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KYB strut bearing & Koni Strut failed at only 15,000 miles
I installed the KYB part# SM5122 which is the front driver strut mount which also comes with the bearing, as well as Koni Struts all the way around.
Koni front struts part# is 8750 1065L/R.
The KYB bearing broke, and the front right Koni strut is leaking, causing a knocking noise in the suspension.
I don't know if the bearing failure caused the strut to fail, but it is very disappointing to have spent money for PREMIUM parts over cheap quickstruts, and have them fail in 15,000 miles.
I used the original Nissan springs and added them to the Koni struts on all 4 struts, with the KYB mounts and bearings.
Now I don't know if I want to replace them using the same, expensive parts, or what.
"Koni, Inc. warrants all new Koni shock absorbers to the original retail purchaser (purchased after 5-1-80) against defects in material and workmanship, excluding mounting rubbers, washers, and bushings, when used under normal operating conditions, for as long as such purchaser owns the vehicle on which the Koni shock absorbers were originally installed. This warranty does not apply to, and Koni makes no warranty for, shock absorbers that have been installed improperly as original equipment on any vehicle (except Ford Mustang SVO) that has been modified for a use other than or in addition to its originally intended use, for an application not specified in the Koni literature, on any vehicle that has been used for off-road, racing, or any other driving competition."
The KYB bearing's warranty is unclear.
"KYB offers a one-year warranty on strut mounts and steering stabilizers. KYB offers a limited lifetime warranty on their remaining products (not including AGX springs) against manufacturer defects and flaws."
I have learned the hard way that the only parts for the Strut systems that really last, except for the Struts and springs, which I used Koni Orange Struts, is by using NISSAN parts only for all the mounts, bushings and bearings.ESPECIALLY the Strut Mount/Bearing combo.
Everything else gave me headaches and frustration, regardless of the cost or name recognition. All a waste of money over 120K miles. Couldn't be happier with the Nissan Koni combo.
Use the Nissan SE Strut Mount, as it's also heavier duty than the GLE, GXE version.
Hope this helps!
Did I mention the noise reduction was substantial?
I have learned the hard way that the only parts for the Strut systems that really last, except for the Struts and springs, which I used Koni Orange Struts, is by using NISSAN parts only for all the mounts, bushings and bearings.ESPECIALLY the Strut Mount/Bearing combo.
Everything else gave me headaches and frustration, regardless of the cost or name recognition. All a waste of money over 120K miles. Couldn't be happier with the Nissan Koni combo.
Use the Nissan SE Strut Mount, as it's also heavier duty than the GLE, GXE version.
Hope this helps!
Did I mention the noise reduction was substantial?
Do you have part numbers? What I don't like about Nissan is that their parts availability is lacking because Nissan is a fragmented company.
Where do you purchase your Nissan OEM parts from?
If you have part numbers for the mount, bearings, and bushing that would be fantastic. A bellow too, if you have it. When looking on my own, the only part number I can find is the strut mount. And who knows if its the SE version as you say.
Last edited by ReconcileUs; Oct 20, 2021 at 03:36 PM.
"Koni, Inc. warrants all new Koni shock absorbers to the original retail purchaser (purchased after 5-1-80) against defects in material and workmanship, excluding mounting rubbers, washers, and bushings, when used under normal operating conditions, for as long as such purchaser owns the vehicle on which the Koni shock absorbers were originally installed. This warranty does not apply to, and Koni makes no warranty for, shock absorbers that have been installed improperly as original equipment on any vehicle (except Ford Mustang SVO) that has been modified for a use other than or in addition to its originally intended use, for an application not specified in the Koni literature, on any vehicle that has been used for off-road, racing, or any other driving competition."
The KYB bearing's warranty is unclear.
"KYB offers a one-year warranty on strut mounts and steering stabilizers. KYB offers a limited lifetime warranty on their remaining products (not including AGX springs) against manufacturer defects and flaws."
I'll try the Koni warranty. I hope they don't give me a hard time because I purchased the struts through eBay from a parts seller.
What a shame.....Too much trouble to find the part numbers so you asked for them.
Then one order and they are on back order and now you pretty much insult all of us.
Did you even think to GOOGLE one part number at a time (as I suggested above)? I got more than half my NISSAN parts from other sources because delivered prices were better. Some are bound to have them on the shelf as the demand for 23+ year old cars is waning.
What a shame.....Too much trouble to find the part numbers so you asked for them.
Then one order and they are on back order and now you pretty much insult all of us.
Did you even think to GOOGLE one part number at a time (as I suggested above)? I got more than half my NISSAN parts from other sources because delivered prices were better. Some are bound to have them on the shelf as the demand for 23+ year old cars is waning.
I suggest the Toyota forum!
Wow! You’re definitely misunderstanding. I am not insulting anyone, I appreciate the help and advice, I am simply expressing my frustration.
Any mechanic in the world would attest to the fact that the quality of the aftermarket parts market is the lowest that it’s ever been.
I’m not new to ordering parts or making car repairs, there is legitimately a problem with the parts availability of Nissan parts, particularly older Nissan parts.
Nothing in the wording in my post implies that my words are directed towards you, or any other member here so I’m really taken aback that you would even say that.
It doesn’t take much time to confirm what I am saying, you can Google the part numbers to confirm my findings. These Nissan parts are scarce, your advice was to find the cheapest prices, I did that. I can also clearly see sources that do have these parts at a ridiculously inflated price. ($80 for the OEM strut mount / $30 for the OEM strut bearing) Why is the price inflated? Because people are actually paying the inflated prices. Why are they? Because the parts are scarce.
Of course companies phase out older parts for older cars, but they also have different policies. The fact that Nissan was merged in the late 90s not only affected their car designs and quality but also their parts availability of supporting real, imported JDM Nissans. That’s what these 4th gen Maximas are.
Last edited by ReconcileUs; Oct 22, 2021 at 07:34 PM.
Sorry to lump you into a group of which we've seen many come and complain how bad these cars are and many other complaints in less than 10 posts into their forum membership..We know what real shortcomings we have to deal with.
Lot of us are original owners and are quite invested in our choices to keep investing into our 4th Gens. As well as some of the younger owners that want to mod these. But everyone wants reliability.
All I can suggest is doubling down on the phone to see who has stock at the listed reasonable prices. The only real time option before anything that's available goes gone.
I'm not so sure this is about Nissan being singled out as a problem with over a half million containers sitting on anchored ships around Long Beach, California.
Don't know what to believe about this all of a sudden debacle affecting everything coming from west of the USA. Something like 40 to 60 percent of the products America uses imported through that port. Like America forgot how to unload and distribute.
I paid $27 for the OEM strut bearing from eBay, Nissan dealer account. Part#54325-5V000
I paid $76 for the OEM strut mount from my local Nissan dealer. Part#54320-40U02
Cheapest I could find that actually had the parts available.
Completely economically unfeasible to put OEM strut mounts and bearings on all four wheels.
Now I am waiting on the results of the Koni strut warranty request. The strut was delivered to them yesterday, Wednesday around 1pm. No response yet. My cars down, sitting on jackstands waiting for the strut.
Last edited by ReconcileUs; Oct 28, 2021 at 09:44 AM.
A few years back, probably around 3, I bought everything new from all over using Nissan OEM front and back strut parts with Koni Orange struts and used SE springs and a Spring Compressor. Total was around $900. finding the best prices I could shipped.
After all the frustration and money wasting on Aftermarket junk that was beyond clunky and noisy, I was very happy to have it settled, quiet and maybe even a little better than new. And that's with me doing everything myself.
Hopefully Koni steps up. Bob, the STR-T Product Manager is a good guy if you get a chance to speak with him. Me and another forum member here used thick walled heat shrink tubing on the springs ends for insulators. Now I would never do them without
We also made gaskets for between the strut and car tower with 1/8" hard rubber matting to quiet the ride even more. It was intensive but well worth it going a little overboard. Crappy Roads and minimal noise over them is nice.
The Koni warranty strut came I have everything installed.
On closer examination of the old failed parts, pictured below, the KYB top strut mount failed, not the bearing. These pieces pictured below are supposed to be attached to each other, not two pieces
