DC_Juggernaut

So here's the situation... A few weeks back I hit a pot hole. Following this collision the car veered right, and the steering wheel needed to be turned maybe 45 degrees left to drive straight. (Immediately after pot hole Maxima was slowly driven home 5 minutes away and parked. Maxima remained parked until it was flat bed towed to Nissan dealership next day) Nissan inspected and determined all was fine after an alignment with a recommendation of replacing the front lower control arms. Immediately after leaving the dealership I began hearing a noise sounding like something is loose in the front. I attempted to have Nissan check the vehicle again but was told it would be another $100+ inspection fee. Nissan stated they were positive there were no other issues found, although the loose knocking sound continues. I consulted a friends acquaintance who is a former lead Nissan mechanic and a current self employed mechanic specializing in Nissan repair. He informed me that if Nissan was unable to locate anything, and after his test ride/listening, that it is similar to a sound Nissans with some mileage make after 50k+ miles. He also suggested the lower control arm could be bent on hit side (left). I plan on moving forward in replacing the control arms (and other Nissan items recommended) Any suggestions on what it could be?

LtLeary

Well it COULD be the transaxle, wheel bearings or even a bent shock making the noise. As they were able to get it aligned, I am going to assume it was only toe that was wacked.

The control arm is a simple 30 min job. I guess it is possible the ball joint or the bushings are causing the noise (my long distance hearing isn't that good) but as long as I was under there, I would replace both sides and tie rod ends together. Relatively cheap on Amazon (I would have to go back and look but under a $100 each I believe) and they fit well on my 09 making my steering feel as "tight" as it was new.

I got the Monroe struts from Rockauto and also ordered a set of camber adjusting bolts at the same time.

But it will mean that another alignment trip is in your future!

Best of luck and by all means, keep us advised on the "ultimate" fix.

DC_Juggernaut

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and replace the the front lower control arms; the tie rod ends are a great idea also.

How are the Monroe struts? In the near future I'm looking to put a staggered set of rims/tires on my baby.

LtLeary

They are fine for my driving style. Pretty close to oem. Wish I could have found the ones with the springs as I had to use two sets of spring compressors to remove and install them. One set wouldn't compress the springs enough.

GNCMaxima

I had this similar issue and I found out it was the
ROD ASSY-CONNECTING,STABILIZER

Replaced both sides and sound went away. Hope this helped