So Im trying to change out these ****ing POS compression rods again. The bolt that comes from the unibody/frame just snapped. Im on the phone with an infiniti dealer and they cant seem to find a replacment part. I also have not idea how I would change this. the bolt comes down from the frame through the compression rod and a 19mm bolt tightens it all down.

 

Ok so Im even more F'ed then I thought. I just got off the phone with infiniti parts and they are telling me that that bolt is a part of the subframe and there is no replacment for it. They told me that Im going to have to take it to a body shop to have it repaired. WTF

 

That sucks!

Let us know what's going on...

 

what's the follow up man? i need to change my compression rods AGAIN, and you are scaring me.

 

Oh wow...you are certainly screwed!

 

I think that bolt is welded into the frame - in which case thats what you'll need to do to fix it.

 

Sorry I have not replayed to this thread in a while.
I fixed the broken bolt. Well its a band aid fix but it seems to be holding together great. I took some pictures at the time of repair. My father-in-law really helped out a lot. Hes a machinist and had a lot of tools for the job.

We first had to remove the bad compression rods. This too was a nightmare. We had to Burn off the rubber bushing. Then cut, twist and bent the metal part of the bushing to get it off. This metal piece seems to weld itself to the large sub frame stud with rust and corrosion. Because this part seems to go bad every year I decided to replace the stock bushing with a an all metal replacement. I have added pictures of these new bushing installed.

After getting the metal sleeve off we had to drill a hole up the middle of the sub frame stud. We went about 3 inches up possibly more. We then used a Tap and die to tap threads into the hole. I then took a long bold and threaded it into the hole. I then cut the head of the bolt off and reinstalled the compression rods. Put everything back together and put a nut on the end of new bolt.

Its been holding well for several months. Summer and winter conditions.

 

Wow, that's pretty crazy. You must have tightened that nut real good last time you replaced your arms, and eventually got rusted, making the nut impossible to remove. These bolts are class 12.9 and are an integrated part of the body; they have much higher torsion and shear strength than the bolts that hold your shocks in place. They are not meant to be replaced because they should withstand even the impact of a collission.

I saw it happen on a 240sx subframe bolt. The guy basically had to buy a new chassis and swap everything out to fix the problem. It's very important to keep these parts clean and free from rust.

 

yea looks like im about to do the same thing....ordered new compression rods and should be getting them tomorrow.the clunking noise is annoying the **** out of me.funny thing is that a mechanic from Nissan and infiniti told me that compression rods cant be changed without the ENTIRE LCA. Those new SPL PRO com.rod bushings look solid.

 

Yeah man, I defiantly would not buy the stock compression rods ever again. These SPL bushings are the way to go. If you can return your new rods you bought I suggest you do it. Get the SPLs. The stock bushings are JUNK!

 

Drizcol, good to see you were able to get them installed.

Great info for those that plan on replacing their compression rods soon.

I'm gonna PB blaster the sh*t out that bolt before I attempt to remove them.

 

Haha, Yeah I did PB blast the **** out of it. I also let it sit for a few hours. and that still happened.

 

wow thats some nightmare. I have a question tho, did the ride quality change at all with the metal bushings? I need to change mine but i don't want the OEM going with in a year it's not that cheap to change them as well.

 

You will not notice a drastic decrease in ride quality, but you will definitely feel the metal bushings. The proper way to put it is slightly more road feedback, through noise and steering vibration. The car will not siffen and jar your spine.

Ride quality is impacted mainly by your damping and spring rates.

 

I didnt notice a difference in feel or sound. But Im changed them when I had my summer wheels on (20s). So the ride was already harder then stock. But I defiantly wouldn't put stock compression rods on again.