Thanks a lot. I know I need new shocks and struts at minimum. There's a sqeaking sound from the front and clunking/knocking in the rear when I go over bumps. I'll check everyhing out and see what needs to be replaced in the next couple of weeks or so. Are there any pretty DIYs with multiple color pictures floating around or do I just need to break out my FSM and Hayne's Manual and git 'er done??

 

Wow...been meaning to do this. I've ordered Whiteline front LCA inner bushings 2 YEARS ago...and never got around to do it!!

 

Sorry to revive an "older thread" (if you consider the last post being 12/2013 as being old) but I plan on tackling this project fairly soon and I figured that those of you that have done this project would be the best place to start my inquiries...so thanks in advance for your assistance!

First a little background on the car...2003 G35 6MT coupe with approx. 185k miles. Absolutely nothing on the suspension has ever been changed with the exception of having 350z springs and new shocks (replaced at approx. 175k miles). Needless to say, it's a tad bit overdue for some TLC!

The problem: I "bumped" (aka ran up on...lol) a curb rather hard on the passenger side, popped the tire and evidently bent some suspension parts. I'm not sure what exactly "bent" but I can see that the LCA bushings are done (both sides). THe passenger side is pushed all the way to the rear and the driver side is pushed all the way to the front. Also notice that the passenger side bushing "housing" is way bent (see pic) thanks to the "bump". I'm prepared to replace the parts listed in this thread and I'd rather do it all at once while it's apart rather than replace something, check it, replace something else, check it again, etc. When it's on the ground, the passenger side front tire is like \ (meaning the tire bottom protrudes more than the top). I've already purchased Kinetix upper A-arms rather than the oem's to give the front some adjust-ability.

My questions:
1) With new oem LCA's and compression arms, should I just go ahead and replace all of those oem bushings with aftermarket ones before they go in the car to alleviate all of the probs with the oem bushings? Seems like a good idea right?
2) Since pretty much everything is coming off and then going back on, what's the best disassembly/reassembly order?


Thanks for sharing your knowledge guys! It's much appreciated and please let me know if anyone needs any additional information.

 

For the LCAs and compression rods, I wouldn't bother with the bushings. I replaced my LCAs with whiteline bushings, but think new OEM (or aftermarket) would be just fine. The "revised" compression rod bushings on my new compression rods seemed very solid. If you already have the bushings, go for it, if not, I wouldn't sweat it at all.

I'd make sure you replace the the lower ball joints (on the knuckle) and the inner/outer tie rods as well since you had an impact. While you're doing the work, there's no reason not to buy everything I listed previously in the thread and do it all at once. It feels so good once you know everything is brand new. You'll have to get an alignment, so do everything, and you'll be set for a very long time.

PB Blaster is vital, and an impact wrench on the ball joint castle nuts is key. Everything else, you can do with normal hand tools. The inner tie rod will require a renting a special tool from Advance Auto/Auto Zone, but isn't too bad.

Start with the cross brace under the car, and remove the bolts holding the compression rods in place (I did all this one side at a time, but you can do as you'd like). Loosen the ball joint castle nut from the knuckle, and the compression rod is free.

Use an impact on the outer tie rod end castle nut, and get that loose. Using two open end wrenches, loosen the lock nut between in the inner and outer tie rod ends. Pry the outer tie rod end, or bang on the knuckle, to get it loose from the knuckle.

Move to the LCA. Remove the long bolt furthest away from you when looking at the car from the side. Then remove the strut bolt and sway bar link end. At this point, remove all the strut mount bolts in the engine bay, disconnect your brake line from the strut, and remove the strut/spring assembly. Next, remove the LCA from the lower ball joint on the knuckle.

Move to the upper control arm. Use an impact wrench to remove the castle nut holding the upper control arm to the knuckle. Then, take out the two bolts toward the back of the wheel well holding the upper control arm in. It'll come right out from there.

At this point, you'll have everything free except the inner tie rod, and should be able to figure it out from there. There are plenty of DIY step by step tutorials on here, google, and YouTube that you can reference for more details. Be sure to use the correct torque specs when putting it all back together.

Patience is key. My G had 15X,XXX miles on it when I did this, and I had to sawzall a couple things. Others just needed to soak in PB Blaster for a while.

Good luck!

 

1: yes yes yes and double triple yes! These cars should have been from the factory with polyurethane!

2: best way is to do it ALL at once. Only thing to remember is when taking off the LCA remove the bolts in this order: sway bar end link (remove from lca), lca shock mount point, balljoint/steering knuckle, then where the lca meets the frame. For instance, if you take the sway bar end link off third, you will not get it off, because your suspension is in a constant state of differing pressures when it moves. Once you remove one part, the pressures readjust and start sitting in other places. You don't want excessive pressure to bear onto the endlink and have it bind. Other than that its pretty straight forward.

 

Thanks for all the help with the inquiries so far. The time draws nearer that this project will start...late this week or early next week.

One more question for you guys...do the brakes (calipers, rotors, etc) need to be removed for this project?

 

Nope

 

Started the project today and could use some help/guidance/advice on a few things:

1) Moog inner tie rods did NOT come with spacers or lock plates (and of course I didn't notice this until the old one was off and I went to put the new one on). Is this normal? Shouldn't those parts come WITH the inner tie rod???

2) After searching for the spacers and lock plates, here's what I found:

Infiniti part numbers: (from Sewell parts)
49635M plate-lock @ $10.54 each (x2)
49730F spacer @ $19.04 each (x2)

Nissan part numbers: (from Nissan parts)
49635M (only for 2003 model & when clicked comes up as 48635-AA000) platelock @ $12.20 each (x2)
49730F (only for 2004 model & when clicked comes up as 48636-9W100) spacer @ $31.17 each (x2)

Auto Parts Warehouse:
W0133-1724382 tie rod washer @ $22.95 each (x2)
W0133-1722392 tie rod lock plate @ $11.95 each (x2)

Grubbs:
spacer @ $17.62 each (x2)
lock plate @ $9.76 each (x2)

Either way...HOLY CRAP!!! Expensive much...for what amounts to washers!!! The little suckers are more expensive than the tie rods themselves!!! Are there any other alternatives that anyone knows of that don't require a vital extremity or first-born??? This is why I think these pieces should come WITH the inner tie rod!

Question: Do I need both? The original had the lock plate and what looked like a little green O-ring thing (maybe that's the spacer?) on the back side of it.

3) The Beck/Arnley inner tie rod bellows did NOT come with a new clamp or metal twist tie thing...but rather 2 zip ties. WTH??? Is THIS normal? And acceptable?

4) Finally, you saw the photo I posted earlier of the bent LCA housing. Well, in order to get the LCA out, I used a plumbers wrench and floor jack to bend it back somewhat straighter (which actually worked quite well). Once I got the bolt out and the LCA removed, I noticed this (see photos). Basically, it looks like the metal "ripped" where it bent around the bushing (if that makes sense). GEEZ! At this point, I'm thinking that I need to get insurance involved. Your thoughts on this?

Thanks to all!

PS: sorry the pics are sideways.

 

What about the boots/bellows for the rear shocks? Does anyone have a part number or should I use generic ones?

 

Bump for a good thread.