i went to get in my car and noticed greese all over one of my rims i looked alittle closer and came to the conclusion i busted a strut. Has this happen to anyone and if so where would the hole be. Im looking into aftermarket struts and would like to the the koni yellows but i don't know if the hole is in the middle of the housing or on the top. What is the price dif between them and others? and where can i find the Koni's for a good price. also can i just buy the front struts? Thanks for any answers.

 

CV boots contain grease. Struts contain oil. I suspect you have a torn Constant Velocity joint boot, and not a bad strut.

 

i blew my right front strut last night , oil all over the place , i need to know if i should get konis or kyb agxs to match a set of eibachs, any opinions are welcome
maxse98

 

i was hoping you would see this but didn't want to put the pressure on you to answer. where would i see the tear and how soon do i need to get this fixed? i know i can't just keep driving like it didn't happen but can i go to work with it and take it in wed? or do i need to stop driving it now? Is this something i can fix myself or did i need to take it to a shop? Any price range to prepare for repair?

 

well after further review, your right. i have a tear in the boot. is that something i can fix?

 

Raise the front end of the vehicle and support it on sturdy jackstands. Slide under and visually inspect the outer CV joint boot. Turn the wheel by hand so you get a good look at the entire boot. Refer to the Chilton repair manual (page 1-23) or the Haynes repair manual (page 1-27).

Immediately.

Every mile you drive before the repair increases the probability that you will have a more expensive repair. A broken CV boot lets grease out (that's bad) and lets grit in (that's worse!).

Maxima.Org members often ask this question. There's no way I can give an accurate answer because you didn't divulge anything about the extent of your auto mechanics experience or your tool collection. I will say that replacing a boot, or a complete axle, may be done by the intermediate home mechanic.

The ball-park price for a remanufactured axle is $200. The breakdown is roughly $110 for the axle and $90 for labor. If your CV joint is still good you might get by with only a new boot, and the price will be less than $200. Labor costs vary from place to place. These cost estimates are for work done by a well-qualified independent shop. The dealer will charge more.

 

Be prepared... it is a MESSY job. Just replaced the two outer CV boots on my 1990 Max SE last weekend (one on the left side, one on the right side). My buddy (ximama) and I were covered in CV joint grease. After the boot breaks, it flings the grease everywhere... onto the tie rods, fender wells, wheels, etc...

I'm not sure on the price for my 4th gen, but the prices for my 3rd gen were as follows:
remanufactured joing from Kragen/Chucks autoparts $75 or so
replacement CV boots, $10-$15 or so per side for the kit (included boot and grease)

I wouldn't have attempted this alone, but my buddy is a mechanic and so we decided to do the labor ourselves.

We were orignally going to replace the whole CV halfshafts as we were thinking it'd be easier than trying to clean the existing CV joints and repacking them with grease. Also, by changing the whole halfshaft, you'd be changing the inner boots as well. The inner boots don't normally go bad as often as the range of motion they must handle is less. We also figured the car had 213,000 miles on the original CV joints and nothing had ever been done. It looked like the boots had been torn for a while and were driven on for a while. However, we heard no tell-tale clicking noises or anything that would signal a CV joint going bad. So, we did just the boots.

We were able to knock the CV joints off the halfshafts while the shafts were still on the car. We ended up completely tearing down the CV joints, down to the individual bearings, cleaning it all out, then putting it all back together. Several of the bearing contact surfaces on each side were slightly pitted, so we decided to swtich the left and right CV joints (since the back side doesn't get any stress while the car is moving forwards anyway).

When we went to bolt the lower control arm back on, we found that the gas charged KYB struts in the car had expanded slightly making it very difficult to get the lower control arm back on.

I differ on DBM's opinion slightly as to the skill level required to change the halfshaft/replace the boot. I think it'd take someone with intermediate to advanced skills as well as a couple of special tools to band the CV boot back on, as it's hard to know how hard and where to whack at certain things with the hammer to get the parts to release.

btw, you can probably find places that will replace the CV boots for around $80-$120.

-V

 

How many miles do you have on your 4th gen?

Thanks,
SHUMAX

 

I'm trying to do the arithmetic on this repair. Did you spend $90 for the parts to repair each axle, rather than $110 for a remanufactured axle? Replacing the axle is a whole lot less work than the repair you did. Call me lazy, but I would have replaced the axle and be eating lunch while you and your buddy were only halfway finished!

I won't quarrel with your assessment of the difficulty of the job you did. This raises and interesting subject for a friendly discussion. Just what is a novice, versus an intermediate or advanced home mechanic? Here's a starter. I invite you to add to this list or make changes.


The novice home mechanic can do ...
- oil and filter
- transmission fluid
- ignition coils and spark plugs
- air cleaner filter
- accessory drive belts
- tire rotation
- brake pads
- muffler
- coolant
- thermostat
- antenna mast
- bulb replacement
- wiper blades
- oil pressure switch
- clean throttle body
- broken wheel stud

The intermediate home mechanic can do ...
- axle replacement
- struts
- ball joints and tie rod ends
- clutch
- valve body modification
- starter
- master cylinder or caliper replacement, brake bleeding
- clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder, and clutch bleeding
- alternator
- water pump
- fuel pump


The advanced home mechanic can do ...
- timing chain
- front and rear main seals
- head gasket
- valve job
- transmission rebuild
- engine rebuild
- air conditioning
- air bags

 

My friend was going to get me rebuilt half shafts for $50/side with lifetime warranty (he's a mechanic and does have sources to get parts cheaper, the $75/side I quotes for the half shafts was from a major autoparts store which everyone can access). However, after assessing that the joints appeared to be in good condition (no clicking) and that there was still grease in the torn/disintegrated boots, he made the decision to replace just the boots ($9/side for just the outer boots on each side, it was a kit that included the boots, bands, and grease). I wanted to just replace the half shafts, but he said why when the joints are still probably good (save $80 to buy him a better dinner???) As it turns out, we lucked out and the CV joints were in very good condition. In fact, they were still very tight and stiff to move after we cleaned everything out and put the joints back together. We did see minor pitting in 2 or 3 or the bearing retaining areas in each side (6 bearings per side in the joint). So I suggested that we swap the left and right joints so that we could wear the other side because most of the time you're driving forwards anyway.

Quote:

I won't quarrel with your assessment of the difficulty of the job you did. This raises and interesting subject for a friendly discussion. Just what is a novice, versus an intermediate or advanced home mechanic? Here's a starter. I invite you to add to this list or make changes.

Wow, I guess I don't even make novice!!! . Would fuel filter be considered intermediate? If so, I better bring it in to the dealer... lol...

Oh, and a couple more items I don't know how to classify...
- wheel bearings
- fuel filter
- AC recharge
- window regulator
- MIL light problems j/k
- Evap canister problems (hehe... I have these... could you point me to some place to find more info on how to correct the condition, like how to empty the evap canister, check the valve, etc...?)
- installing air freshner

-V

(again, those items i threw out above are just for the heck of friendly discussion!)

oh, also, after applying your cruise mod to my '97 5sp, I tried using a similar approach in my '90 Auto, and the cruise mod works there too.

 

Fuel filter would be in the novice category, though some people might quarrel with that classification. Some Maxima.Org members say "piece of cake" while others say "horrible ordeal". ABS plumbing interferes with accessibility.

What do you think about starter replacement? Should that be moved from Intermediate to Novice?

Glad to hear about your success. I like that kind of mod because it is ...
- fast
- easy
- inexpensive
- completely reversible

 

The starter isn't too bad... hardest part is getting rid of all the intake plumbing to make it easier and breaking the bolts free!

Re: DBM cruise mod. You're absolutely correct. I like stuff that is easy, free, and 100% reversible. The 1990 was even easier since the two inner adjacent prongs were the ones that needed to be jumped. They are parallel to each other, and I had these little jumpers from Radio Shack that let you add an extra connection from past installs that I had done for car stereo, so I just had to unplug the relay and plug in the jumper. There's no additional room in the relay box for the relay after you unplug it so I put it in the glove box, but for my 1997, I had a blank relay slot and just dropped the unused relay into that spot so I wouldn't loose it! However, I don't know if I should be concerned as the 1990 doesn't hold it's cruise speed too well. It doesn't appear there are any vaccuum leaks and I adjusted the tension of the cable going to the throttle body. I'm thinking the older cruise system was just slow to respond (the speed can very by as much as +/- 5mph... so setting cruise at 70mph will get you between 65 to 75mph...)

-V

 

What is DBM's cruise mod. I am not sure what it is and I am curious to find out what it does. thanks a bunch!

 

The really short answer? DBMartin's Cuise Control mod allows the Cruise Control Switch to be 'always on'. BTW, the AGX will not come out to the end of august, and make the assumption that there will be quite a waiting list.

 

This modification eliminates the need to use the dashboard Cruise Control switch. The dashboard switch light will be on whenever the ignition is on, indicating that the Cruise Control is "ready". All the other Cruise Control controls work in the usual way.

NOTE: This mod has been tested on a 5-speed Maxima. It has not been tested on an automatic Maxima.

Instructions for making the Nissan Cruise Control "always ready".

1) Open the hood. Locate Relay Box #1, the black relay box on the passenger's side of the engine compartment. Note the labels on the exterior top of the plastic relay box cover. Identify the position of the ASCD relay. ASCD = Automatic Speed Control Device. That's the Nissan name for Cruise Control.

2) Remove the relay box cover. This can be done with fingers but a screwdriver may help to release the latches at the leading and trailing end.

3) [5-speed] Identify the ASCD relay. It is a type 1M relay in a blue plastic case.
Remove the relay. A small screwdriver will help to release the latch which holds it in place.

3) [Automatic] Identify the ASCD relay. It is a type 2M in a brown plastic case.
Remove the relay. A small screwdriver will help to release the latch which holds it in place.

4) [5-speed] Fashion a jumper wire about 1 inch long.
Crimp or solder a male spade lug at the ends of the jumper.

4) [Automatic] Fashion two jumper wires, each about 1 inch long.
Crimp or solder a male spade lug at the ends of each jumper.

5) [5-speed] Look at the terminals on the ASCD relay. There are four of them. Identify the load terminals, designated 3 and 5. These numbers are embossed in the plastic housing next to the terminals, but they are difficult to read. A magnifying lens may be helpful. You may also identify them by position. Note that three of the four terminals are parallel to each other. The terminal which is not parallel is number 5. Number 3 is the terminal most distant from number 5.

5) [Automatic] Look at the terminals on the ASCD relay. There are six of them. Identify the two pairs of load terminals, designated 3 and 5, and 6 and 7. These numbers are embossed in the plastic housing next to the terminals, but they are difficult to read. A magnifying lens may be helpful. You may also identify them by position. Hold the relay so that you are looking at the terminals with the latch at the 12 o'clock position. The two upper terminals are oriented vertically, and these are number 1 and 2. All other terminals are oriented horizontally. The pair of terminals at the left are 6 and 7; the pair on the right are 3 and 5.

6) [5-speed] Plug the jumper into the female relay sockets corresponding to relay terminals 3 and 5.

6) [Automatic] Plug the first jumper into the female relay sockets corresponding to relay terminals 3 and 5. Plug the second jumper into the female relay sockets corresponding to relay terminals 6 and 7.

7) Put the ASCD relay in a safe place. Save it for a rainy day.

8) Snap the relay box cover in place.

9) Close the hood.

 

i see this has turned into cruise control but i wanted to thank Daniel B. for the help on the cv boot. i just wrapped it up no need to change the cv joint it was in brand new shape. but this is something that doesn't seem worth doing your self. It would have been 70 to take to a shop and i spent about 35 on parts(the 95 maxima how to book included) not to mention a good lot of time. It takes a 36MM socket for $10 bucks and just seemed like a good pain in the rear. Im glad i did it just for the experience but its not a fun thing.