help with my shocks

[bmaxima02]

i have an 02 gle maxima and my rear shocks are going bad. i went to the dealer, they charge me a whole hell of dollars. can anyone recommend where i can get it cheaper? thanks

[tothemax]

well if you kno a little about cars you can do it yourself for alot less all you need to do is go to your local parts store get the shock and most places you can rent a spring compressor and if you have an impact gun it makes it a wholle lot easier when you get it off the car just compress the spring take off the shock mount it is one bolt not sure what size its usually about a 17mm i wanna say not to sure then just slide in the new shockgood luck

[MaximA32]

Like he said, you can do it yourself for much cheaper but you can take it to a local shop and it'll be cheaper than the dealer. Don't forget to get the car aligned after having the work done.

[lightsout]

do it yourself if you like to learn about your car, then get it aligned asap!!

[erodsr02]

Now is it necessary to change the shock mounts when you are changing your shocks? Another thing I was wondering, how can you check if your springs are still good? I know that we can get some new eibach springs for a very low price on jcwhittney, but is it something that we should really change when replacing our shocks? I'm in the process of getting some tokico hp's for my 02 I35 and didn't know what all I should buy when replacing the shocks. Where exactly is it that we can rent a spring compressor? I might just do this myself if it's not too much work and I can do it myself. I bought the service manual (I believe) e one that tells you how to do everything. I just I hope I dont' brake anything

[tothemax]

it is not necessary to chane the shock mounts unless it makes a pop while riding or when you stop hardand you hear a pop but it wouldnt hurt and you can get the spring compressor at like Oreilleys or Advanced auto and i was going to put on eiback lowering kit and tokico struts but i did my research and they say the tokico struts are very bouncy with the springs but if you are putting the factory springs back on you are fine just as a heads up and its hard to tell if a spring is bad.

[erodsr02]

thanks a lot for that heads up. I don't want a bouncy ride I just want it to feel close to what it felt when I bought it , which was smooth on the bumps.

[MaximA32]

it is not necessary to chane the shock mounts unless it makes a pop while riding or when you stop hardand you hear a pop but it wouldnt hurt and you can get the spring compressor at like Oreilleys or Advanced auto and i was going to put on eiback lowering kit and tokico struts but i did my research and they say the tokico struts are very bouncy with the springs but if you are putting the factory springs back on you are fine just as a heads up and its hard to tell if a spring is bad.

I would change the mount anytime you are replacing the strut. The mounts tend to start making noise as soon as you put the new struts on there. For an additional ~$30 per mount, it's not going to break the bank if you have some money set aside for this.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

Do you have to have an alignment for the rear shocks?

I thought that was for just a front strut changeout.

[Sentientbydesign]

it is not necessary to chane the shock mounts unless it makes a pop while riding or when you stop hardand you hear a pop but it wouldnt hurt and you can get the spring compressor at like Oreilleys or Advanced auto and i was going to put on eiback lowering kit and tokico struts but i did my research and they say the tokico struts are very bouncy with the springs but if you are putting the factory springs back on you are fine just as a heads up and its hard to tell if a spring is bad.

Eeeek. I don't know about that advice. On my 4th gen, the front Infiniti installed struts didn't last long with the Eibachs. I think the spring rate and the dampening rates are not close enough.

I don't find the Tokico/Eibach combo to be bouncy at all. More so a little hard on the butt, but worth it in turns and when braking.

If you drop it, I would just buy the parts and take it to a tire/suspension shop with an alignment rack. I love doing things myself, but suspension can be touchy. Also, don't forget the camber adjusters (not sure if the 5th gens have them by default).

[erodsr02]

Is that one camber adjuster for each side in the front? You have the tokico/eibach combo on the G35 or th I35? I'm keep reading that it's a good combo, but then you also get the bad reviews too.

[.:Kevin:.]

When I had my Sprints and AGX's (2 inch drop) put on my 95 I just had to have it aligned. I didn't have to have any extra parts to help out with the camber.

[Sentientbydesign]

When I had my Sprints and AGX's (2 inch drop) put on my 95 I just had to have it aligned. I didn't have to have any extra parts to help out with the camber.

You were running close to -3 degrees camber if not more and you didn't need camber adjusters? How long did your tires last?

The camber adjusters that I have were sold as a set for about $60. They are two eccentric bolts (think of a regular bolt with an oval "attached" to it). Prior to installing them, I was way over the -1 degree that is within Infiniti specs. After the install, my camber could be adjusted as high as -.5 degrees.

I have that setup on my 96 I30.

[.:Kevin:.]

You were running close to -3 degrees camber if not more and you didn't need camber adjusters? How long did your tires last?

The camber adjusters that I have were sold as a set for about $60. They are two eccentric bolts (think of a regular bolt with an oval "attached" to it). Prior to installing them, I was way over the -1 degree that is within Infiniti specs. After the install, my camber could be adjusted as high as -.5 degrees.

I have that setup on my 96 I30.

Nope. The alignment shop fixed it. I never had to buy camber bolts or plates. My tires(both sets...winter/summer) wore like normal.

[Sentientbydesign]

Maybe 5th gens had adjustable camber from the factory.

[.:Kevin:.]

That was on my 95. I haven't done anything to the new one yet.

[Sentientbydesign]

Then, I'm not sure how they magically kept your camber in spec.

How much of a drop did you have? My eibachs settled in close to 2" up front.

[.:Kevin:.]

The Sprints were about 2 inches as well. I don't know how they did it either. I never had uneven wear on either set of tires.