Im still trying to figure this out. I bought my '97 with 95k two years ago. Im now at 145k miles. The steering always had a lot of slop/free play...think old Uhual truck.

I just had my CV boots replaced 2 weeks ago by a local shop for $200 (P&L). The boots on both sides were ripped but no clicking or signs of wear. The most surprising thing of all is the steering is absolutely tight now. I mean steering feels perfect...no slop. Im not sure what they tightened while changing the boots but I feel like I have a new car. This shop only does suspension, alignment and brakes. They didnt even have to remove the axles...and no they didnt use those cheap split boots.

By the way they discovered the ripped boots while aligning my car a few days prior. They check the suspension components out prior to performing any alignment. They said that my ball joint and tie rods were fine.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=7968420164
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=7971956489 (email him for the other side)

lol his prices are going up

 

My friend had the same problem...The sound you describe may be a ripped cv boot causing friction on the axel. Just an idea.

 

Or a bent rim.

BTW, I had replaced my LCA's that I got from eBay for my 1992 Max. I also replaced my leaking rack with a remanufactured ARI rack that I also got off of eBay. As for the shocks, I picked up a set of GR-2's from TireRack.com. At the time of the replacement, my Max had 230K on it. After the replacement, it absolutely drove like a new car.

Of all the parts, though, the new rack made a huge difference in how it steered. The major part that the LCA's played was getting rid of annoying squeaks whenever I went over bumps and potholes!

 

I'm interested in how they did this.

 

If you pull the outer CV joint from the axle, but leave the axle and inner CV joint in the diff, you can change the outer boots. But I wouldn't want to do it that way in my driveway.

You can probably also to the inner boot on the driver's side, but to do the inner boot on the passenger side you'd have to cut off the dynamic balance weight.

IMO, it's better to pull the axle and do the messy stuff on the bench. But I'm not a pro

Dave

 

I was surprised myself. I was told they usually can do it without removing the axles. But hey, these guys do this everyday. I cant complain.

 

Did you get the E/S urethane, and if so, can you really tell, despite the steering still being sloppy?

 

Yes, they are ES Urethane. No, they don't feel any different than the stock ones which were in good shape anyway.

I think the people who rave about the wonderful difference must have had shredded stock bushings that they were comparing to. They probably would have felt the same difference if they replaced with new OEM bushings/arms. But for the cost, the ES bushings make sense. They're also much easier to service - removing the stock bushings and sleeves is a PITA.

Dave

 

Car felt light at high speeds and didn't feel planted to the ground since my stock bushings were toast. I just had my control arm bushings replaced with ES ones (still have to do the front sway bar ones) and wow! Now I have more control than before and the car doesn't feel light (should feel a little better after I replace the front sway bar bushings). If your stock ones are fine then you won't feel much of a difference, but mine needed replacing so

I still get a pull to the driver side at high speeds and the guy at the body shop said my inner and outer tie rods needed to be replaced on the driver side. Need to price that out and then get the car aligned and then I can buy new tires (don't want the new tires to wear unevenly)

More and more repairs come up for me after I fix something

 

I have had a steering problem with my max for a while now and I wonder is this the fix? Only when cold… the steering is horrible… I have to do a 5 point turn to get out of a parking spot because I don’t want to force it lol. If you guys think this is the fix I will get them ASAP!

Thanks

 

Well I actually bought in inner tie rod tool to replace both of mine - it's quite easy.

Anyone who wants to borrow it, feel free to PM me and we can work out something. I know Autozone has them for rental too, but I'm not sure if it fits the Nissan inner rod size. My Lisle tool came with a bunch more adapter plates than the Autozone one.

Def. not hard to do with the autozone tie rod popper or a picklefork - maybe an hour job at most. If I had known about the ebay priced inner and outer rod ends, and how to change them, I would have done it long ago.

Dave

 

Why did you go back to stock? Bad ride?

 

Do you think your power steering is overboosted or something like that? Because either you're used to driving a non-power steering racecar, or something unusual seems wrong. Replacing all that stuff you listed seems like it should have already fixed the problem. Or your diagnosis is off, or it's a unusual problem. It seems odd to me.

 

I agree, it's odd. The alignment shops are always baffled when I describe it, but I know it's there. I'll have to talk with a power steering expert to maybe see what could cause an overboosted feeling - maybe the speed-sensitive logic isn't working and it boosts at higher speeds when it shouldnt'. I definitely only notice this sloppy behavior at high speeds. I hope that replacing / rebuilding the rack isn't necessary in that case. If so, I'll probably be a cheap bastard and do it myself

I'm not too peeved about the amount of work I've put into it - the total parts cost isn't high, and help guarantee the car is sound for another 100k.

Dave

 

Well I think I fixed my problem: it was the front sway bar.

I don't think any shops have touched it - but I have replaced the bushings, etc a couple times and I don't think I had the bushings seated and retightened properly until today. The trick was to rest the front control arms near the ball joints (with the wheels off) on a 8" stack of 2x10s. This loads the suspension and puts the sway bar in a neutral position. I then lubed the bushings with PB Blaster and tightened the end link bushings and frame bushing brackets to factory torque spec. With the suspension loaded, the bushings fit in much more easily than in previous attempts, and the PB blaster really helped them to squish into place properly. In the past I suspect that tightening some/all of the bushings without lube or suspension load caused the bar to hold some torque or not do its job consistently.

The car now handles better both on the highway and windy roads - it used to go off-line whenever there was a bump or uneven part of the road - such that I had to correct it instantly. Now the car holds it line a whole lot better, without any push or pull.

Dave

 

To the guy with the bumping and knocking in the steering that is the Rack itself.. i just changed mine, it also comes with inners.. not the easiest job ive ever done in-fact will never do it again.

 

The Duralast(AutoZone) ball joints and inner tie rods any good? Or should I buy the ones from TWR(Advanced Auto). Should I replace outer tie rods too?

 

That's interesting. I replaced my front sway bar bushings recently (including end-links) and have no problems. They were easy enough to install with the suspension unloaded. I didn't tighten them to factory torque spec because the nut kept turning but it wasn't getting any harder to turn, so I just tightened it until it looked like it did before, with a bunch of thread on top.

 

go to ebay for balljoints

 

so, has anyone successfully used the autozone style press and done their own balljoints? my buddy did this on his 86 300zx with no trouble, I was hoping to do the same...

 

Yes, I did it.

 

any tips or tricks? i'm sure it will be obvious once i get in there, but which direction does it press out/in? and do they use that little circlip retainer?

 

They press out the top of the A-arm and there is a c-clip on the top that needs to be removed. You may need to clean around the top of the ball-joint before you can see the clip. Another tip when trying to seperate the ball joint and the knuckle is to remove the cotter pin loosen the nut then give the knuckle adjacent to the ball joint a couple of good taps with a hammer, it that doesn't seperate the joint then you'll probably have to resort to a pickle fork.

 

another question: will the press fit in there w/o removing the knuckle? anything else have to come off?

 

I think the knuckle can stay - you just need to swing it out of the way to make room for the press clamp tool.

Dave

 

this post needs to be stickied into the FAQ's....

great fix for all 4th gens!

Ant

 

It's odd for me to see someone that has been on the org as long as I have with as few posts as me. And you have less than half the number I have. You been in a coma?

 

No not in a coma, but the I don't make it on the boards much and generally don't post unless I have experience with the particular problem, or if I have a question on how to fix something. Luckily the Maxima hasn't had that many problems in the 8 years that I've owned it.

 

I bought the TRW parts. The look pretty good and some with a replacement plate/bolt for the inner tie rod.

Those are the tools I had to rent/buy for the job.

Does it look like I am missing anything?

 

those TRW parts look pretty good, its nice that they include new backing plate for inner tie rod.


I don't think that Tie rod tool you have rented out from Autozone will work
I've looked at it and it didn't fit correctly. You might have to Look for Leslie Inner tie rod tool , it comes with various crow's foot attachements.




Nick.

 

Do I need that small tie rod tool or the long one you have in the other pics?

 

You'll need both , the small crow foot wrench is part of the Lisle Tool,

test fit the one from Autozone, slide the long pipe over your new tie rod and see if it engages the square nut on the tie rod.

 

You are correct it doesn;t fit. Where did you get your tools from?

Also does my outer tie rod remover tool look like it will work?

 

my local auto hobby shop had it, Peepboys sells it for around $50, it is pricey, but well worth the investment

Ebay sells them too, but not so cheap,

pssss ( buy it from Peepboys and return it )

Nick.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

 

it looks like it night work, but I"ve used one with adjustable arms





Nick.

 

No Pepboys within 100 miles

I will go to the local auto part stores and see who has one that will fit

 

If you have an O'Rielly's close by they also have free tool rental, never hurts to check.

 

Man only carquest has it and they want $80 for it and I can't return it.


Fck, man. You think they have some smaller socket that has a slit in it that will work? You think I could use an adjustable wrench?

 

adjustable wrench will not fit there , plus you'll get great deal of frustration when things won't work out.

Buy one from Ebay, this tool makes this job so easy, I wouldn't even think about doing that job without it

Nick.