I'm getting ready to refresh the suspension on my 2.6 Impulse and need new strut rod bushings.
of course nothing is available for it so I've been looking at using something for another application that is close and modifying as needed. it appears that 67+ Mustang or 80's 300zx are likely candidates.
in the process of searching for info, I've read many people are against using poly in that location and there have been a few instances of broken strut rods resulting. but the Mustang & Datsun/Nissan rods look kinda wimpy compared to the Isuzu parts =>photo here(not my car)
it attaches to lca w/3 bolts, smooth gradual taper down to 20mm at the threads, no step where the threads begin.
some people on the z forums used a combo of both, rubber bushing closest to the wheel and then poly up front where the nut is.
any thoughts or experience with this issue?
Many Toyotas use that type of mount too... pre 87 Corolla, pre-86 Celica, I think teh same for the earlier Cressida as well.
I'm using TRD high density rubber with no complains
Upgrade the way mustang guys do
http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/adjustable
yeah I am familiar w/diy adjustable option, found this nice clevis as the potential cornerstone:
pacificcustoms.com
however the tapered shape of my stock rods do not leave enough room for the clevis,rod end & a coupling. I would have to start from scratch & just don't have the time for that right now.
and also, I'm not really fluent on suspension geometry but don't those heim strut rods change your pivot point?
delrin/aluminium ball & socket would be awesome but again I don't really have the time to design this stuff right meow.
OST thanks for the suggestion but the Toy stuff is too small, my stock bush is 60mm OD.
That rod has to pivot out at the chassis end as the suspension goes up and down. Oem squishy rubber allows for that motion.
Nice pivot bolts or heim joints allow for this as well. They get performance bonus points by eliminating the fore and aft motion the oem squishy rubber allowed.
Hard urethane replacement bushings don't flex much, so the rod or the bracket has to flex instead. That's not good! It'll work, for a while. But that metal flexing leads to failure eventually.
My '70 mustang broke a strut rod after changing over to poly bushings, but they were the factory original 1970 parts, so I chalked that failure up to old age, and possibly over compressed bushings. I replaced both strut rods with new parts and all was well for the rest of my time with that car.
Moral of the story is that I strongly suspect that many of the reported failures are due to old fatigued parts.
