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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / October 2004

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89 se, engine problem fixed, need info on steering & suspension

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2cents - 01 Oct 2004 04:04 GMT
My idle & below 2500 rpm miss was probably caused by a cracked evap
canister connection. Found it while replacing all the vac hoses after
cleaning throttle body & replacing intake manifold gaskets.  

My next problem to address is the steering & suspension. The steering is
very loose 'feels like connections are made with rubber bands - not
metal.

A local Dallas shop wants $700 to put in a rebuilt steering gear. That
comes out to about $560 labor.

Does anyone know a good reliable source for rebuilt steering boxes or one
that could rebuild mine?

Second, I've looked at the energy suspension web site but can not find all
the bushings made from poly.  Does anyone know where I can obtain them.

Third, my SE has 230,000 miles & I would like to install new strut
components.  What options & tradeoffs on the brand for struts & springs.
My main goal is to tighten up the ride for safer freeway type driving.

Thanks
NissTech - 02 Oct 2004 15:42 GMT
Before you condemn the power steering rack you may want to check a few other
things first like...

Power steering rack mounting bushings
lower ball joints
transverse link bushings
upper strut insulators
outer tie rod ends

> My idle & below 2500 rpm miss was probably caused by a cracked evap
> canister connection. Found it while replacing all the vac hoses after
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> Thanks
2cents - 05 Oct 2004 01:58 GMT
Nisstech...  The steering gear is leaking fluid & one of the boots is torn
& one of the mount bushings is worn.

I intend to replace it but don't want to pay high price for a new one.  I
have never had to buy a steering gear before and I'm looking for advice on
where to shop for a properly rebuilt unit.  

I also intend to replace all the other wearable parts & would like to use
urethane bushings.  Courtesy Nissan does not have a source for all of the
bushings for the 89-94 Maxima.  They do have them for the 95 & higher.  

I found a site 'www.oztek.us' that hopefully has most of the bushings.  

Do you know of any good providers of steering gears & urethane bushings?
Also any comments on brand of shocks & springs that have been shown to be
good quality?

Thanks
NissTech - 06 Oct 2004 22:48 GMT
> Nisstech...  The steering gear is leaking fluid & one of the boots is torn
> & one of the mount bushings is worn.

If the power steering rack is leaking then it should be replced along with
noth rack mounting bushings, you will probably find the after replacement to
the rack and mounting bushings the thing will feel pretty good.

> I intend to replace it but don't want to pay high price for a new one.  I
> have never had to buy a steering gear before and I'm looking for advice on
> where to shop for a properly rebuilt unit.

I would check some of your local parts houses, like NAPA and Car Quest. the
OEM part is almost 900 bucks !!

> I also intend to replace all the other wearable parts & would like to use
> urethane bushings.  Courtesy Nissan does not have a source for all of the
> bushings for the 89-94 Maxima.  They do have them for the 95 & higher.
>
> I found a site 'www.oztek.us' that hopefully has most of the bushings.

You can go with urethane if you want to , no harm there

> Do you know of any good providers of steering gears & urethane bushings?
> Also any comments on brand of shocks & springs that have been shown to be
> good quality?

Sorry but I really don't have any suggestions on where to buy aftermarket
parts

> Thanks
2cents - 08 Oct 2004 05:14 GMT
I looked at several sites that 'rebuild' steering gears, called 3 & visited
2 rebuilders in Dallas.  I bought two gear units from the 2nd location.  I
don't really feel very secure with the quality of workmanship since you
can't look inside the rebuilt unit.  I don't even feel secure that it is
even the same spec's as the bad one on my car.  The dealers show two
available for the 89 model year. One for the SE & one for the GLX.  All
the rebuilders (about 10) that I looked at only had one part # for the
89-94 model years.  The dealer parts guys did not know what the
differences are between the two types.  Do you know?

2nd, I checked on the Australian urethane bushings the total cost would
have been just over $400 & the front sway bar bushings are not available.
Lead time for delivery was into November so will use standard Nissan
bushings for my repair.  Would rather have used urethane for longevity &
tighter response but the regular ones lasted 230,000 miles so will not
complain.  

Thanks for your input.  Oh, by the way, my cost with the offered 20%
discount was only $126 for the 'long' gearbox.
A very good price & hope the quality is there also.

91NYmax - 09 Oct 2004 09:59 GMT
if you want your max to feel tight and safer at highway speeds i would do
to your max what i did to mine. get a syspention package struts and
springs, then front and rear sway bars and front strut brace. all these
together make the max feel like a corvette as long as you fix any problems
you have with your car. When i did all this i couldnt belive how well the
car would respond. i would also get springs that drop the car alittle,
that also makes a differance because it lowers the center of cravity. i
wouldnt go any lower then 1.2" drop because after that you'll start to
feel every bump
2cents - 12 Oct 2004 01:42 GMT
Thanks for your comments.. that is what I would like to achieve for our 89
SE.  I have now removed the old control arms, motor mounts, strut mounts &
am trying to work out the old steering gear.  So far I've found bad axle
boots, bad steering gear boots, bad inner tie rod, bad outer tie rod,
leaky gear box & one really bad motor mount.  What was your brand name &
source for your parts?  So far I've only found Stillen that seems to be a
reliable source for sway bars & for the front strut mount brace.   So far
everything has been easy.. but it does take a lot of time.
 
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