What is this piece of suspension

[josh817]

Hi guys, it's been a while.

 

Curious what this rod is and where to find bushings. One side has a bushing completely rotted out so the bar is loose. Just so happens to be that same side (passenger side) makes a clunk when I hit bumps but not the drivers side. Driver side seems pretty solid when going over bumps. I am able to source sway bar, shock, and wheel side control arm bushings but I can't find anything for this rod nor can I find engine side control arm bushings (I assume they're metal).

 

Car doesn't wonder around and last time I had the front up I don't remember any wobbling bits showing bad king pins or anything other than that rod.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

 

[flatcat19]

Tension rod. TC rod.

[Lostcause521]

My local Nissan dealer has the bushings for $4 each. I'm doing mine real soon.

[josh817]

Super fast response, thanks guys!

 

Think that could be causing a clunk on that corner?

 

Any idea about the metal bushings on the engine side control arm? Where to get them, how to replace them, etc. Figured that would be on bluehandsvideo youtube channel.

[mklotz70]

?  Not quite sure which one your talking about.  The one where the crossmember and the lower control arm meet, right near the pitman arm?   I've also got info on replacing the tension rod bushings with urethane bushings.  Way more involved and not really worth it on a daily driver.  It's in my NL320 thread, I think.

[metalmonkey47]

Judging by how worn out everything on your steering/suspension is, that clunk could be coming from anywhere. 

[dr.feltersnatch]

i would also check this bushing.it looks like that bolt is not centered, telling me the bushing is worn. or it could be camera angle.

 

[josh817]

?  Not quite sure which one your talking about.  The one where the crossmember and the lower control arm meet, right near the pitman arm?   I've also got info on replacing the tension rod bushings with urethane bushings.  Way more involved and not really worth it on a daily driver.  It's in my NL320 thread, I think.

 

The long rods that go from the brackets at the very front of the chassis under the rad, to the control arm so the control arms don't have forward/backward motion. Anything about the engine side control arm bushings that have the grease holes to them? I was kind of turned off from the king pins when I saw in your videos that they needed to be reamed and all sorts of other stuff that didn't involve a "remove the old put in the new". King pin replacement, though I don't need them now, have been put on the wait list.

 

 

Judging by how worn out everything on your steering/suspension is, that clunk could be coming from anywhere. 

 

i would also check this bushing.it looks like that bolt is not centered, telling me the bushing is worn. or it could be camera angle.

 

Yah... It's my daily so no time to really take her apart right now. The car doesn't wander around when moving. I've only replaced the tie rods. I will be free from school by next spring, hopefully buy another car of some sort, and pull the body on the 521. It really urkes me that I can make the outside pretty but the underside and the chassis will continue to rust unless I pull her all apart. I need to see what happens if I unbolt that dog bone piece that joins the top control arm to the bottom, to see if the torsion bar springs down. If everything is clear, I can easly replace those bushings for now and go back next year when I tear it apart.

[wayno]

That tension control arm bushing missing can definitely cause a clunk.

You lifted the truck up and pushed the lower control arm forward and backward without it movement, but that doesn't mean that when you hit the brakes and have two thousand pounds of truck pulling it backwards that it doesn't move, take my work for it, it moves, otherwise there would have been no reason to put a tension rod on the truck in the first place.

[dr.feltersnatch]

one step at a time. dont make it into a full body off frame resto. just do things as you have time and money. its way easier to keep motivated if you are able to drive it. and every improvement is still an improvement! no matter how small. find a point in the chassis that needs attention, and fix one part of it. then do another. 

[josh817]

I get tired of taking things apart to redo them because they weren't done correctly the first time. I thought about doing the chassis in sections. Pulling the bed and blasting/coating it one weekend, then do the cab later but... I have a feeling I would be going back for peeling coats or something.

 

Not trying to make it look pretty, just trying to stop the rust. I don't know what people do to get into those hard to reach areas like inside the doors.

 

I want to prevent permanent damage that can't be replaced with either aftermarket/original/parts from another car.

 

By far the most annoying thing right now is the needle on the speedo has gone missing. Granted, the speedo was never right but at least I knew when it pointed at 90MPH I was doing 50. I hit a bump one day, looked down, damn thing isn't there anymore. :sleep:  Now the front running like is out and the sockets are rusted in there as is the cover from the inside of the fender. Going to have to devise a solution by June!

 

Two favorite trucks!

[banzai510(hainz)]

the bushing with the red circle these are EZ to change .yes it looks bad. I bet most are bad and most people dont even grease the king pins. Have you??????

 

loosen the nut just enough to bang on it with a hammer to not ruin the threads as that bolt may be hard to get out with your hands. then replace bushing. I think they call it a upper A arm , was cheap and not more than a couple hours to change, it fixed my camber also.

 

use new TC rubber bushings. yes rubber. so it can flex