Drivetrain slack / mountings issue?

[DocS30]

Hi guys,

So I finally managed to get an old Z car. (I've had a few 350z's before - The HR model was particularly nice) but this old car is growing on me.

It's an 81 S130 2+2.

It drives pretty good for an old original unrestored car, however, when I get on and off the gas pedal, I get like a jerking sensation as the power is transferred to the diff/wheels.

I've been under the car briefly and pretty much all the engine mountings and bushes in general look like they need replacing. There is also a host of ball-joint looking joints everywhere (this suspension is very unfamiliar to me - the car is around my age).

I plan to change out all the mountings and get an energy suspension bush kit for the car, but is there anything particular I need to look at or consider? The bush kit does not seem to include any of the diff/gearbox mounts etc.

Also, what would be the best engine mountings to go for? OEM or are there alternatives? I plan on keeping the L28 for the forseeable future.

 

[Mr.F]

The early steering box / transverse rods system is very old fashioned and can be readily converted to rack and pinion with the help of a later (82/83) donor car. You need to change the crossmember and both upper and lower column, but the same pump and connections can be adapted.
OEM engine mounts are fine for normal road use.
Differential mount is not highly stressed on the S130 and probably won't need replacing.

 

[DocS30]

thanks for the feedback.

Parts cars are rather rare so the steering rack conversion is probably out for now. In the mean while I would like to refresh the suspension though. No parts dealers have the 280zx listed in their parts catalogues though.

From the pictures it looks like the old Nissan Laurel 2.8 or Nissan/Datsun Skyline 2.8 may share the same suspension? Is this correct? I need all the steering tie rods and ball joints etc.

 

[Mr.F]

Design of steering is similar but my main supplier of aftermarket parts does not show a crossover of part numbers with equivalent year Laurel - beware...

BTW, one of the most important items to replace on the steering will be the idler arm bushes.

 

[Huw]

Hiya

If the steering link ball joints are not worn you can replace the dust covers as these generally breakdown with age. They were available from Nissan, if not I think I have two you can have. As long as there is no play in the joint or visible damage like rust, you can clean them out and inject new grease in via the little blanking plug on the bottom. You will need to screw in a grease nipple in place of the little blanking plug to do that. The dust cover needs to be warmed up in boiling water first, then it just pops on and hold it in place with a small cable tie. The outer tie rod ball joints are readily availabe on eBay. The lower strut ball joints are still available (eBay or Mr F.) and these are pretty easy to change.

The other rubbers that you will need to replace are the tension bars rubbers on the front of the car (two rods coming from the suspension to fixing points on the front cross member of the car body. Those are available from Nissan (or Mr F.).

The anti roll bar link pins can be replace with urethane bushes, these are readily available on eBay (or Mr F again). Do the rear ones too. However, i would recommend upgrading both anti-roll bars. Makes a hell of a difference to the ride plus you get all the urethane bushes and link pins in the kit (see Mr F.).

The steering idler bushes definitely need to be replaced as they break up with age. If you can't get any, I have some you can have for nothing (just postage).

That should sort out the steering. Other thing to look at is the real engine mount on the gearbox, these can perish and split with age.

Hope that helps a bit.

Regards

Huw

 

[DocS30]

Thank you guys a lot for the advice and input.

I will be ordering the urethane kit which should cover some of the suspension parts. I'll have to seperate the joints to see how/if they are damaged. I did see a lot of little grease nipples on most of them. Will look into the possibility of just replacing their dust boots if viable. The boots are mostly all cracked up from age.

for the steering idler bushes, should these stay rubber or is it okay to upgrade to urethane? There is a company locally who makes urethane bushes for any suspension part if you provide them with samples. I may use them for any bits I battle to find. Just trying to minimise downtime, cause the minute I start stripping the suspension I will inevitably want to start powdercoating, undercoating etc etc and then it ends up being another 3 month project.

Huw thanks for the offer on the idler bushes. Are they oem units and new? I'd be keen to pay for postage for them yes.

Thanks

 

[Huw]

Hiya

The idler bushes were bought new (Nissan) but never fitted. I intended to refurbish the original steering set up. But swapped it for a power rack in the end so they were not needed.

Just a point note, the big rubber bushes on the two tension bars on the front of the car, don't replace them with urethane. Keep them rubber, I was advised to keep them rubber as you can run the risk of damaging the rods if you go the urethane route.

pm me your address and I will chuck the bushes in the post for you.

Cheers

Huw

 

[DocS30]

Sent you a pm. Many thanks.


And thanks for the heads up on the tension bars. I did come across that info on the site. Good thing too cause I was well on my way to get urethane all over.

 

[DocS30]

Hey guys,

So I took the car to a Specialist Suspension shop for a check up today. They basically pull car over a pit with a moving platform that moves the suspension in various directions while they observe it from a pit below.

There are a few bushes to be replaced as expected but they're not half as bad as I thought. Engine mountings and gearbox mounting yes.

However, the clunk I get from the rear end when getting on/off the gas is actually coming from the diff itself. Not the diff bush/mount.

There is a lot of slack/play on the propshaft where it goes into the diff. You can turn/rotate the propshaft about 15-20 degrees when the car is stationary.

There is also too much movement from the U-joints or half shafts as well.


So, do I get the propshaft and u-joints rebuilt and the diff lash etc? Or is there a better alternative here? Like upgrading to a different diff, perhaps with CV joints? What is the benefits of CV joints over u-joints?

 

[Huw]

Hi Ronnie

U joints are normally fine but can be noise if they dry up. Got to keep them greased. U joints are old school but fairly easy to replace not as strong as CV joints or so said. I don't know about the upgrade route, I'm sure someone on here can tell you the options, drop a line to Mr F. It maybe worth getting the diff looked at or source a replacement, as it sounds like that's the culprit.

Huw