my posistion in DSP :) Think I can sue them for replacements hehehe might be able to now-a-days...

Getting ready to go out but a quick update. I parked the car for the night jacked up the front removed tension rods and inspected. The drivers LCA was cracked intirely across the top half !!!!! The passesngers side has 2 hairlines in it as well :) Caught it just in time as I always seem to do with my car.

jmauld
Posts: 97
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2003 5:16 am

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96_s14_se, I also run in DSP. Currently, I have the T/C rods with polyurethane bushings, and I can feel the bushings binding. I think I'm going to go with a slightly different setup.

Run polyurethane bushings on the control arms and use the Nismo rubber bushings on the T/C rods. This should keep the control arm located better and allow the T/C rod bushing to flex like it needs to.

Phax
Posts: 1624
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2002 6:24 pm
Car: Control dynamics

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This is a good point. Obviously, in a perfect world, you'd want a LCA with a heim joint. That's what I eventually put on my old 510 after the LCA snapped because of the poly bushing. It's no joke, they really do break. And when it happens.... :mad:

96_S14_SE
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 11:10 am
Car: 96 S14 SE - 05 VW GTI 1.8t - 89 S13 coupe "gold on brown"

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It is a bit scarier then first thought !!!! The drivers side was cracked all the way around where the tension rod mounts, straight through... One day longer and that piece would have come out, or if I would have tapped it with a hammer even :)

I took pics of it on the car, but forgot to take them after I got them all shiny ready for welding.

But I should be finished up with today as yesterday I only got a few hours on it. I made two plates that fit into the controll arm against the underside of the top or mounting portion. They are of the same 1/8" - 3/16" thickness, and run past the furthest portions of cracks about 1.5" each way. I welded that plate into place and then welded up the cracks on the upper portion of the LCA and I am grinding the welds down so I can mount the tension rod. I also drilled the 3 x .5" holes needed to mount the tension rod and sway bar, as well as drilled 8 x 1/4" holes in each energy suspension tension rod bushing straight through. This was recommended in an archived thread on another board by a very reputable s-chassis owner.. This will allow more twist in the tension rod alieviating some stress on the LCA while retaining the bushings primary purpose.

Good times :)

Phax
Posts: 1624
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2002 6:24 pm
Car: Control dynamics

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Drilling the bushings is definitely a good way to get them to flex.


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