plockton

I installed my Stillen RSB on my 2002 Maxima today. I used Paul's wonderful site on how to do this http://www.paulwendy.com/maxima/rsb.htm
as my starting point.

Unlike the photos on Paul's site, however, the 2002's have abandoned the metal channel to house the ABS wire. Instead, they have added a small metal plate (further to the rear of the parking brake line) that holds a clip through which a nylon cable tie is used to hold the wire.

The problem is that this plate sticks out (about 3/4 inch) exactly where you should put the rear-most bracket for the RSB. What to do?

My first thought was to just move everything back a bit, i.e., put the rear-most bracket behind (more toward the rear) of the small bolt in the trailing arm you can see in Paul's pictures. I loosely put on the RSB in this position and immediately nixed that idea. The reason is that the sway bar was no longer under the beam, but instead under that piece -- don't know what it is called -- that Nissan wants us to believe makes a solid beam axel as good as independent rear suspension. It looked like the metal housing for this would hit the bar when the car hit dips.

Anyway, I decided the metal plate was not that important so I used a Dremel-type tool to cut it off, ground off the rough edges, hit it with a daub of paint to prevent rust, and fairly much completed the installation as it can be seen on Paul's site. I routed the ABS wire under the brackets though I did add a bit of cable loom to to this section to further prevent chafing by the brackets. Hopefully I didn't crush the ABS wires!

I took some photos (new digital camera) and will hopefully be able to post them or better still send them to Paul to add to his site. I'll advise Stillen as well since their instructions didn't mention this.

I was surprised that the clearance between the bar and the beam at its closest point is miniscule (1/8-3/16 inch by eyeball), but it doesn't seem to hit -- I'll be watching this. Is this normal? (The point is at the leading edge of the beam on both sides.)

One plus for us gray lustre owners is that the bar's color seems to come close to the car's color -- at least to my somewhat color-blind eyes.

I took the car out for a test drive, of course. This is a GREAT modification to my GLE for everyday use. It has completely transformed the car's cornering. It could probably use better struts, springs, or both, (hitting dips while cornering causes the car to dip too much, IMO) but this in and of itself has made a HUGE difference in handling.

theMax

ALWAYS use the search before you install mods. I ran into this last year and posted pics.

The 2001 has a different ABS line cover than the 2000. Looks like the 2k2 is like the 2k1.

Options
1. remove the abs bracket, stillen said this was ok
2. cut nub off (like you did)
3. Bend nub down (what I did incase I want to return to stock)
4. Get abs holder from 2000

I must have typed that 10 times in the last year.

**the ABS line should go BEHIND the blue brackets. Sounds like you pushed it under them. Stillen cut a grove for the ABS wires to fit.**

The bar comes close to the beam, thats ok (check the link in my sig, 2nd page for RSB)

There are your options, glad to see you got your RSB in!

Sounds like you like it??

theMax

plockton

Well, I wasn't here last year!

Seriously, I did search but found the "How to install FAQ" at the top of the 5th Gen page. I figured that covered it. The best thing would be to add the 2001-2002 info there as well.

I don't know how to put info there (is it just a regular posting forum?) but if you can find your post and pix on this see if you can get it in there somewhere.

Doesn't seem like Stillen has updated their instructions ewither!

theMax

Nope, their instructions haven't been updated in a long time. When I got stuck the installers from Avalon Racing (where I bought the RSB) actually called me and helped my decide on my options.

I should put a small writeup together and ask a moderator to add it to the stickie at the top.

Glad it worked out for you!

plockton

Behind....under....just trying to get this clear:

I ran the ABS wire on the outside of the trailing arm but under the Stillen brackets, in the same spot that the metal channel plate ran on the 2000's, in the gap on the Stillen brackets designed for the metal channel plate.

I didn't feel it necessary to alter the trailing arm bracket that holds the ABS wire on the forward portion of the trailing arm (this would be just in front of the front-most Stillen bracket).

Did I get that right? I've tried to search for your posts but server probs....

theMax

I couldnt find my pics. That was in the day when you could attach pics.

I think you got it right.

The ABS line should be between the blue stillen bracket and the trailing arm on the side where the wheel is.

/wheel/stillen bracket/ABS line/Trailing arm/

Does that help?

plockton

Yes. Many thanks.

ru4real

iTrader: (3)

I bent the ABS-holder-tab flat to fit the bracket over it.

plockton

I actually tried that first. I wasn't sure I could get the tab flat enough to not impede the Stillen bracket. Sounds like it can be done.

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

You can get it flat enough, I chose the same route with my RSB installation. There are actually 2K1's with both brake ABS line setups...its a production date thing, changed mid-production year I think. You don't even need to hammer it all the way down...just get it pointing the right direction and tightening the RSB braket will complete the process. There is plenty of space for the ABS line to move freely and I have encounted no problems with this method after driving on my RSB for several months.

theMax

I used a block of wood and a hammer to bend my tab. (After I cut the plastic zip tie off holding the abs line)

Its not perfectly flush, but I didn't feel comfortable removing the whole brace.

K Pazzo 6

iTrader: (6)