Poly Bushings FY33 q45

[trajanH]

I want to upgrade to poly control arm bushings for my 97 q45(fy33)Anyone know where I can find some poly bushings and if there is another Nissan auto's control arm bushing that will fit the 97 Q?

[NightRiderQ45]

To my knowledge, there isn't any other model that can interchange with our bushings.

[elwesso]

You talking lower control arm? 240sx is probably the same but you'd want to confirm....

I know on G50s the bushings are all the same as 300ZX.. There has to be another nissan that uses the same diameter bushing...

[trajanH]

You talking lower control arm? 240sx is probably the same but you'd want to confirm....

I know on G50s the bushings are all the same as 300ZX.. There has to be another nissan that uses the same diameter bushing...

Yea, lower control arm and also radius rod bushings. I am thinking that since Nissan went cheaper with the build quality on the 97Q that they probably shared parts among other cars. There is not a lot of info on the web about this and so I am hoping some NICO members can help me out cause it would be great info to have for FGY33 owners. Everywhere I have checked when it comes to aftermarket or OEM bushings the listings stops at the 96 Q45.

[elwesso]

I didnt read into much depth, but check this

zerothread/285836

Worst case, he'd be able to tell you.

BTW the tension rod (radius rod) bushigns are all the same from 240sx, 300ZX, etc.......

[maxnix]

BTW the tension rod (radius rod) bushigns are all the same from 240sx, 300ZX, etc.......

Well, not quite. Active tension rod bushings are different and maybe unique to that model for Nissan. And I doubt the bushing specifications are exactly the same across all weights of cars.

Moral is, don't go down two weight classes nor employ anything less than top quality polyurethane bushings.

Wes, are you still running the collars?

[BadQ45t]

I looked into this, just go with fresh rubber.

BTW, the 96' was no better in any category in build quality than the 97', I compared them head to head.

If you took the 92-93 I might say your right, but the 97' is so much more reliable and modern in features I still pick the 2nd gen over it.

[trajanH]

Well, not quite. Active tension rod bushings are different and maybe unique to that model for Nissan. And I doubt the bushing specifications are exactly the same across all weights of cars.

Moral is, don't go down two weight classes nor employ anything less than top quality polyurethane bushings.

Wes, are you still running the collars?

Well, I don't have the active suspension my car is the 97 Q45t Everything that I have searched makes me think that the control arm and radius rod (tension rod) bushings are the same as the 240 sx14. One NICO member(yokada180sx) has even swapped the suspension of a Y33 model car(which is a heavier car) and 240sx14. So it may be that the reason there is little info about the 97q45 aftermarket suspension poly bushings is because the sx13/14 stuff can fit it.

[elwesso]

Wes, are you still running the collars?

You talking about the rear subframe collars?? Yeah I am.

[elwesso]

Well, I don't have the active suspension my car is the 97 Q45t Everything that I have searched makes me think that the control arm and radius rod (tension rod) bushings are the same as the 240 sx14. One NICO member(yokada180sx) has even swapped the suspension of a Y33 model car(which is a heavier car) and 240sx14. So it may be that the reason there is little info about the 97q45 aftermarket suspension poly bushings is because the sx13/14 stuff can fit it.

Regardless of what you do, DO NOT sacrifice quality. We've seen a lot of people get cheap suspension parts and they do NOT hold up... Im still going good with my SPL stuff that I got at a hefty discount, but you're better off waiting until you can afford the good stuff then getting the bad stuff and breaking even more stuff.

[trajanH]

I[QUOTE=elwesso]

Regardless of what you do, DO NOT sacrifice quality. We've seen a lot of people get cheap suspension parts and they do NOT hold up... Im still going good with my SPL stuff that I got at a hefty discount, but you're better off waiting until you can afford the good stuff then getting the bad stuff and breaking even more stuff.[QUOTE]

Yea, I hear you man. I found a Noltec Radius Rod Bushing kit on ebay and they are reputed to have a high quality product.Noltec also has the front Control Arm Bushings for the 240sx14 so I am leaning towards trying them out.


Modified by trajanH at 6:52 PM 7/9/2009

[BadQ45t]

New tension rods with fresh rubber at 73k on my 97Q45t made such a big difference that I wasn't even thinking about urethan.

Spend the money on some KYB SR Specials and some good springs, it will go alot further in those type of bushings. But this is not alot of $$ so if you try it report back. What do you have to lose but 300 bucks

[trajanH]

New tension rods with fresh rubber at 73k on my 97Q45t made such a big difference that I wasn't even thinking about urethan.

Spend the money on some KYB SR Specials and some good springs, it will go alot further in those type of bushings. But this is not alot of $$ so if you try it report back. What do you have to lose but 300 bucks

Well I could not pull the trigger on poly tension rod bushings and just went with OEM rubber from infinitiusa.com. They were the cheapest option and I kind of wantto retain the VIP ride quality. I ordered some energy suspension poly control arm bushings for the 240sx and I will let you guys know if they fit or not.

Actually, after looking under the car I think my problem with wheel shaking under braking is with the tension rod bushings because they are the ones that are cracked and looked shot. I could not determine what was going on with the control arm bushings because the part is small and there is no noticeable tearing or wear that I can see.

I just hope that the infinitiusa.com service does not make me wait too long for the parts to arrive. Some members here on NICO have reported that their service sucks so we will see.

[trajanH]

Just an update to how I ended up fixing my bushing problem. The problem was actually the tension rod bushings and not the lower control arm bushings. The previous owner that i bought the car from said that the car needed lower control arm bushings so I was looking for those which were very difficult to find without buying the complete control arm and so i bought some aftermarket Energy Suspensions poly bushings on ebay for a 98 Nissan 240sx S14 which fit my car. Anyway, I did not end up installing them since my front control arm bushings were ok. I then ordered some tension rod bushings from IOS(Infiniti of Scottsdale) and to my surprise they were delivered within a week.

When I attempted to remove the tension rods, the rod on one side of my car came off easily but the nut and bolt on the other side just would not come off and I could not get the leverage with the limited space underneath the car to get the nut off. I actually stripped the nut trying to get it off so had to take to the car to a mechanic shop. I thought maybe if I could get a wheel alignment at Sears for $69.99 they would get the stuck bolt off for me but that turned out to be a stupid idea because when i went to Sears the mechanic looked at my car and wanted to charge me $900 bucks to fix a leaking(one side) rack & pinion and would not do any alignment of the car unless I changed the stabilizer rod that had a bad bushing.

The next day I drove around looking for a shop that could help me. A Goodyear shop wanted to charge me $200 bucks and I balked at that cause they would not even help me just get the stuck bolt and replace it with a new bolt that I had bought. When I was just about to call it a day and give up and go swimming on a very hot day, on the way to the pool I saw an auto mechanic shop from my old neighborhood and decided to give them a try. It turned out great because the mechanic was cool and after checking his ALLData computer software he said that he could install the bushings for $130.So I paid him $130, went swimming and came back and my car was fixed. My only gripe is that I forgot to tell the mechanic to replace the stripped bolt with the new one I had bought. So my car still has that stripped bolt! I am going to have to go back and tell him to replace it for me. At least I know that he is a cool guy and will do it for me.

My steering wheel no longer shakes violently when I press on the brakes!I still have some noise from the bad bushings on my stabilizer rod and I ordered two new ones from ebay that I can easily replace myself. I am going to use some Lucas Stop Leak to see if that will fix the tiny drop leaking from the torn rack and pinion boot(bellow) on one side of the car. I also ordered some replacement boots from ebay for $7 bucks.

So that is my story for now. You see a lot of the problems that i have with fixing my car myself is getting off bolts and nuts that have been overtorqued. it just so happens that the tension rod nut is in a very difficult to reach area underneath the car. It seems like Nissan could have engineered that area of the suspension in a more ergonomical way.Anyway, my 97 FY33 Q45 rides good now and is super smooth luxury when its rolling on the good asphalt.

Modified by trajanH at 10:52 AM 7/26/2009

Modified by trajanH at 10:55 AM 7/26/2009
Modified by trajanH at 11:02 AM 7/26/2009

[maxnix]

I am going to use some Lucas Stop Leak to see if that will fix the tiny drop leaking from the torn rack and pinion boot(bellow) on one side of the car.

Lucas Stop Leak is a great step to replacing your steering rack in the near future. Truly amazing that owner's think that something that gums up the gears is a repair. PB Blaster would have freed the nut on the tension rod frame mount. You might want to chck the lower control are carefully when you do suspension work again becouse undoubtedly the side that had the totally failed bushing will have worn much more.

If it is still riding like a Very Impaired Performance vehicle, you may well have more work to do. Just think if one rubber component in the suspension failed so completely, how many others are near to being or already fatally compromised?

[trajanH]

Lucas Stop Leak is a great step to replacing your steering rack in the near future. Truly amazing that owner's think that something that gums up the gears is a repair. PB Blaster would have freed the nut on the tension rod frame mount. You might want to chck the lower control are carefully when you do suspension work again becouse undoubtedly the side that had the totally failed bushing will have worn much more.

If it is still riding like a Very Impaired Performance vehicle, you may well have more work to do. Just think if one rubber component in the suspension failed so completely, how many others are near to being or already fatally compromised?

Oh! both tension rods bushings on my car where shot and I drenched the stuck bolt in PB Blaster but that did not work. Only one side of the rack and pinion is leaking and that side is where the boot is torn. So I figure that if the Lucas Stop Leak works that will give me some time since the steering on the car now is smooth and quiet now. Better to give it a try since the other option according to the Sears mechanic is totally replacing a part that is not really giving me any problems.

Oh and understand that I am coming from driving a 91 Q45. This 97 Q has a great cushy ride. To me the original Q was more performance oriented. This second generation FY33 baby is all luxury and a similar smooth ride to a Jaguar Vandenplas that I once owned. It is bliss driving around on the nice Beverly Hills roads with this car!
Modified by trajanH at 12:10 PM 7/26/2009

[Victor]

Replacing the boot on your steering rack and very carefully cleaning all dirt off the rod when you have the boot off may help your leaking problem considerably. I did that on my J30T that had a torn boot that let dirt get on the polished rod that sticks out of the end of the rack. I think by cleaning it and protecting it from any more dirt with the new boot I may have gotten rid of some grit that was interfering with the seal. I went from having to top off my power steering fluid every month and a half to every three months now. A lot cheaper than a new rack to just keep topping it off.

[trajanH]

Replacing the boot on your steering rack and very carefully cleaning all dirt off the rod when you have the boot off may help your leaking problem considerably. I did that on my J30T that had a torn boot that let dirt get on the polished rod that sticks out of the end of the rack. I think by cleaning it and protecting it from any more dirt with the new boot I may have gotten rid of some grit that was interfering with the seal. I went from having to top off my power steering fluid every month and a half to every three months now. A lot cheaper than a new rack to just keep topping it off.

I just ordered a replacement boot off of ebay and I am going to do what you advise by cleaning the road grit off the rod when I install it. I ran over parking bumpers that I did not see a couple of times and that could have torn the boot.I guess it is a good sign that just one side is torn and the tiny leak does not seem to be major or worth replacing the whole rack and pinion at this time. So I will just pay close attention to the power steering fluid and keep that area of the car as clean as possible. Thanks for the insight.