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I reached 90K miles on my 01 Max, and was told that I need to replace *something* at this point...either shocks or struts or both...can anyone tell me what it is...I was quoted a price of around $1000 to replace this thing and really dont wanna end up paying THAT much for this, tho if I have to, then it has to be done. Big 10 Tire is the one who gave me an estimate...he didnt look at a price list or anything, just said for the type of car, thats prolly what its gonna cost...Also, now that Im at 90K, what should I have done to the car to make sure it runs in tip-top shape...obviously its got some wear on it...its at 90K in ~4 years, so if someone could let me know what I need to have done, it would be appreciated.

Puppetmaster

iTrader: (48)

No... freakin... way...

Was it at a dealership or something? If it was... never go there again... I got used aftermarket struts and springs with less than 12k miles on em for $265 shipped. If ya do em yourself, installation would be free (maybe $30 to rent a spring compressor), and even if you did em somewhere, it'd be like 150-250 tops. I really think you can get all that done for less than half of what they quoted you, esp if you're just getting stock replacements... which leads me to the next question...

Why were you told you needed to replace "something"? What's the problem you're having with your suspension?

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nothing really is wrong with it, I was just told that around 90K miles is when this thing needs to be replaced...again, I dunno if its shocks or struts...I know those are the only 2 things I asked him about, and he said one of them should be replaced at 90K...now if I could figure out which one, I could order them and have them here just in case something does happen...Also, I put the max weight allowed in the car almost every sunday, which Im assuming deals with springs and shocks...I always thought cars had one and trucks had the other...like cars were shocks and trucks were struts...but who knows, Ive never really looked into it...its not that I cant work on a car, Ive done some things...just never really inquired about whether I was right or not...so cars may have both for all I know, and trucks may have both also...dunno. I guess if cars do have both, then Id have to look into getting both shocks and struts...and from what I can tell, there is a good deal on struts, so whowhooo and its not even close to $1000.

Puppetmaster

iTrader: (48)

Shocks or struts huh? I'm not sure myself... I feel like on here, struts/shocks are used interchangeably.... if it helps... my Tokico "struts" box says "gas shocks" on the box... Does it really matter though?

Check Housecor's site for more info on suspension mods... http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/sp..._decision.html

turbo_gg

Our 00/03 Maxima's have Macpherson struts in front, and shock absorbers in back. All are essentially shock absorbers, cause that is what they do, absorb shock from the suspension as it moves when you drive. If you look in some of the threads here on the org, you'll find some info about what choices you have. Adjustable struts/shocks are your best choice, it will allow you to tune the shock to your personal preference. DO NOT PAY $1000 for shock absorbers, that is a ridiculous price I got my Tokico Illumina's here on the org thru a group deal for $408 shipped. A great shock at a great price!! There are cheaper shocks that are not adjustable, that are very good too. It will all depend on what your game plan is. Are you going to get new springs and lower your car? Then you'll probably want adjustable shocks. Or are you going to leave it stock, and just want shocks only. Tokico,KYB,Koni are all good choices.
One more thing, just because you have 90k miles on your car, doesn't mean it is automatically time to buy shocks. You'll know if you need them by a simple test- push down on the front fender, if your car moves up and down several times in response to your push- it's time for new shocks. And, if your car rocks up and down several times when driving over dips in the road, then your shocks are shot. If neither of these depicts what your car is doing, then
you don't need shocks (at least not right away).

BlackBIRDVQ

iTrader: (15)

Springs don't wear out - they work till they crack or start to sag. Struts and shocks after they wear out will make the ride all bouncy. You could get a set of Tokico blues for around 250 bux from TireRack (last time I checked for a friend). Unless you are a enthusiast and want to lower your car at the same time ( if you carry so much weight already then loweing might not be a good idea) then I would get a set of D2s or JIC FLTA1s maybe even Tein coilvers. 1000 bux can get you a killer suspension, most places like GoodYear or Firestone tend to quote such high prices for cheap crapp that its unbelivable. Everyone I know that took their car in for a inspection to one of those joints got estimates such as Needs all 4 shocks, springs, 4 rotors,4 brake lines, 4 calipers, pads all around- 98 Maxima my cousin has. Yet the car don't need no shocks or springs, and deff didn't need calipers or even brakes ! He had me do his rear brakes cause they said rears where totally gone- I took his wheels off and saw that the rear brakes had about 50% of life still left on them ! Get this they quoted him 2120 for the whole job too. His car has 110K miles on it. They also recomended new belts and hoses. His belts where little dry rotted but the hoses where still good. Its really sad when people get ripped off like that by these big franchise repair centers. For 2120- we coulda gotten a good set of coil overs, 300ZX big brakes in the front, SSteel lines, Hawk pads, and crossed drilled rotors all around- all high quality parts- not some cheap ****.

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thank you everyone for your replies...im just figuring he was saying i need new ones when i really dont...it seems I get a lot of people who say I need to "replace" things when I shouldnt, or that I have to pay this or that...I bought some brake pads earlier and nissan told me they wouldnt work, but that they could add the oem ones...I really wish dealers and mechanics wouldnt lie, itd make the world a better place. not saying all do, just seems in my experience most do.