maxima0002

Hey all,

Need some advice. my 2000 SE started to give me some REALLY wieird "bump" noises when driving over road imperfections and small potholes. I can't understand what it is. Even the slightest road imperfections and my car feels like somethings about to come undone from the front Passenger area.

I'm not sure whether it's the Front Strut or the steering linkage, but I did some self tests.

1. With car parked, applied pressure to move strut up/down on passenger side, no sounds.

2. With car parked (in "P"), i steer really quickly left to right from dead center and i hear this loose sounding noise (whether turning left or right) from front Passenger area.

3. With car in Neutral (handbrake applied), same left/right steering motion as above, but no sound..

what gives?? any ideas and anyone with the same/similar issue?
NOte: only mod on the whole vehicle is a OTTO FSTB.

Thanks a lot..!
maxima0002

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

Could it have to do with the CV joint or tie rod ends?

maxima0002

That's what I'm not too sure of. Thanks for your input. Any others know what it might be?

maxima0002

That's what I'm not too sure of. Thanks for your input irish44j. Any others know what it might be?

KNOCKTURNAL

i had the exact same problem. took it to nissan to fix. they said it was a bad strut or something.

DanL

My guess is a bad sway bar link. Sounds exactly like the problem I
had. Although the sound may seem to be coming from the passenger
side, in my case the actual worn link was on the driver's side. Put
the car on ramps and move the links by hand and I bet you'll feel the
play in at least one of them (the link has ball joints at each end). You
can replace each yourself for less than $45. Also, be sure to get two
new locking nuts. They run about $1 each.

DanL

One more thing. I my case I was able to twist the bad link which cut down on a lot of the play. I then drove the car and the sound had pretty much disappeared. That's how I knew the link was definitely the culprit. I also noticed that the bottom boot on the bad link was loose. I'm sure four years of road grime is what did it in.

maxima0002

Thanks for your reply Knockturnal!

Any chance you remember exactly what was replaced or adjusted?

maxima0002

DanL,
thanks for you reply as well. I'm going to try the above and hope that it's just a worn link. If i replace them,does it also mean i need an alignment done? reason I ask is that your second post talks about you turning the link (which would adjusts the alignment? Correct me if i'm wrong.)

Thanks again to all..

DanL

Nope. The link has ball joints at each end and is not adjustable.
One end connects to the sway bar and the other to the
lower contol arm. They're designed to swivel, but there should
be no play in either end otherwise you'll get the telltale clunking
sound. Replacing the link won't affect your alignment in
the least since the sway bar has nothing to do with your alignment.
It's there to reduce body role and improve handling. All you'll need
is a good 14mm socket and a medium "breaker bar". The nuts are
special oblong locking nuts (which is why you need to replace them
at the same time) and it takes quite a bit to break them loose -- at
least it did on my car. BTW, they're not reversible -- the left (driver's)
side won't fit the right (passenger) side and vice versa. The price is
different as well.

One last point I kinda made in the first post. The fact that you're hearing
the sound eminating from the passenger side doesn't mean the link
on the passenger side is bad. In my case it was the driver's side link.
I think a lot of people replace the wrong link based on where the sound
is coming from and then rule out the link as the culprit. Good Luck!

maxima0002

DanL,

Again, my thanks for your reply. Appreciate it.

(I just came back from the dealership. They did a few tests and found that with the maxima was hoisted up in the air), that it was my Passenger side strut causing the noise. As one mechanic steered left and right on the steering wheel another held the front strut assembly and found that it moves left/right. He decided that he would have to disassemble the front shock to find the actual reason. At this point before any disassembly the dealer says I owe them CAN$94?!! Anyway,his inital thoughts were the Strut Mount Bearing was unseated or worn.

Instead of paying $200 for labor plus parts, the mechanic advised that I loosen the 3-bolts to the front strut and 1/4 turn the nut in the middle (located on the strut itself) and shake the car to reseat the bearing. Then, retighten the nuts and if that doesn't fix it. Does this sound like a possible fix? or is it from the mechanic?

I'd like to get anyones opinion before i try this.

Thanks all,
Maxima0002
sorry for the long post..

DanL

Well, that sucks. Sounds like the mechanic is trying to help you out, not
trying to rip you of. If he's given you a possible way of fixing the problem
at no additional cost, give it a shot! What do you have to lose other than
15 minutes of your time?

maxima0002

Hey DanL,

Actually what i wanted to say .. was whether it'd be a waste of time to try it. The mechanic was a REALLY nice guy. I thanked him for being honest with me. He also told me that if you know a mechanic, they'd charge alot less that what Nissan would for labor. So his intentions were good. On the other hand, the service desk guy TRIED to blame my problem on the OTTO FSTB.!

Just a thought..any chance this issue i'm having falls within the TSB for the front strut? hm...

cheers

thomasd cook

iTrader: (7)

I just encountered this problem also. I took it to one dealership twice, told them the problem and they said nothing was wrong. Took it to another dealership and they said it was the front strut and strut mount. There was a $50 deductible. I also have a Front sway bar. Although, I would recommend removing it before bringing it in.

2k1maxgle

iTrader: (1)

I had almost this same problem, i took it to get looked at and i had a bad CV, had it replaced. Went back because it still made noise. Found out i had a bad wheel bearing and a bad hub. So yeah...it could be a big problem, so get it checked asap. like i said...ive had this same problem. Good Luck with everything.