I just changed out my tokico springs with s-tech's yesterday, and my front left strut bearing got pwned pretty bad. No wonder I was getting these clunking/creaking noises all the time. I bought two new ones off the stealership for total of $70, and everythign is perfect now. Just look at these pics.. I wonder how they got so destroyed like this, I hope it's not due to a faulty part which caused the bearing to go bad.

Destroyed


My old left bearing, and my old right bearing.


s-tech drop, before settling.

 

Good pics for future qustions about what strut bearings are or why one should replace them. Nice!

 

Can you be a little bit more specifics about the symptoms you had about the bad strut bearings? I may have the same problem on mine. Thanks.

 

It was basically hell. Pretty much whenever I turned the wheel at a stop or going slow, there would be a loud, very annoying clunking noise. Actually there were two types of noises I had, loud clunks (sounds like springs aren't being turned correctly), and smaller, but still loud creaks. Both were fixed after putting in new bearings.

My alignment also acted funny. Even though my alignment was good, whenever I would make a fairly sharp turn in either direction, the wheel tended to lean that way until I make another turn the other way.

Now the only problem I have is this high-pitched squeaking noise, which I thought would be fixed once I put in new springs, but it's still there.

 

damn I have a loud clunking that I hear from time to time, I would hear it after I fully turn the wheel, only hear it about once when the car is cold.

Must be bad strut bearings. . . Hmm.. dealer was the best place to buy them from? got a part number?




any one get KYB strut bearing? just found these.
http://www2.autopartsauthority.com/p...=Strut+Bearing



2,000 posts

 

I've read they are crap compared to stock. Other members said they didnt even last a year.

 

kool, I'll avoid them.

Anyone have a part number? I searched jerry rome and didnt find it.

 

A strut bearing won't cause any clunking.

 

Then it must be my axle, I thought it was all along but my sound fits his description so, I thought maybe strut bearing, well thats good save me $70 on replacing a part that doesnt need to be

 

A strut bearing is only $30. Maybe something is just loose?

 

What inch drop do you have?... on both rear and front? You have like the perfect drop for 18 inch wheels bro. BTW thanks for posting up what strut bearings look like, I had no clue what they were. When I have my struts and springs replaced I'll have those chcked out. They're under the strut mounts correct? Like the only way to get to them is by having to take off your assembly.

 

From the looks of it didnt seat in the mount correctly when you were reassembling them. Samething happens with sleeve coilovers because they are shorter alowing the bearing (and other parts) to move around losely when the suspension is fully extended. They get smashed.

 

That's not completely true. I posted pics of my bearing over a year ago and they looked exactly the same, maybe a bit worse even. They were seated properly by looking at the bits that were still left in place. The bearing just probably wore out cause of a few bad bumps, once it cracked it lost it's strength and began to completely fall apart. It was most likely over torqued during the install though which made it crack right away.

 

nice drop man!!

Mine settled a little bit and look a lot lower than when we first put them on, i like it mucho.

 

That bearing was either in upside down or not seated correctly on the upper mount, thats why it was distroyed like that. I made the same mistake the very first time I played with my suspension and the results were exactly the same.

 

If anyone needs the part number let me know.

 

I need the part number, I'm going to check with my dealerhship and see if they have any in stock, hopefully they will so when I lower if I need new ones I can run and get them.

 

If it didn't contribute to my noises directly, I'm sure the destroyed bearing def. was linked to the noises in one way or another. Where else would have the noises come from? All I did was change out springs, everything else was kept same.

S-tech's have a 2.2" front drop and 1.8" rear drop. And yeah, the only way to get to them is taking everything apart unfortunately. I liked the tokico springs, but the front just sat a bit too high.. the rear was fine (a lot to do with my subs probably).

 

Tires could be making the noise as well.

 

That drop looks like H&R... or Tein H tech..

 

part #: 54325-5V000
full descrip: front strut bearing
descrip on invoice: BEARING, STRUT

$23.96 @ Conicelli parts

 

I smacked a curb doing 40mph in my old car, and the strut bearing morphed like a piece of playdough :doh:

 

Do the S-techs feel comfortable? I mean I understand as you drop your car there's less suspension travel thus making it easier to feel almost every bump in the cabin. But are these springs worth buying? Or would H&Rs be better? I'd really prefer that drop. I just purchased some 18s and damn my ride looks like a damn S.U.V. (wheel size + gap from the wheel well = monster truck style)

 

They still have to settle some.

-- Can anyone with S-techs measure how high the top of their front fender is off the ground. With an unsettled drop, I am getting 26".

 

you gotta post a Pic I've only seen unlowered maxs on 16s and that was scarry I gotta see what 18s and unlowered looks like.

so far I've heard 7 people who like the S-Tech drop (GR2/AGX), and one who thought it was terrible. I think 18s and S-tech would look good, i dont know about the ride, but go with H&R, and if you dont like it I'm sure you can sell them easy to someone on here.



there is a thread going on reviewing S-Techs.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=381548

 

says its for a pathfinder

 

i have the kyb strut bearings had ehm about a year now and haven't had any problems, i don't know where you got the idea they were crap from...

 

Sure is true improper install will break them and sleeve CO break them too, trust me. You really cannot over torque the strut piston either. the mount bottoms out on the piston. But I do see what you are saying with the cracking, could be. Either way its broken.

 

springs dont settle.

 

That strut bearing bit the dust... badly... thank goodness they werent that bad when I did my suspension.. but I'm getting all kinds of creaks and groans from my suspension lately...

 

you're on ground controls?

 

No, B&G springs...

 

-- i coulda sworn they do. Anyone else with me that springs settle over time?

 

As far as I know, most do... they grow up, get married, have kids.. etc..

 

nice one Anthony.

Straight from Progress Auto:

Q7 Will my springs "settle in" (wear in or drop a little more) after a while?

A7 No. Anybody that tells you "their brand" of springs need to "settle in" is really saying one of two things: 1) Their springs aren't pre-set (sometimes called blocking or pre-stressing), which, while saving the manufacturer money, gives you a less durable product and inconsistent ride height, or 2) They just want to get you off the phone. Where you might see some settling is on NEW vehicles. This happens because the rubber suspension bushings tend to settle after a period of time, NOT because the springs have settled.

 

Thanks Jon

 

wow, thats interesting. I was told otherwise