I am planning to replace the font struts on my 2010 Rogue soon. To begin with, I saw couple of YT videos showing the entire process.
Everything seems fine until the golden word "alignment".
As per Nissan service manual, camber and caster cannot be adjusted,but only toe.
So what really happens in this case?

Ok. I thought this topic will be an interesting one to discuss and could answer very very important questions on suspension dept.

below are my concerns w.r.t this project and would like to know your valuable suggestions

1.the top two strut bolts easy to remove ,but 3rd one is hidden under the cowl and PITA to get to.
i see the bolt could fall which needs entire cowl to be removed....PITA....Is there a simple method to remove and install it?

2. the top mount holes are oval and can be adjusted,so is it necessary to mark them before removing it?
In case if the first two bolt doesn't align with old marks ,does it affect camber/caster significantly?
Most YT videos doesn't focus on this part. ...
Will misaligned bolt cause measurement throw out of tolerance?
Its very difficult and lot of trial needed to cover previous hole marks looks like....what a PITA

3.Same case with 3rd bolt, how do we align its position (oval mark)? what a PITA...

4.Most mechanics simply prefer alignment once done, but what happens exactly w.r.t camber and caster at alignment shop?
Do they really adjust the tower bolts? How about knuckle bolts?

5. As toe is not affected here, is alignment necessary ? Wheel alignment is a serious business nowadays....???.


Please share your ideas/thoughts...it will definitely help a lot of good responsible Rogue owners like me.....)

nands7 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:39 pm

1.the top two strut bolts easy to remove ,but 3rd one is hidden under the cowl and PITA to get to.
i see the bolt could fall which needs entire cowl to be removed....PITA....Is there a simple method to remove and install it?

You don't have to remove the cowl, just the cowl cover. That's easy, two 14mm nuts holding the wiper arms and the rest is all plastic clips. Even taking the cowl itself loose is easy, about eight 6mm screws.

nands7 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:39 pm

2. the top mount holes are oval and can be adjusted,so is it necessary to mark them before removing it?
In case if the first two bolt doesn't align with old marks ,does it affect camber/caster significantly?
Most YT videos doesn't focus on this part. ...
Will misaligned bolt cause measurement throw out of tolerance?
Its very difficult and lot of trial needed to cover previous hole marks looks like....what a PITA

The holes shouldn't be very oval unless the strut has been loose and bouncing around in the tower. They are slightly oversized, but shifts in position at the top of the strut will have only a tiny effect on camber and caster (see below). It won't hurt to mark the bolt positions and match them when reinstalling, but it probably isn't necessary.

nands7 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:39 pm

3.Same case with 3rd bolt, how do we align its position (oval mark)? what a PITA...

Ditto.

nands7 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:39 pm

4.Most mechanics simply prefer alignment once done, but what happens exactly w.r.t camber and caster at alignment shop?
Do they really adjust the tower bolts? How about knuckle bolts?

Nobody much adjusts the tower bolts. The amount of movement (in degrees) that you can obtain by moving the far end of the strut is miniscule. If camber adjustment is needed, there are eccentric bolt kits that can be installed on the bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle, but it's rarely needed unless the car has been hit. Because they leverage the much smaller distance between the clamp bolts to adjust the knuckle angle and not the angle of the whole assembly, significant movement can be obtained.

nands7 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:39 pm

5. As toe is not affected here, is alignment necessary ? Wheel alignment is a serious business nowadays....???.

You're correct that it doesn't affect toe. Hence, the steering wheel will tell you after the job whether anything in camber was affected. If it still goes straight and doesn't pull, you can skip an alignment.

Thanks VStar650CL for your suggestions. However i am not clear w.r.t your statement

"The holes shouldn't be very oval unless the strut has been loose and bouncing around in the tower. They are slightly oversized, but shifts in position at the top of the strut will have only a tiny effect on camber and caster (see below). It won't hurt to mark the bolt positions and match them when reinstalling, but it probably isn't necessary."

I understand what you are saying, but when strut is installed first , the play or shift on those 3 top bolts can cause knuckle out of orientation?. Without knuckle pressed in , the bottom of tower hangs and moves freely. Do you think the shift on either of those 3 bolts could turn the bottom of strut and affect camber and caster at that time of install? The reason i am asking is it takes a lot of effort to meet previous marks and also while torquing with wheels on,they could move a bit.

I have not seen a single post on NICO forum or YT video on this subject ..may be nobody knows or its a paid secret or they are not so important....not sure.... but its hidden under the golden word "alignment".

The strut shaft rotates and is decoupled from the fixed portion in the tower, otherwise the car couldn't steer. So the only effect they can have on alignment is by altering the angle of the entire strut relative to the knuckle. That change in angle is minuscule. You're pretty much worrying about nothing.

On my 2009, I didn’t replace my oem struts, but I did remove them to install my lift-kit spacers from Russia.

I also tried to mark the knuckle bolts back then as a cautionary approach. But when I later tried to repair my cv boots on both sides, I might of marked them but still might not have been accurate since it was hard to see where the marks are. So I just tighten as they were.

As for my tower bolts, I used the Russian provided non-grade 8 bolts and some smaller lock washers. Heck on that, I just smack those on without a care in the world. By the look of the set up, I am sure they could move around with a little free-play. The white circles were made by the original oem bolts removing the blue paint. You can even see a minuscule opening on that bottom bolt. So they could move a lot really. But my only concern was getting the spacers on with little worry on the scientific measurements of alignment crap. My focus was the spacers only.



Anyways, my Rogue at least, as I said in here alot ….since I’m happy about it, is that it drives drop-dead CENTER like it’s tracking on rails. It feels like it would go straight for miles if I let go of the steering wheel.

The point is, after you install your new struts, if your steering wheel drives straight, don’t over analyze it.
Be happy. Get an alignment if you want still.

I’m ocd as it comes, but I’m not taking no chances on an alignment shop ruining my perfect center-tracking steering.

I don’t even care if my tires wear funky, I like how it drives. 13 yr old struts still rocking!

Forgot to mention my left cv boot repair failed me some time ago. Like a few weeks after the repair. Even though I was extremely happy completing that job, I was not going back in. So I ordered a new oem cv axle on eBay and had another dealership install it since mine was like $50 more for paid labor Waited in the kiddy room with my kid and ate snacks. After a few hours done. Smooth sailing ever since.

Thanks VStar650CL and casperfun for your reply.

"The strut shaft rotates and is decoupled from the fixed portion in the tower, otherwise the car couldn't steer. So the only effect they can have on alignment is by altering the angle of the entire strut relative to the knuckle. That change in angle is minuscule. You're pretty much worrying about nothing."

So if i understand correctly ,the top strut head level comes flush with body chassis and that way caster is not disturbed and fixed constant by design when torqued.And as you said the mount bearing allows to rotate so that knuckle position is not affected,however i see camber is affected but again that could be within tolerance.

I am worried about this because it costs lot of money and effort to repeat installation if not proper firs time, esp with after market parts....
please remember that we are first time diyers ......

So bottom line is that replacing strut will not affect alignment unless strut is bent or parts like tie rod (in this case toe) is replaced.
(assume control arm and knuckle is in good shape...)

Let me see if a picture will explain this better. Caster and camber are determined by the center position of the strut crown, so effects on caster and camber are determined by shifts in position left-right or forward-backward as shown in the pic. Rotation of the bolt positions affects nothing because it doesn't affect the center position, as I explained earlier. Only if the whole strut crown is shifted on one plane is there any effect. Now, let's assume the bolts allow a shift of 1/8" and the strut is 18" long. Turning those dimensions into an angle, we find that amounts to a total span of about 0.4 degrees, or +/- 0.2 degrees. From FSU-20 in the FSM, we know to be "out" the camber difference between the two wheels must be 0.55 degrees, for caster 0.6 degrees. So even if the combined shifts moved the assemblies by the maximum amount possible in opposite directions, excluding other factors like something else in the car being bent, the total movement would still be only 0.4 degrees, well within the allowable difference.

Ok i replaced my front struts myself, got new mount,bearing,strut,reused junkyard coil spring. Observed no change,same ride quality,the old strut was not that bat,was showing resistance.....wasted money
I didnt measure the front ride height yet ,i assume its might remain the same.Rode the same was as before,steering felt same before.
The tower bolts centered by itself with jack supported under lower control arm....
I plan to put new tires before winter so plan to do alignment as well....thanks guys.