j30 suspension

Post by **sicj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

My right front suspension has decided to lower itself.. The car is bottomed out on that corner. The car rides as if it's been lowered. The weather is pretty cold here 5 F or -15 C lately. So I'm wondering if it's just frozen? It happened on the drive home I think after making a fairly quick left. Any ideas before I take it to the shop?

Thanks..

'93 j30 124k

Post by **DAEDALUS** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

It's really bottomed out? Like the wheel is rubbing the inside of the well? How much lower is the right than the left? I've heard of springs sagging, but failures are rare, even among aftermarket springs. Anything happen to cause it, or did you just come out one day to find the car like that?

Post by **sicj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

It's as if I decided to lower the car in one corner only. It's low. I thought I maybe had a flat when I got out. I don't think it's rubbing. It happened sometime between when I left work and arrived home today. I didn't get a real close look 'cause it was dark and cold. Like I said it's been very cold here lately (Toronto, Canada)

So you think it's the spring then?

Post by **Eswift** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

WOW. never heard of that on a car as new as all J30's are. if you have a jack, lift that corner up and take off the wheel, see if the spring is...broken...thats a really unlikely failure. could be that the damper suddenly lost all pressure. is the underbody of your car very rusty?

Post by **DAEDALUS** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

Yeah, taking off the wheel should reveal the problem. Look for any non-uniform spacing between the spring coils. Maybe the damper, but they don't provide much compression force when static. Maybe 20lbs? Springs compress maybe (roughly) 1 inch per 100 lbs, so it doesn't seem like a flat damper would create that noticeable a drop. There aren't many suspects. Flat damper. Broken spring. Broken spring flange on the strut body. Broken frame/tower. Broken spring cap. It's happened before that vicious winters have led to widespread brittle failure of car components, like driveshafts, but the materials should be better today, and that only happened in very harsh winters.

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

wow, very odd. can you take a picture of it and post it?

Post by **sicj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

Ok.. This morning I went out and it was back to its normal height. I went for a short drive to check it out and it was back to being collapsed again. The shop says a new strut is required and have ordered one. It's still cold here today 10 F..

Thanks..

Post by **Q451990** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

I assume they ordered two? You'll want to at least replace them in pairs!

Heath

Post by **VimyJ** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

sicj30 wrote:Ok.. This morning I went out and it was back to its normal height. I went for a short drive to check it out and it was back to being collapsed again. The shop says a new strut is required and have ordered one. It's still cold here today 10 F..

Thanks..

If it's only the cartriges that have failed then only get them. It's a lot cheaper. Cold here in Chicagoland, too.

Post by **Eswift** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

at least we finally got some snow here to accompany the seasonal annoyance of blistering cold...

yeah, dont get the full strut assembly if its only the cartidge that failed

do get them in pairs

also, now would be a good time to check that the rubber boots on the dampers are in good condition, as torn/missing ones can significantly decrease the life of the encased damper!

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

I would guess at a 124K miles those boots are gone or hanging by a thread. Mine were crispy hardened rubber at 115K.

Can a strut fail and stick in a position?

Post by **DAEDALUS** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

The only things I can think of are that maybe the strut seal was worn and actually allowed something to get caught between it and the strut rod, or that the rod is gummed up. I said previously that a good strut would apply maybe 20lbs of force at rest. I rebuilt my friend's rear shocks yesterday and fiddled with the new struts. It turns out that at rest, Tokico Blues apply almost zero force at any point in the stroke. In addition to the dust boots, don't forget to replace the rubber bushings in the assembly. Should be 2 per shock.

Post by **VimyJ** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

Don't spend the money on the boots if you don't want to. They are nice but not totally necessary. Your cartidges will wear out again and so will the boots. Use the hundred or so so Canadian you save on something else. New tires? transmission flush?

Post by **sicj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

Thanks everyone for the advice.. I'm looking forward to the new ride.. It should be ready tomorrow...

Did anyone see the barrett-jackson auction on TV this weekend? Cool stuff..

Post by **Q45tech** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

If the boots and bump stops were not necessary to get thru the 4 year 60k warranty better believe Nissan would have skipped them to save money.

There is not one tiny thing extra only any of these cars everything has a purpose and is required.

Think how much money is wasted on having 5 instead of 4 lugnuts.

Post by **VimyJ** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

Speaking of bump stomps, on my wife's Chrysler Concord, the bump stops on the struts of that car are ridiculous. The cup that holds them are half the depth of the J's and after a very low amount of miles (in comparison to the J) the rubber stops have been squished right over the edges.

Infinitis are overengineered in some respects when compared to "domestics" but this is to the Infiniti owner's advantage. Is it really necessary to have a stainless steel exhaust? No. But I love mine. How about a starter that I've never even heard of failing?

These attributes are what make Infinitis a great car buy especially when used. They are sold new at a cheaper price, depreciatate faster and yet are made to the highest standards in the industry alongside Lexus, Merc, BMW, etc.. They are somewhat more expensive to repair (sometimes a lot more:mad: ) than a domestic but you get what you paid for i.e.; IF your OEM alternator ever fails, you will get an OEM alternator that will easily outlast 3 or 4 domestic OEM/aftermarket alternators.

The boots are the only item on this car that don't necessarily have to be replaced. There are plenty of cars that don't have them and with a car like mine, on the second half of its life, their replacement is a judgment call. However, I will most likely replace them when the time comes. But boots or a transmission flush? Which would you pick if that hundred were dear to you?

Post by **Eswift** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

DO THE FLUSH!

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

VimyJ wrote: How about a starter that I've never even heard of failing?

haha! Maybe on the J that is. Try the I30. darn solenoid

Post by **sicj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

I just did a pan drop and filter in Sept.. What I would really like is to fix the A/C but that's major bucks..

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

sicj30 wrote:I just did a pan drop and filter in Sept.. What I would really like is to fix the A/C but that's major bucks..

SICj30,if you ever decide to replace those rear struts let me know. i would be interested in buying the old ones from you.

Website · Post by **diamondj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

i will call true choice and see if they can ship the struts back.but i think the perches are on my new ones tho.

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

diamondj30 wrote:i will call true choice and see if they can ship the struts back.but i think the perches are on my new ones tho.

that's what i'll need. don't know if i'll be going with koni or not. see if i can find a better deal somewhere. but then again they did already do it for ya. i need something to help keep the new springs and bars under control. you the custom fabrication finding man!

Website · Post by **diamondj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

at least put the koni inserts on the front.they have never givin me any prob.and went right in.the back of mine has a factory type bounce,ive been living with it till now.but are cars weight is different so.i really dont no how much your rear is moving,but you will be happy with the inserts.it would be nice if koni would offer a setup for the j.along time ago here i tried to get people to try to order some from koni.we have to let them know somehow there is a demand for these parts.if people enquire enough maybe they will get the picture.is your car still down.you know i cant wait.its taken about 7-8 months before i had them in my hand.wish i had a digital camera.they are about 3 1/2 inches thick.they make blues oh ya tokicos look like coctail straws.buy the way.nowbody that races track that i know uses blues.the people aroud here that own these rice shops all can make a great deal on blues but personally run konis.whats that say.i was getting bump steer so i cut 1-1/2 inches off my bump stop.

Post by **Mayhem_J30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

koni, still has the inserts in stock...don't have the price around anymore since it's been ages since i researched for shocks. i've moved on to different things.don't have her runnin yet, gotta wait till the next pay check first. don't like putting things on credit.

Website · Post by **diamondj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

good idea.i think i payed about 125 a strut.just having them in front really helps.

Website · Post by **diamondj30** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 1:45 pm

i was just wondering,do blues come with lifetime warantee and are adjustable.i no there top of the line do.racesearch.com is were i got mine

j30 suspension

j30 suspension

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