Eibach suspension - heads up on an issue....

[prlwhitecoupe]

Hey guys, so not too long ago my new Eibachs were installed. So far they were awesome and even now there is no real problem, but for those of you may experience some type of groaning coming from your suspension, it could be the strut boot that could be warped and just needs some trimming or replacement. I took my car to the dealer and the tech is ordering me a new boot and new front left strut.

Btw, my question to you guys is, since a single new strut is being installed, will this effect the ride height on that one side? For example will it be uneven? He told me it won't since I'm assuming it should compress to the same level as the other 3....am I correct in assuming this or is there a chance I'm gonna end up with an uneven suspension? I don't exactly trust the dealership since they only replace exactly what needs to be replaced and never care for parts wearing the same. Because now with one new strut, all four of them won't be wearing evenly....I guess I'm going to have to replace all of them eventually anyways...

And my Stillen Front Strut Brace was installed too!

ps - I HATE WINTER = NO GOOD FOR SUSPENSION!

[Kouks]

Well I should definitely be able to help you out on this one. I work at a nissan dealer here in FL as a tech. Springs effect ride height. If a strut is blown, then you might have some issues with off balance handling, otherwise it shouldnt be a problem.

I would have sold you both, nissan recommends replacing as a set. but if you only had the money for one, then obviously you couldnt have gotten both. Hope this helps.
Modified by Kouks at 4:46 AM 2/4/2009

[prlwhitecoupe]

Thanks Kouks! It's a warranty replacement but if I had to pay out of my pocket I would've told them to replace both. However, I'm going to try and get them to replace both on your advice about Nissan's recommendation.

[Kouks]

No problem man, i share what I can. Im here to help out, and learn stuff occasionally too. Dont know everything, but if you ever have a dealership/warranty question or even diagnosis, lemme know.

Now if I could get some damn help on my se-r suspension question, id be happy!!!

[prlwhitecoupe]

So I got a reply and the answer was that Nissan will only replace the defective part, unless I wanna pay for the other strut.

[RicerX]

According to the install instructions I've seen, there's a rubber part inside the strut that needs to be cut down before you reinstall. Did you do that before putting the strut back together with your new springs?

This is promising though as it seems the fact that you've done the Eibach kit hasn't impacted your warranty on the struts. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm looking into this and the Nismo exhaust very soon.

[prlwhitecoupe]

I wasn't 100% sure and I didn't really pay attention to how the dealership will be installing them since I assumed they would do a proper job. However, when the tech discovered the problem to the groaning noise, that rubber is what he pinpointed it to be, and I asked him if they were trimmed when they were installed and he said no, but he said that the right strut is just fine but the left will be replaced and then we will see how it goes, otherwise then they will have to trim it.

[prlwhitecoupe]

BTW don't get confused with the warranty issue, because I had made a deal with the service manager and since THEY installed it, it is covered under warranty, however, if you installed it somewhere else and it causes such problems, they will probably not honor your warranty....

[jaxcoupe]

This is why we need aftermarket struts.. now! Soon everyone's going to be posting with blown struts and such problems.

[prlwhitecoupe]

I agree, why hasn't Koni made them yet!? And just to clarify, I did not have a blown strut, it's just the rubber boot but the strut is being replaced as a precaution.

[jaxcoupe]

Ah, ok. I've been hesitant/putting off installing my springs because I don't want to end up with strut problems before the aftermarket ones come out. So I saw this thread and I was like "oh, here we go (with the onslaught of strut issues).."

[prlwhitecoupe]

Nah man it's cool, they just didn't trim the boot like the instructions had told them too. It specifically mentions that in some cases the boot will have to be trimmed. But in my case though only one side had an issue, apparently the right side is just fine. Trust me, it's a good upgrade, but just be prepared to drive more cautiously around steep roads and large speed bumps, I've managed to hit the bottom of the car twice when not paying attention to a speed bump. Over time the springs will settle and the ride height will lower even more. At this point I think it's the perfect drop, for Canadian weather anyway, I don't know how anyone would be able to drive around in a car lower than mine with out constantly scraping over snow and ice, sometimes you just can't avoid it. But for the summer I wish I had coil-overs and drop it another inch or so and it would be perfect. But I'm happy with it so far. And if you want another huge improvement in handling you must get Stillen's rear-sway bar, it has significantly increased my handling and stiffness in the suspension. I also just installed Stillen's front strut bar but it hasn't given me as much as an improvement as the RSB did. It just makes the car seem a little more rigid in the front. I won't be able to tell for sure until summer comes around and I can hit the on/off ramps with some speed