evest

Dibs mate! Will pm shortly, cheers!

A1 Northbound near Sandy. Overtook me but politely pulled up alongside long enough to exchange wave/thumbs up - then he was gone! Cheers :-)

Ok so rear bushes and drop links are all done - quite awkward as there are 4 bushes on the hub assembly which are difficult to get at. But I've hammered, drilled, burnt, sawed, sanded and heaved my way to completion. Everything back on the car so now all that is left is to set up the ride height the way I want it and then it's off to the suspension specialists (Northampton Motorsport) to do the alignment and corner weighting. Brakes Okay so had a few problems with the new SS brake lines - well not so much the brake lines as my bleeding of them! Looks like I let some air into the master cylinder during the first bleed, and oh yeah - put the front callipers back on the wrong way round Beware nipples that point south... So today I had to remove the master cylinder and bench bleed it - bit messy but sorted it. Callipers swapped over and everything reinstalled and bled again. Driving is satisfactory but there is a little play in the pedal, so I may need to bleed again. The handbrake is firm but making a 'clunk' when applied so something not right there. Also got some noise from the rear - at first I thought this may be the handbrake shoes touching the inside of the disc, but following a dual carriageway run I stopped to see if that part of the disc was hot - however it wasn't nearly as hot as I would expect be for that to be the cause, so I suspect the noise may actually be part of the dust shield touching the brake disc - they did get bent a little when swapping the bushes so just need a little more prodding back into the proper shape. Will investigate both when I jack it up for the ride height setting. Overall it's been hard work and I've had to do a lot of learning along the way, but despite a couple of schoolboy errors I seem to have mostly succeeded and hopefully when the suspension is tuned and the couple of brake niggles are sorted the car will feel great!

Hey folks, Am dismantling the rear suspension assembly to replace the bushes and the eccentric bolts for the lower control arm needed a lot of encouragement to depart from the car! So, best to get some new ones with the nuts as well. Cheers

Inside your engine bay there will be a plate with the chassis number etc on it - paint code is on there. The plate is at the back of the bay on the left near the hose that goes from the upper manifold through to the brake cylinder area.

I had mine out today (ebc yellow stuff) and a very slight lip had formed due to the painted area surrounding the pad material. I would have thought the brake disc would easily break it off as the pads wear... but there it was... Mine don't squeal but ciuld your's be a similar issue?

Well after a full day's work the front end is almost done. The re-assembly was interrupted by having to drill/punch out the old cotter pins on some of the joints and also to clean up the rusty sway bar brackets and re-paint them. But after that everything was gradually re-assembled and I was lucky enough to have a keen neighbour help me out with an impact gun on the ball-joint nuts (also aided by ZMANALEX's tip of using a brace and jack to apply sufficient pressure on both sides of the joint - worked a treat!). So: sway bar and new bushes installed New drop links installed banana arms and brace re-installed Steering knuckle installed and everything connected and torqued New brake lines installed All that is left to do is bleed brakes (once rear is done) set up the ride height and drop links (standard settings for now) and put the wheels back on! Oh, and having caved to peer pressure.... get some new sway bars...! Cleaning up the sway bar brackets Whiteline drop-links (ended of stock sway bar rust free and painted - only had red Hammerite in garage!) Brake lines done! sway bar, brackets and bush (oops scratched it a bit)

I agree too guys - just might need to leave it a month before doing the sway bars - and since they're relatively easy to get at I don't mind putting the stock one back on for now. Got the adjustable drops link ready to go. I mentioned the same with bushes for the diff at least if you don't want to go the full hog with the subframe. This will not improve handling directly but better launches from standing starts or out of corners. Will likely drop the diff (necessary to get the bush out I believe?) when I do the rear end as I also had that previous err... issue with the filler bolt that I'd like to resolve ... When all this is done, it will be going in somewhere for Uprev...

Good point mate, I think I have tin of waxoil in the garage so will get it in there.

They've been in and out of the 'shopping cart' a few times! To be honest I just had to draw the line somewhere money-wise for now...

The work continues to get all my bushes replaced and new Meister-R Zeta S coilovers set up. So far have managed to strip everything off the front of the car and have installed the power steering rack bushes other post: http://www.350z-uk.c...n-success-pics/ I'm fortunate to have a fully equipment workshop on the base where I live, and for a packet of biscuits the blokes in there helped me out with a 12 ton press to put the new Superpro PU bushes into the banana arm and lower control arm... upper control arm ones went in easily by hand. New bushes in: So... anti-roll bar off and took the opportunity to clean it up and get rid of some rusted paint, will coat with new paint tomorrow: Shiny new dampers and springs So tomorrow it will be setting up the ride-height (for now), the anti-roll bar to paint and re-install with new bushes along with new Whiteline drop-linksa nd put the rest of the undercarriage back together, Hosetechnik brake lines, clean up the calipers, bleed brakes and might as well t and then get the rear jacked up...!

I'm going to order all my parts one at a time from now on - more sweets!!

Ah yes - I see what you mean now. I cleaned that up as well whilst the rack was off but that bolt/port doesn't appear to be a serviceable item from the FSM. All I can see is an O-ring that goes between the gear sub-assembly and the gear-housing assembly. Just guessing here, but from my pic the muck seems to have collected more at the top than the bottom of it, so it makes me wonder if its a case of moisture and grime collecting in the recesses of the gear sub-assembly above it (also quite mucky) and collecting downwards over time? That port would be a natural dripping point for anything travel downwards from above it.

As far as I know the steering rack just bolts to the front sub-frame, no other gaskets etc involved.

Some if that might be the WD40 I sprayed on the bolts. The insides were dry when I pushed the bushes out. Could the gunge you have just be excess new grease working its way out?

Received my suspension and brake parts from Clarke Motorsport yesterday - 1st class service; many thanks to Ewen and the team. Got my little bag of Haribo too!!

Job done! Here's a brief write up with some tips for anybody else replacing their power steering gear bushes. (I agree with GT4 Zed that this is possible without completely removing the steering rack, if you have enough room to hammer out the old bushes in situ. They do come out fairly easily, but in my case being on the driveway it was easier for me to take the rack off so as to have enough room to swing a hammer!) I generally just followed the FSM to do this job, which was easier as the rest of the front suspension assembly was already off the car. But rather than securing the steering wheel with string, I just used the steering lock. So for the power steering rack I was left with four bolts that hold it to the car, plus the lower joint that connects the lower shaft of the steering column to the steering gear. Hard parts were one slightly tight mounting bolt and the lower joint. The FSM rather nonchalantly states: "Loosen the bolt on the upper yoke of the lower joint and remove the bolt on the lower yoke of the joint, then slide the lower joint into the lower shaft. Separate the steering gear from the lower shaft". Yeah right... not so easy when it's been on there for 12 years! I had to wedge a chisel in the slot to lever the joint open a little (see pic below), put a gallon of WD40 in it and set about undoing the rest of the steering gear bolts. Supporting most of the weight of the gear on axle stands so as not to damage the joint, with some gentle(ish) tapping and using some of the gear weight, it slowly separated from the lower joint. (Note - it may be necessary to turn the steering wheel in order to rotate the joint and get at it from the right angle. This is fine as long as the steering wheel is locked again before you separate the link.) Finally...! Now to work on the bushes... Old insulator bush: Easy swap: Old mounting bushes: Came out easily using a hammer and socket to drive them out bits of old rubber stuck inside Cleaned up ready for new bushses using some medium and then fine grit sandpaper with lubricant: New bushes push in easily by hand using grease supplied: Cleaned up the joint on the steering gear Everything then reinstalled in reverse order relatively easily (bit of tapping again for the lower link to re-engage) lined up and torqued up correctly, new power steering fluid put it. Will still have to air bleed it a few more times as the fluid is a bit frothy, but that should settle down okay. Job done! Meanwhile I've got a little goody bag from Clarke Motorsport (great service, cheers to Ewen!) to be getting on with...

So will Mrs evest so she can see me again!! Not doing the rear subframe - just the dampers/springs and arms. Thanks for the advice about the steering rack - might think again about removal. I'm on the driveway at the moment, so I'll have a go at them in situ but not sure I'll have enough room to operate effectively, otherwise I might just leave them in until I can get it on the ramp. Should at be able to get the insulator bush on there without removing the rack. Cheers

Cheers Alex. I don't think it is locked, but so far I've only disconnected hoses and drained the fluid, will it still lock anyway or do i need to refill? (Hubs and everything off the car too).

Hi all,I'm in the middle of replacing all the suspension bushes with the Superpro PU versions, plus new dampers and springs. The front end is currently stripped of all suspension arms, dampers and springs, plus the steering knuckle, discs, calipers, etc... (doing brake lines too whilst I'm in there). After that I'll do the back end. Although I'm doing all this myself, once everything is back together again I'll take the car to a professional suspension alignment garage to have it all balanced and set up correctly.For now, my next bit of work is to remove the power steering rack to replace the bushes. I'm confident enough with following the factory service manual to remove the rack, and the re-installation also also looks fairly straightforward, presumably as long as I keep the steering wheel in the same place once the rack is off, and then and line up the lower link the same as I found it when it goes back on.Question 1 - Am I missing any gotchas with the power steering rack?Question 2 - Once everything is re-assembled (front/back suspension, brakes, etc), I can test drive the car on relatively private roads (military base). The nearest alignment specialist is 40 miles away, which I plan on driving to slowly and with relative caution... provided the 'test' drive was satisfactory. Would anybody advise against this in favour of having the car towed there?Cheers all

Cheers Alex, I'll take your advice on that and just keep an eye on the ball joints then - I know it will be an arm replacement when do they do start to wear down... (gulp...)

Cheers guys - the stock ones look like they're somehow bonded to the arms/knuckle so wondered what was used.

Hi all, Have removed my front suspension ready for installation of new dampers, springs and PU bushes all round. I've noticed that my ball joint boots are worn and leaking grease. The ball joints themselves seem fine, no problems driving, no knocking, etc... and never been mentioned at service or MOT. Car has done 130K. However, I want to replace the rubber boots and flush out the old grease. They seem easy enough to source but my questions are: What's the best product to use to attach the boots to the arms/hub assembly - will standard super glue do it? What is the correct grease to use? Any issues with jet-washing out the old grease out? (want to ensure joint clean of dirt/grit prior to new grease) Any recommended suppliers for the new boots? Many thanks!

wow! That was quick! Provisionally sold to Luke0549

Hi folks, Brand new Hel braided brake lines with clear red tube finish. Box opened but parts never fitted, also includes bag of extra P-clips, in case you need them. £55.00 (includes P&P).