A few notes from my install that might help others. I did the install at about 130k.

1. Plan on replacing front strut mounts and all dustboots and bump stops. The rear mounts should be ok. Replace the fronts even if you think they are ok. They are likely cracked or doomed.

2. Replacement parts advisory - DON'T USE NAPA MOUNTS. I did and they stripped easily. What I mean is that the front strut pistons are D shaped and fit into a D shaped hole in the mount. The hole stripped before I could get enough torque to tighten to sped.

Also, what Napa sold me appears to be the 4th gen mount (they sell it for the 2k though) and is designed differently than the stock mount. That contributed to the stripping problem. Use Nissan parts or redo the job.

3. Replacement parts advisory 2 - DON'T USE NAPA BOOTS AND BUMPSTOPS. The boots for the front are too short and the bumpstops are too fat to properly fit into the cap on the strut. I used Nissan parts and they fit perfectly.

4. ***CORRECTED - Once you put the car down, the strut compresses so the rear nissan boots fit fine.***
Replacement parts advisory 3 - the Nissan REAR BOOTS are too short for the Illuminas. I installed them but haven't figured out what to do about it yet. They leave the top of the piston exposed. I will likely have to find something else to fit. Even if I didn't cut the bumpstop they wouldn't have fit.

5. Bumpstops generally - I chose to cut mine because that's what Eibach and Tokiko recommend. Basically their recommended cut is 1/3 of the bumpstop. For the fronts, the bumpstop is separate from the boot and fits into the inside of the boot. For the rear, the bumpstop is part of the rear boot. Just cut the bumpstops at the narrow part of the bumpstop.

6. Spring Compressor tip -
I attached one compressor so it lined up with the bracket on the strut that attaches to the steering knuckle. The other compressor, I attached directly opposite. For the compressors I used, I had to have a socket setup for each side because the sockets get stuck against the side of the top cap.

Here's what I did - when you set up the compressors as I did above, one side will be closer to the top cap than the other. On that side, I used a deep socket. On the other side, I used a short socket and an extension. This seemed optimal and allowed me to pull the impact wrench off and move it from side to side.

 

good to know. What all came with your springs/shocks? I thought some came with new boots. I'm waiting on a set of progress springs and illuminas right now... not sure what else will come with.

 

did u install them urself?


i wam waiting for these exactly parts from Dave B, so all the install should go smooth.

 

I installed them myself but it is a fairly time consuming job - especially when napa f's you with bad parts.

If you are going to install them yourself - search and find housecor's writeup on the installation of illuminas. That was about the best I found. I also had a copy of the fsm and Haynes. But didn't really use them since I've done it before.

I can't imagine doing the job without air tools. Compressing and decompressing the springs would take forever.

 

Mine did not come with boots or bumpstops.

I would plan on replacing them all and using nissan parts. You don't want the boots to die on you later and cause the illuminas to fail.

If you want - you can look at the struts to see if the dust boots are still good. On the 2k, though, on the front - even if the boot is good, you can't tell whether the bumpstop is because it is inside the boot. If you have high mileage or if your struts are bad, I would presume that the bumpstop is dead.

You can't buy the bumpstop separately and I would advise only buying the nissan boot and bumpstop to ensure it fits.

As for the rear, on the 2k, I don't know if the napa boots fits. I got the nissan ones and they fit fine.

 

^ Pick yourself up some bumpstops/boots from Advance Auto Parts. $15-ish/each and they fit just fine. These aftermarket ones have the boot and bumpstop as separate pieces:

I've had no issues with them and have never bottom out (amazingly). But, the rear boot won't slide over the top of the strut like it does on the front (it's a smaller diameter than the top of the strut is).

However, I didn't replace the front mounts and have infrequent light creaking when the springs compress...

 

Also interesting. I get infrequent light creaking sometimes taking slow turns (parking lot speeds) on my stock suspension. Guess I'll be hitting up DaveB again.