I need to replace them. It looks easy. Is there anything I need to watch out for?

Make sure the spacer is the right length. When I did mine about 2 hrs later I finally figured out the spacer was two long. You are also going to need like a 22-25MM wrench. I cant remember which one. A socket will not fit.

If the holes/cups are egged out, you might need to do some reconstructive surgery. Thanatoz had this issue, replaced his bushings and still had alignment issues. Had to fab some cups and tighten up the holes, which helped much.

-Spike

Yeah, you need tight holes and big cups!!!

But really, if the mounts the bushings are sandwiching are to 'egged' out, your bushings are only going to last a few months. We ended up welding in the biggest heaviest washers we could find to replace the missing metal. Probably overkill seeing as the metal was only like stamped steel to begin with.

Hmmm

I haven't taken it apart yet but I'll keep this in mind. Thanks.

The "cups" that the bushings seat into is what holds the rod centered in the frame hole. These commonly rust away, allowing the bushing sleeve to rub the hole in the frame until it is a slot. It can also rub through the sleeve, into the rod and even wear them to the point of breakage.

If the frame holes are worn, that is not as big of a concern as the cups. If the frame is really bad, you can weld back some metal and smooth it.
Welding new cups on is the REAL fix. It recenters the rods and you are good for another 10 years.

I read where others have used some sort of bearing race as a repair part. You may be able to search that if yours are rusted away.

You can buy the cups new from Nissan. $5 a piece IIRC. Im away from my home computer so I cant look up the p/n in FAST.

I replaced all of my cups the last time I did the tension rod bushings...they were WAY worn out.

Scott

quote:

Originally posted by D21:
You can buy the cups new from Nissan. $5 a piece IIRC.
Scott

Wow, we didn't even think to ask Nissan if they offered the part. Thanatoz cut some pipe to make new cups. That worked, but having the right part would have probably been easier. I guess you grind/chisel the old ones off?

-Spike

Replace the bushings with poly ones too

The "cup" is this the same spacer found in the MOOG kit?

picy.


I used this kit. Both spacers were to long. If you were thinking of reusing the spacer.... On my drivers side there were no spacer left. Installing a new spacer is a must.

I used that kit as-is. I didn't notice a difference in length.

The cups are spot welded to the frame. They are not part of any kit that I know of. In fact, I was led to believe that they were not available from the dealer, but I'm glad to hear that I was wrong.

I just finished the job. For those who see this thread and want to replace these bushings, you'll need:
-24mm wrench for the big nut, a socket won't work
-22mm wrench or deep socket for the other two
-19mm socket or wrench
-a prybar (possibly)
-bushings, sleeves, etc.

Everything was REALLY tight so I borrowed a 3' breaker bar. Air tools would of course make things easier. One of the cups was broken and was causing some strange noises in left turns so I'll have to tack that back in place.


The sleeve had a nice groove in it.


you can see the cup has shifted since it's not tacked

Bushing looks the way it should be.

I talked to my local Nissan dealer about the cups. The parts guy couldn't find them in Nissan FAST. I couldn't either. Who's got a part nuumber

No luck in FAST. However I do have a part number for the tension rod bracket. The brackets are a little on the expensive side. 47.00.