I've been driving for a few months with a bad bushing. At first it was just a whopping sound during right turns. I thought it was a warped brake drum. I was very wrong! And to think I've been driving 110mph with a compromised suspension! I was convinced the sound was coming from the right and I crawled under the car, and lifted the right side, checked the bearings, turned the wheel and concluded it was the right drum.

I guess I'm a dumbass because I took it to a shop to have the drums turned and they're like, "um your LEFT suspension bushing is bad".

Moral here is check EVERYTHING when something is wrong! ALthough my daily commute rarely exceeds 45mph when I get on the open road I love to go FAST! I think we all need to be careful with these older cars.

The shop is charging around $85 dollars to replace the bushing.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=407839

 

wait i have this problem of popping when i turn slightly and accelerate. where is this at?

my car would also start to sway back and forth like crazy at 110 is this your problem?

 

im an idiot. nevermind my poppings coming from the front, not the back. i was thinking maybe there was some other thing other than the control arms that i missed but guess not :/

 

OK here's the symptoms:
the first any decreasing radius right turn i'd hear "whop whop whop whop" braking increased the effect. Plus when I jacked up the car and turned the wheel, I felt a warp in the drum. I was convinced the whopping sound was coming from the right, that was wrong, the ----cabin is very quiet and you really can't tell where noise is coming from---.

Basically I continued to drive fast because I thought it was only a warped drum. That was a poor assumption. After receiving the diagnosis from the shop I aimed the side mirror down to the wheel and saw, TO MY HORROR, the LEFT rear wheel is all over the f*cking place. I can't believe no one in traffic tried to tell me this, its really bad!

I've always lived where you aren't allowed to work on your car so I'm not as keen as others on this board. Look at MyGreenMax94's post, we all need to replace our bushings! I dream of a home with a garage full of tools!

 

1. you're an IDIOT for doing 110 when the car has ANY problems.
2. why didn't you ever crawl under the car and look for problems when you knew it had noise.

 

I totally agree I was an idiot. I DID crawl under the car but I decided it was the right drum acting up. I am the world's biggest advocate for keeping old cars on the road instead of buying a new one, but arrogance is dangerous. But in my defense I don't think the bar moved off the bushing untill last week whenthe symptims increased 10 fold, at that point, I took the car to a professional.

 

Hmm, I think I'm gonna do what greeny did considering I have access to a sandblaster at work Gonna order the bushings, sandblast the crap outta my old parts and paint em too. I think one of two of those might be slightly worn on mine as well.

 

Aren't those the bushings in the rear that can be replaced with Poly from Courtesy Nissan for pretty cheap?

 

Yes, they are energy suspension's fix... and yes, you can get them from Courtesy Nissan for about $30-$50!

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...t_Code=7-3117G

 

what should I condsider on my Maxima to make it smoother. Every crack in the cement roads here in Texas is felt. Maybe I am just spoiled by my Ford 500. The Nissan is my "to work and back" car. How can I tell if the shocks need replacing? It has 110k miles on it.

 

If your car has 110k nad they're the original shocks, they need replacing.

for a smoother ride, the best thing is to go over the suspension and take a look at all of the bushings. the shocks are the biggest contributor, but the suspension bushings can be a major factor as well. most likely the front and rear bushings are gone. replace them and the shocks and you'll have a completely different car.