Tungsten Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 A few years ago just when I got my truck, it had really bad alignment issues. I tried to fix some of that by taking it to a shop and asking them to fix it. One of the things they did was repair and replace these strut rod (tension rod) bushings. I noticed that I still have some minor caster issues even now. Those tension rod bushing assemblies came from the dealership so they are factory parts. They don't look like they fit quite right though and one is even missing a cup. Do I need to have these cups removed and replaced with bearing races instead? Driver Side Passenger Side I can get more photos if anyone wants that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhornet Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 crappy lookin but wont cause u any issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Looks fine to me (I guess I mean that it looks better than what I did to mine . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I see your problem. Rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Just wondering as I am missing one of the cups. I also want to know if it's normal for that bushing to be squeezing out like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 My bushings look like a fat kid in skinny jeans. But mine are factory and probably should of been changed by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.510 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 You should definitely have a cup for each bushing. The cups and bushings determine the location where the back of the LCA pivots since it is (mostly) a twisting joint as opposed to a flexing one. That said, don't do anything to it quite yet. I'm currently prototyping a weld-on steel housing with sealed spherical bearing assembly to replace the crappy, flexy, rubber bushings. Knowing how much difference getting rid of the rubber makes on other vehicles I think it's going to make a huge difference on a Pathy. I'm mostly after eliminating the toe change under power climbing stuff off road but this mod should make a pronounced difference on the street as well. Toe change is a big factor in why IFS trucks don't wheel as well as solid axles. The only real question for the prototype to answer is: How much more felt vibration will there be? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 I think I will get a Ford cup welded on there for the time being and swap out the bushings for some poly ones just to prevent the whole thing from self destructing. I get torque steer going highway speed because of the toe and caster change from those ridiculously designed bushings. I can't wait to see the prototype! I am definitely interested as that will also allow me to run a front limited slip differential without destroying the tension rods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Yes, as was said, the cup is important. You look like you have a herneated disk or two so yes, changing them is appropriate and they always look a lot worse inside than out. Be prepared to de-rust/paint the strut rod too. A good swap that is inbetween factory and Mr 510's idea is simply to use poly urethane replacements. I can say from experience that they stiffens things considerably. B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Strut rod looks reasonably clean but yes I am planning on rebuilding these things. Shouldn't take that much work anyway. It's only 3 nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) Poly Bushings up front made a huge improvement in my ride, steering and vehicle stability went up huge. I also need to repair my Bushings cups too though. I am going to grind them clean and weld on the fattest bearing cups I can find to increase caster to help align my 3" torsion crank Edited June 19, 2012 by Nefarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) Today I found out that Nissan sells the actual cups for $5 per cup. I ordered 4 of them and will see what they are talking about. The other thing is I have a set of MOOG poly bushings with the metal sleeves. Do I need the sleeves? I'm not sure how the factory one is set up. Oops! I ordered 2 kits thinking it was for each side. Apparently one kit has them all for both. PM me if you want one for $20 shipped. Edited June 20, 2012 by Tungsten 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreus009 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Yes, you need the sleeves. They slip over the ends of the compression rod and slide into the bushings. If you don't use them there will excessive play between bushings and tension rods. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 OK that makes perfect sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95_se_pathy Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Today I found out that Nissan sells the actual cups for $5 per cup. I ordered 4 of them and will see what they are talking about. The other thing is I have a set of MOOG poly bushings with the metal sleeves. Do I need the sleeves? I'm not sure how the factory one is set up. Oops! I ordered 2 kits thinking it was for each side. Apparently one kit has them all for both. PM me if you want one for $20 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Sadly the techs at Nissan can't get the part number I was looking for. I'm going to see what's going on and they will let me know tomorrow. If I can't get the bushing cups I think I will just wait for Mr. 510s kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Yes, as was said, the cup is important. You look like you have a herneated disk or two so yes, changing them is appropriate and they always look a lot worse inside than out. Be prepared to de-rust/paint the strut rod too. A good swap that is inbetween factory and Mr 510's idea is simply to use poly urethane replacements. I can say from experience that they stiffens things considerably. B You might also be prepared to replace the strut rods themselves. Once I replaced my bushings last summer the rods were too rusted/worn out to reuse. The other thing is I have a set of MOOG poly bushings with the metal sleeves. Do I need the sleeves? I'm not sure how the factory one is set up. I have these same bushings on my truck. So far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Yeah I have those. I just don't know what to do for the cups. I could get bearing races or use Ford F-series cup washers but Mr.510s product is looking pretty sweet. If I'm going to spend that money I would rather go for the best and buy his stuff. I would have used the poly bushings but the rotted cups just break my caster alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I had to do some work on compression rod mounts on my old hardbody, the front side had no cups and the holes were elongated, I had some metal cut out to fit the whole flat area and the metal shop punched the holes thru the metal for me, than a friend welded them on for me, still didn't have any front cups and I never noticed anything bad with not having them. I am also using those blue Moog bushings now on my PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 If you say so! Then I might just switch to the poly bushings in the mean while leaving the cup out. The soft factory ones just compress and slop everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Alright I did the bearing race trick but only on the front side since the rear was fine... I have to admit that it doesn't look very clean but it works better than it ever did. I used the factory sleeves since the aftermarket sleeves were a bit loose but also decided to experiment with regular aftermarket rubber bushings first before I went to poly to see what the difference might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Do you remember the part number for those cups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 They are L68111 http://www.amazon.com/Timken-L68111-Wheel-Bearing/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Awesome, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now