2k2nyc

For the last 2-3k miles my max has had arthritis on rainy days. It clunks from the front left suspension area. It usually happens on hard stops & acceleration and sometimes on turns. I know for a fact that it's not the spring insulation b/c I had the entire setup pulled out and carefully reinstalled three times with the same results. What can this be?

PCGuRu2K

iTrader: (34)

arthritis

Seriously though.. Could it be your upper strut mount that's going bad? How old are they?

NT2SHBBY

George I thought it was your front right?? (I know you love this pic)

2k2nyc

I changed the strut tops, changed the insulation above the springs and the the rubber on the spring itself and still no luck.

Sup Heith, yeah the right side is a different story, I gave up on that, this is something different

Newman

iTrader: (3)

someone else postest yesterday about a problem with their front left suspension.

i also have a problem with my front left. it moans and groans when i have the wheel pulled all the way to the left (like when im pulling out of a parking space) and it give me a big *clunk* when i go over bumps. any similarities with you?

i kinda dont want to go the dealer b/c i have H&R springs.

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

Check all your strut mount bolts.

2k2nyc

Newman, I get that also, but only when its raining/very humid. It's very rare that it happens when the weather is OK.

T56gens, everything is tight, I've had the whole spring/strut setup reinstalled carefully with no luck.

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

How many miles on the car? I would say it's prolly a bushing if it's not the strut assembly.

Lumbee1

Holy ****!
I thought I was the only one that had this problem. I know my springs were installed correctly because me and two other guys did it. And you are right, it only makes noise in the rain.

I am so happy that I am not alone on this (although not having the problem at all would be better).

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

Sounds to me like bushing noise (creaking kinda sound.) Creaking is fairly normal for some cars. Urethane bushings are well known to creak the worst (trade off for upgrading to zero deflection.) Clunking / popping is not, however. I'd say turn the radio up louder or take it to the dealer if it's under warranty and it bothers you.

My 2k3 and my buddy's 2k2 don't creak / pop with drop springs.

bigdo26

iTrader: (3)

my left front suspension also makes a lil noise sometimes. usually its only when i first climb in in the morning... still annoying though.

2k2nyc

I have about 18K on the car now, I also thought it was the bushings but they seemed fine when I checked them out.

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

Well, like I said, creaking is normal, just annoying. The bushings are probably shot if you are getting popping noises out of em, or the bolts going through them aren't tight enough.

Lumbee1

This is not creaking. This is metal banging. . Sounds like the spring is loose in the strut. And yes I did everything 2k2nyc did except for reinstall everything again.

I am running Maxspeeds on stock shocks. I thought about putting the stock 4x4 springs back on to see if the noise goes away.

The problem only appears with humid or wet weather. Dry weather it is completely noise free. Performance has not been affected by this sound but it certainly doesn't inspire confidence. My car sounds like a newer GM vehicle with 80,000 miles on it.

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

Look, plain and simple: If you have a pop or bang then something has play in it. It could be many things. You could spend countless hours/days troubleshooting it, or take it to the dealer and let them figure it out. I can't tell you much other than that without hearing it in person. If it's a common problem then the dealer would probably know what to check first. Take it in there on a rainy day and take a service advisor for a ride. That's what I would do.

Lumbee1

I would except that the dealer I have to take my car to for service suckz ballz. Those stupid mf'ers don't want to fix nothing.

I took my 2k GXE to them for a knocking sound. They told me I had bad gas. I explained to them that I only run 92 or 93 octance. Still no luck. I got the coil TSB and brought the car back. They finally agreed that it was a real problem and fixed it. When did it ever become that the customer must prove to the service manager without a doubt that there is a problem.

2k2nyc

Yeah, my dealer does the same $hit. They always try their hardest to avoid warranty work.

t56gen3

iTrader: (1)

Your options are limited then. Can you go to a different dealer? If you can get that idiot service manager to go for a ride and can duplicate the problem for him/her, then they should be willing to attempt to fix it. Be calm and rational, and if they refuse just take down his name and call Nissan corp and explain the situation. If you are reasonable with them with a legitimate complaint then they will work with you.

Just my .02 worth...

Maxman2000

iTrader: (5)

What's wrong with the car George?? What's wrong with the car George??

Sorry, I had to say that. I got it from a cartoon.

2k2nyc

It's getting old and cranky

Audtatious

I've had coil noise from the front right ever since installing my Eibachs ( no, they are not wrapped yet ). Within the last couple of months, the left front has been groaning on hard left turns like pulling in or out of a driveway. It kinda like driving a old 70's Rustang!

I took it to the dealer and they informed me the strut was bad. They have ordered a new one and are going to replace under warranty...

Matthew

...The dealer is replacing a bad strut under warranty that has aftermarket springs on it? Thats a good dealer... 'The aftermarket spring voids warranty' cop-out is the most common dealer cop-out in the book!

Audtatious

Yeah, I know. I was going to tell them NOT to replace it because I would then upgrade to aftermarket. But, they said the car was still "under warranty" so who am I to complain?

The strut is on order along with new door rubber ( wind noise fix ) and a new engine cover due to the chrome coming off the "hamburger".

Matthew

...Good for you, if I knew I could go in and get new struts and shocks under warranty right now I would do it, I am still gonna go aftermarket soon but at least that could delay my purchase a few more thousand miles... I have gone almost 25,000 miles on my factory shock/strut setup w/ H&R's and they are still ok, but could be way better w/ KYB GR2...

Audtatious

Well, this is through a different dealership than I bought my car from. THAT dealership would not fix anything and laughed everytime I mentioned a TSB.

The place doing the work now is huge! They assign you a service advisor and that is the person you work with. I really like the service I am receiving there. Of course, the interesting part will be when I bring the car back in to see if they are really going to replace it under warranty since the guy who wrote up the issues knew the car was lowered and the advisor may not have. Regardless, I was told it was gonna be replaced under warranty and I will hold them at it!!

MaxKlinger

Check your ball joints right away! I noticed a klunk in my left front suspension, it happened on turns at first, started doing it with braking, and eventually got to doing it when the automatic tranny shifted (not all that hard). It grew in frequency over the last 1500 miles or so, until I finally got it home to NJ to have it fixed...that same week, my friend snapped a ball joint in his Integra and it ripped the hub and axle right out of the transmission, destroyed the tire. Get it checked out right away.

I'm just surprised that something like this would happen so quickly...the joint went at 165,000 miles on my 1996 (stock suspension except for KYB struts).

Best of luck...

Lumbee1

Well it raining today and I had to come to work. On the way here I got to listen to clunk clunk. Man this sucks

One day when I have some time, I will pull both the right and left struts off and look for wear indicators or possibly even swap them. This is driving me nuts.

KiLLeR2002se

iTrader: (4)

has everone checked their bearings? (Its the gray thing that spins)

Jrosner50

I have 26k on my 2001 SE and I started to hear the same clunking sound at about 20k when I pull out of a parking spot and as soon as I stop in reverse and put the car in drive and begin to straignted out, I hear the noise. This is one of many wierd noises I have encountered on this car that my service center can't figure out. They have also had other Maxima owners in with the same problem. Went to another service center, told me there is no such noise even after I drove them in my car and they heard it. I finally gave up. Now at 26k, for what ever reason, it barely makes the noise now.

2k2nyc

Same here

Lumbee1

2k2nyc, did you see any points that could have been worn away or showed signs of wear? Were you looking for anything, or did you just pull the strut out and then reinstall it.

Once I get a free weekend I really want to put everything apart. There has to be some indicator as to what is going on.

2k2nyc

I replaced the strut tops, the padding where the top of the spring sits and rubber insulation on the springs. I have no clue what else it can be.

Lumbee1

I don't know why the rain made the car clunk but anyways I fixed it. Me and Pioneer pulled both front struts and disassembled them for comparison. We found that the rubber boot at the top of the strut had a hole punched in it. The end of the spring had a sharp edge that cut through the rubber boot and was allowing the spring to hit the metal strut hat. We smoothed down the edge of the spring with a dremel, installed grease in the rubber boot, and reassembled with the hole 180 degree to the end of spring contact point.

To test the fix, I sprayed the strut down with a water hose and went for a drive. No clunks whatsoever. It started raining later that day and Pioneer, Sorcereur, and myself went for a drive. I drove through pot holes (not fast) and bumps in the road with not a single squeek, sound, clunk, etc...

For reference, the top of the stock springs were shaved down for a flat contact surface to the rubber boot. The Maxspeeds are just a tube shape sheared off producing a rather sharp edge. Since Sorcereur has Maxspeeds as well, we might be performing the fix on his car soon. I will take pics then for better detail.