TwinTurbo.NET: Nissan 300ZX forum - Traction control link failure
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Subject Traction control link failure
     
Posted by 300zx90 (CO) on August 10, 2007 at 2:27 PM
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Message The pic below is my failed stock traction control link from the rear suspension:

Unfortunately my camera doesn't have macro mode (Polaroid a520) so I can't show detail of the crack. Usually I can borrow a better camera, but not today. Anyway it appears the lower welds connecting the stamped steel arm to the bushing sleeve had minimal penetration and failed long ago (evidenced by the rust beneath the welds, you can see it in the bottom pic). The crack itself appears to have been some time in the making as much of the crack surface is rusty with only the freshly torn region free of rust. Lovely eh?

Now here's something interesting. I pulled the link on the opposite side in preparation for my spiffy new replacements (thanks Charles!) and the other link is different. It has a panel welded into the underside of the link with a tab from this panel being welded to the bushing sleeve for additional support. This panel turns the torsionally flimsy open-section link into a nice stiff closed-section link, and the additional weld to the bushing sleeve can only help. The question is, which came first? This subframe assembly is off of a 91, so was the extra panel an improvement to the original design or was it deleted to save costs? If your Z is newer than 91, what does your stock link look like? Here they are side by side:

Finally here's a pic of both links next to their replacement.

If you have the open-section version of the link you should inspect it for cracks. To clarify, I've highlighted the link in this pic:

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