I got a good deal on some brand new Nissan OEM rear strut inserts and rubber boots and want to attempt the swap this weekend. I have the FSM and also printed the instructions from AutoZone, but was unable to find any specific instructions or hints in the 3rd Gen stickies.

I'm looking for hints on how to make this go smoothly. Do I need a gland nut wrench and do I need to replace all mounting nuts as recommended in the FSM? Any experiences you can share to avoid pitfalls?

I've got good skills, many tools and a garage. Autozone will loan the spring compressors.
I'm trying to get our 3rd Gen mechanically sound for my son who turns 16 today and will want to start driving it regularly after he completes Driver's Ed. We'll exchange the rear struts, and will look to doing the fronts after this experience.

Any advise/input would be welcome. Thanks!

 

I haven't done this swap myself, yet... but this may be helpful...

http://www.4dsc.com/articles/suspens...h_tokico.shtml

 

I didn't use any special tools except an air wrench to get the top nuts off. If you don't use an air impact wrench the rod will just spin.
I did not use new nuts or bolts and everything went fine. The fronts are MUCH easier. The back ones are real messy when you take it apart.

 

I haven't done the rears as I know it's a lot more work, but I have done the fronts. The fronts struts are very straight forward. On the front, if you remove the two bolts to the steering knuckle and the 3 nuts in the strut tower, unclip the brake line from the strut bracket, the front strut assy will come right off the car. Then you can disassemble it.

I would recommend doing the fronts also at the same time so you don't need to align the car twice, if you do the fronts at a later time.

I would recommend changing all the small bits of hardware (mounting nuts). When I did my front struts, I found that all the nuts they recommended to be replaced were lock nuts.

You can get them locally from the local Nissan dealer, or you can get them from Courtesy Nissan in Texas. They have good prices on Genuine Nissan Parts.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...1610_1611.html

Note: When you use the spring compressor, lube the threads. Axle Grease is typcially recommended, but on the compressors I bought from Sears, it says to use 30-weight motor oil and it helps a lot.

 

just to add to what tom said, if you have abs, you will also have to remove two screws on the front strut when you disconnect the brake line. I cannot add to the rear, but like everybody else, I have no rear experience, yet.
besides, y'know, jack stands, and ya-de-ya...

 

Let's see...in order, from my memory:

0.5)Take out the rear seat (lift up on the bottom part, two screws on the back part and lift to remove)
1) remove wheel (duh)
2) engage parking brake and loosen hub bolt
3)remove caliper and ebrake line
4)hang caliper up on the spring
5)remove rotor
6)remove hub assembly
7)undo the sway bar bolts
8)undo the parallel link bolt (1 long bolt)
9)undo the radius rod bolt
10)The strut assembly should now swing freely
11)Remove rubber strut cover
12)Undo the 3 strut bolts that hold the assembly to the car
13)Carefully drop the strut assembly
14)Loosen the top bolt on the strut a bit
15)Use a spring compressor to compress the spring
16)Completly undo the top bolt of the strut and remove the strut mounting plate and spring
17)Undoo the large nut holding the strut into the strut housing
18)Pour out the fluid into a milk jug
19)Replace strut with a new one and reverse these steps to reassemble

That should be it...but that was off the top of my head so there could be something missing. Meh.... I'm not sure if you need to remove the hub but either way it'll make life easier to work with the strut assembly.

PS) I don't use air tools, so I don't really know what bhunter was referring to.

 

Thanks for the input. Appreciate your support.

My bad for doing the "hard ones first". After the rears, the fronts should be alot easier.

As far as the oil bath, if I lose some and need to replace it, does anyone know what "NISSAN GENIUNE STRUT FLUID or equivilent" is? I can probably buy replacement fluid and nuts from Courtesy Nissan, but I'd hate to have it apart and then decide I need to order parts. The car can sit since I have alternative transportation, but I like to start and finish the job in the same day.

Keep the hints coming...Thanks!

 

The stock rear struts are not in cartridge form like the aftermarket replacements you are going to be putting in,when you remove the assembly/remove the gland nut,you need to pour the oil into a suitable container,pull out the oem guts,drop in the replacement cartridge,then pour some of the oem oil around the cartridge,this aids in cooling the strut unit.

 

wayne, i will admit again that i have never replaced the rear struts before. do you mean the new (oem) replacement will be an actual strut that fits into the old housing? or did you believe he was using an aftermarket supplier to replace the oem style guts?
this question is 2 parts my ignorance, 1 part confusion by your post

 

For clarity, using NISSAN OEM replacement, not aftermarket. FSM tells you to replace the oil. I'm assuming I have to reuse the old oil or use new NISSAN oil in the correct quantity.
Come this weekend, I'll have a better idea what I've gotten myself into.

 

The only place you could possibly get "oem" replacements guts would be from the dealer...all aftermarket rear struts for our cars are sealed drop in cartridges.

 

Are you getting these from the dealership?

Price?

 

These came from a dealer. I bought them on ebay from someone who had a 3rd Gen Max and sold it before installing the struts. They are in the original Nissan boxes (unopened). Decent price at $59 total w/shipping. He said he paid $200 a set and Courtesy wants $80 a piece. He also sold me the Nissan rubber boots, $20 shipped.
If these go in easy, I'll be looking for front struts to match.

 

FYI - Here's some info on the fronts.

I bought KYB GR2 struts from the TireRack.com. The struts are good quality and I also bought KYB strut mounts and bearings.

From Courtesy Nissan, I bought the dust boots, new nuts for the strut tower (3 per side), nuts for the steering knuckle to struts (2 per side), those round rubber spring seats for where the strut sits on the strut and dust seals for the bearing.

The KYB bearings actually had some play in them, but the original bearings were still good so I reused them (no problems).

Spring Compressors

I have 2 sets.

I have a nice set from Sears that cost about $50.
I also have a set from Harbor Freight Tools for $12.99.

Both work, but I like to use the Sears compressor.

I set my strut assembly upright on a vise like you see in repair manuals. When you are tightening or loosening the spring compressor, you are turning a 15/16" bolt/nut to compress/decompress the spring.

A 15/16" socket with a ratchet works fine (to start). However, as you compress the spring, that socket will get closer and closer to the upper spring seat and it will touch.

If you let the socket drag against the upper spring seat as you turn, what will happen is that the socket will start being pushed out by the upper spring seat. As a result, the socket won't seat well to the bolt/nut, as you have to fight it to make sure that the socket is seated square.

You may strip the bolt/nut head as a result.

What I did was use a 15/16" dogbone wrench to turn the bolt/nut, when the socket hit the side of the strut mount.

It's much easier to work this way.

 

dog bone = box?

 

 

Sorry, I meant a COMBINATION WRENCH. A lot of my buddys calls these dog bones.

You want a combination because you'll find the open end is easier to use when the bolt/nut is really close to the upper spring seat.

 

lol, I had always heard of them being called box wrenches.
i heard dogbone, and saw what wayne posted.
anywho, I agree with that. use a combination rench
also from my experience, have that head facing down. when you're wrenching, you get a little more space with the ratchet.

 

Great advice. Thanks. Keep the hints coming. The fewer scarred knuckles, the better.

I'll probably start disassembly tonight depending on how tired I am after work. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I'll also look into buying KYB GR2's for the fronts...I know they should also be replaced.

 

Just to add, for the rear parallel links nuts, they have plastics on the nut itself to keep it from turning loose. If you're finding it hard or impossible to get that nut off, then use a torch and just burn the plastic away, after that, it will be much easier. When installing, simply put some loc-tite on the nut and you will be good. I did mine without loc-tite and it had held up for over 2 years no problem. Also, if your rear sway bar bolts had seized onto the metal sleeve in the rubber and refuses to turn, what you can do is to first break the bolt loose, then remove the two bolts holding the bracket that the bolts goes into, then you can either spin the bracket loose, or you can simply remove both brackets and drop the bar altogether.

 

i know you say you plan on doing it tonight(or at least trying), but since you're underneath, check your lateral link bushings. they like to go out. if they're bad, go ahead and replace 'em.

 

Regarding the rear struts, is there a good way to check their status and figure out if they even need to be replaced? When one of my fronts gave out, it just collapsed so that was obvious.

My rear is just generally noisy and rough, so I planned to do bushings but have yet to make up my mind on the struts. Lots of excellent information gathered here though, probably one of the most useful maintenance threads we've had in a while.

 

I had a devil of a time getting the gland nuts off. I finally clamped the unit, gently, in a pipe clamp on my vise and went to Harbor Frieght and got the biggest honking Crescent wrench that opened to 2 1/4" for about $19 and this with a little yanking on the wrench, loosened these nuts easily. I also talked to the dealer about the oil and they recommended hydraulic oil, like that used to fill jacks.

 

most of the shadetree mechanics i know use the "bumper test." stand on the bumper and jump off as hard as you can. if it bounces more than one or maybe two times, they're going bad. if it continues to bounce, then you have springs, but no struts

 

if they have over 60k on them, replace them

 

The rear struts are done! I also did the bumper boots, rear brakes and adjusted the parking brake.

Thread #2 was most helpful as the FSM is good for diagrams and torque values, but is geared at rebuilding the original OEM guts. I ended up with Nissan OEM inserts, and this is the way to go (sorry about the earlier confusion).
A few comments for orgers who may try this:
- The gland nut can be a bear to remove. I bolted the strut assembly/wheel housing to the tire laying flat on the floor, and used a 24inch (600mm) Craftsman adjustable wrench...came off easily.
- The hydraulic oil can create a mess when you remove the gland nut, o-ring and strut guts...be prepared.
- Bushing were in good shape so I applied rubber protectant and reused.
- For an old car (close to 15 years old), I spent about a third on my time cleaning off built-up road grim and grease/oil off of suspension/brake parts. They cleaned-up so well that I didn't need to repaint anything and she looks almost new.

She's much stiffer in the rear now. I'm old and sore, but that cold beer tastes better with car grim under your finger nails and knowing she's together correctly.

Thanks again to all for your input.