I'm trying to remove the strut bolts with a socket wrench and they're on pretty tight and I don't want to overtighten them. Which way is it to remove. Clockwise or counterclockwise?

 

Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty...
So that means: Left=counterclockwise
Right=Clockwise
Whoa, thought I had seen some weird posts but.....

 

Thanks.... I was able to figure it out. I am not mechanically inclined and this is the first time I try to do something on my car. which leads me to the my next problem. I have the bar in place, but I think that the third bolt will not be able to be put back in its place. The bar is in the way. What am I supposed to do?

 

WOW!!!! The only way that I can think that the bar is in the way is because you have the mounting plates backwards. The bar should be as short as possible. Also, it is very important that you get a torque wrench to tighten the bolts back down. A torque wrench informs you when you have reached the proper tightening of the bolt. This is important because you can break the bolts if you hand tighten them with all your might. Go to a parts store and borrow a torque wrench. Tighten the bolts to between 29 - 40 ft lbs. I did mine to 35. Good luck. Post again with your success or questions.

 

I have the bar on correctly with the Courtesy Nissan sign facing me. I don't its possible to put it in wrong. I already bought a Torque Wrench from Pep Boys. My only problem is that third bolt on each side which won't fit. The end plate bolt is in the way.

 

I'm trying to understand what you mean. I have a courtesy bar too, but it's an older one. you bar should be like this )------( All three bolts should be able to be installed. Can you put the plates on without the bar? Maybe the bolt pattern is slightly different and you need to switch the two mounting plates around???? LEt me know.

 

Well, the courtesy bar for the 99 Maxima is different, maybe that's why. My strut bolt gets in the way. I think that I might have to go back to pep boys I buy a bolt that will fit.

 

somebody take this kids tools away b4 he hurts himself.. lol.. jk

 

Assuming you have all the correct pieces you shouldn't have to buy a new bolt. What do you mean the bolt wont fit? You're using the original strut bolts that came off the car right? So all you do is remove them, slap the tower braces' mounting plate over the three studs and reinstall your bolts right? Yours can't be that different from mine. Do both sides have the same problem or just one?

 

I think I saw a picture of the strut tower brace you're installing and I will say this: remove the bar from the braces and install them, tighten the bolts to the proper torque and then install the bar. Does this clear it up?

 

No, don't bother getting bolts that fit - I know exactly what's wrong! You have the Courtesy FSTB made for 99-02 Maximas, not the 4th Gen one Toolrocks has.

Installation:
Remove the end plate bolt and take it out on both sides. Then you should have room to bolt down both end plates no problem. THEN put the bar back on. Adjust the length with the main bolts to where it approximately should be by turning them (try to keep their lengths roughly even for a clean install). Then attach ONE end of the bar back to the end plate. Then see how close the holes line up on the other end plate. Adjust the length by screwing the main bolt in or out. You want the FSTB to be as snug as possible between the strut towers - by this, I mean you almost have to force the bar towards the other side of the car in order to squeeze the bolt through the hole. This will prevent the two strut towers from bowing inwards towards each other. Get it? Final step is to moderately tighten all the nuts. Tight, but not super tight as these things aren't critical. You may have to get a pair of vise grips or locking vise grips to grab that slippery round bolt if you don't have the right hex (or star?) drive to fit into it. (Wrap it in a towel to prevent scratching.)

Let me know if anything isn't clear

 

Dang! I type slow! 3 posts between the time I saw JUDE's post and threw in my post!

 

I think we have this thing installed for him now.

 

Alright guys, just came back from pepboys with some hex nuts. So Bman, what you're saying is I should install the endplates and torque them to specification before installing the bar? I'm going back outside to try this.

 

Yeah man that's the way to do it, that's how I had to do my Stillen FSTB on my '97 SE as well. So just do it like that and you shouldn't have any problems, hopefully you have it installed by now.

 

No. These huge freaking bolts that my car came with are causing the endplate bolts to not be able to screw back on. I'm going to use the 10x1.25 hex nuts I bought. they shoudn't break, right? they shoud hold since the other two will be the regular strut bolts?

 

DOH!! (smacks forehead) I forgot: you've got acorn style nuts right? So what you're saying is that the one closest to where the bar attaches is too big for you to fit the bolt through above it right?

Use the nuts you bought on that part. It should be fine as long as they grip all the thread on the bolt (make sure it's not too skinny a bolt). Regardless, you pretty much have to install the plates first and then the bar because there's no way to get a torque wrench over the nut once the other bolt is in the way.

 

Yeah, its the acorn style nuts. So I put in some Hex nuts at 10x1.25 with a washer. I was able to torque the rest of the bolts to specification but not the hex nuts on each side. Those I just guessed. I don't think they're overtightened, at worst case scenario they probably need some more tightening.
I drove the car around and it really felt much more stable, expecially taking fast turns. Unfortunetly, the bar touches the hoodliner, but the hood still closes, but you feel the resistence. Hopefully that won't cause a problem.

 

Good job! I noticed a better feel on my car in hard turns too. Hopefully the hoodliner will just scrunch down after a while and hold that shape. I heard a guy who claimed he could see the indentation of it through the hood, but if it gets that bad I'd just try to carve into the liner somehow. Looks cool doesn't it?

 

I contacted Courtesy about it. They said that its supposed to rub against the hoodliner and won't cause a problem. They said that they didn't know about the bolt problem on the 99s.