NSX + Snow = bugger

[trackdemon]

Could have been a lot worse I suppose.....

When we had our round of snow & ice a few weeks back I was returning from an errand in the NSX, and had to use a small backroad as a divert (road closed due to accident!). Unfortunately this road was like an ice skating rink with fresh snow sprinlled on top, so not much grip. You can guess whats coming next.... tiniest application of throttle, rear steps out, steer into slide, - OK I think I've got this - whoops, clip grass bank which bounces the rear to the opposite side of the road unfortunately onto a raised hard kerb.

All this happened literally in slow motion (probably <10mph) but was still enough to bend the rear n/s track control arm. Nothing else looks damaged apart from a scuff on the wheel - like I say, could have been worse!

Have been super busy last few weeks hence not doing anything about it, now waiting for a callback with the (probably ridiculous) price of a new arm from HUK.

So my question is:

Does anyone know of someone breaking an NSX (any country as I believe this arm is not unique to UK), and I wonder if any of you have previous experience of fitting one? It looks like a 'relatively' straightforward 17mm bolt each end, and then obviously get the tracking sorted once the new one is on.

Any advice much appreciated!

all the best,
Steve

[havoc]

Damn, sorry to hear that Steve.

FWIW I managed to run over some fly-tipping in the ice in the ITR (rounded a corner, saw it, tried to avoid it and ended up understeering dramatically into it!) which knocked the tracking out, cracked a bumper mounting point, and (very very slightly) damaged the front wing. Kicked myself for the next day, then just got on with life...

Have you PM'd Kaz, see if he can get a more sensible price from one of his US/Japanese sources?!? Also Sudesh seems to have some contacts for breaking parts, and there's usually a thread or two on Prime with someone breaking a car...

[Senninha]

Hi Steve,

Get in touch with Kane in the vendor section here or Prime. Very knowledgeable and helpful and is breaking a couple of cars right now.

Closer to home, contact Gary (Hagasan) for his contacts in Ireland who may be able to help.

Final option would be to email Dirk who is still holding stock but not active on the site recovering from an accident.

Sorry to hear the news, but as you say it could have been worse.

Hurry up and get it fixed as Bank Holiday is fastr approaching ;)

regards, Paul

[Silver Surfer]

Are these it?

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125547

SS

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

...
It looks like a 'relatively' straightforward 17mm bolt each end, and then obviously get the tracking sorted ...

Hi, Steve.
Sorry to hear the news but the most important thing is that you didn’t hit other person or injured yourself or the passenger.

Could you specify exactly which parts did you damage at the rear suspension area?
6688

If it was the upper A-arm (control arm, #27, 28), then the fixing bolt (#39) is 14mm.
If it was the lower A-arm (control arm, #25, 26), then the fixing bolt and nut (#5, 34, 38, 41) are 19mm.

If you are refereeing to the Toe Control Arm (consists of #20, 21, 22, 23, 24), then the fixing bolt (#40) is indeed 17mm.

HUK price would be as follows;
#20: Arm GBP214+VAT
#21: Rod GBP201 or 256+VAT depending on your spec
#22: Arm Bolt GBP22+VAT
#23: Nut GBP3+VAT
#24: Nut GBP3+VAT

If it was the Toe control arm, then I hope you can re-use some of the parts.
The procedure is fairly easy but just be careful when dealing with bolt #40.
The thread is on the rear beam and due to the corrosion, it is easy to damage it. You will need to use helicoil to repair it if that is the case. Been there several times as I use to test several different suspension setup …


Regards,
Kaz

[trackdemon]

Thanks all for your advice guys, much appreciated.

Kaz, that image is a little on the small side but having spoken with HUK it seems I MAY have dodged a bullet here: The wishbones are perfectly OK, its the track control arm with is bent - and it transpires that this splits into three parts, the centre part costing <£40. It *looks* like this is the only damaged part (and indeed that it is intentionally designed as the weakpoint) so its currently a case of fingers crossed that the threads don't strip....

[Silver Surfer]

Steve, I have a used rear track control arm which part 21 and 22 are intact if you are stuck.

SS

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Steve.

If you click on any part of the image, it should pop up a new window with the enlarged image unless you don't have the required add-ons or your browser setup is not allowing this feature.

Looks like you only bent the arm bolt #22. I'm quite sure Honda will check the arm and the rod as well because it is not that easy to bend just the arm bolt as it is very short and thick material.
Good luck.

Regards,
Kaz

[trackdemon]

I'm pretty mechanically proficient so I'll be doing this myself - arm will come off this week - fingers crossed it'll only be the centre part which is damaged!

[trackdemon]

Right, it looks like I do need the whole arm, or at least the inner section too. The middle connecting arm is bent, and the inner aluminium arm has bent also. I think the outer arm (which has the balljoint) is not bent as the the balljoint allows some movement which prevented a twisting force acting across this part of the section.

Seem the most sensible course of action is for me to acquire an sound complete unit from a car which is being broken up, so if anyone knows where I can acquire one that would be great! I've already PM'd a couple of the guys who responded earlier - fingers crossed for a speedy resolution as I'm itching to drive her again after a few weeks laid up!!

cheers,
Steve

[Silver Surfer]

PM sent.

SS

[trackdemon]

Hello all,

I'm just trying to get the old arm off now, and the inner bolt is ridiculously tight - its not undoing at all (at least with the tools I have available!). Just want to double check I'm not being thick and its actually an opposing thread so should undo clockwise....?

Otherwise, I'm guessing it should be a simple case of undo the 17mm bolts at both ends, bolt in the replacement then get the tracking sorted- job done.

cheers,
Steve

[NSXGB]

Hello all,

I'm just trying to get the old arm off now, and the inner bolt is ridiculously tight - its not undoing at all (at least with the tools I have available!). Just want to double check I'm not being thick and its actually an opposing thread so should undo clockwise....?

Otherwise, I'm guessing it should be a simple case of undo the 17mm bolts at both ends, bolt in the replacement then get the tracking sorted- job done.

cheers,
Steve

Which bolt in the picture are you having trouble with? The only one with a L/H thread is #22 in the picture - it has a L/H thread one side and a R/H thread the other side.

[trackdemon]

Just wanted to pass on a huge thanks to Silver Surfer & Kaz for their help with this! What seemd like a pretty innocuous <10mph incident could have been a major headache without the assistance of these guys!

Anyway, Silver Surfer had the very same suspension arm with a damaged tie rod and with the advice of Kaz I was able to simply unbolt the old arm, swap over the offending tie rods and get the replacement arm bolted in. Everything is working perfectly and the tracking will be looked at shortly.... just need to get my new discs & pads fitted all round and I think it will be time for another Essex NSX run!!

Thanks again guys, and big thumbs up to the power of the community!

cheers,
Steve

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Steve.

Glad to hear that you managed to loosen the 17mm bolt and replaced the control arm at the end.

Based on the phone call we had, I was not sure whether you tightened this bolt while applying 1G on the suspension or not. This is important for the bush at the control arm.

If not, then after placing your NSX on the alignment platform, loosen this 17mm bolt and just torque it again to the spec. Then, give a good shake on the entire car to move and settle the bushes/suspension.

During the alignment work, please ask your mechanic to align the two arrows on the toe control arm and rod. Quite often, when you tighten the two lock nuts on the adjuster, they don't align properly.
This is important for the movement of ball joint.

Good luck.

Regards,
Kaz

[trackdemon]

Thanks Kaz,

I'll make sure I point that out to the guy doing the tracking next week.

many thanks,
Steve