Ricey Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Almost unbelievably I....Ricey.........King of the Spods........is writing a guide! In an attempt to cure the knocking noise from the back I replaced the droplinks - doesn't seem to have worked but the links themselves had loads of play in them so they were well worth replacing. A fair few people ask how to do this job and I've never found a really clear guide for the non-mechy types among us so I thought I'd write it up. This is a real spods guide so it even includes how to jack the car up! People will tell you in this is a 10 minute job because its only 4 bolts.........they lie. Its maybe a 30 min job on a brand new car......with a ramp. On a car thats covered 34k it took me around 1 1/2 hours and the following tools. - Breaker bar - 14mm socket - 17mm socket (but I think that might just be for the new links I bought - nissan replacements should remain 14ml) - 14mm spanner - preferably ratchet if you've got one - Hellfrauds are doing the pro range set for £39.99 at the mo (half price) http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... e=shopping - Penetrating spray - Trolly jack - Axle stands (unless you fancy poking Death with a stick to see what he does) - Dremel with metal cutting disc or an angle grinder depending on the condition of the bolts (not as scary as it sounds) - Hammer So firstly you need to jack up the car - here are the jacking points. You'll see a little sort of bump thingy on the diff that the jacking point at the rear Uploaded with ImageShack.us Then stick your axle stand under something solid and safe if you can't get it under the actual stand points. Take the wheel off for better access. This is what the ARB link looks like in situ Its got quite a few obstructions in the way but its really important to get your breaker bar nice and square when trying to take the bolt off - otherwise you end up applying unbalanced pressure and can end up rounding the nut off. Once you've 'cracked' the nut loose you can move on to a normal ratchet to loosen the bolt whilst using a spanner to hold the other bolt on the other side of the bracket. Once removed it can be pulled out or tapped out with a hammer if loose enough If you end up with a ceased bolt or you end up rounding one off (they might be so rusted that this happens anyway) then your going to need a decent power Dremel preferably with a flexi head attachment (as its an awkward space to get at) or an angle grinder. Then grind the mother off! This is the first bolt I've ever ground/cut off so I was a little nervous......be especially careful not to catch the brake lines as your pulling the cutting implement back out! Made a bit of a pigs ear of it but ultimately the job got done! Then put the new one in place - I found I needed to put the top bolt in first then jam the breaker bar inbetween the ARB and something soild (not sure what its called but you'll work it out), then put my weight on it to pull it down to allow the link to fit the bottom bolt. Spanner to hold the inner nut again and socket to tighten up the outer nut on the other side of the bracket. New link in place Repeat on the other side (passenger side) - only difference is a little bracket with an arm coming off it (no idea what it is, does or is called!). Its very simple and looks like this And this when its in place - it really cases no bother though So there you have it - my first guide! Be gentle if I've detailed any bad practice in there - suggestions as to how it could be done better are always welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andlid Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Kudos dude! you may have leaped out from the retard ranks leaving Ian all there on his own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BACON Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Great guide very good and I'm almost tempted to try and complete mine myself.......and this is coming from someone who is so technically unadvanced that I struggled to change my stubby all on my own Although you must have the smallest camara ever.....how did you manage to get such good photos of each stage??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Kudos dude! you may have leaped out from the retard ranks leaving Ian all there on his own! No No,im still there,occupying the space,dont worry about that. lol Anyone fancy keeping me company? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Great guide very good and I'm almost tempted to try and complete mine myself.......and this is coming from someone who is so technically unadvanced that I struggled to change my stubby all on my own Although you must have the smallest camara ever.....how did you manage to get such good photos of each stage??? hasnt figured out how to make it focus yet though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimjim Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 How much are drop links... and what would they go for my car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 How much are drop links... and what would they go for my car? I paid 25 quid off eBay. You can get oem ones for a bit more and updated for a lot more I guess the benefit to your car is the arb is attached properly with no play in it. Could eradicate some squeaking and might tighten up the handling The photos were taken on my phone ....one handed whilst trying not to to break anything, cover the phone in all manner it of dirt it cut through the brake lines! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimjim Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 How much are drop links... and what would they go for my car? I paid 25 quid off eBay. You can get oem ones for a bit more and updated for a lot more I guess the benefit to your car is the arb is attached properly with no play in it. Could eradicate some squeaking and might tighten up the handling The photos were taken on my phone ....one handed whilst trying not to to break anything, cover the phone in all manner it of dirt it cut through the brake lines! Presuming you can buy "performance" ones (that do exactly the same thing) for over 100 notes then Not having any problems at the moment, so I will leave it. But always good to have a guide for if/when I DO have to do it. Nice one .. With all this QUALITY spraying and fixing, you are soon going to be known as "Handy Ricey, the denim man!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 How much are drop links... and what would they go for my car? I paid 25 quid off eBay. You can get oem ones for a bit more and updated for a lot more I guess the benefit to your car is the arb is attached properly with no play in it. Could eradicate some squeaking and might tighten up the handling The photos were taken on my phone ....one handed whilst trying not to to break anything, cover the phone in all manner it of dirt it cut through the brake lines! Presuming you can buy "performance" ones (that do exactly the same thing) for over 100 notes then Not having any problems at the moment, so I will leave it. But always good to have a guide for if/when I DO have to do it. Nice one .. With all this QUALITY spraying and fixing, you are soon going to be known as "Handy Ricey, the denim man!" I firmly believe that riceys title should be changed to Double Denim Dude on the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think not baby puppy! It can be changed to 'The god of thunder' and nothing else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think not baby puppy! It can be changed to 'The god of thunder' and nothing else! Well I'm in awe Thor Nice guide good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I think not baby puppy! It can be changed to 'The god of thunder' and nothing else! we shall see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwantone Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 From the photos, I'm 99% certain that the stabiliser bar (ARB) is manufactured from tube as opposed to solid steel. There is only one reason for doing this and that is weight reduction. This seems to be in conflict with the other thread that is running regarding the comparative heaviness of the 350Z. Tubular stabilisers are made from far more expensive raw material, they need very specialised machinery to form the bends and the life of them is compromised. They do, however, weigh typically 40% less than the solid equivalent. Steve EDITED I've just had another look at the pics and I'm now 100% certain that its tubular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z350convert Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 That’s a really helpful guide. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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