rear suspension bushing

General information about the first-generation Nissan Maxima in the US. What was the Datsun 810 became the luxury leader Maxima in the US in 1981.

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kassim503
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rear suspension bushing

#1

Post by kassim503 »

Well the squeaking noise that came out of the rear suspension got too annoying so I lifted the car and took a look at the rear shock mount that connect to a wheel, I found it to be in bad shape (see pics below). Where would I get the bushing, or would I have to change out the rear shock at the same time? Im not really looking foward to changing the shock because thats just 4 bolts too many and I dont feel like compressing the springs and all that stuff. The rubber ring on the inside is so worn out that its crumbling and the washer on the bolt is rubbing up against the shock itself.


This is a pic of it without the bolt on (click for larger)
Image
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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kassim503
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#2

Post by kassim503 »

according to the fsm its part of the shock
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
83_maxima
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#3

Post by 83_maxima »

Part of the shock.

It is a non-serviceable part.

The rear shocks are pretty easy to replace if you have a compressor. I found mine to be surprisingly easy to do.

If you end up replacing them DO NOT replace them with KYB Gas-A-Just

They are terrible, but typically cheap. Stay away from them. Worst idea for shocks ever...
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kassim503
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#4

Post by kassim503 »

guess I have to do the job, well mabye itll get rid of some of the clumsiness/rockingess when I floor it.

Thanks for the advice for the kyb shocks, I was thinking of running them because they where adjustable
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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philip
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#5

Post by philip »

kassim503 wrote:guess I have to do the job, well mabye itll get rid of some of the clumsiness/rockingess when I floor it.

Thanks for the advice for the kyb shocks, I was thinking of running them because they where adjustable
I think some clarification / equal time is due here.

The "Gas-adjust" KYB shocks are not adjustable for dampening. I have installed numerous sets of this model shock. They do not work well (stiff, over dampened) on lighter vehicles. They do work nicely on vehicles over 3,500 lbs.

The "AGX" shocks ARE adjustable for dampening. I've installed a couple sets of these on cars. The standard setting is a bit stiff for a lighter car ... say under 3,000 lbs.

The GR-2 is pretty close to an OEM shock's dampening. Nice ride.

http://www.kyb.com/
-Philip
Passed 08May2008
My friend, you are missed . . .

1982 Datsun 720KC SD-22

"Im slow and I'm ahead of you"
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kassim503
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#6

Post by kassim503 »

NAPA carries Monroe shocks right?
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
Carimbo
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#7

Post by Carimbo »

Mine had KYB Gas-A-djusts on it when I bought it last summer. RR was incessantly rattling like two skeletons screwing on a tin roof on a rainy Texas night. Replaced w/ monroes, black, have to find the label to get you the PN. Dead KYB's rod was wobbly loose in the main housing, absolutely no damping left whatsoever. The Monroes seem OK after 10,000 miles, although the KYBs have lifetime warrantee IF you have the receipt. My car needed those rubber dogbone spring spacers (which I don't like) to get the ride height nearer to reasonable, but I wonder about the availability of new springs.

Sedan rear struts straightfoward to replace EXCEPT for correctly guessing the angular relationship between the lower mounting thru-bolt and the upper seat 3-bolt mount positioning. Had to try multiple times (compress spring, loosen rod bolt, incrementally rotate upper seat, tighten rod bolt, uncompress spring, remove spring compressor, test fit strut to chassis/body mountings) before I was able to make it all line up correctly. Practically wore out the spring compressors.

My advice: Mark EACH removable part in relation to each other BEFORE you disassemble. That will at least let you start out much closer to what is required to correctly fit.
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kassim503
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#8

Post by kassim503 »

I jammed some of those spring spacers into my springs as well.

Eibach makes lowering springs for the 280zx Part #-6302.140 that would fit the maxima, it would lower or raise the rear end until it hits about what I have it at now, the quarter panel is about .5 inch higher than the rear tire.

I guess if you want the stock height you can put normal 280zx springs on there, but at that height I think the car has some kind of slant to it, if you dont change out the front springs as well.
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
davehoos
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#9

Post by davehoos »

a lot of jap struts 910/R30/R31/C32 have a seporate spring seat that sits on top of the strut body.its not replaced with the srtut..oz made stuts are weilded but also have 1 in spacer added under the seat to get a better ride hieght.

you dont need compressors with these setups.standard jap models have weak springs and high pressure gas pressure,and our local made springs are stonger and you only have to lean on the top to get the nut started.

there are many suspension makers in OZ that sell good setups for nissan cars..specs are easy to get for them to match to your body wieghts.
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kassim503
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#10

Post by kassim503 »

davehoos wrote:a lot of jap struts 910/R30/R31/C32 have a seporate spring seat that sits on top of the strut body.its not replaced with the srtut..oz made stuts are weilded but also have 1 in spacer added under the seat to get a better ride hieght.
I hope this is the case, because i bought 2 rear struts and after i opened the box and looked at it, it looks liek the kind for leaf springs.

Isnt the struts supposed to look like

this?

This is what I have

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'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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asavage
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#11

Post by asavage »

kassim503 wrote:This is what I have
Image
That's the shock for the Wagon. Yours for the rear of the Sedan looks like this:

NAPA RR 201209
Image
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
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asavage
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#12

Post by asavage »

You could steal the rubbers out of this (Motormite 31001). I've done that before. If the strut itself is OK.

Image
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
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kassim503
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#13

Post by kassim503 »

aha! i knew something was wrong when it looks nothing like what i got


ill get the good ones 2mm.


If I change out the struts the rear end wont drop to the flooor when i step on the gas right? Sometimes you can get it to hit the bump stops
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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#14

Post by asavage »

kassim503 wrote:If I change out the struts the rear end wont drop to the flooor when i step on the gas right? Sometimes you can get it to hit the bump stops
The springs hold the car off the ground -- the struts or shocks only do damping. One exception: gas-charged units will provide a minimal amount of lift in addition to the springs.

It's my understanding that a properly operating damper offers no or little resistance to compression, but damps rebound (expansion) considerably. Damping, in this context, means that the rebound is slowed, not stopped -- or the car would never return to proper ride height.

HTH
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kassim503
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#15

Post by kassim503 »

Al, how exactly does the motormite one fit on? Did you reuse the metal sleeve that is intergrated with the rubber in the struts bushing? Or did you put the rubber straight onto the control arm (i guess, idk what its called, its the part that the wheel-hub-cv joint assy connects to)
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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