redwine300

Brilliant Andrew, thank you.

Well after a couple of hours wrestling with the bolts connecting the brackets to the tensioner rods, they are finally apart! Now I can offer up the brackets independent of the rods and hopefully there will be no mismatch. Watch this space.

That's a fair question Dan, and my answer is two fold really... 1, I am a bit of an OEM nurd. 2, I am on a bit of a tight budget, but I take your point mate.

Cheers znut, They look the dog's b£ll£ck's, I have added them to my shopping list.

Thanks Lymon. Hopefully I will get time to bolt up the bracket to the crossmember and chassis rail without it being attached to the suspension arm today. As you say, if I understand correctly, the issue will be move the suspension into the correct position so as to engage the 2 connecting bolts. I guess it is my lack of my understanding that is the main issue.

Hi Steven, No solution as yet, I will not know what the outcome of my complaint will be until at least Monday. I just thought I would use the time to figure out my alignment issues whilst I still had the faulty crossmember in place. I guess I fear the worst, so thought I may as well carry on up to the point of actually welding the thing in, as I think I may have compromised things due to my prep work.

Tad-Dah! I hate rusty bolts! Got them both off in the end though.

Thanks to some improvisation and a copious amount of Plus Gas, the first tensioner rod was off. Phew. Just a matter of repeating on the other side. My plan from here on is to raise the car a little more so as to remove the wheels so as to take off any remaining tension. Hopefully from there I should be able to trial a re fit in conjunction with the crossmember. Well that's the plan anyway.

Sorry for the delay Russ, I've been tied up with the spot weld fault on the crossmember. As promised, here is a picture of my dilema. I have to say a big thank you to Slick Pete for his invaluable advice as to how to overcome the alignment, thanks mate. I will post my results shortly along with a step by step guide.

Sadly, I have had to put the final welding of the crossmember on hold for the time being. Reason for this is that through some lengthy correspondents, I have managed to elevate my complaint to Nissan themselves. Unfortunately though, I will have to leave the negotiation between the Vendor and Nissan as they made the initial trade. I can only hope that they hold my best interest at the forefront of their discussions. If all else fails, I will suggest the part be called a manufacturing fault and suggest it becomes a factory recall. (see how they like them apples)

Well after thinking long and hard about disclosing the vender, I have decided not to for the time being. My hope is that through further correspondence, justice of some sort will prevail. I have since replied to there rather curt reply expressing my feeling, and making it quite clear that I do not accept their comments and wish to elevate my complaint to the highest level. Hopefully my faith in humanity will be justified.

Agreed.

That's correct. I think you are right Steven, I will soak the bolts overnight with plus gas and have another go.

I did not say initially as I was unsure as to the correct etiquette. I would be worried about being improper. Happy to do so if that is okay with everyone.

Agreed mate! I was gobsmacked to say the least.

WTF! Thought it only right to notify the vendor of my issue with regards to the separated spot welds. :crying: All things considered, it was very polite e mail, but making clear of my dilema at the same time. (I am happy to publish e mail if required) Well I have to say the response was shocking to say the least, and I quote. :cursing: " These are all original Nissan OEM, so that one, the next one, the one after that are all gonna be the same." :asshole: I just could not believe it! Up until now I have spent the best part of $2,000 with them. :excl::no:

Brilliant! :lol::lol::lol:

I hope so mate, I hate being despondent. I think it will be a matter of getting a pry bar on the tie bar support and try and hold it in position whilst I insert the bolts. Might have a night off tonight, as you say, take a step back. I think I will open that box of Stella.

Not sure how to explain, but it is the two brackets that carry the tie rods, they bolt up to the underside of the cross member. Front to back they seem okay, it's Left to right that is the problem. I would undo them completely from the tie bar but just can not undo the bl&&dy bolts. Hey ho, there is always tomorrow. I will try and get some photo's tomorrow, just a bit fed up at the moment.

I know what you are saying znut and I agree with you. :yes: Just thought I will only get this one chance to make it as protected as possible so may have gone a little overboard. As for the inside? Agreed, I will be completely waxing the inside until it drips out of every orifice. (the crossmember that is, not mine.)

Will do Russ, just had a bit of a bad day today, faulty spot welds would you believe? Not to mention that I can not get the lower bolts to line up. Anyway, next chapter will be here soon.

Not quite, had a bit of a set back. Faulty spot welds on the new crossmember! not happy. Had to make a repair to 5 of them, sure there was visible evidence of a weld, but the 2 faces were not joined at all. When I drilled them for plug welding, you could still see the black paint between the joints. Anyway, after repairing them, I then wrested with fitting the crossmember until I gave up. Just can not get the bolts to line up with tie bar. At least half a hole out!

Very true Andrew. My plan is to finish the spray painting tonight once I have completed a final fit, some of the flanges etc' will need tweaking so that everything fits snug. I am aiming to get it all ready for welding over the weekend.

Finally, that's all the plug welds drilled out.

Made a start drilling out the holes for the plug welds, not too fussy with position, but did reference them to the originals. Just started to get the hang of it and my damn battery went flat.