I guess it's true...to do a job right, do it yourself!

For 3 years & 30K miles now I've been suffering a stiff, noisy ride in my '01 Maxima with "new" KYB GR2's (mistake #1). So I finally bit the bullet and went back to Nissan oem (Tokico made) struts and springs this week. While I was at it, I replaced the KYB mounts I originally bought (mistake #2) for the KYB struts .

While I was messing around with the install job, I compared the pressure it took to compress the KYB's vs the Nissan oem struts. Wish I had a video instead of the photos that follow. Many have posted that the KYB's are @15%, or so, stiffer than oem. I believe it. These 2 photos show an equal amount of pressure...as best I could apply...to both the Nissan struts (black colored below) and KYB struts. The Nissan compressed much easier and retracted sooner than the stiffer KYB's.

Before...


After...


I kept hearing a knocking noise ever since the KYB's were installed that I've never been able to fix. When I pulled the old KYB mount I'm pretty sure I saw the reason for all that noise. The KYB mount (left side) did not have the gray colored shank like is attached to the bottom of the Nissan oem mount (right side). That shank seats the mount to the top of the strut rod. The shop that installed (mistake #3) my KYB's simply put in 3-4 washer shims under the top strut bolts and never said a word that the mounts were different. Arrgh!



Oh well, live and learn.

 

What springs did you have with the GR2's?

I agree that the KYB mounts suck tho.

 

The original factory installed springs were on with the KYB's. The car has 105K miles on it now, so I replaced the springs with the new struts. I guess there was a TSB on the rear springs for bottoming out, and I got the "approved" rear replacement springs. Raised the car an inch in the rear after I put them on. Tomorrow night I'll put the last front strut in and take it for a spin.

 

Wow that sucks for real. The KYB's have a lifetime warranty if you wanna get a spare set to sell to make up for the cost.

 

Finished the job tonight and took the car for a test ride. I thought the ride was much nicer and more comfortable. Less jittery. But after 100K, it could be to the new springs as much as the struts for all I know. Anyway, very glad I went to all that work and changed out the set up.

 

WOW, I had the EXACT same problem. I bought the car used with KYB GR2's and they had these stupid mounts. Had them on the car and replaced every single part and finally found that this was the issue. I had a rough and rattling front end. I guess my previous owner went all out on the KYB front suspension "upgrade." It sucks for sure. You'll enjoy your new mounts!!!

These mounts are probably for the 4g because you can notice the difference in the strut rod slot. KYB is round and OE is "cut off" a bit.

 

I guess this is good info to know. Avoid the KYB strut mounts, what about Tokico mounts and the Monroe mounts you can get at say Pep Boys? Any idea what the oem mounts cost?

 

The Nissan mount insulators cost $29 plus shipping from DaveB. I believe the KYB mounts were @ $36-38, plus shipping from TireRack three years ago. I think any brand of insulator would do as long as it matches the oem design....which the KYB's clearly did not in this application.