1997 Infiniti Q45 - Front Struts - KYB SR Special NSC6004

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fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

Original front shocks in my Q45 base model were totally blown out at 200k miles. Sourced a set of new KYB shock inserts from Jesse Streeter in Japan. KYB SR Special NSC6004. Kept original coil springs. Car rides very good now.
Imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/IEqFAnA

Remove brake caliper bracket. Unbolt sway bar link, tie rod end, balljoint. Use hammer and pickle fork or press to separate tie rod and balljoint. Once balljoint is separated, go in engine bay to remove strut bar and 3 top strut bolts. I will attach this section from workshop manual to this post.

If your wheel speed sensors are original you are not going to be able to remove them from the knuckle without breaking. Unplug them from the engine bay and feed them through the grommet into the wheel well. Ziptie them to the knuckle.

Once you have the strut removed, use a spring compressor to collapse the spring and remove top bolt. Disassemble and loosen the old shock from the tube. Insert new shock and tighten, using new cap from KYB package.
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I found this old style macpherson tool "widowmaker" works best with this style of strut.
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Old vs new shocks side by side.
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New shock installed with bump stop and dust cover assembled. *bump stop required modification from 3/4" drill bit to fit onto shaft.Image
New top hat, isolator, and bearing from in order from left to right top to bottom.
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Strut assembled with new shock and ready to install. Torque the top center isolator bolt with everything assembled and the car resting on the wheels.
Attachments
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Screen Shot 2023-01-06 at 1.06.49 PM.png


chrisbr66
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:26 am
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45t

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Awesome write up, I see doing this in my future

3Q Jay
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Location: Florida Coast

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Nice Dan....One of the first jobs I did on the FGY33 back in 2004.
Good to see that you can still get the SR specials---with a little effort I'm sure.
You already know this, but make sure the threaded collar that holds the cartridge in the old housing gets tightened well. You might have to check it again after 1000 or so miles after everything seats.
those octagon nuts tend to get 'just' loose enough in the housing to clunk when low speed cornering (different than the strut bearings going bad--which i'm not certain you replaced)?
BEARING-INF#54325-4P001

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Thanks for the p/n Jay. The new KYB isolators came with bearings but they are made of plastic. I kept the OG because they still felt smooth.
And yes...I've been experiencing that clunking from the collar/cartridge on both sides. Got LF quiet, but RF is still clunking slightly.
What I can say is that the car rides SO much better especially on the highway. It actually feels connected to the road, whereas before the behavior could be likened a sea-saw on some surfaces.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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What tool do you use to tighten that shock collar on-vehicle? Right front shock is making a racket, it needs attention now.
Do you put a floor jack under the LCA to compress the spring while tightening the collar?
Something like this? I unfortunately already mangled the LF a bit with a pipe wrench but it is still quiet.
Image

3Q Jay
Posts: 2545
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 6:23 pm
Car: 94 Q45a
95 Q45a (sold)
97 Q45t (sold)
01 B15 Sentra (Daughter's)
Also Mine...
2010 A6 Avant
1977 F-150 (460!)
Location: Florida Coast

Post

that looks like a cool tool! I just used a big pipe wrench.....
i would compress the spring just enough to unload the tension on the strut.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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I've tried tightening it twice and it's still clunking. I'm kind of pissed off that this brand new shock is making so much noise. It was much quieter with the blown OG shocks.

3Q Jay
Posts: 2545
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 6:23 pm
Car: 94 Q45a
95 Q45a (sold)
97 Q45t (sold)
01 B15 Sentra (Daughter's)
Also Mine...
2010 A6 Avant
1977 F-150 (460!)
Location: Florida Coast

Post

Dan- did you replace the "top hat" aka strut mount?
INSULATOR-INF#54320-6P010
One side was torn when I bought the FGY33, and made a klunk when going over uneven pavement.
The differentiator might be turning vs not turning. If you klunk when not turning I'd say likely the top hat or one or more of the 4 nuts that hold the mount to chassis and mount to strut.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Yes I replaced the top hat. I've double and triple checked the torque on all of the nuts. It clunks every time the suspension decompresses, regardless of the position of the steering wheel. I think that it is the shock insert rattling inside the strut. I cannot tighten down the collar any further.
Not sure what to do at this point, besides remove the strut to see what the f*** is going on in there. Because this sound is going to drive me insane.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Ok, found the problem. You're looking at 5mm end play on the shock. No clue how this happened.

Reassembled with a steel nut inside the housing to take up the extra space. It is still quiet after 200 miles, fingers crossed.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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So the insert was 'short' huh? Interesting. I still haven't done mine as I don't have the front struts anymore but I'll be paying attention to this.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Short insert? Defective collar? No clue. The problem only appeared after a few miles of driving.
Find a piece of steel with outside diameter <24mm, thickness of 13mm, and place it inside the cup on the bottom of the insert when installing.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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Well, thanks for taking some of the potential pain out of the equation when i'm doing mine. Granted, you said it only appearted after getting settled so eek

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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fontana dan wrote:
Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:21 pm
Ok, found the problem. You're looking at 5mm end play on the shock. No clue how this happened.

Reassembled with a steel nut inside the housing to take up the extra space. It is still quiet after 200 miles, fingers crossed.
I'm about to tackle mine finally. Did this trick work long term for you? Did you only have to do it for one side? I'll measure everything twice before assembling to see if my KYB Lowfer inserts are like yours.

Edit - Saw on KYB's site - Always compare the supplied washers in the parts kit with the original components. Some parts kits contain more components than needed and some original washers are meant to be re-used. If the washer or spacer has a different thickness it may cause installation problems.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Yes I had to do this trick for both sides and it has worked long term. 5k miles of highway, city roads, dirt roads and it is still quiet.
Still doesn't make sense to me why I had to do this job twice.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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So I was test fitting the insert tonight and noticed the new KYB insert is taller and thus the collar won't thread as much. This has me worried a bit. Looks like your inserts are the exact same shape (I'm using Lowfer inserts compared to your SR's) so did it seat as you tightened the collar more and more?

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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I used the replacement collar that came in the box with the KYB SR's. The insert should seat immediately when you slide it into the tube.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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ok, i'm a dumba$$ and forgot they supplied a new collar. So mine has the rattle you had and I'm glad you found out the slop before I slao them on and drive the car off a cliff. I will report back when I have feedback.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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So I got this all done and wrapped up in the last few weeks and while a decent amount softer than the coilovers on full soft, its still a bit much IMO. I have KYB Lowfer shocks with Espiler lowering springs. For instance, when hitting bigger bumps the car is unsettled. Becomes wobbly for a second as it replants. Either I have something installed incorrectly or the springs are too soft for the compression/rebounding of the shocks. I'm leaning towards the latter as I don't have any pops, creaks etc since installing. Damnit. I'll probably live with this for a few years and get the SR Specials as my next round.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Looks like I'm going to have to remove and take down the driver's side strut again. I've got a squeaking/rattling sound from the left front when I turn the steering wheel. I think the original bearing in the strut has gone bad in the 7000 miles since I did the shocks.
Going to order Nissan p/n 54325-4P001, will update.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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interesting and bummer. OEM springs right?

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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Yes OEM springs. I reused the original bearings because they felt smooth and they're made of steel, compared to plastic replacements which came with the KYB isolator kit.
Happy to see the bearings are still available from Nissan.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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OK something is f*** up.
I took the strut out, took it apart, and replaced the bearing. Can't feel anything wrong with the old one.
Now I put it back together and I can't even torque the top center strut bolt with the car resting on the wheels. The entire shaft just spins around!! Huge rattle while driving the car.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

So I used an air impact gun to get the top center strut bolt torqued. It is not longer rattling.
Just been driving the car. It's making the same clicking sound when I turn the steering wheel but besides that drivability is not affected whatsoever.
I don't really understand what is going on with it. I can take a video of the sound if anyone is curious.

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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That makes sense if the top strut nut was loose it wasn't tight against the bearing causing the noise. With rubber bushings they say to tighten them while load is on them so I didn't tighten mine all the way until that was done. I've never had issues with impacting either though. Side note, got the fronts swapped from the Lowfer struts to SR Specials but have some tweaking to do and i forgot the damn metal plate that goes between the top hat and body so i'm hoping i can lower the control arm enough to slide that in. Either way i'll report back in one of these threads with an update so people in the future have a better idea of ride even though its subjective.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

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At this point I'm really wishing that I kept my original front inserts for rebuilding. The KYB specials handle great, but I've been fighting weird noises from them since DAY ONE of install.
The KYB rear shocks however quiet...they're way too firm. Luckily I kept the original rear shocks, anyone know about how to rebuild them?

Ludeaem
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:46 am
Car: 2000 Infiniti Q45 AE
Location: Greenville, SC

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Bummer. Mine have been quiet but i'm not sure if i'm happy with my setup (lowering springs).

You can get rear shocks on Rockauto still

Infinitiq451997
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:41 am
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45

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I reached out to kyb to get a complete strut assembly for a 1997. Out of luck. Any advice on how to replace a front drivers side from parts in the US? Struggling to locate anything and don’t know whether the expense is worth keeping the car.

fontana dan wrote:
Wed Jan 11, 2023 11:36 pm
Thanks for the p/n Jay. The new KYB isolators came with bearings but they are made of plastic. I kept the OG because they still felt smooth.
And yes...I've been experiencing that clunking from the collar/cartridge on both sides. Got LF quiet, but RF is still clunking slightly.
What I can say is that the car rides SO much better especially on the highway. It actually feels connected to the road, whereas before the behavior could be likened a sea-saw on some surfaces.

fontana dan
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:10 pm
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45
Location: Tennessee, USA

Post

Infinitiq451997 wrote:
Thu Feb 08, 2024 9:30 am
I reached out to kyb to get a complete strut assembly for a 1997. Out of luck. Any advice on how to replace a front drivers side from parts in the US? Struggling to locate anything and don’t know whether the expense is worth keeping the car.
Your options are honestly pretty limited. think the dealer still carries the complete strut assembly but it is very expensive.
If you still have your complete original strut and it is in decent shape you could look into having it rebuilt by a hydraulics shop.
Redoing my front struts with the KYB shocks did not cost me more than a few hundred dollars. That has to be the cheapest and simplest way to fix it even though you may run into some issues with them. Funny part is if you call KYB USA they will tell you that those shocks don't exist. They're only available in Japan.

Infinitiq451997
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:41 am
Car: 1997 Infiniti Q45

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Thanks Dan. Do you know the kyb part number? Why would they not work out? I’m not a mechanic but could suggest this as one route.


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