A question for all out there. Has anyone experienced squeaking noises coming from the rear of the car, perhaps the trunk? It reminds me that something needs grease. I have replaced the rear struts, they needed it, so I know it is not that. The sounds come when the car moves and when I go over bumps. My mechanic tells me they are worn bushings in the trunk??????? Does this sound right??? If so where are these bushings and can I replace them? The Max runs great and smooth....except......HELP!!!!

 

squeaky, bird like chirps from back there are the Rear trailing arm bushings,

 

It's more like a creaking sound.....I press up and down on the right side and the car creaks on that side....do the same on the left side and the left creaks! Is this something that I can repair?

 

i stand by my point, however you want to describe the noises. its probably rear trailing arm bushings, or its your shocks

 

Thank you and I agree with you 1000%. I'll give you an update when I get them replaced.

 

Had the rear trailing bushings replaced....I have replaced the rear shocks with a nice set of Monroes.....The damn thing still creaks!!!! Are there any other bushings I need to be aware of???? I know the car is 21 years old and rubber does get brittle but could it be something else back there?????

 

oh wow! nice, how does it feel? did you just replace w oem or polys? and i have no idea what else could be "squeaky" back there. bangs and knocks could be spare tire , exhuast, items in the trunk, but squeaky idk.. Rear Trailing Arm bushings or shocks..., there are small bushings that hold the exhaust up but exhaust is usually banging. maybe peek at those? the back seat could squeak.... purely interior or do you know if its exterior?

 

Well, you should have spent more time on your diagnosis .....
I suspect that the noise you are hearing is caused by the torsion bars/struts that keep you trunk open. Try to lubricate them with a silicone grease.
BTW, I have the same problem .... and I just live with it.

 

I haven't experienced it with mine, but i think a friend experienced it with his 2001 many years ago. I crawled into the trunk and pinpointed it to the bars that hold the trunk opened. You may want to do the same and get in there to look around.

 

Shocks/suspension/any bushings in the back .
Your mechanic probably calls them trunk bushings to dumb it dumb to the customer(which is actually dumb in itself)

 

Thanks Prophecy99, I am going to do a deep dive on this and try to isolate where it is coming from.

 

could be some interior crap, i have plenty of interior paneling squeaks. def figure out if it is inside or outside, i am sorry if you spent a lot on those rear trailing arm bushings. did you pay a shop for that? i am curious cuz i have those bushings sitting around for 5 years now and never got around to doing them

 

No worries, It was around $680 for the bushings and labor by the shop...Look, the car is 21 years old and bushings and rubber start to dry out. At some point these would go anyway. I really like the car and have put in a fair amount of labor in restoring it back to itself. It rides great, only 133k miles on it. I do have some oil leaks by the timing chain, rear seal and valve covers.....Mechanic tells me it could be as much as $3-$4k in labor alone!!!! Any hints and tips that I could do this myself?

 

All that for some $10 rear strut/shock bushing? That was what we call the chickens in the coupe scenario!

 

i do know of a friends car acura 2005 tsx that had a weird squeak at the front driver corner and a mechanic injected some lube of some sort near the knuckle/ conrtol arms to band-aid the noises and it worked temporarily.

there are shock mounts for the rear struts, but they rarely need replacing, hopefully your mechanic at least looked at them when those were done. but yea id keep investigating where the noise is coming from if it bugs ya that much, you kinda did the biggest things that would cause creaks and squeaks in the rear suspension.

 

Thanks for the reply but I had already done that and that is not the issue.

 

If you read the thread you would see that I replaced the rear shocks. The noise occurred before the replacement and continues after the replacement. I made sure I used good shocks, Monroes!

 

My reply doesn’t have anything to do with worn shocks! It has everything to do with the top bushings being loose and make noise in the trunk(chickens in the coupe) was what we called it back in the day!

 

Can you elaborate where these bushings are?

 

I found your post when I searched for "bushing". Did you find the source of the "squeak in the trunk"? On my car, the squeak is caused by a worn control rod bushing in the lateral link. Once a year, I take it out, grease one of the bushings to eliminate the squeak and reinstall. The control rod is item number 4 in the following illustration Rear Suspension for 2000 Nissan Maxima | Factory Nissan Parts Online

 

Thanks DougR....no I have not found the source but I will take your suggestion in your response as that makes sense to me!

 

So, you still have the squeak. The lateral link has two bushings at opposite ends and the control rod inside also has two. The lateral link has an acoustic shape that broadcasts noise very well, so I use a simple tool to help identify which bushing is noisy. Ask a friend to bounce the rear while you touch each of the four bushings with a long screwdriver to find one that transmits the highest sensation to your hand. Or use a length of PVC pipe with one end held to your ear and the other end close to possible sources of noise. Also check the trailing arm bushings. Let us know what you find.

 

DougR....I have some skills to work on this issue but I am not an expert on this area of the car. I understand what you are talking about, but the question would be is to how to either replace them or lube them as you do on an annual basis. I presume it is a simple task to perform. What lube are you using to keep the bushings soft? Are special tools required? Thanks for all your input!

 

Figure out which bushing is the source of the noise as this will affect what tools you need to make the repair. Item 4 in the image is easily replaced with common hand tools. There are posts that explain how to replace any of the other bushings.

I thought the grease would last a lot longer than it has. The amount of work to grease or replace this part is the same. So, I don't have a grease recommendation that permanently works. Greasing is only possible if the bushing easily comes apart. The bushing is 21+ years old, dry and hard. I recently decided to replace the control rod because I now want to renew registration and keep the vehicle for another two years. This part (item 4) costs $20 on Amazon.

 

Are the bushings pressed in? I am having issues finding replacement bushings for the lateral link. I have potentially found a source to replace the entire lateral link. I have to test the bushings first but I am preparing myself.

 

The lateral link bushings (item 3 in the above link) are pressed in. Nissan does not sell these individually. Febest makes these bushings, but their engine mount bushings are made of rubber and posts on this forum indicate these are very low quality. Perhaps someone has tried Febest lateral link bushings NAB-117 and NAB-118 and they may report their experience.

The bushings of item 4 in the above link are not sold separately. Mevotech and Febest make this part, but again, I don't know about quality. Perform this Google search: "febest bushing review forums" and read the posts. Febest appears to be Chinese made junk. I have yet to decide what to buy if anything.

See this post Cant fix Nissan maxima rear suspension noise - Maxima Forums Keep in mind, a squeak could be almost anything, so be sure you have figured out what is causing it before taking anything apart.

 

Post video of squeak.

 

DougR, I finally got around to performing the screwdriver test. It turns out the control rod is the culprit!!!! Thanks for your help on this. When I get a chance I'll replace it!

 

May I ask what you remember about how the squeaks sounded, and whether there were any difference if you were turning left or right for the sound to be made?

 

The squeeks sounded like worn out rubber parts. Nothing to do with turning right or left. If you bounced the trunk up and down you could hear it. So everytime I drove and went over bumps, I could hear the squeeking!Thankfully one member gave me suggestion to use the screwdriver test to pinpoint the issue. I had the trial bushings replaced to no avail, but again a car that is 23 years old, I have no issue replacing rubber parts. The screwdriver test pinpointed the issue with the control rod on the rear axle. I haven't replaced it yet but will do in short order!

 

Thanks for that. My brother, who had this car before me, had been trying to diagnose these noise for years, but to no avail. I suspect I may have the most advanced case of "lateral link" chickens, so advanced that they sound like pigs...

 

Well, the only think I can think of is using the screwdriver test that a member had suggested. It took me 5 seconds to diagnose it. If that does not work, then it isn't the control link...perhaps worn shocks or worn trail bushings....there isn't much else back there to cause the noise.

 

sound always comes from right rear, where the bracket is. Backing up and turning, with the way the trailing arms work, means there's side force that I guess is causing a the noise. I'm ordering a new link and rod and nuts & bolts.

 

Good luck!

 

...finally got a new OEM lateral arm ordered, got one new bolt and four nuts locally, waiting for one new bolt, and couldn't find an OEM "control rod" so getting a third party via RockAuto.

 

Good luck!!!!

 

Well, that took longer than I would have liked.

brand new Nissan Lateral Link 55130 2Y010

 

... Yeah, I think the issue may have been *that* bushing...

 

...better, but still got noises...

 

Did you try trail bushings?