I know this must be posted in the I30/I35 forum but my car is almost or identical to your MAXIMAS talking of suspension and steering, so I'll explain the whole thing here, I need your advice and/or opinion on this.
My '96 Infiniti I30 was making weird noises when hitting potholes and uneven roads even with new struts and strut mounts, the problem and weird clunk noise get worse with the new struts and mounts, so I taked my I30 to the dealership and they told me that my car needed these parts:

- Inner tie rods (left and right) 157.00 each one
- OEM Strut Mounts (left and right) the new ones were KYB and the dealership told me that the quality of these mounts were very low 87.00 each one
- Strut bearings (left and right) 6.00 dlls each
- 7 hours of labor (74.00 dlls per hour) to replace all the parts
- Wheel alignment $60.00
- Suspension and Steering chek up $60.00

Grand Total is about $1,200 for parts and labor, and I want to know your opinion on this matter, the noise generated in the front end of my car is driving me crazy so I'm seriously thinking to pay the money to get the car fixed, what do you all think about ?

 

whatever you do, do not get it done there..

Spend some time researching the exact cause of this problem.. Buy a repair manual for your car and narrow it down yourself.. it will cost you 15$ for the book.. then when you find out what it is, do NOT shop at your local dealership.. there are a few dealerships in the country that give the org great discounts on parts.. order the part from there and either change it yourself or get some quotes from regular privately owned repair shops.. not the dealer.. and go to whichever one gives you the better price on changing the part.


What the dealership is trying to do is make more money off you...

1200$ is rediculous.
I bet they didn't spend much time narrowing it down to the exact cause..

when they do their "diagnosis" they just think "hmm, wait.. the struts can cause that.. hmm wait.. the wheel bearings too.. I think, or was it the cv joint? ahh.. might as well just replace everything to make sure.."

i bet you money that it's not all those things...
it is probably one of them.. but they would rather change it all for you and get as much $ as possible..

Even with all that..
this should NOT take 7 hours to do!!!!!!!!!




my advice is:
tell them to shove it.. take some time and do some reasearch.. you'll find it and save a ton of cash.



now,
can you better describe this noise?
how loud? when exactly does it happen? where does it seem to be coming from.. any patterns?

 

Yep - Dealerships suck.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=188719

They tend to just start replacing things it COULD be without even really taking the time to diagnose properly. Nissan mechanics are poorly trained and usually it's their first job as mechanics - they are trained to do exactly what NYCe MaXiMa suggested - look it up in a book.

Save yourself $1200 and look it up in your own book and run all the suggested tests yourself through test drives and inspection. See if there is a knowledgable .org member in your area willing to help.

PS: The Maxima and I30 Suspension/steering is EXACTLY the same.
And tie rods are for steering, not suspension.

 

 

The KYB strut mounts seem to be a problem for some. I always tell people to use as much OEM suspension components as possible. Of course thats aside from springs/struts/shocks/dust boots.

You must fix the suspension 1st, get the OEM mounts, there only like 25 bucks each and new bearings ~20/each. Install that yourself or have a friend help you. It's really not that hard.

The go to a good front end shop and let them install the new tie rod ends for you and align your car.

The whole job shouldn't cost you any more then 300-400 bucks. You can use aftermarket tie rods, no reason to use OEM parts there. Bet you can pick them up for 1/2 of what Infinity wants from your local automotive supply store.

 

But there's nothing wrong with his tie rods.

Or at least there probably isn't.

 

one thing that i realized was that as soon as an old car starts having problems that will cost 1000+ to fix, its time to get a new car. I spent over 1500 repairing things like the alternator, water pump, axle and a few others and like 2 months later the car ended up on its roof. I really did love the car, but if i could go back in time i would have just sold it rather than investing my money and trying to make it new again.

 

If you hadn't rolled it, you wouldn't feel the same way.

 

WOW!! That's a lot of money!! When you think about it, you can change your entire suspension components to a really nice aftermarket setup. Try an independent Nissan mechanic...those prices are just ridiculous. I had my inner tie rods and my wheel bearings changed for less than $200.

 

i thought $70(just labor) was to much when i went to replace my front
stuts, so i did them myself at autozone took 3 hours(just bought $16 manual) and maxima.org member gave me used struts for free (60k on them) with this manual i replaced, stuff from spark plugs to pcv valve, before i didnt know how to check engine oil .i just dont believe it will cost 1200

 

agreed