Tension Rods - 93 240sx

[vj240sx]

Hi, I have a question about Tension rods. I recently took my car to the dealer and he said the Tension rods need to be replaced as the bushings are split.

He quoted $445.00 for this job. How hard is it to do myself.

And what happens if it is not changed immediately. The dealer ofcourse telling me that one of my wheels will come off on the road.

Thanks for any feedback.

vj240sx

[PGBrian]

what you need are new bushings.the only work you might want somebody else to do is press in the new bushings and/or get the old ones out.

it won't be anywhere near that cost that they told you.

replacing tension rods is incfedibly simple.

you have 3 bolts to do on each side, so 6 total.

[Meantime]

It'll only take you about 1-2 hours max to replace the rods yourself. Bring PB Blaster or WD-40 and soak the bolts.

While you're at it, consider upgrading to pillowball rods w/spherical Heim joints instead of bushings...there are a ton of choices out there. I have the Battle Version rods which are very good.

You can also get rods with new bushings fitted already (PDM, Whiteline, Nismo etc.) if you don't feel like pressing the old ones out and the new ones in.

EDIT: as for the wheel falling off, prolly not going to happen. I drove around on split bushings for over a year and who knows how long they were busted before I bought the car. Not that I recommend doing so, but your car isn't going to self-destruct tomorrow because of bad bushings.

[w1ngzer0]

yar, thats what i did. But i am having a shop do it becuase everytime i work on my car something goes wrong and i have to end up giving it to them anyway

[onosqv]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! .

Like those guys said, it won't be horrible. Took me a good 2 hours because those tension bolts I had were on there TIGHT from 15-16 years of staying there. It will be all good though, and get an alignment afterward.

Anyway, pdm-racing.com has em w/ new bushings or whiteline bushings for pretty good pricing (think it was 100 something for oem, 200+ for whiteline bushings). You can also get adjustables (but make sure you get the kind you don't have to grease - I don't care about those sellers saying "you can buy fitting to grease at any autoparts store" - I've been searching every autopart store in my area for the last 6 months and can't find the damn fittings, I'm still pissed at the sponsor that told me I could).

[S13 Charlie]

$445 bucks! You better be getting all new tension rods that weigh 0.3 lbs and magically add 30 hp to you car..

I just swapped my T/C rods last night in my garage in about an hour. I bought adjustable rods from SPL parts for 161 shipped. And like someone mentioned above, 3 bolts on either side. Just have some WD-40 ready and a breaker bar or pipe to loosen the bolts. Also, if you go the adjustable route, make sure the spherical bearing is slanted down toward the center of the car, this prevents excessive loads on the bearing when you put the car on the ground. Maybe this basic diagram will help.

\ [engine] / - where the slashes are the spherical bearings (aka pillow-balls)

[gumby]

the bolts are incredibly hard to remove. i barely got them off with a 230ftlb impact wrench. you have to do the final torquing with the wheels back on the ground.

[eddiec]

i'd say get a second estimate or DIY. 3 hard bolts to remove and the suffering is over. hardest part will be getting the car in the air to work on.

also tighten everything while the car is on the ground. this can also be simulated by putting cinder blocks under all 4 wheels. looks ghetto, but works wonders in getting everything tight while under load.