95 maxima had all 4 new struts around car in 08 and they been out for at least a year now i didn't notice untill someone told me. i always wondered why it felt like a dam boat from the rear and scrapes when i have people in back seats and low is hell from the rear and high in the front.\

why would new struts go bad so dam fast? not only that my front passenger side control arm is only a year old and it now has a crap load of play in the bushing and shakes bad on highway.

 

Struts don't normally wear out that fast, they should last 80 to 100K. But you say the car rides low with people in the back - that has nothing to do with the struts, that is a spring problem. Springs should last the life of the car but I've read a lot of posts about people having weak springs.
.
The control arm bushings will rot out fast if you have a power steering hose leaking, lots of posts on that.

 

Nope, No power steering leaks. Their was a oil leak from the crankshaft oil seal but was fixxed 3 weeks ago when water pump was done, maybe thats why. yea it seems like really weak springs when i fill up in goes pretty dam low in the back with noone in it. and i can bounce the rear of the car and it will bounce about 3 or 4 times after i stop its pretty bad. their Monroe replacements and their is no oil leaks from them or anything. I'm thinking about getting OEM struts from a junk yard instead of paying out the *** for cheap replacements.

 

I am in the same boat as you my friend. Changed all four in summer of 2009 and the back are shot already and its not even summer yet. I used the cheap AutoZone Gabriel Ultra replacements but I will not make it strike three with the same mistake. I am going to redo the lateral link with rear sway bar and then change struts to new OEM. Just saving the money to get it done.

 

yep, crazy how cheap autozones hydraulic crap is. OEM best way to go. I bet their high dollar replacements from Nissan tho.

 

Autozone has that limited warranty. I wd go back and see if u can get free replacements.

 

I would also consider changing out for new oem springs if you don't want to lower, springs will lose tensile strength over time which will place more burden on the struts as they are expected to compress faster on a regular basis rather just when you hit a large defect in the road.

 

If the car is bouncing, the struts are bad. The sagging is a spring problem that needs to be addressed also. The lca bushings usually aren't affected by engine oil. The auto trans fluid from the power steering is notorious for eating the passenger side lca bushings on stock nissan bushings but no one can say that is the only way possible.

 

how hard are they to change out in rear like if i were to unbolt strut and spring assembly from junk yard and put them on my car? im not paying a mechanic again.

 

As long as you aren't disassembling the spring & strut assembly, it isn't all that bad. I would loosen the bolt (but not remove) on the bottom, then unbolt the top part in the trunk, jack up the car until the top is free and then remove the bottom bolt.

 

Trust me, those autozone parts they have for the maxima do not last long as I have many parts under them and I am tired of doing work same time every summer. I been through two sets of Gabriel struts with them the past 2 summers and this third will not be a shame on me for the third time. That's it for me with autozone as I know the guys at nissan parts store now that I get their discounts.

 

go with KYB gr2's for the rear struts...you can't go wrong and they will last!!..I have 80k on them and still not bouncy @ all.

 

how much are they? the OEM ones from dealership are $159.99 each!

 

That's insane!

GR2's or Monroe would be your best bet. Even the Sensa Tracks are 1/3 of that price.

 

i have monroe replacements, dont yours have a lifetime warranty? just take them back and get new ones for free. and why would you get oem struts when you yourself said it might be the springs? if your car is still stock height i would try and get other spring form a junked max to see if that fixes the problem...

 

http://www.kybshocksonline.com/Searc...x?AAIA=1211421

about 1/2 that price $68 @ the above site,,KYB

 

forget Monroes go with the KYB/GR2's,,,I have over 80k miles on the GR2's ,push down on the rear,,it does not bounce @ all



http://www.kybshocksonline.com/Prod_...11421&pid=9820

 

damn ^^^ Thanks.

 

The problem I hear most people say with the KYB's is that they give you a stiff bounce compared to the OEM. Is that so?

 

^^^well i have GR2's up front and monroe replacements on the rear and to be honest since you mentioned that, the GR2's are kinda stiff compared to the rears being a little more smoother...

 

The GR2's are a little firmer than OE when new and they "break in" nicely. The 4th gen max was designed more for ride quality than a sporty feel. It depends on your driving style or road conditions where you live. GR2's willstop almost all bottoming on OE springs. I thought my 95 GLE felt like a boat and when driven quickly had a very vague feel. I went with the H&R/AGX combo and they were a lot stiffer then OE even on the softest setting but it handled like a completely different car. Not like my "track" car ('73 240Z) but it is a four door family car. If I were to do it again I would go with GR2's for everyday driving.

You could do GR2's and some decent springs on all four corners for not too much more than just the OE struts. If you were to do this you wouldn't even need a spring compressor. Replacing the front struts is almost as easy as the rears.

 

You see, I need a luxury ride...soft dampening..for the sport and handling, I just changed to the 17" 2003 SE rims and those wider tires give better handling going around sharp corners. How much do the monroe's cost and where you got them from?

 

58.99 each autozone.

 

I like GR2s but the rears from my 3rd gen blew at 15k miles a few years ago and I'm currently riding on blown rear GR2s on my 4th gen I really need to replace these but I can't warranty without a receipt

 

Mine are terrible, i bounce like i have hydros, dont have the time to fix em lol

 

Well the parts guy I know at the dealership says the cheapest he can give me the rears is $203 for both. I told him that when I get some funds, I am coming back for those. Isn't that a great price? I think it is.

 

isnt the oem strut tokico blue?

you can get those for about 70$ online

i would go with the oem over kyb if you are looking for longevity. tokico is a better brand.

youre getting a stiffer strut for the same money from kyb though. I would go with tokico though, if you wanted stiff struts spend about 100$ on tokico illumina

 

Yes they are blues. Can you please direct me to a link for that price? Thanks

 

http://thmotorsports.com/tokico/toki...HU2905-03-1998

 

kyb gr2's for 259 and free shipping!! the guy has like 50,000 sales.. sounds reputable? and experiences?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-4...Q5fAccessories

 

yes its a very large online store.

go straight to their website and skip ebay

 

will do, thanks!

 

same place has tokico blues for 327. Id do that. I dont want to get in a name brand argument with anyone but theyre better.

I think theres a good chance the front oems have lasted 198k miles on my i30. I dont have experience with any shock lasting forever except tokicos so thats what Id go for.

Nothing fancy about them at all theyll be just like your monroe or whatever but last longer.

If you do have a lowered or track vehicle then go for gr2s,they have a lifetime warranty anyway so who cares if they wear out.

 

Thank you much man. Will definitely order this instead. Do they really come in that blue color though?

 

My 4th gen with 332k has 3 OEM struts and one of them I replaced with a JY OEM one last summer cuz it was blown. Chance are they were probably original but not I dropped the ride and changed them for GR2s, I still have the OEMs laying around in the garage just in case. They are definitely a better strut, hands down.

 

^^^ +1. Yezzir Columbian. That is a true statement.

 

ya going back to the orignal
If your ride height is different you have bad springs.

somewhere someone did write that you could get 4 gr2s and 4 cheaper springs for the same as 4 blues
this is true. your problem seems to be both at this point so youd do better solving it than getting the best shocks.

tokico sells a set of 4 blues and 4 good springs for like 420 online.