mrprofile

Alright so as the title says I am rebuilding my suspension and steering, but I have no idea what parts to get, I know to get polly bushings, but is there anything else I should get, I mean does anybody have a parts list?
from what I see in this diagram: http://nissan4u.com/parts/280zx/us_s...llustration_5/
Not all of the bushings in each little part look like they are replaceable because there not expanded, for example #9 (idler steering) is expanded into like 10 different parts to show what each part is in the assembly which tells me you can just take it apart and replace the bushings, but on #25 (Socket side rod, outer right-hand) it looks like it is packed full of many different bushings and stuff, but its not expanded like #9, which leads me to believe that you cannot take it apart to replace the bushing(s), you can only replace the entire part, which is about 10x more expensive, if you can find one that will fit at all.
So to get back to my original question, does anybody have a complete parts list of things you have to replace when rebuilding steering and suspension?

Daemione

Just buy a complete idler arm, $30 is a small price to pay for not having to dink around with replacing internal bushings like that. All the tie rods on a linkage steering system can be found very affordably if you look around. I forget what combination of autopart stores I bought them all from, but the total was around $100 for everything (idler arm, all 4 tie rod ends, and the adjuster tubes).

The major exception to all of that is the center link. Those bastards can't be found anywhere for less than $200, so see if you can save yours. I epoxied a universal boot onto mine to save it (ball-joint was still good), and it's still looking good 2k miles later.

A complete parts listing, don't worry about it. Aside from springs & shocks, it really just boils down to bushings, tie rods, and ball joints. Just get familiar with how everything is put together under there, and inspect it all & replace what your car specifically needs. A master polyurethane bushing set is a good place to start, but do your own research on whether you want to use the ones for the tension rods. I used rubber ones when I replaced mine.

rogerz

don't dink around doing piecemeal. new outer tie rod ends and ball joints. get the poly bush set (msa or black dragon) and do them all (front). AFTER you do that you need an alignmen and wheel balance. rear a lot more work for less improvement. New shocks. decide after you have the above if the ride is what you want or do you need to change springing

not sure what you want to do on steering. Easier to get a rebuilt rack than do it yourself unless you are familiar with hydraulic equipment. be sure universal link between steering column and rack is free and well lubricated.

if you haven't downloaded the fsm you can do so at xenon sight do a google and you will get there.

Racer Z

When we did our 240z, the polyurethane kit included everything needed. We had enough tools to do the job. I don't recall needing to make any special tools. Our ball joints and tie-rod ends were in good shape so they did not get replaced.

We did have problems with the rear spindle pins. They were stuck and we damaged both of them and still could not get them out. Since then I saw a spindle puller for sale on eBay. It sold for a lot more than I thought it was worth.

We bought new spindle pins from a local dealer at about $60 a pin. We took the rear suspension off as a unit. Since the pins were already damaged, we turned the unit 90 degrees and supported the A-arm with some wood. While my brother held the A-arm, I whacked the pin with a sledge. After a couple of good whacks it loosened up and popped out.

It had probably never been taken out since the day it was put in and had rusted up a bit. If your pins won't come out easily, try pressing them out.

The next obstacle we encountered was with the fitment of the new bushings themselves. The instructions (what instructions) were missing some vital information. We quickly realized there was a fitment issue and stopped before we damaged something. We found a forum post somewhere that "suggested" how to overcome this and with hesitation we did it and it worked.

We heated up the rubber bushings with a butane torch until they smoked and almost dripped. Then we pushed them out with a pipe. This left a steel sleeve inside the control arm that the new bushings could not fit into.

We very carefully used a hacksaw to cut the sleeve out. We only made one cut into the sleeve and then were able to bend it and remove it. We had to be very careful not to cut into the A-arm itself. The new polyurethane bushings then fit properly into the A-arms. I think that it is now impossible to go back to rubber bushings.

I don't recall how we installed the polyurethane bushings into the A-arms. We may have carefully beat them in or used a press. I can't recall when we bought our press. We may have used our big vice as a press.

The polyurethane is not pliable and for certain joints, impossible to install. We found that heating the polyurethane in hot (almost boiling) water softened them up making them pliable enough to install. I suspect that if you get them to hot they will deform, so be careful.

We did the fronts in one day and the rears in two. We also replaced the springs and shocks at this time. We took the opportunity to replace the differential mount. We used a solid mount for our track car.

Before you hack your suspension up, make sure this is the correct method for you car. We have a 73 240z.

Daemione

If he's asking about an idler arm, he's got power steering on his '79, so no steering rack.

Bushing technique sounds just like what you'd have to do in any application. But luckily not as many headaches removing the rear control arms on a ZX than the S30 - no big long spindle pin anymore, there are 2 smaller ones that are a lot easier to deal with. Still should plan at least a full weekend to do the control arm bushings, though.

A little tip on poly sway bar bushings, I had to shave quite a bit of them to install. No way they were fitting on the end links as they came. And the D-shape bar mount bushings are too big as well. They can be used as is, but in retrospect I should have trimmed them down as well to not stress the mounts.

mrprofile

I just used the idler arm as an example, yes i am willing to shell out all the money i need to but, I don't want to spend money needlessly, I'll make an analogy:"I don't want to fix a flat tire by just buy a new car"
My problem is I don't know what exactly to get.
and this is a needed rebuild because the car squats too when i go forward, the steering is shaky at fast acceleration and veers to the right and its not because I need an alignment, its because everything is worn-out.