My 94 GXE has 110K miles on it and desperately needing new struts now. I have got a lot of great help here couple of months ago when I was learning to replace fuel injectors on it, so I am here again to get help with the struts selection. I have searched on eBay and basically saw KYB GR-2 for about $190 and TOKICO HP for $280. I don't need high performance set up, just need a stable and decent ride and handling, and hopefully I don't have to put new springs as well. So any suggestions about which one to go with? Or there are better options out there? Finally, how much should I expect to pay a shop to have them installed?
Thanks.

 

Best= Koni, but also spendy ($600)

Better=Tokico

Good oem style= KYB

My recommendation would be toks,mine have treated me good.

 

if you have a drive way, and a weekend, you could do it yourself. not the most overly complicated surgrey, but it is a little time consuming. you will also needs strut boots.

5 nuts to take out of the car, compress spring, remove top nut. almost as simple as that, for the front.
havent done the back, yet.

 

It sounds very simply and it is if you know the concept and know what to do. be warned that it can be quite time consuming if you dont have all the right tools ahead of time and if you dont have a guidance.

Its better to do it yourself than at a shop. You will pay big bucks, perhapts 500+ on parts and labor but with some crappy Gabriels or just some no name struts.

 

I will go ahead and warn you and the op of this thread that the rear struts are not for the weak minded,to put it plainly,they are a pita if you don't have the right tools to do it correctly,a vise is almost a necessity,along with a very large pipe wrench or pair of pliers to complete this job without giving yourself a hernia..

 

how much more work is removal compared to disassembling to change the parallel link bushings, aside from the top nuts and brake lines?

and i do believe you in that its harder, just hadn't had the chance to, yet.

Edit: accidentally called em lca bushings

 

Well aside from the fact that you have to loosen the parallel links, you gotta remove the whole strut assembly, which means you gotta remove the rear seat and remove 3 14mm nuts on the strut mount. once the strut assembly has been removed from the vehicle, here comes the hard part IMO;
Removing the [gland?] nut which I've used a monkey/tube wrench with a 6 foot fence pipe and someone holding the strut assembly with another pipe to get the nut off.

You also have to be able to use the spring compressors (good functioning ones) properly or you can pull a greeny.

 

and how does wayne do it?

 

I have replaced all the way around on my max and to be honest, other than more things to take apart and put back together, the rear springs were easier on mine than the fronts. On the fronts I had the damnedest time getting the springs compressed enough to get the struts out.

 

ah be correct dad lol it was 2 times we've replaced the struts, as you said, the rear wasn't bad at all, the front is wat was a pain, the dang things wouldn't compress AT ALL lol

 

meh, I will take changing struts any day over pulling the dang engine. LOL

 

good point lol

 

Thanks for all you guys, seems like I have to bite the bullet and pay for someone to do this. I don't have a weak mind, but from you guys' description, I am not so confident about my arm strength, LOL. This is not at all like putting the injectors in there for sure.
I called one garage and was quoted $100 per struts for installation. Is that about right?

 

Dude, where are you located?


For that price, is the shop supplying the struts and an alaignment too? If so, beware of the quality. I know, the first time mine were changed I was in a pinch for money and went the Gabrial way. Less than a year later, I had to do it again. Granted the struts were under warranty, but if I had paid a shop to do this I am sure the labor would not have been covered. And I can promise you that if they go bad again I will forget the pharkin warranty and get some good struts.


With that said, buy the struts you want, find an .org member close by, offer to buy them beer and food. You might be surprised how cheap you can get your struts replaced for.

 

That 100 bucks per strut quote is for installation only, and I need to bring my own parts and all. I am convinced to go with the Tokico this time, guess they are well worth the extra 100 bucks by comments from you folks here.
I am pretty new here, so I don't really know any members yet, but I wouldn't mind at all buying beers if ever there is a meet in my neck of the wood.. BTW, I am in Rockville, Maryland.

 

There are some detail parts you should check and replace when you change the struts. On my car, the rubber boots were torn so I got them from Courtesy Nissan. I changed the strut mounts also. I changed out all the small hardware like the locknuts as well.

When I did the front struts last month, it wasn't too difficult. Like the others said, you just need a good vice, spring compressors and some tools. On the fronts, it is a little hard to compress the springs.

What I did was use 4 spring compressors. I used 2 Sears Spring Compressors that I have to comperss it as far as it would go, then I supplemented with 2 more spring compressors (luckily, it was on sale at Harbor Freight Tools for $9.99) to get that little more compression.

I have a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 2 foot handle/bar, which gave me enough torque to compress the spring compressors.

When you tighten the spring compressors, the bolt head on the compressor will get closer and closer to the upper spring seat until you're fighting against it as your socket is rubbing against it on every turn.

That's when you get a combination wrench and you can continue to compress the springs as you have enough clearance to turn the spring compressor whithout fighting against the upper spring seat.

I am not big strong guy by any means. What I found is that if you have the right tools, this job isn't that hard, doesn't take any more muscle than a normal person would have and doesn't take that long. I did not use any power tools either.

This is the 2nd strut job I did. The first time was on my 1988 Toyota camry. That 1st time sucked because I didn't know what I was up against and didn't have all the right tools.

I installed KYB GR2s on my car (did so my Camry as well). They are good quality struts with good ride quality. This is my daily driver I use for commuting 30 miles everyday and exactly what I wanted.

If you want something sportier, I would go with Tokicos.

 

really you don't have to worry about "arm strength" cause you just tighten some bolts and it compresses the springs for you, that is the spring compressor you have to have to do it

 

You have a GXE, right? The GXE requres you to disassemble the rear brakes: remove shoes to disconnect PBrake cable, and remove brake line... the SE only requires you to remove the caliper. After the strut is done, the brakes have to be reassembled, adjusted (some) and the brake fluid bled. I banged through one rear corner a couple of weeks ago (myself) in about 2.75 hours (pull and replace the back seat, etc) including putting in new shoes. If you haven't done drum brakes yet, it's going to take you a bit longer. But, it's another learning experience. Do one side at a time, watch how it comes apart, and be careful with the brake springs.

The fronts are much easier to do really, though it is harder to compress the springs.

For the rears, a vice is nice- but after you get the spring off bolting the unit to a wheel and laying it face down works well. Put a blanket down not to scratch the wheels and a pan down to catch the oil. Have someone stand on the tire while you bust the nut. A two foot pipe wrench should work, a longer one better. The nuts are tight- usually not TOO tight, but sometimes are. Then reuse some of the fluid to fill in the space between the new cartridge and the housing for cooling (might as well).

Parts: replace the boots! KYB is using something other than the regular rubber that they used before, but I wonder if it won't last longer. There are other sources. Think about replacing the strut mounts... the originals might last, but it'll suck if they don't- fix it again. (someone else tell him if he's OK) But the mounts DO add to the $$. Look on TireRack for an idea of price. Think about getting camber bolts for the front. (anyone else think so?) The camber might be "within spec" when you get the alignment done, but the bolts will allow them to get it exact.

"Borrow" spring compressor set from AutoZone or Advance or wherever. You can then at least do the fronts if you have a 1/2" drive set or a long-handle 3/8' drive with the right sockets.

I am not familiar with how the other brands ride, but the Tokicos' ride (on both the GXE and SE) is spot-on unless you get heavy into other suspension mods.

Any questions left?

 

is anyone sporting an airbag suspension on a 3rd gen?

 

airbag suspension aka Nissan Sonar Suspension?


I've done all 4 struts and the front are CAKE compared to the rear. I guess someone had trouble with a bad spring compressor...mmmmm cake...

Rears arent too bad though

 

nope, those are all gone now.

 

you mean sonar was is airbag?
i meant like custom lift + lower stlyez pancake..front bacc side to side

 

sonar was just an adjustable ride feel suspension

 

The first thing you do is break the wheel nut, then take the strut off the car. I used a breaker bar with 5 feet of pipe for an extension.

 

Wheel nut? you mean the big axle nut in the center of the hub?

If so,then no,you don not need to take this nut off the replace the struts.

 

Question to humor the experts out there. How can you tell when you need new struts?

 

The easiest way to tell is to push down on your front bumper,get the car bouncing,then let go..If the front end continues to bounce after that,you need new struts..

But in all reality,if the struts are original,they most definitely need to be replaced..

 

also look for fluid coming down the sides, dents to the housing.

 

What kind of fluid are we looking for?

 

diarrhea looking like fluid. its brown/black

 

any non-water liquid is a bad sign

 

Couldn't that mean that some other fluid reservoir is leaking and not necessarily a strut failing?

 

Ok...before we go any further,do you actually have a 3rd gen yet,or are you just shooting for answers to possible scenarios for a future car?(I've seen several posts in the classifieds by you trying to buy a 3rd gen)?????

 

I am actually working on that right now. I should be getting one this weekend provided that all things work out according to plan. As of right now, this minute, no, I do not have one and yes I am looking for possible scenarios. I figured that it would be a good idea to have some foreknowledge so I know what to look for when I run into a problem.
I apologize if it seems like I am being a pest in this way.

 

your strut is outside the area of most leaks.

 

has anyone done an airbag suspension with compressers and shizz
on a 3rd gen?

 

yes it has been done before

 

and looks goofy. the maxima is a sport/luxury car, and a performance drop of1.2-1.6 or.7 looks good and, well, helps performance. i have never seen a better performing bag system than *regular* struts and shocks. the only reason to 'bag a car is to make it look like trash(imho). when a car is slammed, especially a sporty car, it looks broken, like the owner hasnt taken care of something, and it wants to die(okay, the only car with emotions was Herbie, but i hope you catch my drift.).


Mind you this is all my opinion, I think airbags should only be used on trucks as a suplimentary suspention upgrade for heavy loads.

 

Whatever - !not! LIP ... the only choice here, between 1000$ originals, four yrs ago.
Now after 20k miles the right one was shot - no warranty thks to www.sapmotors.com.

After complainin 2004 to EU cartel comission, the sales is now semi-free so I did get pair of decent Sachs struts from Gerrymany 2x106€. The only thing I am really missing is the adjustable lower (oval) hole which would allow caster angle adj (wheels top tilted inwards)

The swap is relatively easy with proper tools. First timer may spend 2hrs per wheel... normally under 30min. HowTo http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/25

Ther rear 'Gland Packing' needs man sized 'pliers'

 

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