Ok, I have a very annoying and possibly dangerous problem. I posted about it before, but as time went on I gained a deeper understanding of the problem, and it may be diagnosed as something different. Inconsistencies in the road greatly upset my steering, more so than they should. When I go over bumps, I can feel the steering wheel suddenly jump to the left or the right, and the problem only gets worse the harder I accelerate. If I'm accelerating hard especially in second gear, and I go over a dip in the road or a bump, the entire car will suddenly jump to one side, or start pulling to one side, and it will be very hard to keep it under control. It's scared my passengers a few times, and pissing me off because I can't get on the accelerator for fear of not being able to keep the car straight unless the road is perfectly flat. If the road is flat, then I can accelerate and keep the car straight with no problem. However, as soon as i hit a bump, dip, ripple, or anything other than perfectly smooth road, my steering will go crazy.

I took it to an org member who has a shop and drove the car, and he thinks it could be the struts. It makes sense since those are responsible for keeping the wheels planted on the ground when going over imperfections in the road. My question is: Has anybody else experienced these symptoms with bad struts, or any other defective suspension parts?

 

have you checked your alignment, if so is your caster within specs? my other suggestion would be to look at the bushings and see if they are cracked or ripped. If all looks good it could be your struts, do you see the struts leaking?

 

i'm going to get my alignment checked soon.. somebody also mentioned the caster could be a possibility i know thats expensive to fix.. i havent looked to see if the struts are leaking.. would they be leaking some kind of fluid or something?

 

If they are leaking, it will look like oil seeping out of them. If they arent leaking, that doesnt mean they arent bad. They could just be worn out. How many miles does your car have on it?

 

it has 54,000 miles.. it was also in a front end collision in which the bumper and headlight needed to be replaced before i got it

 

Assuming you're still on stock susp.....
I don't think what you are experiencing is abnormal for an OEM setup.
Tramlining can be more pronounced with some tires...but overall, the OEM susp. has never been "settled" or refined in ANY way.

I found that lowering my car (esp. the front) reduced nose dive, squat, and obviously the stability under acceleration.
The rear just became simply more planted....but the front saw major improvements.

I think you're over analyzing your problems. Upgrade or live with it, is my simple advice.
With a front-end collision, however - you COULD have underlying problems not related to the suspension itself.
Bent frame?? Improper alignment of susp. components??
You may start with the cheaper fixes, and work your way up....perhaps even take it to a frame alignment shop to make sure the repairs were done correctly after the accident.

good luck.

gr

 

well, the frame check came out good on the carfax report.. i dont know how much that means, but this definitely is not normal, even for an OEM suspension.. i felt nothing of the such with my OEM 2001 max.. and it's not the difference in horsepower that's making me feel it because even under light-moderate acceleration with this 6 speed, it is hard to keep the car straight going over a bump or dip, where i could be at WOT on the same road with the 01 and not feel a thing

 

Your problems sound just like what my van had. It was solved w/ new struts and tires. It was scary before it was fixed.

 

i hope that's all it is man.. cause this stuff is pissing me off.. theres a stretch of road on my way to work where i used to religiously burn people in my 01 max.. and now i can't do it! cause the road is curved and has some slight imperfections i havent gotten beat yet cause nobody has really raced me, but i've only been able to go medium throttle, while struggling to keep the car straight... aarrgghh!!!

 

let me know if you solved your problem. I have somewhat of the same problem, when i'm braking and the car hits a bump, it will pull to either left or right soemtimes.

 

like constant pull? or a sudden jerk? a slight pull the problem is in your brakes.. could be a seized caliper or something, i dont know

 

i'm confused.. are you telling me to ignore my problem and stating that you have 3 of the 15 posts that you need in order to start a thread? you do realize that post-whoring will get you banned and you really won't be able to start a thread while you're on vacation

 

look up bump steer. this is what it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bump_Steer

if you have lowered the car then you change the geometry that nissan designed into the steering and suspension components. if you have changed the suspension it could be worn struts but worn struts also bounce after going over a bump or dip in the road.. how pronounced that is is dependant on how gone the struts are. Evber see the older vehicles on the hiway anf they just seem to bounce a little more than they should... thats worn shocks and or struts. Also the getting into the throttle and the car going to one side is called tourqe steer. This is common in all front wheel drive vehicles that have decent power. Agree also with what was said earlier. Certain tires will make your car tramline more than others. A worn strut doesnt have to leak. it can have a bad seal inside and not control the fluid correctly anymore. A simply home test is to open the hood, go to where the strut tower is and bounce the car 2-3 tims. if it bounces then settles pretty much right away your struts are ok. if you bounce it and it kinda bounces a couple times the struts are saying goodbye.

 

Hey Guy, screw that car facts report! Go get your car alignment checked @ Firestone, or the dealer! Or jack your car up and inspect those vital components: First of all you never stated whether your car was Oem or lowered! If lowered...was your suspension ever aligned after that mod? Do you have any oil leaks? I have seen those lower control rear bushing do that sort of changing direction upon accelerating/braking when they are worn, deteriorating from oil contamination or not torqued down properly! Please jack up your Vehicle and place it on stands, and check you front end for play in you balljoints, tierods, and control arm bushings, strut to knuckle hardware is secure! If you don't find anything there, check that your strut mount are in good condition, secure and installed properly. Once your car is back down on the ground check to torque of your strut mt nut (the big one). Have you checked your tires for shifted belts? Rub your hand over them and feel for wavey lumps. And I'm sure you did the bounce test on your front end already... right! Push down repeatively and stop pushing down and see if your car settles instantly or bounces a little after. Buy a Maxima book or factory Cd's they're very helpful...Good luck!

 

it happens sometimes, but when it does happen, it like a pulll one way and unless i correct it manual(by turn the steering wheel) it will keep going that way. on another note my PS fluid is bad as hell can that be causign the issue?

 

i have the Same problem i just lowered my car H&Rs on the front only just so it will sit even. But anyway when i am driving the car it has a constant pull either the left or right. at times its really hard to drive it because you may hit a bump and if your car is already pulling to one side or another it can be dangerous. i had 2 alignments and they both didnt do anything at all. the guy said that the caster was really off and that they cant adjust it unless maybe if i got a camber bolts. Sometimes it gets so bad the car can turns on the freeway buy itself with out me touching the steering wheel. I hate it because it makes me not want to drive my car cause the steering wheel pulls so hard my arm gets a work out.

 

My car does the side to side two hand crazy steering.Makes my woman not want to drive it..

Sitting on front H+Rs,rear maxspeeds and 18" potenzas.

 

That's called bumpsteer! My Progress spring lowered the front approx 1.75" and the back 1.5" and no alignment camber bolts were needed my fell within spec! I don't experience those issue just a smooth, firm, compliant, and civilized ride!

 

my bad, i have a 100% stock suspension.. i changed my oil today, and didn't see any leaks under the car.. i looked at my struts, but had no idea what i was looking at, or what to look for, so i couldn't tell if anything was damaged.. they were dry though.. a mechanic looked at the car, and did the wiggle tests on my wheels and said my ball joints and tie rods were good.. but the car failed the bounce test, and he said my struts were bad.. my question is though, could bad struts make the car exhibit all these symptoms?

 

If your struts need to be replaced then replace them! Replace what you know needs to be replaced and see if it fixes the problem. If it don't then rotate your tires. You should get an alignment once you replace the struts. Good Luck

 

yeah, when i get my struts replaced, im gonna have my tires rotated and do an alignment as well

 

My max jerked like crazy. The problem solved after I replaced the tires to the stock size ones.

 

Thanks for being honest! I suggest you get yourself a Nissan Maxima Maintenance Manual and study up! Or take auto mechanic's class taught at a local community college! I've been doing this stuff since I was 10 yrs old I'm now 42! Take your time and read b4 you start so you' have a better understanding! In a year or two your confidence will grow!

 

Oh yeah! forget to answer you! Chg your struts and check your tires balance just in case those belts are bad too! If you wanna keep it stock Kayabas (KYB's) GR-2's is the way to go! Try your local auto parts, but be sure to check with Summit, Jeg's and AJ-Usa also!

 

i tryed rotating the tires i had two alignments and tires balanced and none it worked.

 

did you do the install yourself and did you replace anything else besides the springs and struts

 

Yeah, I do all my mods myself! It's hard to find really good thorough, competent technicians no matter what your have fix! I personnaly would get the longest pry bar, screwdriver(min 3 ft), pipe, etc... and jack up your suspension and check those control arm bushings, bearings, balljoints,etc...also with a wrench please check all your strut hardware @ knuckle and strut mt!
,

 

I think some of us are talking about different jerking around of the steering wheel and how uncomfortable the steering wheel feels while driving. In wyche89's case, this is exactly how my girlfriend's 2000 Maxima feels. It feels out of control. It has 120k miles and the driver's side strut is completely dead, leaking, and the passenger side strut is pretty much wasted, failed the bounce test. The other feeling (bump steer) feeling the others are talking about occurs in my 07 and 93 Mustang GTs with aftermarket suspensions and bigger meats meeting the road. The tires want to follow the pavement and you're fighting to keep the tires straight, but you are still fully in control. The maxima's case, it's no control at all and it feels like riding a boat. I will be replacing the struts in the next week or so, and will be checkcing out the bushings and sway bar while I'm down there. I'm a newbie on Maximas, sorry.

 

You might wanna get spring isolators and dust/bumstops, more than likely those old peices are worn out as well @ 120k!

 

also sounds like bad struts to me. I'd go with OEM struts. Blues a to soft in the rear and will make the car feel loose in the rear............

 

question guys... with struts, are you supposed to hear like an air noise when you go over bumps? i remember in the 5th gen i had, whenever i would go over a bump, i would hear a quick "tsh" like air was rushing out or something... there is definitely no noise like that now.. just banging when i go over bumps... since i don't hear that noise, is that further evidence that my struts are bad?

 

anybody?

 

I think I am also having some issues with the rear struts on my 01 maxima. They are the original struts. When I go over the smallest bump the rear end bobs up and down and I can hear the muffler rattling around. When I back out of my garage there is a 1" drop from the garage floor to the drive way and that 1" drop makes the rear bob. I am going to pick up some rear struts, but I am wondering if I should also replace the springs?

How do you tell of the springs are gone?

I don;t want to put too much into this car as we are planning on trading it in soon.

 

The springs are fine unless you just wanna be lower!!!!

 

oh yeah, i guess i should probably update since i was the once who started this thread.. lol.. i got new struts, and it didn't change anything.. i got new tires, and those helped the problem, but the bump steer is still there more than i feel it should be... i also had a bad wheel bearing replaced, and have yet to get my car aligned since having the struts and wheel bearing put in, so i need to do that.. that would be the last step in figuring out this damn problem, cause the mechanic said everything else was tight under there.. would the alignment change anything?

 

Yes, it would.

 

definately, i had an alignment after lowering my car. before the alignment was very uneasy to drive. once the alignment was done it was amazing. it will help.

 

yes if the strut is working properly i do beleive its suppose to make the air sounding noise.

 

cool.. thanx... will be getting this done ASAP

 

check the lower control arms had the same problem on my 95 max and my lower control arms were bad once changed problem fixed just check