rear end of car kicks around a bit

[turbocat]

Problem with my 98 maxima, 99k miles

When driving my max, and i drive over a medium expansion joint in the road, or over a bump in the road, the rear of the car will kick a little to the left or right, the bigger the expansion joint or bump the nastier the left or right movement in the rear, i have replaced the rear struts with kyb gr2 struts, this has improved the situation, but not entirely, what should be my next step, 4 wheel alignment, or replace bushings, is there any way i can check the toe in, toe out , and camber myself.

[jltibbs]

Sounds like it's time for a rear anti sway bar, maybe some chassis bushings as well.

[maxhopper]

Are you still on the factory springs? Under what conditions does it kick out? Cornering/turns/bends at 45/65/70+mph? What weather conditions? What kind of tires are you running, and how much tread, are they properly inflated? When was the last alignment?

[AZhitman]

Needs an alignment. Rear toe is out of adjustment.

[turbocat]

still on the factory springs, back end will kick around , just going in a straight line, the bigger the bump in the road the worse it kicks to one side or the other, can be going 30, 40,50 mph and up. dry weather conditions, rainy weather, have 32 psi in all 4 tires, tires only 2 years old, goodyear somethings, haven't had alignment done yet, thats going to be next step to try.

[allensteiner]

Needs an alignment. Rear toe is out of adjustment.

rear is not adjustable unless running full coilovers with adjudtable camber plates - toe won't change though.

turbocat: springs wear out over time. take it to a suspension shop and do a shake down test to make sure what the issue is.

[Markc]

How about shocks; have they been replaced? Sounds like your loosing grip from the tires not maintaining proper contact with the road. Worn link system and/or shocks is quite possible.

[Markc]

How about shocks; have they been replaced? Sounds like your loosing grip from the tires not maintaining proper contact with the road. Worn link system and/or shocks is quite possible.

Whoops! Just re-read the first post and see that you have replaced the shocks. Has the rear link system been checked out?

[maxhopper]

Just a stab in the dark...but does your Max have an after market rear sway bay? That would certainly explain the happy rear end.

[AZhitman]

rear is not adjustable unless running full coilovers with adjudtable camber plates - toe won't change though.

Rear is adjustable via shims.

And toe most certainly does change, and I'll bet a paycheck that it's off. The most common cause of feeling the tail end kick around over bumps is improper toe.

[allensteiner]

Rear is adjustable via shims.

And toe most certainly does change, and I'll bet a paycheck that it's off. The most common cause of feeling the tail end kick around over bumps is improper toe.

how can the toe change on a solid beam axle? wouldn't the whole axle have geometry be messed up then?

[turbocat]

thank you for the information, is it best to take car to nissan for alignment, or a firestone or goodyear shop, or tires plus shop.

[AZhitman]

how can the toe change on a solid beam axle? wouldn't the whole axle have geometry be messed up then?

With the rear trailing arms at their normal ride height, camber is at factory setting.

Once the car is lowered and the rear trailing arms incline upward, the rear toe setting becomes slightly "toed-in" as the beam rotates.

Thus the reason for the alignment shims to correct the toe.

Also, that "beam" is not as solid as you'd think, and years of pavement irregularities and braking and cornering on them take their toll.

[rich60187]

I just bought an '09 Altima with 9,800 miles with this same problem. I bought it from a body shop, the car had been side swiped and after looking underneath it appears it slid into a ditch.

The problem is the same as this guy's Maxima, at highway speeds when you hit a large bump such as going onto or off of a bridge, the rear end really sways back and forth - to the point of being dangerous. The rear shocks appear to be soft too - you are able to push the car down further than on other Altimas.

Would you suspect the toe-in on a car in this situation? We've taken it back once, they replaced a suspension link. It didn't help. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!