i have a 96 maxima SE for my DD that i picked up for cheap and i noticed on freeway speeds 60+ the car feels very unstable. when driving on the freeway and hitting the bumps on the road the car seems the jump to one side. worn struts?? bushings?? alignment needed?? bushings?? i checked for damage in the frontend but none found. all original parts on car, VIN tags all intact. i kinda feels like a slight fishtail. any ideas?? thanks

 

Sounds a lot like your struts, your wheels are losing contact with the road because they're so worn. I have the same problem, but it just makes my drive to school a lot more exciting.

 

Go out to your car and push down on the front end and then the rear end, if you get a lot of hop you need new shock/struts. You would only need an alignment if you car pulls to one side or the other all the time.

 

 

...until you crash your MAX into the tree infront of the school and everyone points and laughs....(happened yesterday to a kid [FOCUS ZX8] in my school they thought he was drunk but he was really just being stupid )

 

 

car does have that cadillac ride feel. where is a good place to get struts?? my car is gonna stay sotck height for now, since i gotta commute 150mi's everyother day. is there certain bushings in the max. that i should be concerned of??

 

150MI?!!!! And here I am worried that my car won't make it to Cedar Point...

 

Do you need to have them installed? Are you installing them yourself?
If your installing them your self try a local parts store like napa, autozone. If not go to a trusted mechanic if you don't have one ask around to Friends and family, so that you don't chose the wrong guy because he might try to but either way i would buy them at a parts store because the mechanic will mark them up a little

 

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartType...ks+%26+Springs


ur best bet would be the kyb gr2's imo. if ur staying with a stock supensiion setup....theyre not all dat bad

 

Not true. The car can drive straight but still need alignment. Recently I had some suspension work done and they returned it out of alignment. The car didn't pull left or right, but it was 'toe out' rather than 'toe in' and at anything over about 30, it became uncontrollable.
Like they said above, check the shocks first, so easy to do, then if they are ok check the wheel bearings by jacking it up and try to wobble the wheels. Up/down play = wheel bearings, side to side play = steering components. If you find no problems then proceed to alignment.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-G...62006995QQrdZ1

get these.. i just ordered these last week awaiting time for install

i also have same symptoms u describe. and get this.. the original owner said she never changed the struts ever since day 1. and i have 191k miles now

 

my struts look original. i doubt they been changed also.

200kmax, have you got the shocks yet?? thats a pretty cheap price for the complete set

 

You can get aftermarket oem replacement struts for $30 each on fleabay usually gabriel or monroe. You can get lowered struts for $200 for KYB GR2 a set plus ship and up to over a 1K for jic coilovers.

 

check your bumper fluid

 

Just refer this site: http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaShocks

 

OK.......

 

So I have just ordered the KYB AGX4 adjustable shocks for my 99 Maxima. Now the dilemma is which springs. I think I would like a progressive rate since I want to have good daily driver capability and don't plan on doing many if any competition events.I do however desire a more controlled sporty ride just not harsh. It would be OK to be slightly lower but, not alot. I still need to get over speed bumps and road inperfection/driveways without scraping the front bumper. Based on these criteria, what do the experts recommend?

 

sounds like your alighment is off. My car feel like its fish tailing when im driving on the highway. I found out that my rear toe was off. Do an alignment first.

 

no, i havent. just ordered on saturday. so i probably will get it by tmrow or on monday.

 

I am in the "Make my max stiffer mood too ''

i have a freeplay in the pinion rack tough
So so hankok millege crap tire
got moneroe lstruts last year

i think ill get what nick suggest new lca and bushing
I suggest u check his post
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....1&page=1&pp=30
and knight71 who suggest it too
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....light=steering

If after changing the pininon rack , tires , lca , tie rod , several bushing, Sway bars .... the car dont handle great . I swear i am gonna change the car

 

your max needs ksports, thats all !

 

I would say that this sounds more like ball joints than struts, but whatever. My car is bump steering like crazy and it is because my ball joints are bad.

 

I get the same problem when Im on the road and hit a bump with the wheel turned. My max will shift (fishtailing??) over to the left if I am turning right at a high speed such as 35mph+. Vice versa. If Im veering/turning left and hit a bump, my max will "jump" and shift/sway to the right

It's freaky on the highway cus i feel like the max may just jump, land on a banana on the way down, next thing I know I dodging walls.


In any case, good thread. Though, Im kinda stuck between thought of changing the tie rods, and steering things. But it seems my shocks/struts have more to do wit the symptoms
I checked the 95 Max and it has a lot of bounce. front and rear. And the left front tire has rubbed up on the wheelwell on tight turns, so thy're probably waiting for a change.

It looks like Im gettin those 4 KYB GR2 Shocks/Struts first to go along with the stock Nissan springs. Then Follow it up with 4 wheel alignment.

Ill follow up.

My max also makes cranking noise which vary dependent on the weather, and severity of the turn. From what Im hearing (hightuner) Ill eventually have to address the pinion rack(It seems I bought my Max from the wrong guy).

 

Might be your alignment. If the caster is too positive, the steering will be heavy and the steering wheel may kick when you hit a bump. If the caster is too negative, the steering will be light and the vehicle will wander and be difficult to keep in a straight line.

 

yeah DR-Max, you may be right considering Ive only aligned the two front tires lately since I had my Max.

One more (Noob) question though. It seems theres the simple way of testing shocks and struts. Push down the front of my Maxima and see if it bounces. Do the same wit the rear. Yeah it bounces. But I tested my bros ride (96 mercedes CL, with much smoother ride than mine), and it bounces just the same.

Question 1 : Simply put, how do I rate bteween "good" bounce and "bad" bounce?
(... Maybe I should be comparing against a Max wit nu/good suspension though ... which wouldnt be hard.)

Question 2 : Finally, how do I know my springs dont also need changing?? But maybe that question needs to go into another thread....

... otherwise, Im pretty frickin sure I do need somethin changed cause my ride sucks. Im hearing every bump when I drive in addition to the "fishtailin."

 

I don't know much about Mercedes but I'm sure that their suspension is different from ours. It's hard to make comparisons between 2 different cars.

A short explanation on how the springs and struts work in your suspension:

The springs absorb the energy caused by a bump on the road (they coil), it will release that same energy continously (they uncoil) until all energy orginally absorbed is all used up. Imagine a spring that recoils and extends, then bounces and recoils and extends again over and over again....that will be a very bumpy/bouncy ride! Now imagine that on your car with no struts. You push down on it, the springs coil, then you release and the springs extend/uncoil. Depending on the force you gave it going down, the springs will absorb the energy from it and release it. The springs extend and will recoil again. The cycle continues til the energy is used up, your car will keep bouncing and eventually will stop. You wouldn't want to ride in a car like that. The only way to lessen that bouncing effect is to dampen it.

That's when struts come in. When the wheels encounter a bump in the road and causes the springs to coil and uncoil, the energy of the spring is transferred to the struts through the upper mounts, down through the piston rod and into the piston of the struts. Orifices perforate the piston and allow fluid to leak through as the piston moves up and down in the pressure tube. Because the orifices are relatively tiny, only a small amount of fluid, under great pressure, passes through. This slows down the piston, which in turn slows down the spring. The dampening capabilities of the struts lessen thru years of wear and tear, that is why when your struts are shot, the car bounces a lot more because it is unable to slow down the springs anymore.

Hope this clarifies it for you.

 

[QUOTE=da God]

10char

 

did you ever install the kyb's?? did it help with the unstability problem at all??

 

your problem is that the struts are weak - replacing them will help but if you really want to stiff it up h-tech or s-tech springs would do with the new struts- just go wild and do the front/rear strut bar and rear sway bar would glue you to the street

 

Ill be purchasing the KYB Gr2's and then doing my 4 wheel alignment. Pockets are kinda tight right now wit tuition bills, so itll be a (month or 2) prob'ly till then.

thnx for the thorough explanation DR-Max

samito from what I am hearing, the KYB's are the way to go since Im stickin wit my factory springs, and i just want a comfortable ride. Additionally...

- I looked at the front strut bar/brace on ebay. find the rear [strut brac] on nissan parts.com .I Might as well change those just in case, wit the rest of what Im doin.

- I also looked at the [rear anti-]sway bar which are a little pricey to add to this, but it may be worth the purchase. Im still considering consider.

- Also the front sway bar link stabilizers. jeez... it would be worth it.

- might as well do it all at once with the mechanic.

KYB GR2 struts - $207 (ebay)
Front strut brace bar - $25 (ebay)
Front sway Link stabilizers - $67 (ebay)
_____________
Parts total - $300
+Rear sway bar - ($300+$140)= $440 estimated

Labor cost - $100 - $130 (gotta check)

4 Wheel alignment to finish it off, ending the fishtail - $80

TOTAL = About $650 total ... this'll last me a good 5+ years of hapiness hopefully

I'd appreciate any advice on that...
I got 110,000 miles (but I noticed my odeometer may have been tampered with) but thats another thread I'll be openning with Qs.

edit: I just noticed through the FaQ that the Front Strut bar + RSB installation is not too hard. I will be doing that + the ADDCO RearSwayBar myself. Ill skipp the Rear strut Bar