'93 j30t spring and strut replacement

[macitt]

I have my wife's j30 at the local dealer for routine maintenance after 112K pampered miles. I complained that the car seemed to "bottom out" when driving over frost heaves or dips in the roadway at low speeds. Dealer came back with suggestion that front struts and springs be replaced at a cost of $2000. I think the strut inserts will solve the problem. Any thoughts or suggestions?macitt

[Mayhem_J30]

I always felt that the rear seemed to be the weekest and was always bottoming out. I suggest replacing all 4. I would also order your strut cartridges and rear struts from Joe (one of our sponsors and friend). He'll give you the best deal on the parts and that'll save you a lot of money as they cost a lot to begin with. Then you'll just need to find a shop to install them for you. The dealer will be very expensive as your quote shows.

[VimyJ]

Welcome to the site. You've come to the right place for answers. Don't get ripped off by a dealer. The main suspension components on the J30 are rather expensive compared to other vehicles but $2000 for the fronts is way out of line. You can order parts from our advertisers and have them installed by a competent independent shop on all four for half of what you've been quoted for two!

Cartridges are fine for the fronts. Only full struts are available for the rears. I love it when we can save members thousands of bucks here.

[macitt]

Thanks for the feedback!! Do you have an email address where I can order the replacement cartridges and strute for my 1993 j30t?macitt

[VimyJ]

You can order parts from our advertisers

Infinitiparts' ad is on the home page. Do a seach for Infiniti of Lisle and Scottsdale Infiniti.

[DAEDALUS]

Not sure if this is the consensus, but I think that replacing the springs won't be necessary.

[Mayhem_J30]

Not sure if this is the consensus, but I think that replacing the springs won't be necessary.

Wow, I read right over that part. It's VERY VERY unlikely your springs need replacement or that they failed in any way. If they said that it <sounds> like they are trying to rob you.

[VimyJ]

Wow, I read right over that part. It's VERY VERY unlikely your springs need replacement or that they failed in any way. If they said that it <sounds> like they are trying to rob you.

Ya, me, too. Unless your springs are broken, you'll likely never need new ones. I've never heard of them breaking.

[Eswift]

the resistance of a spring, the spring constant, can decrease over time, especially if the springs have any rust or imperfections....but not anywhere near as much performance decrease as youll see in a 10 year old strut! once you get new cartridges in there, itll fee a hundred percent better.

[Mayhem_J30]

the resistance of a spring, the spring constant, can decrease over time, especially if the springs have any rust or imperfections....but not anywhere near as much performance decrease as youll see in a 10 year old strut! once you get new cartridges in there, itll fee a hundred percent better.

true, i can see that if they are rusting away. But after 10 years mine still looked new.

[DAEDALUS]

My understanding is that, barring any damage, the springs are designed to operate below the stresses at which fatigue or creep could become a problem.

[Eswift]

fatigue can occur at any level of stress, its just that as the stress decreases approximately linearly, the number of of loading/unloading cycles possible before failure increases exponentially. as the number of repeated loadings increases, however, the point at which yield occurs decreases.

true, this isnt really a fatigue issue at all with the springs, rather environmental factors (rust) that create stress concentrations that can first lead to reduced stiffness, and after a very (very) long time, possibly a failure.

[DAEDALUS]

There is a fatigue limit for steel below which infinite life is possible (theoretically). We can agree that for springs, fatigue alone *shouldn't* be a concern.The manual gives the free spring height. When you disassemble the assemblies to replace the struts, you can have the springs measured.

[Eswift]

agreed. no need to even measure if there is no corrosion.