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Thanks for the kind words! It is definitely a ton of work to sort and pack. We are careful as we pack them but with so many different pieces we want to make sure you got what we think we packed
I got my kit on Saturday and like thebeerbaron, I spent Sunday sorting, measuring, labeling and zip-tying the individual components together. There were a couple occasion were I thought, "Dammit! I'm missing a piece" when I ad just mislabeled a part, or something rolled under the sofa!
Anyway, mine is going on this upcoming weekend. So wish me luck!
I sat in front of the TV for a couple hours this week organizing the kit into the 22 different “sets” that fit in each bushing bore. I’ll have to take the sleeves out before I stuff the poly into the arms, but this will speed up “production” once I get my arms ready. It also gave me a chance to double-check my kit and verify my understanding of where everything goes.
Also, the team at SM have been updating the instructions as this first batch reaches customers. There are vendors who regularly get dinged for providing bad, incomplete, or outdated instructions. SM has done a great job making these directions clear.
If you think I’m a shill or kissing SM butt cheeks, feel free. But as a slightly-OCD engineer, I really want people to understand the amount of work that went into these kits. They’re the bees knees.
It's been refreshing to get so much quick and accurate feedback on the instructions from a handful of customers but no one tearing us a new one, although we may have deserved it. Typos, confusing details, clarifications, BOM errors. Mostly little things but for such a complex kit, that instruction sheet is everything.
Everyone here worked on those instructions, double checking everything and there were still errors. Argh, sorry! The printed sheet has a QR code that links to the latest version on the website.
So, thanks to all those that provided the invaluable feedback to tweak the instructions. The Miataverse at its best.
I'm a software engineer by trade and have written a lot of associated documentation.
Authors tend to miss what they think is obvious or things they've done so many times and no longer even think about when doing a task.
There are often "gotchas" too that need to be pointed out and tips on how to avoid them or do something the easiest way (which often involves removing "everything" instead of trying to get at a bolt that's nearly impossible to reach with "everything" in place).
Independent user feedback is the best way to get any documentation "correct".
If a reader doesn't understand something, and they're not incompetent, then the document needs to be updated to make it absolutely clear.
If users don't provide feedback, the authors will never know the deficiencies.
If authors don't update documentation based on feedback, their product gets a bad reputation.
If users are happy with the documentation and installed the product with no issues, they're likely to recommend it to others and won't hesitate to buy again if needed.
I got the rears in yesterday. Sorting everything out beforehand was a REAL lifesaver (I STONGLY recommend doing that before installation - you won't regret the time spent).
One note from my personal installation; My RUCA has "rails" welded on to accommodate eccentrics that are typically on the inside of the RLCA (to aid in gaining more camber in the rear without affecting the toe-in/out). The diameter of the eccentric bolts is bigger than normal bolts, so I had to drill out the steel sleeve to match. A bench-mount drill press (and I use that description loosely) from Horror-Freight helped to make that happen. That added time to the install, which was otherwise trouble-free. Another thing I had to do was to swap the 64413 and 64410 on the RLCA's. The flair on the two 64410's wouldn't clear the bottom of the rear upright, but the skinnier flair on the 64413's fit perfectly. I don't know if that's an anomaly on my car...but just a note.
The directions state to lube the steel sleeves with motor oil before sliding them into the bronze bushings. This interface between the bronze and steel is, as I understand it, the bearing surface that allows the control arm to rotate. I'm thinking that the bronze bushings are self-lubricating, mostly.
The urethane bits get a bit of grease on the OD, which I assume is to help them slide into place, plus some grease on the thrust faces to keep things moving.
If I'm supposed to hit the zerks with a grease gun every year or so - what's that doing/replacing? Is it making up for the displacement or contamination of the motor oil on the pins? There's very little grease in the initial install, so I'm a bit confused.
The directions state to lube the steel sleeves with motor oil before sliding them into the bronze bushings. This interface between the bronze and steel is, as I understand it, the bearing surface that allows the control arm to rotate. I'm thinking that the bronze bushings are self-lubricating, mostly.
The urethane bits get a bit of grease on the OD, which I assume is to help them slide into place, plus some grease on the thrust faces to keep things moving.
If I'm supposed to hit the zerks with a grease gun every year or so - what's that doing/replacing? Is it making up for the displacement or contamination of the motor oil on the pins? There's very little grease in the initial install, so I'm a bit confused.
One could lube with motor oil as well. Grease is there to reduce squeaks and as you mentioned, lube thrust faces. Ostensibly, the whole thing could be put together dry and still work fine. Motor oil is the choice for our shop cars when they need some love in a few years.
The directions state to lube the steel sleeves with motor oil before sliding them into the bronze bushings. This interface between the bronze and steel is, as I understand it, the bearing surface that allows the control arm to rotate. I'm thinking that the bronze bushings are self-lubricating, mostly.
The urethane bits get a bit of grease on the OD, which I assume is to help them slide into place, plus some grease on the thrust faces to keep things moving.
If I'm supposed to hit the zerks with a grease gun every year or so - what's that doing/replacing? Is it making up for the displacement or contamination of the motor oil on the pins? There's very little grease in the initial install, so I'm a bit confused.
FWIW - I used some synthetic grease on the steel sleeves instead of motor oil. That on the assumption that an annual "Hit 'O Grease" on the zerks will be more of the same. I didn't have a problem with locating the RLCA zerk fittings, but the RUCA zerk locations seemed to be a little problematic (so I didn't put them in - will I regret that decision?).
The bronze bushings are listed as "super-oilite" which means they are sintered self-lubricating bearings.
After the bronze is powdered and pressed it is "vacuum infused" with oil, commonly 30w engine oil.
The bushing itself has tiny pores in it, you can see them usually, the "speckled" look is what I'm referring too here.
The L-series Nissan engine (early Z cars) had a sintered bronze bushing as the pilot bushing...
You are supposed to be able to install them dry and they should work.
One tip I was taught back when I worked for Corky Bell (Pre-Begi almost 4 decades ago now) by a crusty old tech was to oil those BEFORE install.
You held one end closed with your thumb and filled the bushing up with your oil of choice till it was completely full and then used your other thumb to "pressurize" the bushing.
After a few seconds you will see the entire outer diameter "sweat" oil. It's bad assed to see and I've often won lunch off of this phenomena.
"Wanna bet I can push oil through this bearing using ONLY my hands?"
Someone always bites...
If you actually go through this process the bushing will not fail.
These were a bit tricky to get right and were a common source of failure for other techs that didn't know the oiling trick.
I once cracked one of these by creating too much pressure and these bushings are thick; better to use less pressure and more time for the oiling procedure IMO.
Enter 2022: I would use a ZDDP additive like this to pre-lube the bushings.
The amount is wrong in that listing, it's really only 12 oz like the bottle shows...
The SM bushings are very thin; I will be CAREFUL when I slime mine up.
This bushing kit will end up on my MSM, sadly It needs multiple SM products (coolant re-route, radiator, BBK) before the suspension is done.
And SM needs to release the "Tecna" coil over setups, hint, hint...
Thanks Baron, you made me look into "how would I lube these" before I ordered them. I will not order the zerks as I now believe the proper way to service these is to take them apart every few years.
I could not find a YouTube video showing this trick, so many of the really old school ways are being lost as our elders pass way...
One final exception to this is sintered bushings that use graphite instead of oil. Those go in dry; any oiling will screw them up.
This doesn't apply to the SM bushings as they are listed "oilite"
The graphite impregnated bushings are more expensive as well.
The fact that the bushings are made out of what they are only increases the value of this kit for me.
I used gear oil as well when I did the Z pilots.
When synthetics became available, I used them.
After 40+ years of experience I want heavy ZDDP in any "scuff" application.
That Lunati additive has the thickness of honey. It's far closer to 90w than 30w and it's chock full of ZDDP.
It's my choice for this application but probably any lubricant thin enough to wick through the pores is fine.
The thicker the lubricant the more likely you are to crack the bearing so I will use a very light touch.
That time I cracked that bushing I had 3+ guys watching "the trick". All of us were SHOCKED when it snapped. I still won lunch but had to wait on the clutch job while a new bushing was procured.
And much kidding from my work mates.
"Yep, Rick can destroy a bushing, before installation, no tools required at all..."
After several production runs trying to catch up with orders on this popular kit, we finally have a good supply in stock and ready to ship for new orders.
02-14-2022, 01:00 PM
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