New struts for $40!!!!!!

[yodawill2000]

That makes sense . Is there a pocket at the bottom of the tube serving the same purpose.

[swimshark]

hah i remember i was going to look into this when i had the z31 lowering springs on but i went to the coilover setup. i remember my friend with his z31 300zx said that there is actually a size difference in the strut tube between the turbo and na version.

make sure to get or make some bump stops. i bought some of this and cut it into a 1" section to put on my coilovers. it also fits on the stock J30 struts. it will help keep you from bottoming out the strut and blowing it.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#87235k563/=98s2sf

[ADiamond75]

Anyone find anything to match the front yet?

[texml69]

will these work on a J with HICAS ????

[jdurrty]

mines a 97 and hicas free sorry, i wish i could help, but i have no clue.

[venus18812]

so sweet. thanks

[J30_Kidd]

Ok awesome write up on the back struts, i plan to do this in the coming weeks!

Second Did you ever buy those struts for the front tanaisheck, i'm eager to know if they fit, Wouldn't mind doing all four and being a step closer to one less thing i gotta do lol.

[jdurrty]

I just bought these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Sachs- ... _500wt_956

Once I get them in a week or so, I will do a write up of however I get them to fit.

[J30_Kidd]

Ok forget the coming weeks part, i just did it right now lol. Luckily O'reillys Auto parts had two of the struts in town and had them brought to my store and after buying that compressor tool, picked them up and of course after stuffing my face , i went at it. Only took 2 hours. Was a lot easier then i expected it would be. Ride in the rear end is much better. I was gonna get them cheaper online but having that lifetime warranty and the ability to just swap them out is much better IMO.

@ jdurrty, I can't wait to see your results, i'm gonna try to do sum research to cause after feeling this difference in the back, i want all four to be new lol.

[J30_Kidd]

Also jdurrty, sense you have taking the cartridge out already, how is the bore or the actual cylinder that the cartridge goes into look? like is the whole tube hollow and that 1.8 inch size or is it 1.5 inches and then at the very top it gets larger to accept that lip thats 1.8 inches. I got close to taking one apart at the junk yard a week back but didn't have a wrench big enough to do so (i was soo mad). if you still got it, maybe you could post a pic showing down into the tube? I only ask this question cause if it's 1.875 all the way through then possibly a cartridge thats 1.875 in diameter the entire tube would fit ok. :-)

Thanks !

[jdurrty]

No, the tube is a continuous diameter of ~1.875" all the way down as the following pictures show. Depending on the diameter of the 300zx strut insert, I plan on using a 1.5" schedule 40 pcv pipe as a spacer or shim between the instert and the strut tube. In the following picture you can see how close of a fit it is. These inserts better get here soon!!







PVC tube:

[yodawill2000]

Looks like there is a pocket at the bottom of the Tube for the strut end.
Keep us posted Bud !!

[J30_Kidd]

I do agree with yoda, it looks like it has a small area at the bottom that is 1.5 inches diameter it self (i would guess). what concerns me is looking at your cartridge picture, it shows at the top of that lip it's about 13.75 or so inches leaving bout a 1/4 inch from the total depth measurement of 14 inches, for that *screw nut thing* to hold it down in place.

1st Question, if you stick the tape measure down in the tube enclosure but hold it to the outer part (as if you scraped the tape measure's tip along side of the tube as it went down till it bottoms out) does it still read 14 inches or is it less?

2nd question i'm trying to find the specs on the shocks you bought but can't, i noticed the ones you got are for a 87 to 89 300zx. Is this correct? Oreillys has some monroe's for that year model and hopefully i can find specs that way, i can't find any with sachs :-( .

Two things in my head right now are if indeed diameter of the 300zx ones are 1.5 inches or smaller the nut won't hold it in place and it can slip out (seeing you have to use the factory nut already on there). Second thought is if the shaft diameter is greater then 1.5 " or the exact fit of 1.875 " and the very bottom has a slight lip to it then the over all length of the shaft would have to be shorter 13.7 " . But like i said i need to find these dimensions out first and Await your answer on my question #1

Sorry seems like i'm being so asking with all the questions but i'm very excited if this can work, i just found out that oreillys auto parts has two of those Monroe sensatrac's in town and there only 34$ a strut! Cheaper then the backs whut whut!

[yodawill2000]

Good questions bud.
Cant wait till jdurrty gets his hands on those struts and tells us the low down.
A simple mod for the struts and all OEM rubber components will make me a happy man !!!
If this works out you will be a bonified J30 Nico HERO !!!

[J30_Kidd]

found out some specs on the monroes for that year 300zx


Part no. 73229
Tube body Type T3 diameter is 1.6250 " all the way from top to bottom
tube length 14.000
length comp. 14.500
length ext. 20.625c
travel 6.125

I'm thinking this may be to long to fit but well see the outcome, i hope i'm wrong and this works out for him!!!

[yodawill2000]

You and I and about 100 others as well !!!

[jdurrty]

1. When you look down the tube, whether that ~1.5" circle is sticking out or in (I didn't specifically check for it) the measurement of 13.whatever" is from the center of that circle. I will double check tomorrow and get you some exact measurements.

2. Either way, those inserts are going to fit in the strut tubes. I'm not going to spend $70 and two weeks to not have them work; I'm and engineering student, I WILL find a way to fit them in lol.

And ask away, if not you, someone else will.

The picture below shows what part of the stock insert fits in the 1.5" circle in the bottom of the tube. From what I gathered when I took them apart, the 1.5" recess and the crown on the bottom of the insert allow for whatever hydraulic fluid to flow into the strut tube which acts as a reservoir. This is just my best guestimate which makes me wonder what, if any, effect that 1.5" circle will have on the 300zx insert. I wait to see.

[J30_Kidd]

What type of engineer are ya? Electronics here but this won't apply much to what we have here lol. I hope you Keep it simple if you go modd'n it lol. I was thinking i should just get a flux capacitor and go back in time and get us all some cartridges and bring them back, Damn this is heavy Doc. lol

[jdurrty]

I'm doing mechanical engineering now, but once I graduate I want to do something related to energy. And with the new struts in the rear, you'll hit 88mph with ease haha the lack of parts for the j30 sucks.

And the ~1.5" circle is a depression, so the 13.whatever" measurement that I took from the center of the circle is the lowest point in the strut tube. Hope that alleviates some confusion.

[J30_Kidd]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Either your saying it's sad or it there is a large decline in business activity at the bottom of that tube lol :-P

I think your saying that at the very bottom it goes to 1.5"

Anyway you can measure up the difference of how tall the 1.5 part is at the bottom?

:-)

[jdurrty]

Hahaha according to dictionary.com:

de·pres·sion   
[dih-presh-uhn] Show IPA
–noun

3. a depressed or sunken place or part; an area lower than the surrounding surface.

I have jammed a tape measure down the tube 100 times and the best guesstimate I can come up with is about 1/4" difference.

[J30_Kidd]

i figured thats what ya meant lol, i guess google failed me lol (yes i had to double check but now it does make more sense to me)

i think your jamming that tube to much lol, anyways though i'm fearing those 14" cartridges aren't gonna go in enough but i await to see this engineering you speak of that you will do to make this fit.

I will keep my fingers crossed cause i hope this works!

[jdurrty]

Got the inserts in today and started work.

Out of the box:



Sitting in its new home:



Overall length difference:



Ghetto-shim installed:



Old retaining nut beign ground down, still more to go, but giving my grinder a break tonight:



So close, yet so far away:



Going to the junkyard tomorrow to pick up an extra retaining nut, top hats, and springs to finish the build so more pics soon. As for the height difference, I have no clue how the different strut lengths will effect the actual ride height, that is dependent more on the spring length and rate, but we will see. Hope this helps some.

[Gerardjg]

Getting close What did you use for the shim in the strut housing? One thought the 1/4 inch or so step in the bottom of the housing, what if you grind that off
some how, that will drop the insert lower close to what you need to tighten the nut. Good work we are all watching

[yodawill2000]

From the first post.
"I plan on using a 1.5" schedule 40 pcv pipe as a spacer or shim between the insert and the strut tube."

[jdurrty]

Actually that step at the bottom was super helpful because the bottom of the insert is rounded which centers itself perfectly in the recess at the bottom leaving only the top to be shimmed. Yoda is correct, I used the 1.5" tube I had lying around, but I had to file the inside and cut a groove in the side similar to a piston ring. This project was a total pain trying to figure it out, but Im sure the second one will go smoothly. Here are some pics:

Before and after:



Grinding the stupid retaining nut down:



Finally all put together:



There ended up being a 1/4" space between the strut and the top hat:



Smashing a 5/8" spacer did the trick:



Perfecto:



Everything fits like a glove:



And finished:

[yodawill2000]

BRAVO !!!!!

[Gerardjg]

Second the bravo and the effort but I have some thoughts, did you only use that single 1/4 inch thick shim at the top?
I assumed you were using a 12-13" long one with the insert slipped in. My thoughts or concern is that the shim will eventually slide down and the insert
will wobble in the housing.

[jdurrty]

Thats what I planned on doing in the first place, but the pvc pipe was too wide for the entire length of the tube because there is a roughly a 1-2mm taper on the inside of the tube as you can see highlighted below:



This prevented me from using the whole tube, but with the recess at the bottom of the tube holding the insert in place it didn't really matter. Plus the taper prevents the pvc shim from sliding down the tube granted you don't file too much off the outside of it.

[Gerardjg]

Just thinking out load, how much did you have to grind off of the nuts, I have a pair of junkyard struts and would like to prepare the nuts first.
Keep us updated after the install.