Rear struts on 2nd gen.
03-11-2006, 04:40 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 104
Rear struts on 2nd gen.
Has anyone replaced the rear struts on a 2nd gen? I started to do them on my 87 tonight and aside from the fact that every piece of the rear suspension attaches to the bottom of the strut, I'm decided that it looked like too big of a job to start this late in the day.
I've replaced the fronts on this car and they were a piece of cake, but the rears look like they'll be a lot more work. As far as I know, the car has the original rear struts. From the looks of the replacement strut cartridges, it looks like you have to remove the strut from the car, compress and remove spring, then remove the guts from the strut housing. The new strut is just a straight cartridge that must drop into the housing to replace the original guts. Is this how it works? Also, the instruction sheet that came with the struts says to put 30cc of oil into the strut. Is this to fill the space between the cartridge and housing? What kind of oil do I need to use?
Anyone who has experience with this and can answer these questions will be my hero! Thanks in advance for the help.
I've replaced the fronts on this car and they were a piece of cake, but the rears look like they'll be a lot more work. As far as I know, the car has the original rear struts. From the looks of the replacement strut cartridges, it looks like you have to remove the strut from the car, compress and remove spring, then remove the guts from the strut housing. The new strut is just a straight cartridge that must drop into the housing to replace the original guts. Is this how it works? Also, the instruction sheet that came with the struts says to put 30cc of oil into the strut. Is this to fill the space between the cartridge and housing? What kind of oil do I need to use?
Anyone who has experience with this and can answer these questions will be my hero! Thanks in advance for the help.
03-15-2006, 10:43 PM
#2
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 7
Hi Kelly,
It's Hung from Vietnam. It's happy to hear from you.
I have them done in Aug/2004 (replaced with KYB gas cartridges). It's not the easy work for DIY. It takes at leat 4 hours working for 2 persons.
You are right. You have to remove the strut from the car, compress and remove spring, then remove the old cartridge from the strut housing. Be attention on the length (length of cartridge housing not strut housing) of the original and the new cartridge. They should be equal. If not, you have to have the further modifications (like mine)
I used the KYB ones (shorter than the original) and had to insert the round steel piece (~2.5cm thick) in strut housing to lift the cartridge higher, so I could tighten the nut at the top of strut housing to keep the cartridge from moving indide the housing. I did not fill any oil in the housing (I think the oil is for anti-rust only, because water can come in side the housing throughout the nut).
Now it's over 19,000 miles on it and is still working so well.
Hung.
It's Hung from Vietnam. It's happy to hear from you.
I have them done in Aug/2004 (replaced with KYB gas cartridges). It's not the easy work for DIY. It takes at leat 4 hours working for 2 persons.
You are right. You have to remove the strut from the car, compress and remove spring, then remove the old cartridge from the strut housing. Be attention on the length (length of cartridge housing not strut housing) of the original and the new cartridge. They should be equal. If not, you have to have the further modifications (like mine)
I used the KYB ones (shorter than the original) and had to insert the round steel piece (~2.5cm thick) in strut housing to lift the cartridge higher, so I could tighten the nut at the top of strut housing to keep the cartridge from moving indide the housing. I did not fill any oil in the housing (I think the oil is for anti-rust only, because water can come in side the housing throughout the nut).
Now it's over 19,000 miles on it and is still working so well.
Hung.
03-16-2006, 05:03 AM
#3
yes, that is how you do it. If you have not figured it out yet you have to take you back seat out to get to your parcel shelf out, this will allow you to get to where the strut mounts to the car. Yes, everything in the suspension is hooked to the strut assembly...its fun
It sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck.
It sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck.
04-09-2006, 06:39 PM
#4
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 104
Well, I finally got around to replacing the rear struts this weekend. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The thing that took the longest was R&R'ing the rear seat and package shelf. Other than that, it wasn't bad. I think it took me about 3 hours from start to finish to do both sides. The only thing I'm not real happy with is that the replacement struts were apparently a little longer than the original guts that I removed. When I dropped the replacement cartidge in, it sat about even with the strut housing. The cartridge retaining nut threaded on a couple of turns, but didn't "bottom out" on the strut housing like the original did. I took the cartridge out and turned the housing over to make sure there wasn't still part of the old strut inside, but there wasn't. Both sides were the same, and the car rides great with no unusual noises. I just hope there's enough thread engagement that it doesn't loosen or pull out later.
The other thing I forgot about was to NOT tighten all the bolts at the bottom end of the struts until the car was sitting on the ground. I tightened them while the suspension was extended, then test drove the car. When I got home, the back of the car looked to be sitting a little higher than before. It dawned on me what I had done, so I crawled under and loosened the 3 bolts on each side. I bounced the car up and down a few times to settle everything, then retightened the bolts. I don't think I did any damage to the bushing in the short test drive, but I wish I had thought of it before I drove the car!
I also installed a "new" power antenna mast I got at the junkyard for $10. It now works again.
I replaced the speedometer cable housing which had been damaged by heat from the rear exhaust manifold. Now that was a pain! Is there an easy way to disconnect and reconnect the cable to the back of the instrument cluster? I had to leave the transmission end loose and feed as much as I could thru the firewall to have enough room to stick my hand behind it to reconnect the top end. I couldn't find any way to get my hand behind the cluster with it installed in the dash.
The other thing I forgot about was to NOT tighten all the bolts at the bottom end of the struts until the car was sitting on the ground. I tightened them while the suspension was extended, then test drove the car. When I got home, the back of the car looked to be sitting a little higher than before. It dawned on me what I had done, so I crawled under and loosened the 3 bolts on each side. I bounced the car up and down a few times to settle everything, then retightened the bolts. I don't think I did any damage to the bushing in the short test drive, but I wish I had thought of it before I drove the car!
I also installed a "new" power antenna mast I got at the junkyard for $10. It now works again.
I replaced the speedometer cable housing which had been damaged by heat from the rear exhaust manifold. Now that was a pain! Is there an easy way to disconnect and reconnect the cable to the back of the instrument cluster? I had to leave the transmission end loose and feed as much as I could thru the firewall to have enough room to stick my hand behind it to reconnect the top end. I couldn't find any way to get my hand behind the cluster with it installed in the dash.
05-12-2006, 12:56 PM
#10
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 73
Hello - a somewhat related question here: Does anyone know how big a job it would be to remove the relevant hardware/wiring for the "adjustable" suspension option from one 2nd Gen and install it in another? 
I have 5 Maximas - picked up 2 "parts cars" this week. The three that are either on the road (2) or in the process of being restored (1) are all 1987's (to the best of my knowledge - I'm going to do a VIN check on them all soon, now that I have the decode info). I picked up a 1986 that has a stripped flywheel and some other "issues", and a 1988 that will never see the road again but has some useful parts. The '88 has the adjustable suspension, but only one of the '87's does. I'd like to add this to one of them, and haven't dug too deeply yet. Is this feasible or a waste of time?
(Whether you like this option or not, I do). 
Thanks - CZ
I have 5 Maximas - picked up 2 "parts cars" this week. The three that are either on the road (2) or in the process of being restored (1) are all 1987's (to the best of my knowledge - I'm going to do a VIN check on them all soon, now that I have the decode info). I picked up a 1986 that has a stripped flywheel and some other "issues", and a 1988 that will never see the road again but has some useful parts. The '88 has the adjustable suspension, but only one of the '87's does. I'd like to add this to one of them, and haven't dug too deeply yet. Is this feasible or a waste of time?
(Whether you like this option or not, I do). Thanks - CZ
05-20-2006, 05:06 PM
#11
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 73
Can anyone comment on the adjustable suspension? Sorry about the hijack but I can't start a thread yet.
I think the major issue is the fact that the cars that don't have the adjustable suspension don't have the wiring in the harness either, so I'd have to run all new wires for it. Ugh.
I think the major issue is the fact that the cars that don't have the adjustable suspension don't have the wiring in the harness either, so I'd have to run all new wires for it. Ugh.
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