aminus21

iTrader: (14)

For those of you who have replaced your control arms and/or sway bars, I have a few questions. First off, when putting the new control arm back in, did u need to grease up any of the bushings to make it slide on all the way?? If so, is Mobil 1 synthetic grease ok? Also, I know you are suppose to torque the 27mm nut when car is on the ground, but what about the other 2 bolts??

For the ST sway bars, are they a quick remove and replace with the stock ones?? Anyone know the torque specs for both of them, front and rear?? And I suppose they are to be torqued when on the wheels are on the ground....How am i suppose to get down there with no ramps??

Thnx guys

goon9

iTrader: (13)

I would imagine you torque it on in the air, i'll look up to spec right now.

EDIT-

Hope this helps.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

CAs = torque on ramps. Drive up on planks of wood etc.. if you need to

ST bars. You can torque whichever way. But removing/install is easier w/ the suspension compressed(ie.. ramps)

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

I just got all new control arms with ball joints and bushings for $117 shipped from an ebay store called bestsuspension. They arrived really fast and are OEM parts. Installers beware though....the bolt threads holding the arms to the frame totally stripped. This is a common problem I've heard...so be ready to call nissan to have them overnighted. NAPA, carquest, home depot and anywhere else I went didn't carry these bolts. So it's not a part you can run out and get. These bolts have a tensile strength rating greater than 8, which is the strongest most places sell and is also what makes these bolts special order. Just a heads up!!!

BTW: I didn't use any grease or oil to install mine, but I suppose some bushing grease wouldn't hurt. These bushings shouldn't squeak unless they're polyurethane, and even then they probably won't.

ALSO...WITH RUBBER BUSHINGS OR ANY OTHER BUSHINGS...DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM UNTILL THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR IS ON THEM. OTHERWISE THEY WILL BREAK. ANY TENSION ON A BUSHING WHILE THE CAR IS IN THE AIR IS MULTIPLIED WHEN THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR COMPRESSES IT WHEN LOWERED. THIS OVER TENSION WILL SPLIT THE BUSHING AND RENDER IT USELESS!

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

To simulate weight of the car on the bushings, you could lift the car with the jack stands under the wheel hub. Just make sure you have a backup jack ready. Maybe 2 just in case.

Edit-

Ramps would be the best option if you don't own a personal lift....like pretty much nobody does. Anyone with enough cash for a $5,000 dollar lift is probably working on some high end cars. Not to bash the Maxima of course. I'm a die hard fan but it's def not the end all of vehicles.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

i thought it wouldn't matter which ever way u install the CA and ST bars. now to my understandin' on what Matt said is that after installation of both CA's i can install the wheels and put on ramps and then torque the Arms correct? as for the ST bar i can unbolt it while the car is on the ramps and then take off? as for the bolts u refer to traxtar944 u say they usually strip, how much r they from the dealer? also i ended up gettin' energy suspension rear parallel bushings from courtesyparts.com and i noticed that they also send u a small tube of white grease, do i put that on the actual bushings just for them to make it easier to slide in?

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

yeah my name's Matt too...anyways....the bolts are grade F bolts...and I'm in the process of getting a part number for them. The part number for the bolts that hold the U bracket 01121-03201 and run $12.64 each. I BELIEVE that the part number for the bolt that holds the bracket the control arm screws into to the frame is 01121-04291 and costs $16.28 each. Like I said...these are grade F bolts and can't be bought at any hardware store. Here's a diagram to show what I'm talking about:

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

that white tube of grease is the polyurethane grease and you should put it on any surface the bushing comes in contact with. Polyurethane bushings are much stiffer and tend to squeak alot. Also, polyurethane bushings for control arms tend to transfer alot of road vibration into the steering column...which is why I opted for rubber bushings. In my opinion...I'd rather have less vibration in the steering wheel and less road noise and potential squeaking than the small increase in preformance that polyurethane control arm bushings would give. Then again...I don't really do much autocrossing or hardcore racing with my car to even really notice such a difference. Oh...one more thing with those part numbers....a dealer WILL try and tell you that the part numbers for the u bracket bolts and the other bracket bolts are the same. THEY ARENT!!! I found this out the hard way and ended up with my car in the air for 3 days. F*** you stealership....

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

When I replaced my front CA bushings and rear parallel link bushings with poly, I noticed almost no increased vibrations or noise. What I did notice was a much tighter and crisper handling car.

IMHO I wouldn't really use a jack to get one side of the suspension compressed. In order to compress it, you are most likely approaching the point of lifting the car up. Combined with trying to torque that big nut down to spec, I'd MUCH rather use ramps.

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

very true Jeff....ramps would be MUCH safer. As far as the squeaking goes....thats just information I've heard and experienced on other cars....never a Maxima though. So it's very possible that there would be no problems at all. Plus vibration is usually due to an out of balance wheel. Other factors also come into play such as a low pro tire, and stiffer suspension. Usually if you're spending money on polyurethane bushings you probably have some other cash invested in the suspension system. Thats been my personal experience at least.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

well, Jeff thats pretty much what i wanted to know whether or not i should just use the ramps to do the whole job rather than usin' a jack and do one side first and then the other. how i would do it to my understandin' is put front end on ramps, get a jack and raise the car up even higher then the ramps itself and put cinderblocks, take off wheels, take apart the suspension, install new parts, reinstall wheels, jack car back up to take off the blocks, set car back down on ramps, torque everything while down on ramps and then drive car back down from ramps and enjoy. u think that would be a good way to do it?

Matt not Matt Blehm, i only have the bushings for the rear parallel links not the for the control arms. i would have bought the poly bushings for the control arms but instead i bought them off of Brian with new bushings and ball joints at a great price and fast shippin'. i just ordered the ST front sway bar from him as well so once i have all my suspension parts i will be installin' the new parts plus i need to pimp my new air compressor now that i have one. also thanks for the info on the bolts and i don't think they have stripped on me cuz i've replaced my passenger side control arms twice and once for the driver side. but i will keep ur info for back up. as a matter of fact i think im just gonna go ahead and talk to my friend at Nissan to place the order for me on these damn bolts just in case what u say happens to me even though i don't drive my car alot anymore but hate the fact of lookin' at it taken apart and not in one piece.

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

Well I just ended up getting the whole arm assembly as well. It was a good deal for $117 shipped through ebay...but don't get me wrong Brian's got a great thing going. I bought my konis and some other parts through him. If you wanted to save money on those bolts you could always try the boneyard. Plus if they mess it up you just don't buy them! And it'll save you like $50 bucks worth of steel. I like ramps alot....but it just gets hard to move around under there. Plus it's like.....okay got this bolt off.....now where did I put that socket wrench? Dammit gotta slide out from under here again. Now where did I put that 18mm? Dammit gotta slide out from under here again. Crap now the wrench is still on the other side of the garage...gotta slide....well you get the picture. Every inch counts when you're under that car. Plus little rust specks in your eyes SUCK.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

damn i completely forgot about the boneyard. its been like 2 months since i have been there. i guess i'll make a trip there this weekend and get them just to have them in case it happens to me.

traxtar944

iTrader: (12)

Yeah the boneyard saved me from many a stripped bolt and lost part. It's like Maxima heaven...where they all go after they die. Sad thing to see.... but it IS like the K-Mart blue light special of 3rd gen parts.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

exactly what i thought as well. everytime i go there its like a girl goin' to the mall and take like 4 hours just to try on a pair of jeans and shirts.