I bought my Maxima with the blues on them. They felt like a great OEM replacement.

 

That is what I use, Tokico blues but I normally buy from ImportRP.com ( A direct link here >>> http://performance.importrp.com/toki.../i-526820.aspx )

$103 for front, right/left and $71 for rear x2 of course.

 

The 53034 A and B as mentioned, I never replace. Those are the isolaters. If they seem worn just flip em over.

The 54034 is a big rubber ring that sits on the top flattened spring coil. The end of the spring usually makes an indent in the rubber, so what I do is just rotate it so the end is sitting on a 'fresh' part of the rubber ring. No need to buy replacements for either.

As for struts, as you know HP's are known as direct OEM replacements. They're comfortable but some people find them soft. GR-2's are a bit more controlled, plus they're cheaper than the Blues.

I usually buy off amazon but that's just me, free 2 day shipping and a fantastic warranty process is important for me. Their prices are generally very competitive too.

 

I'd buy from Amazon too for the warranty alone, but living in Washington State adds 10% sales tax to their prices. In this case their price is higher so buying from them would add about $30 to the purchase price.

What about the bump stops? Do you reuse those?

 

Ah, yea sales tax sucks.

Bumpstops/dust boots - absolutely do NOT reuse. They're probably in tatters by now. I replace, and I replace with OEM Nissan ONLY. Don't get aftermarket KYB, strut mate, or anything but OEM. It's worth to spend the extra here. Get all 4. You can buy from www.nissanpartsasap.com or www.courtesyparts.com

 

Will I need dust boots for my news coilovers? I assume I do.

Thanks for all this info.

 

Coilovers? No. Coils (except for teins) come with ALL hardware needed, and come fully assembled. No mounts boots bearings necessary.

 

I just spent 10 minutes staring at the Nissan parts diagram and I don't see the bump stops as separate items. You say to buy all 4 so I've got to be missing something. Can you point me to the Nissan part number?

 

Dustboots and bumpstops serve two different functions, but they're integrated into one part. 54050

When I say all 4, I mean 2 fronts and 2 rears. Whereas with strut mounts, it's only necessary to get the fronts.

 

djfrestyl, thanks for all the info about this. With the help of you and others in this forum I'm willing to tackle something I would never consider otherwise. It's much appreciated.

 

On the moog endlinks, how often will I have to grease them?

 

It is absolutely my pleasure to help. Better to provide correct information Up front and make it as available as possible than having to see those 'help I did something wrong' threads.

The BEST way to thank me is by supporting a fellow org member and purchasing a spare tire cover from me. Details in my sig.

 

I usually zip grease into them every other oil change. Doesn't take much, more of a top-up than anything.

 

Should any suspension parts be replaced when switching from stock/s. tech to KYB gr-2 or illuminas / h&r?

 

Changed my struts/springs in a garage with no power and only hand tools years ago. I had 0 experience and was following a write up. It's not as hard as it seems but it will take time if it's your first time. be patient and have a 2nd car available to make trips for the little things you may need as you progress through the job.

Cover is awesome. For the price shipped it's worth it. Thanks again for mine!

A good mechanic and shop will grease any joint with a fitting every oil change.

What are you switching? What are you looking to do?

 

So what are you trying to say

I did it at every oil change at first, but the joints weren't taking much (if at all) so I switched to every other.

Grease fittings are a thing of the past with many passenger cars nowadays. Because of this, when going for an oil change, the mechanic has to be specifically told to grease the joints.

 

Yes, read the thread. Strut mounts (and bearings) and boots at the very least.

Wasn't I supposed to install your suspension?

 

When I worked at a shop we were told that if we saw grease fittings to just grab the grease gun and fill it up. Sealed bearings shouldn't need to be greased but you can still technically needle grease them which is a pita

 

Good to know there are still quality shops out there.

 

I'd certainly do that, however my I30 actually came with a hard cover supporting the carpet over the spare tire similar to the one you're producing. That and the sticker shock looking at the total cost just for the parts to do a front strut replacement. Yikes. No wonder it costs $800 to have this done in a shop.

 

Yup. Taking the struts in and out is the easy part. Having to deal with the spring adds a little time but machines make that easy.

 

Yes you were, and you still are. I was sent somewhere unexpectedly for 2 months and missed out on ksports and d2's. Since coilovers are now out of the question, i have chosen to go with illuminas and h&r. These s techs are begining to make me hate the car.

 

What's the advantage of grease fittings? Why aren't most oem cars like this if it's better?

 

The advantage of grease fittings is you can fill them up. Most part manufacturers use parts that do not have grease fittings because they are sealed and the grease doesn't come out.

 

PM me your phone number.

 

My 02 SE with 130K rides like crap and doesnt handle much better. I know it needs new struts however there are some concerning noises id like to address first.

When driving my car over say an expansion joint or pothole I get a very not nice sounding noise from the right rear of the car. Its somewhat of a clunk\non-metal creaking noise. Its only on sharp impacts and only comes from the right rear wheel. I have two hypothesis for this:

-The first being a bad wheel bearing as the car shakes at highway speeds however I cant physically wobble the tire with my hands when the car is jacked up.
-My second hypothesis is that the trailing arm bushing is shot however I havent seen the fluid leak out and it visually doesnt look too bad.

Is there anyway to distinguish between the two? The car does kinda rock back and forth when coming to a stop (and no its not nose dive) which further leads me to think its the bushing.

Is replacing the trailing arm bushing a DIY job? ( I had a hell of a time getting the sway bar links fixed myself) And if not, whats a reasonable estimate as to the labor costs?

The car also makes a horrible grinding sound when ive got passengers and am driving up a curb cut at full lock. Again same question here, is this a bad wheel bearing or the LCA bushings? and is this DIY friendly? Also note the sway bar links and tie rods have been replaced.

 

If you're not getting any wobble in the wheel then it's not sounding like wheel bearing. A faulty bearing sounds like a roar/whir as speeds increase. The vibration could be an unbalanced tire - have you looked into that?

A side to side movement could very well be your rear struts. Are they leaking? Strut is more likely to go before your trailing arm bushings. If you had a hard time with sway bar links then a trailing arm is going to be very difficult for you.

Your post switches from talking about rear trailing arm to "LCA" - which is front lower control arm. Pls clarify so we can help additionally.

PS - you owe me a PM about a spare tire cover

 

Had the tires balanced twice within the last 6 months so I doubt thats the issue.

Theres not really a side to side movement (atleast from what I can tell) its more of a front-back motion when the car comes to a stop and the weight transfers. Its a separate motion from the nose dive.

No leaks other then my axle seals but they (the struts) may have leaked out before I bought the car as they look like the originals. Ill try to get a video of the sound (if I can figure out where to mount a camera) for ya. I also tried to move the right rear strut assembly around with my hands and its in there pretty solid. Do tired struts make clanking sounds?

This is a separate issue thats unrelated to the high speed impact clunk. It only happens when pulling up curbs at full lock with some passengers and it sounds like metal grinding. I think its the LCA bushing but again Im wondering if its the bearings or hubs.

That I do sir, been replacing quite abit of other stuff that does wonders on the thickness of my wallet.

 

Push down on the rear of the car. Is it excessively bouncy or does it rebound just once? Blown struts don't really make much of any (noticeably audible) noise.

I'd go with LCA bushings or Ball joints.

Ready when you are

 

This might sound like a dumb question. What purpose do the backing plates/baffles (in the FSM) serve? I had a rear one rot off, luckily it didn't hurt the ABS sensor/wire or brake line/cable. Took off the other side, since it was rusted out too.

 

I'm not sure what backing plate you're referring to..?

Sounds like you're talking about the dustshield behind the rotor?

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Is there a mechanical purpose for them?

 

Mechanical - no. But they do protect the ABS sensor, deflect dust, etc. At this point with the age of our cars, the Northeast has done more damage to our underbodies than the dustshield can protect

 

In other words a moot point! I'm probably lucky the dustshield rotting off while moving didn't damage the ABS sensor. Also why I decided to remove the other side, it was so rotted I could bend it like paper. Also removed the bolts & rotted remnants of the parts @ the hub, to prevent pieces from getting into the ABS sensor/sensor rotor & hub/wheel bearing. Might do it to the fronts as well, since they're probably in the same shape.

 

I just got my Megan coilovers installed but they seem to be riding very bouncy and uncomfortable even on the softest setting. Could it have something to do with preload? I don't think the shop I got them installed at adjusted the preload. Can I adjust the preload just by jacking up the car?

edit: I jacked up the car real quickly but did not take the wheels off. I can turn the spring in place, so I don't think there is any preload on it. What else might be causing the harsh ride? I'm pretty sure this isn't normal because most people say the ride is close to OEM, only a little stiffer.

edit2: So I have been looking at spring rates at the coilovers are at 8 kg/mm in the front, and 6 kg/mm in the rear. Would getting springs with a lower spring rate make the ride more comfortable. Can anyone recommend springs for Megan coilovers that have a rate of around 250lb/in?

edit3: Would these springs make the ride comfort much better? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EIB-08002500250/

Thanks!

 

What does everyone suggest for lowering springs? I can't afford coilovers before anyone suggest that, I'm looking for no more than an inch, and i don't mind sacrificing a bit of ride quality for better handling but i'd prefer to keep my teeth firmly planted within their quarters.

 

There should be 1/4" of preload on the springs. Start with your dampening rate in the middle. Dampening rate has nothing to do with bounciness.

 

Less than an inch doesn't exist and wouldn't be worth the trouble. H&R's would be your most comfortable ride and most conservative drop.

 

Dont know if this should be posted here but since I am lowered and its related in a way i'll ask...

My cv joints are bad and everyone keeps telling me its bc i am lowered, so my question is....

Where is the best place to order cv joints from at a reliable price??

thanks in advance,
luis