Anyone else notice engine clearance problems with the Courtesy FSTB? This subject might have come up in the past, but the search function isn't working. I notice Courtesy no longer sells this item - possibly due to this issue?

 

yup I had aproblem with mine , some members suggested putting washers but i didn't bother.My problem was in reverse only as the engine shifts during reverse.Fix reverse slowly.I just took mine off yesterday because of some suspension noise which i'm having checked out on monday,so you know the susp mod has to disapear.

 

Thanks. There's no way I'm using washers to make up for a poorly-designed piece of garbage, especially in such a critical area. So which bars are actually made properly? Custom Maxima, Otto, Stillen?

 

Hey Ranger Talon,

FYI, I've recently purchased a OTTO FSTB for my 2000 SE, no fitment issues whatsoever.

max0002

 

Ranger, do you have a 2k2+?

If so, extend the bar just slightly - enough to clear the manifold but not too much to pinch the washer lines. You should be fine then.

 

I have the courtesy strut bar on my 2003. I had some problems with some clearance during reverse, but I fixed it by simply extending the adjustable pieces of the strut bar a bit. Now I have no problems whatsoever. It works great.

 

i finally got tired of all the knocking in reverse so decided to place 2 washers underneath the most medial screw on the right axle (if you're looking at the engine bay). this seemed to have fixed the knocking prob unless i do a full throttle in reverse. there's also no more hood shudder with this slight raise of fstb over the manifold.

 

You can also rotate the bar a bit to gain clearance.

 

I'm using the bar with an '03 SE automatic (there could be slight variances in engine height between different 5th gen Maximae, perhaps). I've adjusted the bar a few times, but the fixed locations of the mounts are pretty restrictive. There's adequate clearance in forward driving, but the manifold clearly makes contact in reverse as indicated by numerous gouges in the bar. It looks like I'm going to need to try out a different bar.

 

It's not the mounts that you need to adjust, rather the bar. The site i made for this is no longer functional, but i spent several hours researching this issue with the help of other members of the .Org

I even videotaped the whole forward/backward motion of the engine when going reverse/forward to see how much of a clearance would be needed.

If i had my Max with me right now i'd measure the exact spec for you.

 

Sorry, I meant that I've adjusted the bar by rotating it and screwing the ends closer/farther apart. I just meant that the amount one can adjust the bar is limited because the holes on the ends of the bar need to align with the fixed holes on the mounts. With this bar, I'm not able to get more than 1/2" clearance with the car parked and engine off.

 

thats what I did, no more problems on my end.

 

I went around that shortcoming by attaching everything first then adjusting the bar length afterwards. That way you won't have a problem of holes not lining up.

 

This is the clearance I have with no problems

 

The newer model 2nd gen Courtesy Strut bars do not emit the clearence issues...

 

I have the same problem on my 03 auto, and have even filed some of the manifold down. I am currently using the Custom Maxima bar.

 

I've been searching the site, and difficulties have been reported for all of the more popular FSTBs. It seems that the '02/'03 engine is high enough that slight variations in individual vehicles (engine position, engine movement) and/or bars can result in noticeable problems.

 

Got an Otto Racing FSTB on my '03 SE Auto. Got about the same clearance as shown in an earlier post. No problem with contact between the manifold collector and the bar yet, but I don't ever go WOT in reverse as some suggest is the problem.

 

No fitment issues here, make sure the thread count is even on both sides of the bar, i think it should be 7 or 8 threads on each side, i have mine centered, no bumping, knocking or scrubbing forward/reverse, no extra hardware either.

 

good point...i'll have to check that on mine.

Bob

 

You might want to make a quick check of the underside of the bar above the engine also - mine was centered with 8 threads per side. After fully adjusting the bar, it had about 1/2" clearance when parked and I never heard any knocking or rattling - the only way I discovered that it was hitting the intake manifold was when I swept my hand under the bar and felt numerous gouges. Upon further inspection, I also noticed scratches on the manifold.

 

I ordered my FSTB from CarPartsDirect.com. I thought I fixed the scraping issue by shaving down some of the manifold. Turns out it helped but not enough. A buddy of mine on the org. purchased his from another company on ebay. His bar looks EXACTLY the same but the bends in the bar are little bit tighter. This raises the bar up some and he has no clearance issues at all. I put his bar on my car just to rule out engine variations between a 2k2 and 2k3 and I had the same clearance. I would like to have the higher bar but don't want to drop the cash. I'll just remember to drive easy in reverse.