Well I have just been through a somewhat scary experience. I had been noticing my Zed feeling really really floaty in the back end intermittently, like the back wheels were disconnected, I kept thinking it was HICAS malfunctioning since last time I had problems similiar it was air trapped in the lines due to low fluid. It would throw me off track over a bump and then it wouldn't do it for a while and then all of a sudden it did it again. it was really hard to drive the car. I bled the system so many times and i couldn't figure out what the hell was going on to the point I was just going to get a lockout bar and get rid of it. I checked for anything loose and couldn't find much either, I was stumped. So anyway, it got really bad last night it felt like the diff was about to drop out any second, i pulled over into a servo to get petrol and while I was there i decided to have another look, what I found is terrifying, My pictures will tell you everything. I just though i would post this for any members chasing similiar problems.
Hooly dooly !! your car wasnt repaired by Brytech at all ? Lucky you found it and strange the blue slip guy didnt notice
Im not sure if its genuine, they both look to be the same but i will replacing both anyway. Oh I heard about Brytech too, what scum blatantly ripping people off. As far as I know my car hasn't been anywhere near Brytech, it could have been before I got it though. I can't say for sure. I guess its possible though, i eman when I first got it I noticed the nuts on my rear swaybar were missing making it clunk when i went around corners. Bloody bodgy c***ts , it could of killed me.
I find it very strange the blueslip dude didn't notice, i mean instead of trying to knock back my wipers he should of actually checked for major safety issues like this. But then again, maybe it looked tight when he inspected it so i can't be too sure, Im not gunna blame him 100% I reckon its got more to do with the previous owners workmanship. Come to think of it, a few days after it was on the road i pulled out of an intersection and heard a bit of a clunk noise, maybe it worked its way out then. But it made the clunk noise before that as well so i dunno, im just glad i found it before it was too late.
Get the car in the air, and check all the suspention nuts and bolts. Id be doing this to ensure something like a control arm or shock doesnt drop out.
Yeah for sure, I will be doing that also, I can't relax until i know everything is all done up nice and tight.
There is an even bigger question you should be asking, "How is it that the bolt in question is 'A', on an angle, and 'B' has no flat washer(the same as the bolt on the other side)? It can't have fallen off, as the bolt is still attached to the car.
Im unsure what you mean, What do you mean it can't have fallen off? EDIT: oh you mean the washer?? I bought it off a young dude that tried to tell me i had to take off the intake manifold to change the spark plugs..... Im guessing it could of been a mixture of incompetance and lazyness mixed with the old aussie she'll be right attitude. Bloody stupid and dangerous. I think the weight of the car jammed it... The bolt was still in there enough to let the HICAS rack clunk around, the nut was stuck in the frame bit had to use a telescopic magnet to get it out. The bolt eventually come out when i supported the weight of the rack and jiggle it around whilst twisting the bolt out. ( i took the photos halfway through this procedure)
The missing spring and flat washers are the first thing i noticed, no wonder it came loose. As for the angle its on i wouldn't be surprised to find the threads are damaged from the hicacs trying to pound the bolt out especially if it only had a couple of threads holding it in. You might need to run a tap through it.
I got a brand new bolt but is the hole itself supposed to be threaded? I thought it was a just a bolt with a nut on the other side. Unless its been really stripped out from the pounding it took. lol The other side has a Nut and a bolt but it looks cheap like the one that fell out.
Yes there's supposed to be a square shape nut permenatly attached to the back side of the hole, are you saying it fell out. This would explain the weird angle the bolt was on if the nut has broken away from the sub frame.
Yep it must of fell out as there was nothing there at all just a hole. The nut that fell off the bolt and got stuck in the frame had no weld marks or anything, it looked like a really cheap soft metal possibly even aluminium. Do i have to weld another one on or could I get away with a high tensile nylock nut and bolt?
That's not even a metric bolt, 7/16 UNF imperial grade 5 is what that is. Lucky you found the issue before it went south much further.
Its a weld nut and uses a resistance welding process similar to spot welding that's why there's no visible welds. As long as the hole is not damaged or to big for the nut it will be fine.Good luck holding onto it though , there's a reason why it was welded in. I would use a plain nut with spring and flat washers on the bolt side like nissan did to make it easier to do up rather than try and hold onto the nylock in the limited space you have.
Lucky it didnt come off ! even one bolt coming off would be enough play, to throw you into another ballpark.
