So i figure out my leak, this is it:



So I've been reading and reading, clearly I'm not the only one that has had this problem. Thanks to Nissan's engineering awesomeness, this part is not considered "servicable" so I'm looking at the ES aftermarket one's

The question is (and I've seen the question in other threads but no definitive answer):
Can these bushings be replaced without actually removing the entire axle/trailing arms?

 

short answer: anything can be done with enough ingenuity and tools.

long answer: no. You either need to get the bushing into a huge press, which would be difficult unless you have some kind of press that can go sideways, or you need to use the "burn and slash and chisel" method to get the bushing out of the collar - a big job even with the axle off the car and would be nearly impossible to do on the car.

It's not terribly difficult to take the axle off the car, so go get a cheap junkyard axle, spend a frustrating saturday getting the nasty old bushing out and pressing an Energy Suspension bushing in (they do make them), and then reinstall the axle. Get some buddies to help.

There is a how-to somewhere here on the org about how to do this, but you'd have to search to find it...it was a few years ago he posted it.

Other option that I haven't seen done on this part but could work: liquid poly/urethane. Since the original fluid has leaked out, you'd need to cut out some of the bushing and then pump in some liquid polyurethane that would then harden and turn the original bushing into a solid bushing rather than liquid.

This is the way that someone here (I forget who) makes upgraded 5th gen shifter bushings. Search around, I forget who it is.

 

You could refer to this thread for the How-to.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...shing-how.html

 

Steve Kwan did a nice pictorial write-up. When I replaced bushings on my 3rd gen lca's, that is exactly how I did it.

 

When you're done, it will look like this....





Took me about 3-4 hours to do them. I have access to a full-service shop, so that helped out a lot.

Good luck with the project!!! They are the most time consuming ES bushings to do. I almost gave up on it when I saw what was involved.