Suspension TSB
 

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that there is a new suspsion part replacement for Maximas that are making noises that are not due to a defective shock/strut. Nissan has replaced the rubber bushings with a thicker silicon bushing which will not dry, crack or deteriorate.

If you have a noise under the hood where the strut tower mount is located ....that's probably due to this part that needs to be replaced.

Part #54034-ZK00A

I've been trying to figure out exactly what that noise was. I changed the strut mount it went away for about a week and then came back.

whats the tsb # on this issue?

Just call up your stealership...they should know all about this!

is it a tsb or a recall?

This covered under the extended warranty?

Recall?

If this was a recall, most of us would receive a letter from Nissan cause of a safety concern that needs to be taken care of;)

A TSB is nothing more then a fix for a random issue that pops up on unknown cars (not a safety concern, just an annoyance) , the dealers know its a random issue and will fix it when the customer complains, make sure your well informed about your cars overall condition and maintenance cause dealers use this to pull in unsuspecting owners with Nissan recommended services and they add in many of their own dealer recommended stuff that is nothing more then profit for them.

Not that I would advise anyone but most cars have dozens of TSB, my fathers ES350 had some weird brake squeak at 20k, I looked on clublexus and could not believe all the TSB a 2007 ES350 had, he took it in and they not only did the rear brake TSB, but the front brake TSB and put new pads on it all around:D

If you don't have a problem don't go looking, unless your a hypochondriac.

Where can we download the Service Bulletin?

I just called a dealer here in Cleveland area and they ran my VIN# and they did not find any TSB for a replacement part for the strut or bushing. Damn it. :mad:

Can someone get the part number we just by the part and have someone install it

I just called my dealer and they have no clue of what i'm taking about we need a part number

Just checked out nissanhelp and didn't notice any new TSB regarding suspension problems!??

Call the 800 customer service number and ask them.

Anybody else have any info on this? Hopefully I will be changing out my struts this weekend and I dont want to have to do it twice.

I will ask my mechanic friend tonight for the part number. And the dealers know full well about the strut mount problems. They replaced mine on warranty...all the parts under the hood that hold the suspension together including the bearing. I hate it when dealers play innocent.

Any new info will be great. I had my OEM struts replaced by the dealer too many times to count and I am now past the warranty.

Any updates from your contact at the dealer?

Hi Guys....my mechanic friend will get the part number tomorrow. The part is called a rubber insulator...my bad, I got it wrong I thought the new one was Silicon, in fact it's rubber. The difference between the new piece and the old one is that there is no metal part stiffener anymore which eliminated the banging as that metal starts to rust out and then makes a noise when the car moves up and down and you end up with metal on metal.

Sweet, so it may be that part and not that the strut OEM Strut is blown? If so then I will cancel my order for the Monroe Struts I placed yesterday!! :wall:

No, my struts blew.

please update us on that part number

Hi Guys,

My Mechanic friend just finished work at 7PM tonight so as soon as he gets back, he'll call me with the part number. However just in case...I will be at the dealer tomorrow and I will do my best to get the part number at that time if he forgot.

Cheers!

Cool, I know a good many of us are waiting for you to give us some good news on this part. Thanks for your help.

He did not call me back tonight however I will be at the dealer tomorrow morning early and I will have the part number here before noon...

Hi Guys,

So as promised I passed by the dealer and got the part number.

54034-2K00A

The first number is a five not S and those are all zero's.

Good luck to all.

I just tried my dealer for that part number no go it's not in the computer calling one more

This part is called seat rubber, front spring
http://i27.tinypic.com/32zrlzm.jpg


Thanks for the info xorbitmah.

I called my Nissan Parts department and it is 54034-ZK00A. Its not a 2. Its about $14.00 each and takes 2-3 days for them to order it.

Approximately how much do you think a mechanic should charge to replace this part? I don't want to do it myself due to having to remove the strut spring.

Do it yourself for a very little investment in jackstands and some hand tools or I've been quoted anywhere from $150-300 to replace springs that were already purchased. So I would guess it will be almost the same to do this replacement b/c the amount of labor is the same.

I ordered my new pieces ($36 total) and hopefully they will be in on Saturday so I can install them with my new Monroe SensaTrac Struts. I will report any progress I make. My parts guy did confirm that this part is an upgrade from the previous piece but he could not confirm what was actually different on the part.

2 Z Arghhhh! Thanks for the correction...now we all know! LOL!

Ok, I installed my Monroe SentraTrac Struts :wall: and I bought and installed the new upper spring isolator and it has made a difference in the responsiveness and suspension sound dampening. (I have pics of the old and new pieces on my cell phone if someone could host them.) The Monroes are not cheap at @ $120 per strut but they seem to be made better than the OEM crap. Once removed, my right strut was able to be pushed all the way down with one hand and not with a lot of force. Plus I could hear it gurgling inside like there was a leak in the internal gasket. The new ones dampen well and have a better rebound. The new Upper spring mount isoulator does NOT have the metal piece sandwiched in between two pieces of rubber so it is softer and offers a quieter ride over bumps. I still get a small clunk over bigger breaks in the pavement but nothing like before. Before I could hit a manhole cover that has a 1 inch drop from the road surface and my right wheel area would clunk. I think the final piece will be Taz's endlinks (when they are offered again). MY OEM endlinks have about 7000 miles on them and are still pretty tight in the joints and the bushings are good but Taz's will definately be an upgrade. The endlinks themselves seem to be a bad design in that they are so long and it puts greater force and stress on them than if they were shorter like the rears. But I'm no mechanical engineer so they may say the length gives them leverage but I say it makes for a weak link and a pivot point.

So my overall impression is that the new isolator is worth the investment of $36 and the Monroe struts are a nice improvement, the ride is barely firmer than the stock strut but then again these are brand new and better quality with a lifetime gurantee. Also, I am on the Progress springs too and I am very happy with the ride, especially on the highway. Coincidently, my very, very slight shimmy I would get on some highways that aren't perfectly smooth when cruising at 55-65 MPH .... was missing today. :confused:

As I had mentioned on a previous post:

Correct, I was confirming your post as well as clarifying one of my earlier posts where the parts guys I talked to could not confirm what is different between the 2 parts. :cool:

How come there is no actual TSB on this issue? I started having this problem after I had my GR2/progress on for about 2500 miles. My dealership will not cover this repair under warranty because there is no actual TSB. The lack of a TSB does not make sense to me, being that Nissan is offering a different part.

The only suspension TSB that I/dealer could find was one about a clunk in the front suspension in which the fix is torquing the front stabilizer.

Hi fellow Maxima Owners.

Please forgive me if I am being redundant or am asking something already asked but I just came back from a rather long roadtrip with my 04 Max and noticed this shimmy we are all speaking of. Just bought the car by the way. Does replacing the struts eliminate "the shimmy" ? I also checked the tire pressure and noticed that they were at 42 psi, I lowered them to 36, adviseable? Which struts are recommended as replacements as in make and so forth?

Thanks in advance

another question to all who replaced this part (54034-ZK00A) is it necessary to replace when you get new struts installed?

I just started noticing that noise last week. I'm to lazy to pull the strut and spring again so i'll just live with the noise until I get anoid by it. Thanks for the info though!

Sorry to bump an old thread but this is driving me crazy. How would one go about doing this on his own? Any instructions would be greatly appreciated.