Do front struts generally need to be replaced in Q45 cars i.e. are they known to wear out in this model year of the car. My car has 85K miles and I have been told by an alignment shop that front struts are wearing out and need to be replaced. I was wondering how can struts wear out when there is no fluid leak/loss. And how do you check for worn out struts.

Also would like some instructions - would appreciate if someone could please send me the instructions from the service manual.

Thanks

The Nitrogen charge leaks out and the rebound valves wear from use.

Pretty much all shocks are the same and are not near oem specs after 60,000 miles or 4-5 years of use.

It hasn't been many years since we use to replace shocks every 30,000 miles.......modern designs have allowed us to double their life.

Other than removing the shocks and placing them on a shock testing machine {$30,000 that only professional race shops have]. TIME/MILEAGE is the criteria.

The wear is so slow and progressive owners adapt, usually shows up as a side to side sway when turning wheel at highway speeds.

At 85k [7 YEARS]* you can assume that every rubber isolation component needs replacing to return the car to as new.

Why the 97Q has depreciated to $10,000 [private party] and $8500 in tradein .............$30,000 lost to wear [depreciation].

* CA is a little easier on cars lack of salt so by 100k everything need replacing.

Would it be possible for someone on this baord to send me instructions. I am planning to replace my front struts myself any information would be very helpful.

Thanks

guddug

9 times out of 10 the rear shocks are long [and more] gone before the front........unless you adhere to the every 60,000 mile change period for both.

hi all,does anyone here know where to get frnt/rr strutsfor a 97Q. Usually there is a good group rate. Ilive in new jersey and Catina and Holman are abit pricey.

Call Southwest Auto Works (link at the left). Tell them you are a NICO member. You should get a good deal. Do a search on "Struts", in the Infiniti General forum, and here. There are a few guys here, that have done a write-up.

It is a simple procedure. It took me 2.5 hours, and that included the tension rods, and upper links (and I put the wrong bump-stop in the RF strut, and had to remove it again. I used an air compressor, and rented a tool from Autozone, to compress the spring.

97 Q45 Front Struts:

1. Southwest Auto Works quoted me a price of $145 for a pair of front struts (after market)2. Scottsdale Infinity has them for $107 per strut ($214 for the pair) for OEM parts.3. The suspension system for 97 Q45 is quite different from previous model years - it is more complicated.4. I was attempting to do a DIY on my front struts this saturday but the task seemed to be rather difficult and I stopped. My neighbor is a Master Mechanic at Lexus and he came over to help me. He looked at the strut assembly and told me that this was a difficult job and advised me to take it to an independent shop.

It would be very helpful if somebody who has replaced front struts for a 97 Q45 could provide some instuctions and share their experience.

It is no more complicated than any McPearson strut [BMW] to change the insert on the 97Q...........the later model Q45t [with 2 position stiffness] are the bear as the whole assembly gets changed [updated version] at close to $1000.

Best to down load the FSM with a day pass to the Nissan site.