Suspension Part Replacement

[mii11x]

Hi all,

So I have a 93 models gtst and have decided to replace bushes etc as being 20years old they would be thrashed out. I would love to do this myself at home but not having a press or access to one makes it hard for me to part with all the labour costs involved. Obviously I would need to pay for alignment.

Was thinking I could however buy new parts ie front upper and lower control arms, a-arms, rear upper and lower links etc and fit them all myself without the need for buying new bushes, the need of a press as well as not paying labour. Nismo parts I can get from RHD.

I would not know if my current parts are bent in anyway(im the only owner the car has had since japan) but the bushes are pretty much shot. How would you know if your arms etc are bent actually??

Your thoughts on buying nismo parts and replacing myself, or pay someone to fit new bushes to old parts.

Cheers

Mick

[djr81]

The likelihood of them being bent is pretty small and even if they are Nissan arms are cheap as chips to buy second hand. So I wouldnt factor that in. Easiest way to tell is to look at them.

If you want to go DIY I would remove the arms etc and then take them somewhere and pay them to press the bushes out. You can install the new bushes and refit the arms etc yourself. Then just get it checked over and aligned. Will be massively cheaper than the Nismo option.

[darksky34]

yes as above said, take the arms out bring them to mechanic they can press bushes out and even put them back in, will be minimal cost! otherwise just buy brand new nismo/aftermarket arms if available...but obviously that will cost more than just replacing bushes alone.

[mii11x]

So an update to my situation, took the car to wholesale suspension at Penrith, and as I thought almost all my bushes are cactus.....I was surprised to see how much movement there actually was in certain links with my shit bushes......definitely didn't feel too bad driving around but it probably was the cause of 54week old tein super streets slightly leaking(3 corners) and my tyres wearing out uneven though.

So all new bushes are being installed, where I can adjustable bushes will be fitted. Just have to wait and see if my teins will be repaired under warranty (stupid of me to fit them knowing that I had a problem last year with my old g4 coils all leaking....should of have it checked out by a pro last year before fitting the teins). Hopefully they will repair them under warranty and I can get some adjustable sway bars fitted.

The guys down there have been great, though I don't have the car back yet I will definitely recommend them to anyone who asks. Ive noticed wholesale suspension being mentioned on the forums a bit and wondering if they do a sau discount (if they do will it only apply to paying members??)

[Tommmay]

So an update to my situation, took the car to wholesale suspension at Penrith, and as I thought almost all my bushes are cactus.....I was surprised to see how much movement there actually was in certain links with my shit bushes......definitely didn't feel too bad driving around but it probably was the cause of 54week old tein super streets slightly leaking(3 corners) and my tyres wearing out uneven though.

So all new bushes are being installed, where I can adjustable bushes will be fitted. Just have to wait and see if my teins will be repaired under warranty (stupid of me to fit them knowing that I had a problem last year with my old g4 coils all leaking....should of have it checked out by a pro last year before fitting the teins). Hopefully they will repair them under warranty and I can get some adjustable sway bars fitted.

The guys down there have been great, though I don't have the car back yet I will definitely recommend them to anyone who asks. Ive noticed wholesale suspension being mentioned on the forums a bit and wondering if they do a sau discount (if they do will it only apply to paying members??)

How did you go with this

Much improvement

And what was the cost around?

Cheers

[mii11x]

ok so an update....

car was due to be picked up this arvo.........my teins were repaired under warranty so opted for whiteline adj swaybars also.........however I just received a phonecall stating a problem with the new front swaybar......there is only around 3mm clearance between itself and the sump(so ive been told). Wholesale suspension have told me that it sits too close for there liking so they are going to try a gtr swaybar instead.

Has anyone else noticed minimal clearance between there swaybar and the sump?? I should mention that I have an rb25 det engine, im not sure if this engine is taller than a 20, but having said that, the 32 did come out with a rb25de, so we both don't understand why there is so little clearance. Any other thoughts??

cheers guys

[mii11x]

How did you go with this

Much improvement

And what was the cost around?

Cheers

as above mate, don't have car back yet.......meant to be around the 3k mark all up......as soon as wholesale sort out the front swaybar and I pick it up ill let you know on the improvement(I am guessing it will be a completely different drive however)

[GTSBoy]

GTR bar won't fit.

I have 25DET Neo in R32 and Whiteline 24mm bar in front. No problem with bar being anywhere near the sump.

[mii11x]

GTR bar won't fit.

I have 25DET Neo in R32 and Whiteline 24mm bar in front. No problem with bar being anywhere near the sump.

Im guessing he should have been told that by whiteline, however they are sending a grt bar to them to trial, I guess because its a 22mm bar instead of 24mm. how much clearance do you have??

last time I checked the engine still seemed stirdy in its place, but could it be engine mounts. I mean if they are collapsed a bit, this would reduce the clearance right?

[ZRBE]

Sorry to hijack thread.. But about the GTR sway bar in a 32 gtst. Will it fit with the stock rb20det engine

[GTSBoy]

GTR anti-roll bar won't fit at all. See my post above yours.

[mii11x]

GTR anti-roll bar won't fit at all. See my post above yours.

spose they figure that out themselves. any other thoughts as to why it wouldn't fit??

sorry I have not seen the car since it went to the suspension place so I cant actually see for myself the problem. only been told over the phone.

[mii11x]

ok, so they figured out that whiteline sent the wrong part.....anyway hopefully car will be back today

[mii11x]

ok, I finally got the car back. only had the chance to drive it home penrith to campbelltown along northern road and all I have to say so far is amazing. no squeaks, creaks, knocks, clunks or anything anymore. steering is massively improved, will be taking it out later on this evening for a bit more spirited driving so ill have more of an evaluation later on the handling side of things.

big thanks must go to wholesale suspension at Penrith, in particular matt, chris and dean. id highly recommend these guys to anyone.

out of curiosity, what do you guys have your swaybars set at?....ie hard or soft. I had mine set as soft for the timebeing.

[GTSBoy]

24mm front and rear for me. So set hard front, soft rear.

[mii11x]

Awesome!! Money definitely well spent.

The car feels so much more balanced through turns, feels as though the body remains "flatter" through accelerated turning. Body roll has been significantly reduced. Turn in response has improved immensely, to the point where I feel as though I'm learning to turn the vehicle again on the same roads.

Previous to the upgrades I would turn in, car would turn in slowly and heavily, body roll in opposite direction, then ease the wheel back to straight.....Now, I'm turning into the corner, waiting for body roll, waiting, waiting, shit I have to adjust steering input or ill hit the inside corner, then ease the wheel back to straight. On corner exits I've noticed that I'm having to release the steering wheel earlier too - the car just keeps on turning in.

The steering of the car feels easier and lighter, like I'm not fighting the steering wheel anymore.

I still have to play with the shock adjustments to get the feel I would like, there is no easy way to do this apart from set them, drive around for a couple of weeks then readjust, will take some time but I'm in no rush really. Also, have to play with the sway bar settings to see what I like. As stated earlier, I had them installed on soft settings front and rear, seems as though most have the front set to hard so I'll have to try that in the next couple of weeks also.

I don't have squeaks, creaks, knocks, thuds when driving/turning, turning in and out of driveways anymore. One thing I have noticed however is a light clunking noise when on and off throttle which I'm assuming is the diff - backlash?? from what I've read on here, so the next task on my list is to diagnose and remedy that.

[Charles89]

Hey Mick, so what were the bushes that you ended up replacing?