Hey guys I've got an 02 Maxima SE 6spd w/149k miles that I just did a little work to and wanted to give my thoughts. I replaced my struts with KYB Excels (were GR2s), installed new Hawk HPS brake pads all the way around and rear trailing arm bushings with ES urethane bushings.

I was debating putting on some Eibach springs but since this is my daily driver I decided to pass to keep the ride and ground clearance stock. My autocrosser is a 93 RX7 so I get my thrills with that.

The struts were a no-brainer R+R, I bought new dust boots and strut bearings as well. The stock struts weren't leaking but seemed to be almost completely shot, the ride and handling were horrible. The car has nearly new Bridgestone Potenzas tires on it in the stock 17" size.

I dropped the rear axle in about 30 min Friday night and then spent about 5 hrs on Saturday replacing the bushings, rear shocks and brake pads. I removed the old bushings with a appropriately sized hole saw then used a die grinder to grind down the inner metal ring of the bushings and they came right out. I pressed in the ES urethane bushing by using my foot while supporting the end of the trailing arm with some 2x4s. It worked pretty well, if I was doing this everyday I could do it in half the time.


The car drives so completely different, the ride is tight and the car doesn't go all over the road when hitting bumps. The rear was really sensitive to bumps as both rear trailing arm bushings were split for at least 2yrs and had lost all the fluid in them. I love the Hawk brake pads (also flushed the fluid), the brake pedal is really tight and the brakes respond really well with light pedal pressure.

Next on the list is the seeping PS hose (picked up a new one today) and then the clutch (which I'm dreading). The only other thing wrong with the car is the stock 6 disc changer isn't working but i don't really listen to CDs anyway.

I'm really happy with the transformation of the ride and handling for about $700 (brake pads, struts, bushings and PS hose) and 7hrs labor. If you've got some miles on your Maxima replace this stuff, you won't be dissappointed.

 

We did the exact same job over the weekend. I replaced my struts, brakes and rear trailing arm bushings. The job wasn't to bad. Car definetely rides much better now

 

Nice work op ! and you can try to fix the CD player if you want, its not a permanent fix but it might work for a good couple years again.

yeah i gotta do the Trailing Arms not sure if I can tackle myself though and I am am sure a shop would charge atleast 4 hours, tmuscedere did you do ES bushings too?


with the shot trailing arm bushings the rear of the max feels like a sloppy weak noodle that has an aftershock like an earthquake.

 

Yes I used the ES bushings as well. The entire job took me 1 day. That is with quite a few breaks. The only thing I did different was used a 1/2 x 8" hex bolt and nut with a couple of metal plates to push in the new bushings. You may want to get two to speed things up.

 

ok thanks... have to look into that, pics would help.

What did the plates do?

its crazy how similar your 2 threads are in the same cpl days.

 

Basically what the plates did was pull the bushing into the arm. So you would have the bolt against the plate against the bushing into the arm against another plate with the nut. As you tighten the nut, the plates squeeze forcing the bushing into the trailing arm. I dont know about the other person, but the only reason I did everything was that you have to take it apart anyways. So now the car is basically done and I shouldnt any issues for the next forseeable future. I only had one strut that was in bad shape when I took it out and the brakes would have still been good till the fall. Not bad considering I have 80,000 miles on this set of brakes. By the way I only spent about 500 for everything however i didnt do the ps hose.

 

Prices for reference, I forgot exact pricing

Front struts were about $98/ea
Rear shocks were about $67/ea
Hawk HPS pads were about $71-73/axle
Purchased from Tire Rack, $507 shipped, received in 2 days.

ES trailing arm bushings were $78 shipped.

PS hose was $154 from the Nissan dealer.

 

Cheapest price on ES trailing arm bushings I found was at Autozone at $60. With my $20 Autozone credit I've earned, they were $45 after tax.

 

Out of curiosity, did you own white 99 Maxima SE before and Convertible M3?