Rear Suspension Bushings, Slots, and Whatnot

[Noflers]

Okay, so now that my front suspension is finally finished, I want to start on the rear. All the bushings are the same condition as when I started the front, dry, crunchy, missing!

 

I have only found crossmember bushings to be sold by Whiteline and Energy, Energy sells the Whiteline crossmember bushing for those that don't know. They are poly. Are there other options?

 

For the control arms, again, I've only found Energy and Whiteline, they are poly. Are there any others available? I would prefer something made of rubber because I've read that poly bushings on a slotted crossmember don't work well. Can anyone speak on that? Can someone confirm the rear control arm bushings require the same labor as the fronts to replace?

 

For the Mustache bar bushings, I guess there are two different sizes? 40mm and 50mm. I measured the washer that the bushing seats on and it's right about 58mm. The thickness of the bar is 4mm, that leaves an inner diameter of 50mm. is this correct? Seems simple, I know, but I CAN NEVER BE TOO SURE.

 

Finally, the QA1 rear coilover shock on the driver side has had a slight knock when returning from the compressed spring. Inside the car the noise is very noticeable and I won't drive with it (can't stand "clunking" no matter where it's coming from, and I don't want to damage it further). I have a couple videos of the sound (linking one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXX29HHwrbA

 

Anyway, I'm thinking the is some sort of defect inside the shock (with the piston/valving/etc) and of course hoping Troy can help me get this figured out. I'd open it up and look for myself, but don't want to risk damaging it it can be replaced.

 

NOTE: The sound isn't coming from the spring rubbing or bumping anything, and the top hat is removed to make space and prevent it from making noise.

 

I hope I didn't include too many questions as to bury them and leave some unanswered.

 

Thanks!

[Dime Dave]

Have you checked for shock/spring clearance to the inner fender?

 

Also QA1 shocks are significantly shorter than stock. If you are running a taller ride height, it could be you have extended the shocks to limit under load and damaged them so they are binding. Do you have spring tension on the shock at full droop? Coil over shocks like little to no preload. If the spring has allot of tension when the car is jacked up off the ground, this could be the problem.

[Noflers]

Fender to shock clearance is fine, and my ride height puts the shock just above the center of it's stroke, so plenty of room to go up or down. I'm running 200# springs so the pre-load drops the spring about .5-3/4", that's with no spare tire or spare tire well and only about 1/4 tank of fuel.

 

If it helps to visualize, I'm on 22.7" diameter tires with about 11" between the center of the hub and fender. they made the sound the first time I road tested them and it bugged me enough to pull them back off.

 

Short of opening the thing up myself, I don't have much else I can do. I will lower the car back down and see if they are still doing it before sending them out.

 

UPDATE: It looks like there is some sort of savage washer system on the rear cross member, I'll be swapping those out for something a little squishier soon.

[Noflers]

Mustache bar and rear cross member bushings ordered (both Whiteline)...

 

So new questions: Can the crossmember bushings be replaced with it still on the car (by dropping the crossmember/diff down)? 

 

Still searching for a solution to the coilovers. I finally decided I want to open it up myself and see what's up, but then I realized that if anything is broken or anything, the QA1 revalve/tuning kit costs $150+ so I don't think I'll go that route. If I can confirm the sound isn't coming from something else by this weekend, I'll send it back to Troy.

[Noflers]

Update: Place I bought the bushings from says they are discontinued by Whiteline... I'm not sure how true that is, but I'll probably go with what Ermish has. Anyone know what manufacturer makes the bushings Ermish sells?

 

Still working on sending the coilover out. Just want to swap the left for the right first so I can be SURE I know what's wrong. 

[Three B's Racing]

Those bushings from Ermish are from Top-End Performance. There ok but i recommend running a 1/8" rubber underlayment but the Whitelines are the best. I run these from Top-End and had one of the 1/8" shoulders split. Top-End replaced it for free but i first placed a hard rubber 1/8" matt between the 510s body and the insulators 4 years later all is good.

[paradime]

I seriously doubt there is something wrong with the shock. If you allow the shock to droop, does the spring separate from the perch? If so, when you go over a bump and the shock extends you will get a harsh clunking sound. I had this problem with my Ermish coil overs and solved it by drilling holes in the perches and zip tying them to the spring. For me it was problem solved. If your coils are newer, they may have clips to hold them in place. Have you contacted Troy yet? Although crabby, he's usually very helpful. 

 

BTW, I lived in New Paltz for three years back in the mid 80s. LOVED IT THERE. 

[mttam510]

Maybe the piston is loose on the piston rod....have seen this before.  by chance, did you tighten the upper pin to the chassis with an impact gun?  If so, i would look to a loose piston.

[paradime]

Maybe the piston is loose on the piston rod....have seen this before.  by chance, did you tighten the upper pin to the chassis with an impact gun?  If so, i would look to a loose piston.

If the clunking is constant over every imperfection in the road than that would make sense. I got the recommendation to secure the perches to the springs from Troy. 

[shacks510]

If you allow the shock to droop, does the spring separate from the perch? If so, when you go over a bump and the shock extends you will get a harsh clunking sound.

Can this happen on the front too? I think you might have found my front clunking noise for me... I don't remember hearing and feeling the clunk throughout the car when I had no sway bar. I don't have any preload on the springs, so they might be drooping going through dips and stuff at an angle.

 

My rear shocks don't let the spring separate from the car or trailing arm (stock setup), so I don't think it's from there. I can't really tell where the noise is coming from... kinda hard to tell with a bunch of other noises. Spring could still be shifting I guess.

[GoGoGo]

Whiteline are still available - http://www.aftermarketsuspensionparts.com/products/datsun_510_1971?scri=17&filter

 

Baz from Datsport recommended Whiteline over any other brand and I trust them completely. 

[Noflers]

I didn't use an impact gun on any of the rear suspension.

 

I will definitely try securing the hat to the spring and see if that's what it is.

 

 

 

I zip tied the hat to the spring, no difference. I double checked that all bolts were secure and and that everything cleared fine before this video. You can't see much in the video, but it was taken from inside the trunk with a friend pressing up and down. With the zips: http://youtu.be/-FK387Em8mI

[paradime]

WTF? If you can produce the sound in your garage than you can us a mechanics stethoscope to pin  point the exact location.

 

Good luck 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-640582-Mechanics-Stethoscope/dp/B004KEHGZY%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3DAKIAJJY2YKHHLJKYIBNA%26tag%3Dslk03b1-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB004KEHGZY

[Noflers]

Thanks, but I'm starting to think the noise is just the nature of QA1's. Unfortunate for a $600 set of coilovers, yes. I can say that they perform well, I just can't stand the noise. 

 

I plan on cutting spring seats out of 1/8th or 1/4 rubber so the noise, hopefully, doesn't transmit through the body so easily.

[scooter]

Coilovers shouldnt clunk. Does it do it with like half a turn of preload? Clunk = something is loose.

[Noflers]

Coilovers shouldnt clunk. Does it do it with like half a turn of preload? Clunk = something is loose.

I don't really understand how you can pre-load a coilover that only has ride height adjustability... As in, the preload on the coil is determined by the in/lb rating of the spring and the weight of the rear end. Correct?

[Noflers]

For anyone looking, Zcar Depot sells oem rear control arm rubber bushings for the 510 now. Just ordered a set through their EBay store, $85 bucks or so shipped. Sure glad I didn't settle on poly back when I first started looking.