Radius Rod Bushing aftermarket brands? yes:-) ? no :-( ?

[J30_Kidd]

hello hate to bring up the dreaded item of the Radius Rod Bushings, as i do know there are many post on this subject but i rather not get the stock OEM ones.

Has anyone ever bought after market ones such as energy suspension brand or etc. I had these on a old matrix i used to own and i was really impressed with the handling after the install those.

I know they carry universal ones but i really don't wanna pull it out and tear it apart to just find out this info on id and od's sizes etc and then order what i need when i really need the car to drive until i have the parts to do the job
Also if known sizes of the Transverse Link bar bushing is known to that would be awesome, atm idk if thats out to or not but i'll find out tomorrow. if it is i really don't wanna buy a whole new arm :-(

Any knowledge on this would be helpful!

PS i also looked on rockauto and can't find the stock part btw. what gives? i heard from this forum it was the cheapest lol.

[1994 infiniti j30 190+]

bump to this thread. could really use any help with finding these for cheap. i need mine done too every bump i go over its a loud clunk and i know for sure its the radius rod bushing (aka tension rod bushing). i know for a fact mine are toast only other thing besides getting them is finding a press to replace them.

[J30_Kidd]

@190+. im gonna get qoutes from shops around me on how much to press though i may just drop the 100$ for a press of my own from harbor frieght tools. god i love that place lol. then i can just always do it myself.

so anyone know?

[Gerardjg]

Do a google search for j30 strut rod bushing

[J30_Kidd]

You kidding me? sorry but i had seen that listed on rock auto and thought is was something different, i have to say seriously how many dang names does this part have? LOL

thanks for clearing that up for me though, any other names i should be aware of beside tension rod, radius arm, strut rod bushing?

[Gerardjg]

You kidding me? sorry but i had seen that listed on rock auto and thought is was something different, i have to say seriously how many dang names does this part have? LOL

thanks for clearing that up for me though, any other names i should be aware of beside tension rod, radius arm, strut rod bushing?

As a matter of fact Yes here is a DIY article and it is called Tie Rod http://www.fuzzycats.com/j30_diy.htm

I got spicer brand bushings several years ago for the 95 at Rock and they were received in Nissan Bags -
FYI My 97 J had a larger diameter bushing then the 95

[J30_Kidd]

LOL yes i did see that one listed under tie rod and was like LoL whut?


Well i found out this part number is 54476-0P001 for a 95 J30, after lots of searching the cheapest i found was for 34.85 a piece at Swelle infiniti in Dallas and with tax and shipping its like 84$, but beats the 64$ a piece price at the dealer ship. Speaking of dealer ships, i called Nissan to cross reference and no luck, Damn it! lol

Another site is dealer Direct or something that has them for 36.91 and free shipping with orders 75$ and up, but of course two of them equal to 2 $ under that price and then shipping is 12$ and ughh grrr *just ragging!*

hope this helps others but still if anyone knows a after market one let me know asap!

[yodawill2000]

You kidding me? sorry but i had seen that listed on rock auto and thought is was something different, i have to say seriously how many dang names does this part have? LOL

thanks for clearing that up for me though, any other names i should be aware of beside tension rod, radius arm, strut rod bushing?

As a matter of fact Yes here is a DIY article and it is called Tie Rod http://www.fuzzycats.com/j30_diy.htm

I got spicer brand bushings several years ago for the 95 at Rock and they were received in Nissan Bags -
FYI My 97 J had a larger diameter bushing then the 95

Guys .. Its not the Tie rod, Its the Tension rod !!
I emailed Carlos years ago about that on fuzzycats.com but it was never changed.

The tie rods are a totally different part.
And there is a inner and a outer tie rod on each side.
Clear as mud huh ??


Tension Rod.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... 54&bih=632

Tie Rod end.(Outer)
http://info.rockauto.com/getimage/getim ... 830B-4.jpg

[J30_Kidd]

lol yoda, ya i'm aware of this, do not worry, i repeat please do not worry! hehe

Sadly i don't think it's my radius control arm (tension rod) bushings. I'll post pics later tonight but they looked ok and all solid with the usual signs of normal wear (the wrinkled rubber stress mark looking crap). When my bushings went out on my matrix i had 3 years ago the tire would actually jiggle back and forth and the rubber was all gutted up. I'm no expert but like i said i'll post pics and see what ya'll think.

1st edit: ya i just looked at the google pic you posted yoda of the tension rod and mine is so much better looking then that one, but now it isn't brand new looking nor freaking sweet a** looking as that black one! pics in a bit

[yodawill2000]

When mine was bad it made a nasty clunk over speed bumps and if I rolled slow and went heavy on the brake.
I would like to know who makes that aftermarket one in the pic.
I went OEM with everythinginfiniti.com.

[J30_Kidd]

Ok so first two are the passenger side and bottom two are the driver side tension rod bushings, not sure if you can see but both have orange paint dots on them, something tells me these were replaced recently before i got the car.

So what else could cause this clunk, i'm pretty sure it's from the driver side in the front, and as i stated before, none of my 4 wheels have play in them. The Tie rods look and feel tight as well with no steering play, could a ball joint do this?

[J30_Kidd]

also SPC makes that tension rod part and found out splparts.com sells that stuff but couldn't find that part on there... ughh

[1994 infiniti j30 190+]

lol wow if you saw mine you wouldnt want to be in the car. the whole rubber part is totally torn all the way around on both. i should get pictures up lol.

[J30_Kidd]

lol wow if you saw mine you wouldnt want to be in the car. the whole rubber part is totally torn all the way around on both. i should get pictures up lol.

Ya i believe you 190+, that sounds like what i saw on my toyota matrix i used to have, not like what i'm seeing here.

[1994 infiniti j30 190+]

im goin to try and get pics tomorrow when i tighten my belt again for the third time. i almost am debating to just to take my car to a repair shop and have them do it but i dont want them to screw up my car i want somone who knows what they are doing.

[yodawill2000]

Those look aged but not blown Kidd.
If I'm not mistaken they are silicon filled (OEM Bushings)and leak like a stuck pig when shot.
Mine were TOTALLY shot, as in gaping cracks ect when I bought my J.
First fix I did.

[1994 infiniti j30 190+]

did some looking at harbor freight and you can get a press to do these for 65 bucks varies on how many tons the press can do. think ill do that instead maybe.

[J30_Kidd]

@190+: ya harbor (china) freight usually has some sweet things for low prices, i was gonna go with the next step up just for future use as well.

@ yoda: So what else could be making this noise? Let me recap about when this noise happens and what i had to do to get it to happen.

usually backing out str8 or turned and applying brakes will cause it but not always, when going forward i have to at least be going 15mph and then apply brakes hard to hear the thump. Over speed bumps or drive way edges i sometimes hear it, especially turning to my left and backing out of my drive way in the morning. I've noticed the more driving in the day the more is clunks.

I've looked at the tierods and such, now i'm wondering if the struts them selves are doing this noise. Any other thoughts of what to check. I'm puzzled and about to just go get it diagnosed at a shop.

[HowlerMonkey]

Aren't the bushings the exact same dimensions as the ones on the S13 and the late Z31s?

If so, you can buy the nismo bushings and press them in since they are available for the S13

[wingFeather]

Aren't the bushings the exact same dimensions as the ones on the S13 and the late Z31s?

If so, you can buy the nismo bushings and press them in since they are available for the S13

I just ordered a set of adjustable tension rods for a 240sx, which cost less than the bushings alone for the j30. I'll let you know how the install goes...

[wingFeather]

The adjustable racing tension rods are installed! It was an easy process. Best of all, it only cost $80 for these versus $2xx for OEM+machine shop time. The only modification needed was to file down one side of the front mount. The body has small guide notches for installing the OEM version, but the new version had a wider mounting area, so I had to file away some to allow the notches to clear.

The clunk & loose front-end sensation are gone It's most notable when first applying the brakes, or entering a driveway - the front end used to make a loud clunk as the weight shifted (sounded like something broke). Car feels more solid overall. I can't make a fair comparison to OEM because the old arm bushing were toast after 17 years.

[swimshark]

if i still had access to a machine shop i could make more of the bushings that i made for my J.