Z31 Sway bar Reconditioning
A very simple and effective method for restoring your 300ZX's handling is to recondition the anti-roll system. As with most everything else made of rubber on the car, the 20+ year old sway bar bushings are most likely dried up and cracked. I chose to replace mine using Energy Suspension's bushings.
I removed both bars and refinished them at the same time (to keep motivation up). Each bar was cleaned using Castrol's Super Degreaser (purple jug) and stripped using Klean-Strip's Paint Stripper. If your bars are covered with undercoating, you should have good luck with mineral spirits and steel wool.
After stripping, both bars were refinished using a high-grade silver wheel paint (hopefully, this will duplicate the durability of the original powder coating).
Front Bar
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This is the front bar, as refinished. The silver finish looks fantastic.
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After refinishing the bars, I purchased polyurethane bushings for both the front and rear bars, as well as new end link hardware. The sway bar bushings are Energy Suspension's 22 mm (part #9.5158RC). The end link bushings are Energy Suspension part #9.8105RC. Total cost was about $28 for all bushings—great quality.
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For end link hardware, I used grade 8 bolts and chrome sleeves (to replace the stock bolts and spacers). Original hardware was measured for correct bolt length and spacer thickness.
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After everything is clean and the new hardware is ready, simply bolt the bar back into position. Note: The new sway bar to chassis mounts were thicker than the originals and needed some finesse to align properly.
Rear Bar
- For the rear bar, the approach is the same as the front. I was surprised at the size of the OE Nissan end links; they only measure 1/4". I used Energy Suspension's 9.8105RC bushings for the endlinks and upgraded to grade 8, 3/8" x 6" bolts. I couldn't locate appropriate 19 mm sway bar bushings locally, so I reused the stock center bushings (they were still in good condition).
- The Energy Suspension end link bushings are thicker than the Nissan stock bushings. You must account for the increased installed height. Cut the stock spacers down to 2.5" for a proper fit.
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This is the rear sway bar as installed. Notice the much more substantial endlinks. Other than replacement of the end link bushings and hardware, no further modification was required.
Pro Tip
When installing sway bars, compressing the end link bushings enough to start the nut can be tricky. Use a floor jack under the sway bar, just before the end link, to easily move and hold everything in place while you start the nut.
Safety first: Always be careful when working under your vehicle!
Sources Used
- 1984-1988 Nissan 300ZX Factory Service Manual
- Writen by: Redare