The "I'm New Here And I have A Simple Question Thread" v2.0

[mechanicalmoron]

Yeah discount tire probably didn't balance it very well. Just tell them its for a sports car with super sensitive steering, and to get them as balanced as possible on a road force balancer.

I replaced my lower control arms with Moog. They weren't that much more expensive but bolted right in nicely. I used OE tie rod ends. I bought MOOGs for one of my 240s and they didn't last worth a s***.
The inner tie rod threads into the rack. You should only have to replace it if you've been in an accident and it got bent.

Thank you thank you

When you say OE, you mean "genuine nissan" expensive OE? Because when I hear OE, I think house brand OE....

And, dorman stuff is more likely to kill me, then?

One other thing, any idea on the diameters of s13 sway bars? I found someone saying it's 25mm front and 17mm rear for an se without abs or vlsd, but I found someone else saying it's 15mm rear.... is 25 on the front a fact, at least?

(edit) crap I'm sorry, yet another thing.... I have a rear caliper leaking fluid, anything I should know about rebuilding it before I try? How long should it take, and all that sort of thing? It looks like a sort of scary job.... and is it likely it will just start leaking again, due to damage to the actual piston? My brake fluid is pretty old (and filthy) (I'm changing it anyway, which is why this seems like a good time to do this), is it possibly a better idea to just buy a caliper? And if I rebuild it, would it make sense to just do both rears? Is there a good writeup on it? (I found some stuff on 240sxforums or whatever, but it was full of stupid, as that site seems to generally be)

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yeah, OE meaning genuine Nissan. I think I bought them from Courtesyparts.
I don't think I've ever bought Dorman anything... maybe a slave cylinder or something.

I'm not sure how big the sway bars are. I thought the front was 21mm. Go figure. You can pick up a set of calipers at Harbor Freight for like, $11 and measure them yourself if you want. If you're going to school for Engineering, you should have a set anyway.

I've always just replaced calipers. Never bothered rebuilding. Seems tedious and messy, but if you want to do it, go for it. Just remember a rebuilt caliper will come with a warranty, where as it if you rebuild it yourself, you're on your own. Just replace/repair the side that is leaking (usually the passenger side... it's the gutter of the road).

[mechanicalmoron]

Yet again, thank you.

I just meant, since I'll have one apart and the system open, would it be worth doing both, since it's all 20 year old seals. But yeah, it is the passenger side, and I guess I'll start with it. The rebuild kit is like a tenth the price of a caliper, I guess I'll try that to start with.

[allenms240]

I am going to take them to my friend who works at the dealership and have him take a look at the balancing on the road testing one.

Thanks for all the info on the rear knuckle bushings. Hopefully it won't be too hard a task.

[mechanicalmoron]

I'm back....

Is there any danger of old brake hoses blowing out (thus killing me), since I'm having them off anyways? Because holy crap, it's about 25 bucks a hose - but if it needs to be done, now's the time. Are they prone to sudden failure with age?

And, is there anything I need to know about taking off the hoses, other than turn the nut? Does it need fresh washers or anything when it goes back in, or special tools? (fsm says it needs some sort of special pair of tools, but I've not found any mention of it anywhere else)

If a hase blew, is the system designed so that it wouldn't all lose pressure, and I'd still have at least 2 working brakes? (cause if so, I'll be cheap)

[PapaSmurf2k3]

They aren't really known for sudden bursting, although they have been known to start swelling in their old age, causing a spongy-ish brake pedal. People sometimes replace them with stainless steel braided lines. And yes, if they blow, you should still have 2 working brakes, but your pedal is going to freak you the hell out.

To replace them you should just have to undo the line at the caliper, and then at the hardline. There's also a clip that holds them to an ancho you'll have to pull out. I've always replaced the copper washers.

[mechanicalmoron]

Having done a bit of reading on tie rods, do you have any opinion on, or experience with, rack spacers? It looks like a really cheap and easy way to get a lot more steering angle, and not that I really NEED it now, but you know....... more=better, because, more.

But I'm concerned about, with most products or kits, adding all or most of the travel on the passenger side. If you install it right and keep your alignment, it seems like the steering wheel will still be centered but you'll get most of the benefit on that side? It seems like it could be aligned around that, but I want to mostly avoid the alignment shop touching anything that they don't NEED to touch, the one here is plain disrespectful, doesn't care about other people's stuff, and over-torqued the crap out of my wheels (normally if I torque them to 82ftlb, I can take them off with a lug wrench, when they did them, I had to use a three foot pipe to break them off... needless to say, next time I'll be standing there and watching them. Hope my studs are safe). Anyway, the point is, they don't know how to deal with anything out of the ordinary, and I don't want them using my car as a ginuea pig (that's a privilage for me, and me alone). All this said, do you think rack spacers are worth the money and time?

About the inner tie rods, having looked a bit more, I can see them being hardy, but I spend a while with bad steering boots (now it's just plastic bags, won't have real ones until I do this work, in fact) so I might have a bunch of junk in there that messed up the ball fitting. I guess I'll have to get it in the air and start wiggling to tell.

OR, are there any reasonably priced (and reasonably safe/quality) kits for an s13 that combine tie rods and spacers, to avoid the centering issues? I saw there's a tein one, but it says it's s14 and you need s14 ends, and I'd heard something about s14 inner tie rods being too long and forcing way too much toe out? I don't want to get expensive stuff only to have to trim and re-tap it, or something.

Also, I saw that s14 control arms can be used, and give a slightly wider track - would this potentially change the camber to the point that it would not be correctable with eccentric bolts, and need plates or something?

I'm trying to hit all this at once, and get my front suspension and steering upgraded to the point of new stock, and then a bit - sorry that I'm so persistantly present in this thread, with such dumb questions.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Dude just make a thread for that. I've never dealt with swapping S14 suspension into an S13, and what its affects on camber are.

If you don't need rack spacers, don't use them. Try not to mess with your steering system as much as possible. The more failure points there are, the less safe it becomes. Steering is something you don't want failing you. Besides, it doesn't sound like you'd benefit from much of this if you don't have an alignment shop that you can trust anyway.

[mechanicalmoron]

Are there any cars with s13 rear (non-abs/anti-skid) calipers?

Trying to get the "brake hardware" (the little clips that the pads slide in) for the rear, one of mine has a hole worn in it and doesn't fit right.... but I can only find the "anti-skid" kit, which looks different. Is there any chance it would work, what's the difference in the calipers?

Courtesyparts has it, but it's about four times what it should cost....

[biggie]

Rear S13 calipers are the same on all models for North America. ABS calipers are only different on the front.

[mechanicalmoron]

Rear S13 calipers are the same on all models for North America. ABS calipers are only different on the front.

Hmm.... this is totally not what my rear brake clips look like, I'm wondering if it's just a different style that will still fit, or if they mis-labeled it.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... ing=search

My fronts do look like their kit:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... ing=search

And my rears do look like that more cutout style of the fronts.

NAPA, my only other choice, doesn't have it at all.

[daemonyk]

Rear S13 calipers are the same on all models for North America. ABS calipers are only different on the front.

Hmm.... this is totally not what my rear brake clips look like, I'm wondering if it's just a different style that will still fit, or if they mis-labeled it.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... ing=search

My fronts do look like their kit:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... ing=search

And my rears do look like that more cutout style of the fronts.

NAPA, my only other choice, doesn't have it at all.

AutoZone has a funny habit of sometimes showing a picture of not-the-actual-part-but-a-similar-part, or just a stock image, and in some cases the stock image isn't even an actual image, its a CAD rendering - even when looking up vehicle specific parts. Also when there's things like an abs version and a non abs version, but they're the same exact identical part (as with the rear calipers), the just list it for "with ABS". They can be slightly lazy / vague like that. It's something they do alot. Couldn't hurt to get it and see if the actual part in the box does in fact fit.

[mechanicalmoron]

Yeah, I think I'll just get it, it's still less than half the price of courtesyparts.

Another question, I have new MOOG control arms, which have greasable ball joints, with a "zerk" nipple thing included, but not screwed in. They clearly have grease in them, but are nowhere near full, and surely don't have the amount that you'd need to add with the fitting, to even touch the bottom of the ball. Should I consider them greased, or add more?

....also, they came with a funny hard plastic cap over the ball boot, but it doesn't look like it will fit under the knuckle, without being crushed into the boot..... what do?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Pull the hard cover off. Its to protect it during shipping. I just threaded the nipple in the bottom, didn't add any grease. It probably can't hurt though.

[mechanicalmoron]

Pull the hard cover off. Its to protect it during shipping. I just threaded the nipple in the bottom, didn't add any grease. It probably can't hurt though.

Ahh, cool, I'd figured that whatever it did, that cover didn't work with an s13.

I read conflicting things online, from it being greased and ready to go, to only having an assembly dose of grease and needing more, and some people saying the blew MOOGs quickly by not adding more. Luckily, I have a grease gun that I got free because of the terrible mess that it was.... cleaned it up, jerry rigged a way to use grease from a tub instead of stick (folded plastic bag seal on the plunger), and blasted it full of mobil 1. It was a pain, but I have peace of mind, and feel good having learned how the grease gun works and that I have it if I feel the need to use it, now.

I got to this project just in time, my whole drivers side was loose and wobbly, because the control arm bolt was working out, I didn't have to break it at all. I'll see if it did any damage tomorrow.... The moral being, preventitive maintainence could prevent death.

[allenms240]

Air conditioning.
I had it working great, then I swapped over to the sr20det. I kept all AC lines and the compressor, and bought Cody's bracket so I can use my KA24DE compressor with the SR. Everything is hooked up and there are no leaks, but the compressor isn't getting any power. I wouldn't expect anything to be wrong with the relays since it hasn't been touched after the swap. Is there something different I need to wire for the SR harness? I only found the one AC wire that goes directly to the AC compressor, which isn't getting 12v when the AC button is on. I understand that the compressor won't turn on without any freon in the system, but how would I go about finding out why my compressor won't turn on.

I took it to a shop, had it evacuated and they charged it, and realized the compressor wouldn't turn on. Any ideas? s13SR in an s13.

[mechanicalmoron]

I just realized that I've been reusing suspension nuts that are supposed to be replaced every time.

Is there anywhere I can get a box of the correct/safe grade of 17/19mm nuts? Not like individual bits from courtesyparts, but just generic, but suspension grade, nuts? (I don't really know how quality grades work with bolts)

Are they torque to yield type nuts that are never the same, or does the fsm say to replace them just to be safe? Now I've had a bunch of them off 3+ times, is it a problem?

And is it okay to use anti-sieze on suspension parts, or is it dangerous?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Air conditioning.
I had it working great, then I swapped over to the sr20det. I kept all AC lines and the compressor, and bought Cody's bracket so I can use my KA24DE compressor with the SR. Everything is hooked up and there are no leaks, but the compressor isn't getting any power. I wouldn't expect anything to be wrong with the relays since it hasn't been touched after the swap. Is there something different I need to wire for the SR harness? I only found the one AC wire that goes directly to the AC compressor, which isn't getting 12v when the AC button is on. I understand that the compressor won't turn on without any freon in the system, but how would I go about finding out why my compressor won't turn on.

I took it to a shop, had it evacuated and they charged it, and realized the compressor wouldn't turn on. Any ideas? s13SR in an s13.

You've got me dude. Let me know what you find out though.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I just realized that I've been reusing suspension nuts that are supposed to be replaced every time.

Is there anywhere I can get a box of the correct/safe grade of 17/19mm nuts? Not like individual bits from courtesyparts, but just generic, but suspension grade, nuts? (I don't really know how quality grades work with bolts)

Are they torque to yield type nuts that are never the same, or does the fsm say to replace them just to be safe? Now I've had a bunch of them off 3+ times, is it a problem?

And is it okay to use anti-sieze on suspension parts, or is it dangerous?

Which ones are you talking about? The only ones that you miiiight want to replace are the crimp lock type. You lose "prevailing torque" each time you use them, but even then you should be able to judge it well by yourself. If you have to run them down with a ratchet or wrench, they should still be good. If you can do it by hand (and you're not supposed to be able to), then that's no bueno.

Don't use anti-seize if it doesn't call for it. It lubricates the joint and jacks up your torque spec (which was written for dry fasteners). If there is a fastener that is ~85% of its .02% proof strength (IE, in elastic deformation), lubricating it and bringing it to the same torque could put it into plastic deformation, which is very, very bad (or you could just strip out the threads).

It is recommended to replace your alignment bolts and nuts every so often. They tend to take a beating.

[mechanicalmoron]

I just mean the nuts on most suspension arms (I think the FSM just means the nut, not the bolt as well, not sure). I realized, when looking up the specs so I can put the proper preload on my rear bushings, that a lot of them do, such as the nut on the ruca eccentric bolt, and the nut on the inner end of the lower link, the nut that holds the rear strut to the knuckle, etc.

Crimp lock?

And yeah, I nead to replace my front eccentrics and the other coilover bolts, the first time I had them out I was stupid and whacked them out with a 2x4, to free them.... naturally, it screwed up the threads, though they still hold the proper torque.

How should I go about shopping for the right kind of nuts/bolts? are there different hardness/elestacity grades or anything like that, or does bolt grade refer strictly to quality? If I just buy the best a hardware store has, would it be bad for this? I really don't want to custom order every bolt I ever break, I'd like to have a stock on hand that I know will be high quality and safe for anything I need.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Crimp lock?

Basically the nut has been deformed to keep pressure on the threads, and not back out during service if for some reason it wasn't torqued properly. Its a means to prevent catastrophic failure/death.





Its an alternative to something with say a nylon ring in it. Nylon rings can wear out or overheat and melt. They are also sometimes more expensive.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

How should I go about shopping for the right kind of nuts/bolts? are there different hardness/elestacity grades or anything like that, or does bolt grade refer strictly to quality? If I just buy the best a hardware store has, would it be bad for this? I really don't want to custom order every bolt I ever break, I'd like to have a stock on hand that I know will be high quality and safe for anything I need.

Bolt grades are essentially how strong the bolt is. They've been made with a different material, or heat treated to a different strength, etc.

You can always go stronger than necessary, that wont hurt anything, but if you go weaker, you could end up breaking/stripping/stretching the bolt at the proper torque, like I mentioned before.

[mechanicalmoron]

Ahhh, okay.

There are bolts with indentations around the head like that, but I hadn't noticed if they're supposed to be putting more friction on the threads, maybe some of them do, and maybe the rest of mine are just worn.... Are there a bunch of those in the suspension? Perhaps the ones the FSM says to replace?

Any reputable place online I can get a replacement kit/assortment with a bunch of sizes/types useful on a 240?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

BoltDepot.com is what I usually use.

I'm not sure which ones the FSM says to replace.

[phantogram]

I have a base s14 and found good deals on SE 5 lug hubs and 300zx calipers. Decided to get them but realized the SE hub stud doesn't clear 300zx Rotors. Any one know the stud size (knurl) I need so i can buy some extended studs because i think s14 runs different stud sizes in front and back. Also e-brake is not affected by the swap, right?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

If you're just doing the front calipers, then the E-brake wont be affected. If you are doing the rear, then it will.

You said your studs themselves wont clear the rotor? Like the rotor is so thick the stud doesn't stick through the hole? That doesn't sound right...

[phantogram]

If you're just doing the front calipers, then the E-brake wont be affected. If you are doing the rear, then it will.

You said your studs themselves wont clear the rotor? Like the rotor is so thick the stud doesn't stick through the hole? That doesn't sound right...

The studs do clear the rotor but barely enough to clear the Rim

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Ahhh I see what you're saying. They should be M12x1.25
Nismo makes extended, stronger studs.

[phantogram]

Ahhh I see what you're saying. They should be M12x1.25
Nismo makes extended, stronger studs.

Thanks!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

No Problem. Welcome to NICO!