Okay, so I do something with my '98 Max that I would imagine not a lot of you have done. I have a PT job delivering 260-350 newspapers 7 days a week in a rural area 20 minute north of Birmingham known as Warrior, AL.

I've been doing this job since February of 2011 & has it put a beating on the car....

3 months ago I replaced both axles, outer tie rod-ends, sway bar end-links, sway bar bushings, LCAs, wheel bearings, & power steering fluid. Now, it's (way) past time to replace all four struts.

I've read about Monroes, KYBs, & Tokico's & all that but I wanted to get some people's opinions on suspension replacement taking into account the terrible shape a lot of the roads on which I travel. My route is 100 miles a night from 2am-6-am with a lot of pot holes, poorly maintained driveways, & those DAMN speed bumps.


The car can get slammed pretty hard & I really wish I just had one of those Baja trucks from Super Off-Road....but anyway...


To get the struts replaced in a pinch I'm probably going with the Monroe Sensa-Trac Quick-struts from RockAuto just to have something new & relatively cheap while I try to figure out the best setup for this particular circumstance.


Monroe Quick struts
#171293R - $123
#171293 - $115
#171683 - $130
#171682 - $130

KYB Strut Mount
#SM5122 - $30 each

KYB Strut Mount Bracket
#SM5543 $14 each (Do I need to get this?)

Also, do I still need to get Strut Bellows (Boots) even if I get quick struts?


Does anyone have experience with this setup or experience with having to put your Max through a lot abuse on a regular basis like I am?

 

I put a set of Monroe Quickstruts on my stock 97 Maxima in Dec 2010 at 190K miles. Now have about 225K and they have been fine. These are complete replacement units - you don't need to add strut mounts, brackets or bellows. Only caution I would give is to be careful with your axles when you are changing out front units - I got careless and let one of mine get overexended and had to replace driver's side axle. Good luck.

 

Put the Monroes up front and throw in a set of KYB GR2 mono tube shocks in the rear. The mono tube is a more controlled (firm) ride and will help with your load of papers.

Why don't you just put the Sensa Track strut only in? Is the front sagging? The OE springs should still be fine.

 

The vehicle is originally from New York & the bottom is made of rust. Add 200k miles to that & I just figured that it would be best to replace the springs as well. Not to mention the guy at the shop told me I'd save a chunk of money in labor going with quick struts.

Plus, like I said in the OP, the quick struts are going in so I'll have something NOW while I save up money for....I guess Tokico Blues+Ground Control Coil-overs (0" drop during my route....well, prolly all the time).


And thanks for sharing that info on the strut mounts. Saved me from having to ship some items back although I'll admit I'm disappointed as I think I remember reading that you would want to use KYB strut mounts or strut bellows as they allow the strut to travel slightly farther or something like that.


Don't have time to talk now, but the next discussion (not that the future strut discussion is over) will be auxilary lighting! Driving in rural areas in the fog SUUUUCKS!

The front-end of the vehicle is a little smashed up so instead of getting awesome HID fog lights I just grabbed a pair of Hella Optilux (Blue lens/Yellow beam) Fog Lights from Amazon for $40. Going to add a pair of Pilot driving lights (Clear/Clear) from Auto-Zone for $20-25 to that.

 

Monroe Quick struts
#171293R - $123
#171293 - $115


Oh! Also, I order parts from RockAuto ALL THE TIMES! This part seems little confusing & I'll just call them tomorrow if no one knows...but the two rear struts listed there? The on without the 'R' at the end is listed to fit on the REAR (doesn't say LEFT or RIGHT) of the vehicle. The one with the 'R' is listed to fit on the....RIGHT. It doesn't say rear or front just......right.

Am I supposed to get:

#171293R
#171293R

OR

#171293
#171293

OR

#171293R
#171293

?????

 

please tell me why youre not just staying with these replacement struts and are going to again replace them with tokico blues and ground controls? just, why?

 

I only did it for a few days in Alabaster, it was really bad. My suggestion would be to get an old Explorer or other small SUV to use. I was dropped on progress springs and the papers had it scraping.

The extra weight will destroy your tranny alot faster than normal, among other things, just my 2 cent

 

Better question, if you're such a ggenius why can't you read properly?


Just to remind everyone it clearly says *discussion* in the thread title. I have no idea what setup I will use & never said that I was going to Blue+Coil-over.



Unfortunately, getting another car is not an option in the near future & must make due with the Max. Sundays & Thanksgiving are the only days I have enough papers where weight is any kind of issue. And even then on Sundays it's not a lot. Just 359 papers I think.

Hence why I asked about Tokico Blues+GC Coil-overs earlier since I could have an OEM replacement strut with some performance & not have to drop the car at all.

 

Try to get all 4 quick struts in one package deal. 357 for all four on ebay last time I checked

 

Unfortunately, I didn't record the Monroe part numbers I used. IIRC, the rear struts were the same part number left and right; the front definitely has different part numbers for each side. Visit the Monroe website for definitive part number info; as I remember it was informative and easy to use. Good luck.

 

In the Nissan parts listing for the rear suspension, there is only one shock absorber listed. No separate left/right listing. And the same thing applies to the coil spring, only one part number. But what Nissan has done (and Monroe has copied), Nissan has the term "F/RH" in the part description. I have no idea what it is supposed to mean.

http://www.nissanpartszone.com/Page_...3&PageID=17505