tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

the right front on my 4th gen makes a real nasty sound, especially over bumps and/or at high speeds. it sounds like a metal-on-metal grind mixed with a "CLUNK"/"POP" -ish sound. apparently maximas are bad at this?

EDIT: mine has the stock SE suspension, not sure if that makes a difference...

<helpless>

plz help me!!!!!!!!!

</helpless>

knight71

Does it make this sound when you turn the wheel?..if not, this sounds like it could be your sway bar end link bushings. You can buy these as a set. It comes with all the end links and bushings. They cost about $20 for each side and if you search there is a write up on here for installation. Another possibility would be your ball joints, but I would look into the end link bushings 1st, since it is cheaper.

vilmaxima

^+1. Also could be your axles or strut bearings if it makes the sound when turning.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

it always makes the sound when i hit a bump, whether or not my wheel is turned. it slightly makes the sound at high speeds, but i think that's due to road vibrations (kinda like the same as a bump). it also makes the sound when i brake or downshift (again, kinda like a bump).

still stumped. it doesn't sound like the tie rods does it? i had a mechanic tell me it's the strut mounts and that you have to buy the whole strut to get the mounts...

modenaf1

iTrader: (3)

I am thinking possibly strut mounts. My friend's Maxima made this noise real bad and mine was starting to until I got new springs and struts, then it went away. We swapped out the whole spring/strut assembly so i am assuming it had something to do with that.

Delvin

You do have to take the whole strut assembly out to change the mounts but you buy them separately from the struts themselves. I'd go with what your mechanic said since he is the only one that has actually checked it out. It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion from another shop though.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

another shop ~ .org

lol. so the general consensus is strut mounts, blown strut, strut bearing, end links and/or bushing, ball joint, or axle? is there any way i can narrow it down?

EDIT: CV joint has been mentioned too

i really want to throw almost all of these possibilities out so i'm not practically buying a new car before i figure it out

vilmaxima

Try to narrow down where the noise is coming from. If you cant, start with the cheaper possibilities(sway bar link, strut mount, strut bearing, tie rod, ball joint,etc) and work your way up(axles, struts,etc).

MOHFpro90

iTrader: (11)

Take a look at the tie rod/ball joint/ sway bar end link. Are they torn? Cracked? Corroded?

Your axles probably wont make a clunk over bumps. Your strut bearing is more to isolate noises when turning the wheel when stopped/going really slow.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

i don't know what any of those look like lol

i do know this though...if i get out and push my right front up and down (car turned off) it makes a glurg-ish, swish-ish sound (kinda like mouthwash, but thicker lol), and just to make sure it wasn't normal, i did the left side too and it made no such noise

fwiw

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

bump10char

arrocha87

oook. wats the diff between the strut mount and strut bearing? cause i just put brand new shocks like a month ago and it got new OEM Nissan springs in 2004. but when parked and i turn the wheels to get out of a tight spot i hear like neeeaaah bump. its not a power steering noise but like something is rubbing.

p.s. sorry to jack your thread but i didnt want to start a new threadon something almost the same.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

i think i just got pwned lol

i still don't have a clue as far as an answer btw

djipka

iTrader: (9)

I had and still have some of the same noises. In the beginning when I bought the Max the guy told me that the sway bar bushings are shot and they were, so I replaced them with MOOG. That fix was 20 min work DIY and less than $8. I still have a noise at certain bumps and I think its up in the strut bearing area. Sometimes I have the very VERY loud squeeeeeeek like arrocha87 which I think is a worn rubber insulation of the spring.

clive

Sounds like the strut is shot. If so you will have to replace both, since the old one on the other side won't match a new one. Time to check the strut mounts too, they are super important to the handling.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

so...would you all recommend replacing the whole strut assembly? what all does that entail? springs, shocks, struts, bearings, mounts... or what?

i want out of this as cheap as possible, but i want to do it right. i'm lost lol.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

although it does sound like struts somewhat,there could be other problems too.
I would jack the front of the car up and make sure that nothing is loose.
If you get the "bump" noise when braking you can get someone in the car and at a idle speed (no gas) , put the car in drive and repeatedly stop and go in fairly rapid succession while you are outside the car right by the wheel looking for movement. you can then see what is bumping ...maybe. do this with the wheel turned both ways so you can really see whats up. mainly I would be looking at excessive movement at the LCA .
hope this helps!

oh yeh, if you do this,please be careful not to get run over!

hinoi30

alset2 got a good point on LCA. I just got the front braking system renew (rotor, pad, capilar...all new), and still find some small 'gitgit' noise from the front when making turns. Went back to the mechanics he now saying that I also need to change the front 'balljoints'. Did some searches, I figure I might change the entire LCA (lower control arm) with new balljoints and bushings.

Further searches also find out some people change the inner/outer tie rods, and the sway end link as well. Are these parts related to the 'lower' control arm or the 'upper' control arm?

Found some deals on internet, is the O.E. brand a quality product, any experience?

Thanks for your feedback.

MatJ

had a similar problem to you and replaced the lower control arms and it helped alot. also have done the tie rod ends because my steering was loose and bumped.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

the whole control arm is a good idea. (we dont have upper control arms BTW)
as far as the sway bar links go, they attach to the LCA but are not a part of it. you will have to get those seperatly.for the most part you can visually inspect them.
as for the tie rod ends ,they attach to the knuckle which is attached to the LCA via the ball joint. there is an easy check for those. jack the tire off the ground and put your hands at 10 and 3 o'clock and see if there is any play at the wheel.

Crooper_Hedder

iTrader: (2)

Put the car up on jackstands, turn on the engine and put it in drive, steer left and right to see if the sound shows up. If so, then it has something to do with the drive axles/CV joints, if not then it's suspension.

arrocha87

i have my insulators on and they look good. i think it might be my strut mount or bearing.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

i did this check and yes, there is play in the wheel, but really not a whole lot. how much is normal? i'd say the wheel traveled maybe 1-2 inches back and forth.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

holy shiot!!! i hope you were actually "turning "the wheel.
there should be no play. if you have 1 or 2 inches I would recomend not driving the car until it is fixed.
you will want to look at the actual tie-rod while you move the tire and if the tie-rod moves but where it goes into the steering rack(inner tie-rod) doesnt then the inner tie rod is bad.
if the knuckle moves but the tie rod doesnt then the outer tir-rod is bad. you will actaully see the play. if you really are getting 2 inches it could be a case of both ends are bad.
hope this helps but even if it doesnt get this checked out !

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

i meant the outer edge of the tire moved that much. when i took the wheel off and moved it with the wheel studs, it prolly only moved a centimeter or two. i don't know what the tie-rod, steering rack, and knuckle are, do, or look like. is there a diagram? Google isn't being very nice to me. There is something like a shaft that is moving, that goes into another shaft that is not moving. i would draw a pic if i was an MSPaint expert, but i'm not. if you can find a diagram i can draw some arrows or something...

i would take a pic of mine but my camera phone isn't all THAT great

alset2

iTrader: (1)

do you have a FSM?
if not you can download one for free, you will have to look in the stickies though to see where.
after that if you go to the ST(steering) section starting on page 12 the is some details of the steering components.
just a note: the FSM will help you greatly in working on your car yourself

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

no but i have a haynes manual...does that count?

i have looked through it but i can't really find what it is i need to know

EDIT: off topic for a moment...does anyone else find it odd that there is a red (crimson blaze) 95/96 maxima on the cover of the haynes? i was under the impression that a red 4th gen was only available on 1999 SE-L's

alset2

iTrader: (1)

ok on page 10-16 and 10-17 it shows the parts we are talking about.
fig 20.3a shows the outer tie rod and where it hooks to the knuckle.
The bottom part (where the cutters are) is the knuckle,then the boot and the actual Outer tie rod end.(going up)
fig 20.2 shows where the tie rod end screws onto the tie rod itself (the nut should be tight on yours)
fig 21.3a shows the boot covering the inner tie rod end(inner tie rod end and tie rod are a unit)
figs 20.3b and 20.4 show the complete assy.

what you are looking for is play at either end of it when you wiggle the wheel . there should be NO slop here.

damn, I hope that makes since to you

djipka

iTrader: (9)

sorry to ask in this thread but I have that noise that you are talking about here. at slow speed when I hit the brake and I feel and hear a bump. I haven't lifted the car to check what it is but from just looking down and from the time I changed the sway bar bushings I didn't see anything wrong. Also when I got my alignment done I asked the guys to check it out and they didn't see anything wrong either. So I've narrowed it down to either Strut mount or the strut itself.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

is it coming from the passenger side by chance?
the quick stop and go test is a pretty good indicator that its the lca bushing,if you feel a pretty good"bump" .if you are able to do the test I mentioned you will see the control arm actualy move each time the brake is pressed and released.
but it definatly could be strut and/or mounts too.

djipka

iTrader: (9)

Yeah its the passenger side. I'll see if I can get that checked. My struts and mounts look pretty new btw. I've had the car less than a year and when I bought it the mounts, struts ands that looked very shiny and I can still read the label on the struts. They are Monroe Sensa-Trac.

If it is that lca bushing is it hard to change? I like doing all the work by my self but if its too hard I'll have to fork out for a shop to fix it.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

What I have found is if its on the passanger side its usaully the rear LCA bushing which you can replace buy removing three bolts and it takes less than a 1/2 hour total.
I would suggest you look into replacing all of them with an energy suspension set (about 40 bucks) . this is a lot more work but really worth it. you also have the option of buying a whole new control arm and just bolting it up.
there is quite a bit of info on the org if you search.
hope this helps

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

okay, in figure 21.3b (pg. 10-17), what's moving on mine is the boot covering the inner tie rod end, and the shaft to the right of it. the clamp looking thing to the right of that shaft, along with the shaft to the right of the clamp do not move. what could that be?

djipka

iTrader: (9)

Thanks man! My next question was gonna be exactly that. NAPA has the whole arm for about $80. are those good?

alset2

iTrader: (1)

not a bad price, just confirm that it comes with a ball joint and bushings.
there is also some here on the org...i cant remember who,but they are selling control arms.sorry dont remember too much about it. just do a search ,it will come up

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

uhm threadjack?

lol j/k. i'm still in a jam here guys...

djipka

iTrader: (9)

sorry! I thought this will help you as well.

alset2

iTrader: (1)

did you see post #28?

MorpheusZero

iTrader: (10)

Alright, I'm just seeing this thread and I've got two things to say:

1. if your wheel is really rotating back and forth by two inches and it is due to play in the tie rod (WITHOUT turning the steering wheel) then you most likely have horrible steering rack issues and will have to replace the rack.

2. Open your hood and inspect the passenger side strut mount. If the hole that the strut rod goes through is elongated (if the strut rod nut is off-center), there's your problem. The strut rod nut was not cranked down enough which caused the exposed threads to saw through your strut mount and elongate the hole. The strut is pretty much now junk and you need a new strut mount as well.

Why do I suggest this? Because my dumb *** caused it to happen on my car.



If it looks like the one on the left then you're good
If it looks like the one on the right (off-center) then at least it is a simple fix





Just a shot in the dark but it's worth a check.

tyler5619

iTrader: (7)

Turns out i was looking at the wrong thing. it's actually the axle that is turning, and both sides are doing it (i think it's the 5MT)

i did this, and quickly found out that, on the passenger side upper strut mount, the nut is loose...but not so much actually the nut, because when i try and tighten it, the WHOLE strut turns - i watched it while i was turning the wrench. just to make sure this wasn't normal, i checked the driver side, and it was tight as could be.

as far as i could tell, everything from the nut down was turning as i tried to tighten it. i even tried WD-40. what is happening to my car! lol

i'm thinking there's something loose at the bottom that is not keeping it steady? or is this a symptom of a bad strut mount?

EDIT: it is slightly off center, but i see no sawness. i think it's due to it being loose...