I'm installing a Courtesy Front Strut Tower Bar on my '99 Maxima. At first glance this looks like a five-minute job, but I've run into trouble. Late model Maximas have three large acorn nuts at the top of each strut tower. Carefully following the instructions, I removed six acorn nuts, installed two end plates, re-installed the six acorn nuts and made them hand-tight. I adjusted the bar length and made ready to install the main bolts. They won't fit! The acorns nearest the end plate main bolt holes are in the way, and the main bolts won't go in.

I'm confident I have the right FSTB because the box is marked NISSAN MAXIMA 99-F. I'm confident I have the two end plates correctly oriented (left vs right) because the end plate on the driver's side neatly clears that annoying bracket which some installers have had to remove with a hacksaw.

I called Courtesy and the parts man said there should be no problem, no special hardware is required, and I should be able to reuse the acorns in their original positions.

Please advise.

 

I have the Freedom Design FSTB but I understand that it is very similar to the Courtesy bar. On my bar, you can't put it on wrong because of the bar's offset toward the front. If you tried to put it on in the other way, it would hit the master cylinder. Do the brackets on your FSTB have an offset towards the front?

I've heard here on the forum that there have been some quality issues from aftermarket parts purchased from Courtesy. It is alleged that they change vendors according to low bid.

 

geez...of all the times i asked you for help you'd figure that i'd be able to at least answer the only question that you've ever asked sorry daniel but i have a 95 with a stillen fstb. but i'm sure that somebody out there has an answer for you. but i'll give you a bump to the top.

 

Right, size 22 huge acorn nuts. But what main bolts are you talking about? I finally had my Cattman FSTB installed on Sunday after having the bracket shaved.

 

I see now that I used the wrong term. I'm referring to the bolts which connect each end of the bar to its respective end plate. The Courtesy FSTB instructions call these "end plate bolts".

To further clarify: there are six acorn nuts, three on each side, and these came with the car. There are two end plate bolts, one on each side, and they came with the Courtesy FSTB. The orientation of the end plate bolts is horizontal and running front-to-back in the vehicle. They are chrome-plated steel hex socket bolts, and each has a matching chrome-plated nut.

 

Yes, that's exactly how the Courtesy bar looks, offset toward the front. The big acorn nut which interferes with the end plate bolt is located immediately behind the two "ears" which rise from the end plate. The end plate bolt goes through holes in these ears and runs smack into the acorn nut.

Note: the posting which originated this thread mistakenly used "main bolt" for what is properly called "end plate bolt".

 

Daniel,
I seem to recall a dicussion about 1 1-2 years ago about having to replace the acorn nuts with standard hex-head nuts. The stock nuts on my '95 are a gold anodized hex-head with a built-in washer. They are NOT acorn, they are open on the top.

 

i believe you need the 2k model fstb since the '99 has different mounts

http://www.courtesyparts.com/onlines...t_Code=A33-STB

 

Thanks for the information. I looked at the Courtesy online catalog pictures of the A32 and A33. I definitely have the A33. My end plates have the notches just as seen at the link you provided.

Look at that picture. You can see how the head of the end plate bolt is located almost directly above one of the three holes in the red end plate. If you visualize one of the large acorn nuts over that hole you will understand the interference problem. The acorn nut and the end plate bolt head want to occupy the same space.

 

i hope you didn't receive a bad part *stumped

 

This is the same for all the courtesy bars. As long as you put the hex head on the same side as the bolt, you should have just enough clearence to get a socket head on it. I remember with mine, it was really close.
Not a very good design.

 

After trying various combinations I found the simple solution.

Courtesy Nissan is just plain wrong when they tell the customer to re-use the six large acorn nuts in their original positions. Can't be done. The solution is to replace the two "inboard" acorn nuts with standard hex nuts. Once you do that, everything works as it should and the finished installation looks good.

 

It appears that Dan is on his way to moding his 99. I,m confident that with his vast knowledge and expertise, he will soon have a 99 MAX with 1/4 mile stats around 10 seconds and 130mph!!!!! Good luck Dan!

 

mwhahaha; plus he won't void his warranty and achieve this

 

Let us know what you think. This was the first aftermartket part that I added to my Max. I was surprised at what a difference it made.

 

I'm surprised at how little difference the FSTB makes. That means either...
- My Maxima has such a rigid unibody structure that an added stiffener is not needed.
- I drive like such a wuss that I never approach the handling limits of the factory-stock suspension.

 

Look for a nice wide on/off ramp and try it there. That was the first place that I noticed the difference.

 

I drive like a wuss most of the time too, however I noitced the FSTB even in 'round town' driving.

 

Daniel, I have to agree with you. Even though conventional wisdom has touted how great the FSTB is, my impressions were quite the contrary. I found the RSB to be much better in improving handling.

 

I felt the same way...

Until I pushed the car to its limits. Once you take it into a turn real hard you will feel the difference.