1993 240sx noise after pothole

[mmm240]

i have a 93 240 se coupe and recently hit a large pot hole. the drivers front now makes a creeking sound (like walking up stairs or hard wood floor), not a squeek. only when the suspension depresses (when i get out of the car i hear it). I have some kyb Gr2's and Tein S-Techs on the way, so i will be getting under the car and replacing the stock struts soon. with the creeking sound in mind what do you all suggest i should also replace. I know to get strut boots and rod bushings through searching, but i couldn't find anything about the other strut related parts i should replace. looking at my chilton now i see cap, gasket, strut mounting insulator, lock washer, upper seat, bound bumper (boot correct?)and thats just for the front.so my question is what do you all think should be replaced while i am in there? is there somewhere i can get this whole package besides a dealer that will charge an incredible amount for. also will all dust boots include the bumper rubber?and what size is the "top lock nut", the directions that came with my springs say it should be replaced?will all these things mentioned come with a coilover setup? like spl or something? i don't need coilovers, but maybe it would just save the headache

thanks all and sorry for the newb like question

[180fan]

the strut mount you can get pretty cheap from Tirerack along with some KYB dust boots. The gasket would be a good idea but not totally necessary. The KYB boots came with the bump stop. That top nut has a nylon insert to keep it from moving around. You should replace that and is pretty cheap anyway.

Right now I've made the transition from Koni struts and Tanabe GF210 springs to Stance coilovers. Do some research on the coilovers if you plan on going that route. It's a pretty heavy investment but will include most of that new hardware you're looking for.

[mmm240]

thanks for the useful response

[mmm240]

one more question: i've been searching and have heard about the "front strut rod bushing". my chilton doesn't say anything about it, atleast exact words. so what is the front strut rod bushing? sounds like something i might want to replace while i am in there replacing the struts.

[mmm240]

i think i found it, the energy suspension master kit, would that replace all of the bushings in the struts? it looks as if the strut rod bushing kit is every thing i would need for the front less the boots and the strut mounts that i will get from tire rack. it also includes rear suspension arm bushings, which i am not sure what they are (i wish my chilton used the same wording).these are the bushings that are only 25-30% stiffer than stock and will not cause broken rods?

please confirm

should be a sticky for anyone looking to replace all the old worn bushings

[180fan]

That rod bushing should be something about a Tension rod bushing. The stock ones are notorious for leaking their silicone fillings like a twinkie that got stepped on. That can cause clunking.

The only other rubber parts I can think of on the oem struts in the front are the rubber insulators at the very top of the strut (where the 3 studs poke out the top of the strut tower). On the back there's another one where the lower part of therear strut where it meets up to the spindle.

The master kit has the tension rod bushings in 3 pieces and a metal insert. The master kit doesn't have the rubber insulators for the struts though.

The polyurethane bushings won't really break rods or arms. I have however seen a few broken lower control arms from savage potholes.

[mmm240]

yet again another excellent response, thank you much 180fan