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Upon inspection, my lateral link and control rod bushings are finally cracked and starting to separate. The symptoms are not bad - a little extra lean on corners, a little bit of creaking in cooler weather, and I assume the ride has become worse on harsh bumps (hard to tell due to slow decline). My RTAB bushings are original and actually look good?!?! (see pic below - no visible cracks or leakage).
To replace the lateral link and control rod bushings, it appears the easiest approach would be to replace the entire lateral link (comes with 2 new bushings) and control rod (also comes with 2 new bushings) w/ OEM parts. Not necessarily the cheapest, but the total cost is around $300 from a local dealer which is about the same as a nice Sway Bar.
Lateral Link (55130-2Y010)
Control Rod (55120-2Y000).
Searching the org didn't render a lot of DIY or input on addressing these bushings (most threads were about RTABs).
From my extensive autocrossing experience with live axle cars, poly bushings in rear lateral bars are not the best choice due to the lack of compliance resulting in bushing bind (and subsequent, rapid unbinding!). Don't get me wrong, poly bushings have their place - Front LCAs, Sway Bars, diffs, etc.
So my questions - is replacing these two parts something folks are doing? And if so, for those who have done it, were the results noticeable? Or is there currently a better approach?
Right Side Lateral Link Bushing is torn:
Left Side Lateral Link Bushing is distorted and torn (front view shown, tear is visible from back side).
FSM and Dealer Parts list for Lateral Link and Control Rod
The lateral link has to have a sloppy rubber bushing otherwise it will bind. If you want to press new bushings in the lateral link Febest has them, part #'s NAB-117 and NAB-118. Otherwise buy the OEM part and replace the whole thing.
I was looking into this last year when I replaced my RTAB's. I'm really surprised yours aren't leaking yet. If you're going to pull out the rear end to deal with the lateral link and control rod I would recommend replacing the RTAB's with ES poly. If your RTAB's haven't failed yet, you're on borrowed time and might as well get it done. They are a nice upgrade.
I was tempted to get Febest bushings for the lateral link and a Febest control rod but I have had horrible experience with any rubber part made by Febest. I really didn't want to go through the ordeal of removing the whole rear end, pressing out old bushings and pressing in new ones only to have to repeat the whole thing 6 months later.
Are you saying the entire rear end assembly has to be removed in order to replace the lateral link / control rod?
I may have it wrong, but from my quick inspection it appears that the lateral link / control rod could be removed without this....kind of like replacing a panhard bar on a live axle car: lift car, support torsion beam, remove link, reinstall link, lower car on ramps and torque bolts.
Are you saying the entire rear end assembly has to be removed in order to replace the lateral link / control rod?
I may have it wrong, but from my quick inspection it appears that the lateral link / control rod could be removed without this....kind of like replacing a panhard bar on a live axle car: lift car, support torsion beam, remove link, reinstall link, lower car on ramps and torque bolts.
I didn't really think about it I just assumed you would. Looking at SU-20,21 in the manual It looks like you probably could replace the lateral link/control rod without dropping the whole rear suspension, you just need to be able to jack up the torsion beam to get it in place once you've replaced the parts. You may need to disconnect the shocks from the hub, but I'm not sure. It's been over a year since I did my rear suspension.
Did you make a decision on what you're going to use for replacements?
Thanks @SquidBeak! I actually didn't seriously consider the assumption of full removal until I read SU-23 which states to "Remove torsion beam assembly" then "Remove later link and control rod from torsion beam". I checked again and I can get long wrenches and/or an impact on all the necessary bolt heads/nuts, so I am going to assume it can be done without removing the entire assembly.
As for parts, I am tentatively planning to do OEM for both. But to keep the discussion going, I would be interested to hear from others about the benefits of the TDM Imports QT Adj Link mentioned above for mildly lowered cars.
Due to my racing schedule, this work is a few months out, but I usually do a good job of providing follow up info for those who are interested.
Hello did you ever go thru with this job ? I'm looking to replace lateral link and control rod on my i30t as the bushings are **** also I have a bushing that is shot further up behind those can you please point me in the direction of the instructions to remove the control rod an lateral link ? Thank you for any help
I am planning on doing this job myself sometime in the near future. There is a youtube video on how to replace the lateral link and it seems fairly simple (maybe 4 bolts if i recall) ill link it here. I just recently had my RTA bushings replaced and now im actually getting some new noises from the rear end which i can only assume may be coming from the lateral link and what is left of those bushings, they are virtually non existent at this point.
I am planning on doing this job myself sometime in the near future. There is a youtube video on how to replace the lateral link and it seems fairly simple (maybe 4 bolts if i recall) ill link it here. I just recently had my RTA bushings replaced and now im actually getting some new noises from the rear end which i can only assume may be coming from the lateral link and what is left of those bushings, they are virtually non existent at this point.
Do you know where I can get the suspension member bushings Please any help is appreciated part # 55401-2y010 is suspension member bracket that holds the lateral link to the frame with 2 bushings do you know if I buy this bracket the bushings will come with ? Mine are completely gone as well
I ordered both parts (lateral link and control rod) from Courtesy Nissan ($379 shipped), but have not yet done the install; probably not until summer.
Agree with above post, it looks straight forward - the bolts are accessible with regular tools + impact gun if necessary.
The noise I currently have is a crunching sound in temps under 60 deg; could just be the Progress RSB bushings which are 18 years old.
55401-2y010 is the part # I meant to copy and paste why would you do lateral link an control rod and not do the suspension member bracket that has bushings connected to frame that holds lateral link to the frame ?? Iam looking to do this job but I feel doing control rod and lateral link is only 2/3rds of job as the suspension member bracket part # 55401-2y010 has bushings as well
the E.S. RTAB are a great upgrade. I had mine installed years ago. I think I'll do the lateral link bushing now that I see the part numbers for it up there..
the E.S. RTAB are a great upgrade. I had mine installed years ago. I think I'll do the lateral link bushing now that I see the part numbers for it up there..
I will say again why do 2/3 of the job if you do control rod an lateral link you might as well do subframe bracket that has bushings to the frame as well....
UPDATE: OEM lateral link and control rod installed. Definite improvement in ride and general feel. Handling is crisper, but the reduction in bump harshness is the main benefit (similar to the ride improvement from fresh front LCAs). A few weeks prior to this job, I had replaced the Progress RSB bushings with 7/8" Energy Suspension greaseable poly pieces which had a greater effect on handling.
The rear end compresses less when hitting larger dips in the road or coming off of speed bumps. All 4 bushings had visual wear, which would result in increased vertical movement on impact. In order to see the damage with the parts off the car, I had to use a large flathead to twist the bushing sleeve thus putting load on the rubber bushing around the sleeve. The right bushing (at chassis) had tears in the lower half (seen from pic above), the control rod bushings were the worst and split all the way around. The left bushing (at beam) had the least damage, with a relatively small tear in the bottom portion.
As a bonus, the rear end crunching/creaking sound on speed bumps/driveways is gone!
Install is straight forward. A couple of tips:
1. While the car was on stands, I did place the jack under the torsion beam, but except as noted in #2 below, I don't believe it's really necessary.
2. For re-installation, while is while the car is in the air, jack up the torsion beam so the lateral link is close to horizontal. This helps with positioning the right side of the lateral link so the bushing sleeve aligns with the mounting holes. It also helped to apply a little bit of white lithium grease to the ends of the bushing sleeve (only) since it was a tight fit. I used a rubber mallet and a large flat head to help with alignment in order to get the bolt through.
3. And per the FSM, put the rear of the car on to ramps for final torqueing. Unfortunately, when this is done, you can no longer get a torque wrench on left and center fasteners. However, torqueing to 73-86 ft-# is pretty easy to do by feel since it's about the same as the lug nuts; i.e. gutentight. An alternative would be to tighten when the torsion beam is jacked horizontal (i.e. #2), but I prefer to fully load the car.
wow, nice man !! that is not your average driveway DIY job. great work, and thanks for posting the results. and it's nice to know you dont have to remove the whole beam assembly
wow, nice man !! that is not your average driveway DIY job. great work, and thanks for posting the results. and it's nice to know you dont have to remove the whole beam assembly
I agree removing the entire assembly would have tripled the time. I should clarify that it really is an easy job; not much different than a panhard bar swap on a Mustang or Fbody. Although I used a Quickjack and an impact gun, simple jack stands and a breaker bar would suffice.
Between installing new OEM LCA's, sway bar bushings, Potenza Sports (great new tire), and this job, I am enjoying driving the car again.
Glad the job went well. I'm still really surprised that your RTAB's aren't shot after 20 years.
You said the rear end compresses less going over speedbumps. Is it a significant improvement or minor? Are your shocks relatively new? The rear on my car hits the bump stops over speed bumps and the shocks have <15k on them. Even though the one visible bushing looks ok, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and do this job. All of that rubber is really old at this point.
Glad the job went well. I'm still really surprised that your RTAB's aren't shot after 20 years.
You said the rear end compresses less going over speedbumps. Is it a significant improvement or minor? Are your shocks relatively new? The rear on my car hits the bump stops over speed bumps and the shocks have <15k on them. Even though the one visible bushing looks ok, I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and do this job. All of that rubber is really old at this point.
Very noticeable improvement on dips. Shocks are very old Illuminas (130k) with H&R springs. Subjectively it feels like about 1/4” of vertical slop has been eliminated on the dips. Here in AZ, shocks can last a very long time due to our smooth roads, and no road salt. I also try to creep over speed bumps.
