Galo

Well, finally, the dreaded 'clunking' noise when coming off a small bump, driveway lip, etc -any real small, sharp bump- is here....mostly off the left side -the front, of course.

I checked absolutely everything I could this weekend -including taking a prybar to the bushings, sway bar links, etc etc- and everything's good & tight......has anyone figured out where this 'clunk' comes from?

MaximaMan77

Blown shock?

Galo

Nahh....they're good, strong blue Toks with less than 9k easy miles on them...they are tight and dry as a drum...

MCE

I checked everything with the pry bar and it all seemed tight. I changed the stabilizer links and the clunk went bye bye. I've been told by other members these links don't last long.

mce

MaximaMan77

I'm in my 3rd Max, 2 4th gens and the one I'm in now. I've never heard anything like that.

I plan on doing the full bushing swap as soon as Energy Suspensionhas the full set is done. Maybe lowering adds more stress to stock bushings.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

check strut mount bearings?

maximaman77: calling ES tomorow to find out info on the bushings. last email i got was that my new subframe bushings were arriving fairly soon, so it's not like they're sleeping on it.

Galo

This is really puzzling because if you think hard about it, lowering and adding the rear sway bar -as I have done- should actually reduce the amount of load on the front sway bar bushings and links because
a) by lowering, you have reduced the roll center hence the car will naturally tend to roll less
b) By installing the rear sway bar you have now 'split the load' of generating roll resistance by installing a bar that did not exist before -the rear bar.
c) by installing the stiffer lowering springs, you have by design transferred some of the roll resistance from the front sway bar to the springs proper

Bottom line, all the above combine to produce what should be substantially less loading on the OEM front sway bar links than when the car was stock so.....I'm really lost what to think here. If it gets worse, I will just buy those two links -they are prolly cheap- and replace them, just to see what happens -but it sucks.....I hate troubleshooting by just swapping parts...

MaximaMan77

Galo, see if you can recreate the noise by bouncing the front end. With the hood up you may be able to locate it. If not try pulling the car into a position where you can safely be under it a little while someone else bounces the front end some. Or even an alignment rack might be the ticket.

Galo

I tried the bouncing up & down to no avail....next step is to do exactly that of putting the car up on jackstands & poking around the whole underside.

One of these days soon I will have to try this:
- Put the car up on jackstands so that the wheels are off the ground by a good three-four inches...fully extended on their suspension
- Use a jack or something to push the wheels up about one inch -just enough to load the suspension up a tad
- With the wheels thus 'preloaded', suddenly and firmly knock that support off so that the wheel drops suddenly -again, just an inch or so- and look for the clunk and if it does, do it a few times to see if I can tell where the clunk is coming from.

Jeez, whatta pain in the ****....

MaximaMan77

That doesn't sound to safe to me

Try putting it on an alignment rack, you can do the same thing only much safer.

Galo

Oh, I think I see what u mean......most alignment racks I've see have a hydraulic/air 'mini-jack' that they use to move the wheels up and down....you;re saying use that as a 'wheel moving device' while we check for where the clunk may be coming from?

MaximaMan77

Exactly, no injury to you or the Max and you can do it over and over.

**Edit**
Either that or go some place like a lube joint that has a well you can pull over while someone jack the front up and drops it while you look around from underneath.

Galo

Gee, now I feel dumb. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, man

Barc

iTrader: (2)

I had exactly what you described. Everything was tight and everything seemed fine. "Seemed" is the word because the sway bar end links were shot at 21K miles and had to be replaced... and the passenger's side nut had to be cut off! Tight doesn't necessarily mean everything is fine. Long story short, the dealership tried tightening everything in the suspension that may have caused the clunk to replacing a strut that may have been clunking to finally replacing the end links... problem solved after that. Like I told the mechanic, that was the last place I'd have thought to have checked.

spotbass

Have you tried applying the brakes to see if the clunk goes away? I have the same sound form the passenger side. It seems to be brake pad related. I have inspected the caliper but cannot find anything wrong. Maybe the piston is bleedimg off and letting the pad rattle in the caliper?? Try the brake thing.

Galo

Barc, thanks for this info. I will try to diagnose this this coming weekend by just disconnecting the sway bar links altogether and see if the noise goes away...thanks!!

Spotbass, yes indeed..I know what u r taking about as I have had cars do that so yes, I've tried that several times...no cigar, it clunks the same....thanks anyway!

Barc

iTrader: (2)

That's what they did at the dealership when they made the correct diagnosis. Simply disconnected it and voila, no more clunk. But, of course, they replaced them!

murjose

I don't understand. If just about everyone with a Maxima has this problem. Why doesn't Nissan do something to help us? I've been dealing with this problem for 2 years now. No dealership can help me and they just keep charging me money. The only help I get is from this forum. I've been following this clunk noise forever. Is there a way to let Nissan know about this problem? That 1800Nissan1 number is useless and they like to argue. Thanks....

takkar

dont you just love it when you keep paying to diagnose the problem and they attempt to fix it and they dont...and then they charge you again for their incompetence.

† ErV †

strut mount... maybe. i have the same clunk just not as loud and others do too.. very old and common problem that does not appear to affect anything.

igzy

iTrader: (18)

I have the same problem, when making the left turn onto a driveway I hear a clunk from the left wheel. So it could be the "end links". Pardon my silly questions: what is this part, where is it located and what purpose does it serve? Thanks...

igzy

iTrader: (18)

You posted at the same time I did... If it is of no importance, I won't look for the solution then... Seems like a bottomless money pit otherwise (?)...

† ErV †

maybe... yet to hear of anybody actually having to fix it for any reason other than the noise.

it is typically the strut mounts but you never know. it is not the struts/shocks though.

as for the links, check the stabalizer bar links. that has been it too.. pretty much same noise on many, but a different part that needs changing on each car. about 50$ but the new ones will go bad in a few months too.. try to dig up some aftermarket ones if you want to change those.

igzy

iTrader: (18)

Thanks! I think I can live with the noise once in a while :-)

Barc

iTrader: (2)

The end links are indeed the links that hold the sway bar or stabalizer bar in place. There are two, one at each end of the sway bar, right by the inside of the front wheels.

I haven't heard the noise for over 7 months and 20K miles since the dealership fixed it. The end link might go bad today but it is still under warranty (100K) and they can fix it again. I can understand the frustration, especially if you're paying each time you bring the car in for a diagnosis.

I would tend to agree that its more of an annoyance than an actual problem. However, it is something that can be fixed relatively simply if it is the motor mounts, struts, or sway bar end links (unless its like mine and the part has to be cut off). Were I not going to keep the car, I'd probably not worry with it and let the next person deal with it. But, if my car still did it and it wasn't under warranty, I would get it fixed... but I've put 25K miles on my car in less than 9 months and couldn't stand the clunk each time I hit a bump.

Good luck to everyone who has this problem.

Bucket

I had this problem. Front left made noise over bumps. Replaced strut bearing. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the old one. In fact. It isn't really even a bearing. It's a piece of plastic. It is more of a spacer. Anyway, the noise remained.

I then replaced the sway bar end link even though I could feel no play in it. That did the trick. The new link is much harder to manipulate back and forth by hand than the worn one was. If you can pivot the end link easily by hand, it's probably the culprit.

Good luck.

Buck

Progress

iTrader: (26)

This is really f'ucking old.