Kev Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 My car just failed its MOT due to excessive corrosion on the w brace and failed rubber bushes on the front suspension arms. Surely I just need to replace the bushes and not the arms as the garage have suggested? The arms are fine, but the guy at the garage said "it can be difficult to remove and replace the bushes". Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Technically it shouldnt fail on the W brace....just an advisory as it doesn't form part of the test (someone better qualified may chip in shortly!!). if its the Banana arm bushes, I had mine done last year, press out, press in new....or just replace the whole arm Edited July 7, 2017 by Paul K 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) I thought the same regarding the w brace. They seem to think it's the subframe rather than a brace. They must have not seen many Z's. Thanks for for the heads up re the bushes. Thought id call nissan for a laugh. £950 and a 28 day wait for a w brace and 2 banana arms. Edited July 7, 2017 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 9 minutes ago, Kev said: I thought the same regarding the w brace. They seem to think it's the subframe rather than a brace. They must have not seen many Z's. Thanks for for the heads up re the bushes. Thought id call nissan for a laugh. £950 and a 28 day wait for a w brace and 2 banana arms. Bushes or complete banana arms in stock, W braces are due early next week. Kidney brackets and hardware kits also in stock. Let me know if you need links. Combined price will be less than half of Nissan's price 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 +1 I swapped my arms a few weeks ago on my driveway, might look challenging but actually very easy, just a few sockets needed basically! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 Is there any benefit to replacing the banana arms? Car has done 39k miles. Replacing the bushes is a lot cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 1 minute ago, Kev said: Is there any benefit to replacing the banana arms? Car has done 39k miles. Replacing the bushes is a lot cheaper. Bushes are a bit cheaper: https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/suspension-steering/bushes/767-350z-energy-suspension-compression-rod-bushing-kit-73121x-crb.html But a bit more difficult to swap them, specially if they terribly worn out, sometimes involves a grinder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 My ball joints weren't great either once I'd got the old ones off so was glad to have swapped the whole lot The rubber boot is starting to let dirt etc in by this age usually. As Adrian says the bushes mean you'll need to take the old arms off, press the bushes and refit. If the garage is doing it all then it might be cheaper but i'd guess its around 2-3 hours labour so the different between paying the garage vs swapping it all yourself isn't great tbh. I just object to paying people to do jobs I can do myself for a lot less, but that's mainly so I can give Adrian and Alex more of my money 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, MDMetal said: My ball joints weren't great either once I'd got the old ones off so was glad to have swapped the whole lot The rubber boot is starting to let dirt etc in by this age usually. As Adrian says the bushes mean you'll need to take the old arms off, press the bushes and refit. If the garage is doing it all then it might be cheaper but i'd guess its around 2-3 hours labour so the different between paying the garage vs swapping it all yourself isn't great tbh. I just object to paying people to do jobs I can do myself for a lot less, but that's mainly so I can give Adrian and Alex more of my money I'm going to replace the arms I think. Ball joints can't be in great condition after 12 years. Everytime I think of a new exhaust something expensive crops up. Which brand and did you go with? Are these eBay specials awful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Not sure what brand thoseare tbh. I got Dorman from Adrian above, or for £10 more each arm you can get Moog not sure what the difference is, both are OEM replacements I understand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 I was just looking at the dorman ones on Adrian's site. The ebay ones seem to good to be true at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I've put ebay arms on a qashqai but for something more sporty and precise I'd stick to a known quantity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Trouser Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 From what was told when my W-Brace was examined and found to be rotting - its not an MOT fail as its not part of the suspension - it just supports it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 I've decided to go for nissan banana arms. I'd rather keep things original and they're not that much more expensive. Just have to forget about a new exhaust for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 The nissan ones are 250 vs 150 arent they? (Each!) If your still not 100% the OEM replacements are just as good, good luck either way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 4 hours ago, MDMetal said: The nissan ones are 250 vs 150 arent they? (Each!) If your still not 100% the OEM replacements are just as good, good luck either way They are. Not as bad as the £370 a side Nissan are asking. Im sure the replacement parts are good but the garage who are fitting them say they are hit and miss with regard to fitment. Knowing my luck I'd get a bad pair. One seller on here has moog arms for £125 which is tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Kev, we sold hundreds of Dorman and Moog banana arms, both having excellent history behind the brand. They are not cheap knockoffs from eBay, they are OEM quality products. They are 300% perfect fit. There is no such thing as bad pair, these products are going to fit perfectly every time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Up to you what you want to do but I'll echo Adrian above I fitted mine perfectly and didn't need any realigning at all just slipped them on and off perfectly. Most of the OEm stuff with Nissan is always more expensive than solid aftermarket products and for most things there's little need to pay that extra. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Adrian@TORQEN said: Kev, we sold hundreds of Dorman and Moog banana arms, both having excellent history behind the brand. They are not cheap knockoffs from eBay, they are OEM quality products. They are 300% perfect fit. There is no such thing as bad pair, these products are going to fit perfectly every time! 31 minutes ago, MDMetal said: Up to you what you want to do but I'll echo Adrian above I fitted mine perfectly and didn't need any realigning at all just slipped them on and off perfectly. Most of the OEm stuff with Nissan is always more expensive than solid aftermarket products and for most things there's little need to pay that extra. I agree with both of you if I'm honest. Its the garage that are moaning about non Nissan parts. They insist the ball joints are not as good and they're a struggle to fit. I won't use them again. I'm not impressed at all. They think the w brace is the subframe! Im thinking if I use copy parts they will use it as a excuse for a couple of extra hours labour. And I don't want to give them any excuses. I would give them a piece of my mind and tell them what I think, but my uncle uses them a lot for his civic. He's friendly with the owner so I'm biting my tongue. I'm calling Lockwood and greenwood and taking it there. They're not too far away and have a good reputation on here. I cant find a used w brace anywhere and the ultra racing ones have a 5 week lead time. Is is it dangerous to run without a w brace for a few weeks? I wouldn't want to cause any damage to my car. Edited July 10, 2017 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 W braces should be here later this week if you're looking to buy new: https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/suspension-steering/braces/3346-350z-nissan-oem-undercarriage-body-tunnel-w-brace-74870-cd200.html Hardware kits are in stock:https://www.torqen.uk/nissan/350z/suspension-steering/braces/5596-350z-nissan-oem-w-brace-hardware-kit-74870-cd200-hwk.html You don't actually need a mechanic to do this work, you can do it yourself on your driveway, with basic Halfords tools. You could save some money and take the car back to the MOT place once it's all done so you can pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 I'd be happy to change the brace but I wouldn't be so confident with the arms. I'd worry I'd done something wrong. Im reluctant to spend so much on a w brace especially when the ultra racing ones are £150 and a bit better. Im thinking of ordering the Nissan arms, getting Lockwood and greenwood to fit them and just removing the brace until I can get a ultra racing one. If it's safe to do so. Have you got Nissan arms in stock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Do you own a torque wrench? If you have the torque wresh, some sockets for the right size then there's literally nothing you can do wrong! The hardest part is removing the castle nut from the hub, if you can get that off the rest is a doddle, if you can't then you know it's garage time There's no weight from the suspension on the components at all nothing to pop snap or break. If your not confident then by all means take it to the garage but if you think you can undo 12 bolts and put them back then your done that's literally all it is! Use a bearing pullet to remove the old seating cones and pop them on the new arms 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Remove w brace, get it sand blasted and paint with metal paint, jobs a good un for £25 or so, no need to replace. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Just contacted the garage to tell them I was ordering Nissan parts and wanted to confirm its definitley the banana arms and not the lower control arms. Response was....I'm not sure. Call Toyota they will know. Can you email us pics and I'll call you back tomorrow. Unfortunately I have a feeling the w brace might be beyond salvaging from their description. But then again they seem to think my car is a Toyota, so maybe not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 I'd be finding another garage if they can't tell you it's control arms vs compression arms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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