Bushings/Specialist in Vegas

[370Z944]

Hi all,
First post here. I picked up a 2011 nismo last year. Once I got it in the air i noticed the bushings we're leaking. I took it to the stealership, and they confirmed bad bushings. My extended warranty isn't immediately covering it, and want a second opinion.

I took it to another shop here in town, and they're saying the bushings are fine. I'm inclined to believe they aren't familiar with oil filled bushings, and don't know what they're looking at. I've seen the leaks myself, I know the bushings are bad.

At 20k miles i wouldn't expect bad bushings. Seems it was driven hard on salty roads, and put up wet.

Any advice, or recommend a proper Z mech here in Las Vegas?

[gomer_110]

IMHO, how the car was driven and under what conditions will have a bigger effect on bushing wear than just the number of miles on the odometer.

My '11 Nismo has approximately half the miles yours does and I've already had to replace the front lower control arm bushings due to wear. Mine does however see 10-15 autox events a year on wide sticky hoosier slicks so factory bushing life will be shortened noticeably.

[370Z944]

Originally Posted by gomer_110

IMHO, how the car was driven and under what conditions will have a bigger effect on bushing wear than just the number of miles on the odometer.

My '11 Nismo has approximately half the miles yours does and I've already had to replace the front lower control arm bushings due to wear. Mine does however see 10-15 autox events a year on wide sticky hoosier slicks so factory bushing life will be shortened noticeably.

Definitely. My main issue right now is finding a local shop that knows the nuances of this car. Or at least these types of bushings. One mechanic told bushings are never oil filled, and the other is looking for them to totally fail and crack first. Failing to realize once it leaks, its time to go. I'm getting wheel hop, and the rear end isnt as stable as it should be. Front end doesnt seem as tight either.

Not sure I even want to go with OEM, but may not have a choice unless I pay out of pocket.

[cv129]

Originally Posted by 370Z944

At 20k miles i wouldn't expect bad bushings.

FYI, the liquid filled bushings on our cars can fail quite quickly, even just for normal commute miles. My G37 sedan's diff bushing busted at about 35k miles.

[cv129]

Searching the Las Vegas thread yielded some potential destination for ya, links to relevant posts below.

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

[370Z944]

Originally Posted by cv129

Searching the Las Vegas thread yielded some potential destination for ya, links to relevant posts below.

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

Vegas Speak Up!

Looks like slim pickings. Most seem to recommend driving 5 hours into SoCal. That's not gonna happen for me. Maybe for a custom modded car I can understand that. This isn't my hot rod, I got a 944 turbo 3.0 that will smoke this thing that eats up my budget for that already that I ship to the builder in AZ for all work.

This is a daily I got because my 944 was finally too modded, old, and a money pit to daily practically any more. The Z was closest modern car I could find to fill the void. The '44 is shooting up in value, this thing is dropping. Lol It was time for a ground up, and make it a garage queen. (The '44)

Liking the Nismo a lot. I see where they cut the corners to keep the price point under Cayman money now tho. Great tuner, but stock this thing leaves a lot to be desired. Not a proper sports car without mods IMHO. Weak sauce. To be expected for a msrp in the 40's I guess. Awesome platform to work from nonetheless. Too bad it lives in the GTR's flagship shadow. You couldn't pay me to buy a bloated GTR.

Once I'm done DD'ing it, I'll probably beef up the bottom end, and swap a GTR top end on it, and all the boost fixins. I tend to keep my cars for decades.

[Quicksilvers]

According to my friend how is in Las Vegas says there are no reputable shops that specialize in the Nissan 370Z. PM sent.

[James10694]

The only shop that claims to work with Zs is paladin automotive. They mainly work with GTRs and 350s. I'm not too sure if they have a good reputation. I went to them for a test pipe install and had no issues. I go to morri at uehara motowerks. He can definitely handle any work you may need, however he specializes in MR2s. Hes worked on my boosted performance Z and another boosted Z on the forum. As of recent I brought my Z to 6651 customs for fuel upgrades and from what I can tell Daryll did a pretty solid job. You're gonna pay there too and again they don't specialize in Zs. Theres not one shop in Vegas that specializes in 370zs or VQ motors. I recommend bringing your car to a shop that specializes in suspension or performance cars. DO NOT bring it to Nissan in centennial or any basic auto shop. If you're talking about your differential bushings. I would bring it to Dan's driveline. They have been doing excellent rear end work for years. I brought my car there for a differential upgrade and bushing swap because mine were leaking. The new diff didn't come with a shim kit which is highly recommended. I have to give it to the guys at Dan's because they made their own shim kit and got it done in one day like they promised. PM me if you have any more questions

[370Z944]

Originally Posted by James10694

The only shop that claims to work with Zs is paladin automotive. They mainly work with GTRs and 350s. I'm not too sure if they have a good reputation. I went to them for a test pipe install and had no issues. I go to morri at uehara motowerks. He can definitely handle any work you may need, however he specializes in MR2s. Hes worked on my boosted performance Z and another boosted Z on the forum. As of recent I brought my Z to 6651 customs for fuel upgrades and from what I can tell Daryll did a pretty solid job. You're gonna pay there too and again they don't specialize in Zs. Theres not one shop in Vegas that specializes in 370zs or VQ motors. I recommend bringing your car to a shop that specializes in suspension or performance cars. DO NOT bring it to Nissan in centennial or any basic auto shop. If you're talking about your differential bushings. I would bring it to Dan's driveline. They have been doing excellent rear end work for years. I brought my car there for a differential upgrade and bushing swap because mine were leaking. The new diff didn't come with a shim kit which is highly recommended. I have to give it to the guys at Dan's because they made their own shim kit and got it done in one day like they promised. PM me if you have any more questions

Paladin seems to get mixed feedback based on the links above. I have an aftermarket warranty, so it somewhat limits me as far as shops I can go to.

I took it to Asian Imports on Charleston. They work with my warranty company. I got a 5 year 100k mile agreement, and they insist on oem. I have a feeling this wont be the first time they have to replace my sub frame.

The big thing seems to be the alignment. I trust the shop to R&R some parts, but getting the alignment, and geometry right...they aren't even equipped to do. Know a good alignment shop?

[Hotrodz]

Originally Posted by 370Z944

Paladin seems to get mixed feedback based on the links above. I have an aftermarket warranty, so it somewhat limits me as far as shops I can go to.

I took it to Asian Imports on Charleston. They work with my warranty company. I got a 5 year 100k mile agreement, and they insist on oem. I have a feeling this wont be the first time they have to replace my sub frame.

The big thing seems to be the alignment. I trust the shop to R&R some parts, but getting the alignment, and geometry right...they aren't even equipped to do. Know a good alignment shop?

I had my coils on installed at Paladin several years ago and they did me soild. I know of others that used the other shop James mentioned and they had nothing but good to say about them. My local shop (1 Stop Auto) here in Kingman, AZ about a 1.5 hrs from you installed all my suspension and drive train parts and does my alignments.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[James10694]

Originally Posted by 370Z944

Paladin seems to get mixed feedback based on the links above. I have an aftermarket warranty, so it somewhat limits me as far as shops I can go to.

I took it to Asian Imports on Charleston. They work with my warranty company. I got a 5 year 100k mile agreement, and they insist on oem. I have a feeling this wont be the first time they have to replace my sub frame.

The big thing seems to be the alignment. I trust the shop to R&R some parts, but getting the alignment, and geometry right...they aren't even equipped to do. Know a good alignment shop?

I had the stock nismo suspension for a couple of years and then I switched over to swift springs. I haven't had any uneven tire wear.

I have been getting my alignment done at firestone by a guy named alex. He's really good at what he does and has a knack for lowered car alignments. He now works over at samurai motors on spring mountain. They have a pretty good reputation but I wouldn't bother with a performance shop for stock alignments. I still use firestone because of the lifetime alignments. If you're stock then they should have ZERO problem getting it done correctly.

Now what do you mean they aren't equipped to do an alignment?

[SS_Firehawk]

If you attempt to go through your warranty, they replace the entire rear subframe and the bushing will still fail in 20k miles. It's best to buy aftermarket poly bushings and take it to a shop or someone you trust to punch it out and replace it. It is not difficult or expensive to do. You have an opportunity to make your car better. Going with another OEM bushing is like putting another stock CSC in your car after it dies.

[370Z944]

Originally Posted by James10694

I had the stock nismo suspension for a couple of years and then I switched over to swift springs. I haven't had any uneven tire wear.

I have been getting my alignment done at firestone by a guy named alex. He's really good at what he does and has a knack for lowered car alignments. He now works over at samurai motors on spring mountain. They have a pretty good reputation but I wouldn't bother with a performance shop for stock alignments. I still use firestone because of the lifetime alignments. If you're stock then they should have ZERO problem getting it done correctly.

Now what do you mean they aren't equipped to do an alignment?

They don't even have an alignment rack. They outsource alignments.

Originally Posted by SS_Firehawk

If you attempt to go through your warranty, they replace the entire rear subframe and the bushing will still fail in 20k miles. It's best to buy aftermarket poly bushings and take it to a shop or someone you trust to punch it out and replace it. It is not difficult or expensive to do. You have an opportunity to make your car better. Going with another OEM bushing is like putting another stock CSC in your car after it dies.

I have a 5 year 100k mile warranty, I guess they will have to do it multiple times then. There is also a lot of corrosion. I'm perfectly fine with a whole new sub frame.

The car was shipped here from Michigan. It had quite a bit of corrosion. I'm getting a whine from the transmission, could be a bearing. They are going to remove the trans as well. I have a sneaking suspicion it is the CSC.

What's currently the best CSC solution for a 100% street DD?

[370Z944]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I went with conceptzperformance CSC. Clutch still has 50% left.
Someone seems to have drove this thing hard. So far the warranty has replaced driveshaft, wheel bearings, subframe, and the transmission. I'm paying for the CSC out of pocket, but that's it.

[sokkiee]

Originally Posted by 370Z944

Thanks for the replies everyone. I went with conceptzperformance CSC. Clutch still has 50% left.
Someone seems to have drove this thing hard. So far the warranty has replaced driveshaft, wheel bearings, subframe, and the transmission. I'm paying for the CSC out of pocket, but that's it.

my alignment guy is alex from samurai alignments on spring mtn rd.
what ext warranty do you have?
im from vegas as well, who did you have replace your rear diff bushings?