SPL RUCAS Instal write up

[(Yoshi)]

I didn't know if there was already one of these or not but I took pictures while working on it any way...

Tools needed:

2 Ratchets2 19mm sockets1 17mm socket1 19mm wrench1 or 2 pipes for breaking bolts lose.1 can of PB Blaster...

*note* I'm sure that most of you already know this, but just in case. All ways be sure to tighten or loosen a bolt by the nut and not the head. I have broken many bolts by turning the wrong end and it is a major pain. *note*

Here are the new control arms



Here is where the rear upper control arm is



Here is the bolt that connects the RUCA to the sub-frame. Be sure to note where how the bolt is positioned because it is an adjustment bolt. That way you can put it back in the same position when you bolt up the new RUCA.



Here is the bolt that connects the RUCA to the knuckle( I think that is its name)



All ways a good decision



Since these bolts were fairly weathered I used a pipe for leverage to break them loose... A shorter pipe would be better for this however, I did not have one...



Here is where the bottom of the strut attaches to the knuckle, you will want to take off this bolt and detach the strut from the knuckle.



Now when you have the Strut off the knuckle and the RUCA un-bolted, you can slide the RUCA out.

Here is the SPL RUCA compared to the stock RUCA



Now you want to adjust the SPL RUCA to the same length as the stock RUCA. ****Be sure to have the same amount of thread on each side of the bolts so it can be adjustable****



Now slide the new SPL RUCA in and bolt it down being sure to put the back bolt in the same way it was before.

Torque the back bolt to around 60 ft-lbs and the front bolt to about 65 ft-lbs.

I couldn't get my torque wrench to fit onto the front bolt so I used the german torque rating of gutentite.

Now bolt the Bottom of the strut back onto the knuckle and torque it to 80 ft-lbs.



Lather, rinse, repeat for the other side.

When you are all done hop in and go get it aligned!

I hope that helps. If you have any questions let me know.

Oh I ran into a little trouble w/ the back bolt on the drivers side which required me removing my strut and in doing so I folded back the carpet and saw the tar underlayment and thought hmmm....

This was the result lol



haha Im easily distracted so I can't give you a time on how long it took to install the RUCAs but it didn't seem to take too long lol.

Josh

Modified by ViperSRT10 at 12:07 AM 12/30/2006
Modified by ViperSRT10 at 12:09 AM 12/30/2006

[SeanC]

no pictures here.

[(Yoshi)]

yeah I don't know why they aren't working, im going to try re-uploading them...

[(Yoshi)]

pictures fixed

[crash n burn]

haha..reminds me of my back seat removal..hey..whats this stuff..::chips a piece off::..oOo!!..::keeps going::

looks good though, had a chance to injoy them?

[efrain240sx]

nice write up, but good god you have a serious case of the rust cancer

[crash n burn]

yea i was gonna mention that..those rotors are about toast, and that subframe could used a good blasting and powder coating

the north sucks for that main reason..im sorry

[(Yoshi)]

I have rust but the camera makes it look worse than it really is... The car also came from michigan...

No I haven't. I finished them but I kept going on the tar and before I knew it, it was 11 pm and I had to stop because our garage is under the house and you can hear every tink and bang upstairs and people were trying to sleep.

I'm getting an alignment as soon as i can. Once I do I will let you know.

[AmoebAssassin]

SPL arms are okay -- Mine rusted on me. Same thing with my SPL coilovers. Doesn't really effect performance, but I expected a higher quality coating for what I paid for the arms...

[(Yoshi)]

Yeah I noticed that mine had a small spot of rust on them all ready.

[gizzerd]

Nice write-up! Where are you in Detroit? Are you on xceedspeed.com?

[positron1]

Excellent write-up with some great pics as well. Exactly what kind of trouble did you have with the bolt on the drivers side requiring you to remove the strut? I'm gonna use this write-up when I do my RUCA's and I'd like to know everything.

[RB20DETodd]

SPL arms are okay -- Mine rusted on me. Same thing with my SPL coilovers. Doesn't really effect performance, but I expected a higher quality coating for what I paid for the arms...

****ty, those arms look cheap.

[Bwana]

That is some rough lookin' rust... We hardly know what rust is out here, never see anything like that unless the car is "imported". Good writeup man. I agree the parts look a little so-so, but...

[(Yoshi)]

@ I was in eastpointe, I am on xceed as Black240SX. I'm in Tennessee for college tho now.

@positronone The bolt was stuck to the bushing in the ruca and I had to remove the strut so I had more room w/ the wrenches.

@RB20DETodd eh we will see...

@Bwana Yeah in Michigan we salt the roads and that eats metal for breakfast. Eventually I am going to get the sub frame and such sand blasted, hopefully lol.

[dickie]

yay custom title.

[FSUDrifter]

lol at your breaker bar, i guess it did the trick though

[nvrplzd240]

Breaker bars RUULE!!

let us know how they hold up

[BIGT94z]

Breaker bars RUULE!!

let us know how they hold up

i laughed at that breaker bar its as tall as me lol. nice right up man. lets us know after the alignment

[(Yoshi)]

Will do, I have to finish getting rid of the tar. I haven't even driven the car yet lol.

[datsun2401972]

I just used an impact to get the nuts loose....but with a breaker bar that size how could you not use it!

My spl coilovers rusted in less than a month after install, of course we had a snow and ice storm of 10 inches for a couple days. I also noted some rust on the inside welds of the lower bracket for the fronts. Would've been nice if they had completely welded the inside of the brackets like they did the outside, yes putting a mig stick two inches away from the tip can casue porous welds, but if it's gonna rust anyway.....

It looks to me like the tein coilovers use the same coating on their threads so I'm not too disappointed in my spl's.

Good rucas write up, now just install some coilovers on that biatch

ps:SPL rucas are strong and lightweight, and they cost much less than anything else with the same quality....

[~4N~]

Whoa, you should take care of that rust before doing anything else.

[(Yoshi)]

@ Datsun Yeah I wish I had a shorter one cuz it made it very hard to use. And yes I am dying for coil overs lol

@~4N~ With my budget there isn't much I can do about the rust.

[ca18datsun510]

wow those look exactly like the ****ty ssautocrap ones i bought off ebay for 50 bucks.

i didnt install them by the way, i threw them out.

look how the chrome plating doesnt even cover completly or evenly.

[boj240]

pretty nice breaker bar u got that about what 60 footer? lol nice write up man!

[datsun2401972]

Hey ca18datsun510, the reason the "chrome plating" doesn't cover completely is that the ends are zinc plated....it's a rust inhibitor. So next time don't go claiming "ss autocrap" on a reputable company when you don't know what your talking about!

[positron1]

Don't sweat it...those SPL RUCA's look freakin' sweet!

[ca18datsun510]

Hey ca18datsun510, the reason the "chrome plating" doesn't cover completely is that the ends are zinc plated....it's a rust inhibitor. So next time don't go claiming "ss autocrap" on a reputable company when you don't know what your talking about!

zink coating my *** the chrome doesnt cover all the way. ive been working with chrome plated parts on hotrods, etc for yearsl. its cheap plating. it gets thin in that area. its not like there is a sharp line where the zinc and chrome meet and there really wouldnt be, the plating is just thin. and besides, chrom is not a good coating for suspension parts in my opionion.

as a customer who has bought many things from spl, im very disapointed in these arms.

im not saying anything bad about spl in general, but hey, other people have also stated theres rusted too.

[datsun2401972]

Crosby McKissick(my employer) runs over $1 million in parts every WEEK that are galvanized or just zinc coated.....and the ends of those arms are zinc coated...period.

Why would they chrome plate the section of the part that's tightened down with a nut and bolt, and then pivots around that bolt any time you hit a bump or take a turn? You wouldn't, because it would just crack and flake off...leaving the metal to be attacked by corrosion....

As far as chrome being chosen to coat the majority of these arms, I would rather have them powder coated...just not a big blingy person.
Modified by datsun2401972 at 10:20 PM 1/3/2007

[ca18datsun510]

Crosby McKissick(my employer) runs over $1 million in parts every WEEK that are galvanized or just zinc coated.....and the ends of those arms are zinc coated...period.

Why would they chrome plate the section of the part that's tightened down with a nut and bolt, and then pivots around that bolt any time you hit a bump or take a turn? You wouldn't, because it would just crack and flake off...leaving the metal to be attacked by corrosion....

As far as chrome being chosen to coat the majority of these arms, I would rather have them powder coated...just not a big blingy person.

Modified by datsun2401972 at 10:20 PM 1/3/2007

look at the picture, the parts where the bolts heads actually contact, and where the spindle actually contacts is chrome plated. it gets thinner towards the inside, where there is no contact. look at the pictures before you make a stupid comment. i understand what you are trying to say but you are wrong. its cheap chrome plating not getting even coverage, not some elaborite idea.