Clunk / bang when reversing in AM (gen 1)

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Intermittent faults are so frustrating to troubleshoot. If you still have it out then lube up any moving/sliding interfaces.

What about the steering rod ends--is there grease under the dust boots, could one be dried out and knocking when it rotates?

Have you replaced the struts? The strut cylinder rotates about the rod (which is hard bolted to the chassis)--maybe the internals of the strut have worn a groove or notch that sometimes makes the noise.

A tuna can fits perfectly to cover the OEM strut mount to keep debris and water from filling the top cup. Mine was full of both and the threads and nut were getting rusty. The drivers side wiper has a drain that runs right into the cup--more great design "features".
 
nlspace said:
Intermittent faults are so frustrating to troubleshoot. If you still have it out then lube up any moving/sliding interfaces.

What about the steering rod ends--is there grease under the dust boots, could one be dried out and knocking when it rotates?

Have you replaced the struts? The strut cylinder rotates about the rod (which is hard bolted to the chassis)--maybe the internals of the strut have worn a groove or notch that sometimes makes the noise.

A tuna can fits perfectly to cover the OEM strut mount to keep debris and water from filling the top cup. Mine was full of both and the threads and nut were getting rusty. The drivers side wiper has a drain that runs right into the cup--more great design "features".

I've evaluated everything else in the front suspension. Ball joints, control arms (bushings), tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc. Ironically the KYB strut bearings making more regular noise than the Nissan parts confirmed that the noise was definitely strut bearings.

Yeah, I have a couple plastic deli containers for the tops of my struts. Really dumb design, especially on the driver side where the drain for the wiper shaft dribbles on top of the strut, as you noted.

Pretty sure I have this problem licked by installing those spacers. My wife is out with the car now, will see if it continues to be noise-free.
 
I had similar banging sounds for a couple months now. It was worst when driving in reverse and turning steering wheel. It sounds like spring gets bit of tension and then suddenly releases. This indicates bad strut bearing. So I ordered a new one and took everything apart today to change strut bearing. And what a surprise, the new bearing that was sent is 5mm taller and 1mm wider on inner ring. So my guess I was sold incorrect one. Anyway I took the old one apart to see if I can see damage inside. And here comes second surprise. There are no metal bearing balls inside. Only strange plastic part in between two housing parts which acts as a slider. I never seen anything like this before, at least not on the cars. And it looks that it is completely dry. So now I need to decide what to do next. Try to add good lithium based grease or get a new bearing. Probably I will go first way because it's a weekend and I can't get it anywhere. And bearing itself looks perfectly fine, just completely dry. Will report my results.

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LeftieBiker said:
It kind of looks like it was meant to have bearing balls inside. Was it loose?

You probably refer to them holes on lower bearing part. It's not for bearing balls as they are to deep. These holes are designed to store grease and grease middle part while it's sliding. No there is no looseness in it. It looks perfectly fine. I can't even see much of blue plastic dust which would indicate excessive wear.

Anyway, I have put a lot of Lithium based grease which I used to use for access platforms on similar plastic bearings, assembled everything back and hear no more banging or rattling noises. My guess is, as in previous posts, lower part of bearing seems to be too weak and deforms when spring touches with huge force at the place where spring end is. Because there are no metal parts in this bearing, most friction happens at the place where bearing is deformed and this resists smooth sliding. And when bearing gets dry things get even worse. That's why adding additional ring between spring and bearing sorts things out even for a dry bearing. Spring force is spread over all surface of the sliding plastic instead of pressing it at one spot. I haven't used such rings for now as I can't get them fast here and I need vehicle to be functional. Greasing this bearing seems sorted this issue, at least for now. So I got some time to either order rings or find properly designed alternative.

Actually the one I have been sent looks like it might be the proper fix. The lower part where spring touches is twice as thick as LEAF bearings. I split it to check what's inside. As expected it has two metal rings and ball bearings between them. It almost perfectly fit LEAF. Only difference is that inner diameter is 1mm wider and it's 5mm thicker (due to proper metal bearing inside). So if I can get two such bearings at the same time and use some kind of 0.5 mm ring between rubber part and bearing, it should work. I don't know why but these bearings are actually advertised as Nissan LEAF strut bearings. But if installed only on one side it would make this side sit 5mm higher. I've done some filming while working on it, so if I will find some free time I will put everything together and will add it on youtube, so people can understand more clearly what I am talking about.
 
EVOLUTION said:
I had similar banging sounds for a couple months now. It was worst when driving in reverse and turning steering wheel.
That was true for us until I installed the spacers... from within a couple months of new!

What year is your car?

Your post reminded me to open up the KYB bearings that were in my car for about a month. Similar design to the OEM part. The KYB bearings made much more noise than the stockers, so I would recommend against them. There was a good bit of grease, as expected for a nearly new part. I wiped some off the blue ring for the photo.

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Goodbar said:
What year is your car?

2011 with 130k km on a dash. Strange that your KYB bearing was making noise. It looks like it got plenty of grease inside. Unless KYB plastic is even softer and that allows even more deformation. Greasing old bearing sorted all noises for me.
 
Hey Goodbar

Thanks for posting this thread with so much useful information.

Am I correct in thinking you swapped out only the strut mounts and bearings and kept the original strut, springs etc? Do you think swapping the whole strut assembly for one from KYB with springs, mounts, bearing etc. would give a similar improvement? I am getting a moan/squeak when I go over speedbumps amking me think the damper/strut is also going bad. This is in addition to "ringing" clunks that resonate through the body when I turn the steering wheel quickly and at other times. My 2011 Leaf has around 75,000 miles on it.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11674989&cc=1447777&pt=15174
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11674993&cc=1447777&pt=15174
 
From what i have found on the wwwebsticle, KYB doesn't appear to be any better than the OEM, possibly worse, and lots of counterfeits out there.

It would be great is someone made a real bearing with balls or rollers instead of the rubbing of cheezy plastic journals.

With an 11 year old car and 75k miles, the seals in the struts are likely worn out too; so if the battery is in good shape to last, then replacing anything that has rubber or plastic bushings would renew the ride for another 11 years. The springs are likely good and the few times that i've dealt with aftermarket springs, they were inferior to the OEM. Tie-rod ends wear also and are hard to detect, so that is another item to consider. It all depends upon your budget, expectations for long term use, tolerance for squeaking suspension, etc.

Good Luck on getting it sorted out, i hope it works out well for you.
 
philso said:
Hey Goodbar

Thanks for posting this thread with so much useful information.

Am I correct in thinking you swapped out only the strut mounts and bearings and kept the original strut, springs etc? Do you think swapping the whole strut assembly for one from KYB with springs, mounts, bearing etc. would give a similar improvement? I am getting a moan/squeak when I go over speedbumps amking me think the damper/strut is also going bad. This is in addition to "ringing" clunks that resonate through the body when I turn the steering wheel quickly and at other times. My 2011 Leaf has around 75,000 miles on it.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11674989&cc=1447777&pt=15174
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11674993&cc=1447777&pt=15174

Ultimately I only replaced the strut mounts (KYB; because I had them) and added the spacers. I was tempted to buy the complete KYB strut assembly (from Rock Auto) because they are easy to install. With your year and miles that seems like a better call. Just be aware that the KYB strut bearing appears to be inferior to OEM, which itself is barely adequate. So, there's a some chance of a repeat if the spring end wasn't finished well. As for the other noises, I'm guessing there could be multiple culprits, such as the sway bar, strut, etc. Good luck with your repair.
 
Thanks, goodbar and nlspace for your replies. It seems that my choices are:
1) Swap out the whole strut assembly with the KYB assemblies for about $265 + shipping & taxes from Rock Auto and take my chances with the mounts going bad again. If the KYB strut mounts go bad, I would have to disassemble the strut assemblies with a spring compressor and try replacing them with OEM ones for another $240, roughly doubling my total expenditures.
2) Swap out the struts with KYB's from Rock Auto (about $110 total) and OEM strut mounts and bearings from Courtesy Parts (about $240 total) for a total of over $350 + shipping & taxes and re-use the original springs and spring seats. Each strut mount costs almost as much as the pair of KYB struts! This would require messing with the strut assemblies to disassemble and reassemble them using a spring compressor. Last time I did this on my Xterra, I could not find a spring compressor tool at Harbor Freight or at the auto parts stores that would actually fit between the coils :-(

I think I will take some measurements and go visit Harbor Freight to see if their spring compressors are likely to work on the Leaf springs.
 
I measured the gap between the spring coils and found that the "hooks" on the spring compressors available for purchase and to borrow from my local auto parts store will fit between the coils.

Other than making noise, is this issue a safety concern?

If it is not a safety issue, I may consider a third option
3) Ignore the noise and do nothing about it. I plan on selling my Leaf when I retire in 5 to 7 years so it would be 16 to 18 years old. At that point, I would not be expecting to get much for it anyway. I also have lots of other projects to take care of relating to my other car, my house etc. that I can be spending my time and money on.
 
philso said:
I measured the gap between the spring coils and found that the "hooks" on the spring compressors available for purchase and to borrow from my local auto parts store will fit between the coils.

Other than making noise, is this issue a safety concern?

If it is not a safety issue, I may consider a third option
3) Ignore the noise and do nothing about it. I plan on selling my Leaf when I retire in 5 to 7 years so it would be 16 to 18 years old. At that point, I would not be expecting to get much for it anyway. I also have lots of other projects to take care of relating to my other car, my house etc. that I can be spending my time and money on.

I don't think it's a safety issue as long as it's not interfering with steering the car. You might enjoy and get some value out of the ride quality improvement by replacing the strut assemblies if you're going to keep it for several more years.

I've borrowed spring compressors from AutoZone (or similar) in years past, but decided to buy one this time around. Partly due to laziness and partly so I can monitor the condition of the hardware and wear parts.
 
Thanks for your feedback. I may still do the fix when I have some of the other projects taken care of. Initially, I had replaced the lower control arms and found the rubber bushings in them cracked. The other suspension and steering joints looked good and tight at that time.
 
You might quiet the squeaks and clunks by packing grease up in the "bearing" and on the ends of the spring and on anything else with relative motion.
 
nlspace said:
You might quiet the squeaks and clunks by packing grease up in the "bearing" and on the ends of the spring and on anything else with relative motion.

I had thought about doing this. It seems that it would be most of the work of actually replacing the strut and or the strut mounts and bearings without spending the money on the parts. If I were to do that much work, it seems that it would be worth it to spend some money on parts and have a higher chance of success.
 
Goodbar said:
... You might enjoy and get some value out of the ride quality improvement by replacing the strut assemblies if you're going to keep it for several more years...

I have been thinking about it some more since the clunking triggers my OCD side ;-)

If I buy the whole strut assembly, say from Rock Auto and I find that they look like the photos in your post you made earlier in this thread (8th post on page 4), I could return them and "take another roll of the dice" to see if I can get ones that don't do that.
 
Incredibly helpful post. Thanks. I replaced the OEM struts on my 2011 with KYB from Autozone in Nov 2021. The popping sound appeared over the summer. I replaced the tie rod ends, which were shot anyway, and the sound remained. I just ordered new control arms--the rubber is really cracked--thinking that might be the problem. I'll install new spacers on the strut when I do the control arms.

Does anyone have a link to a site with torque specs? The shop manual on Nicoclub doesn't seem to list them, strangely: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals
 
DO NOT USE KYB STRUT MOUNTS and/or preassembled struts!!! I was experiencing this same bang and clunk. I had corrosion from water in the well of the strut mount (caused it to go bad). I bought the KYB SR4578 preassembled strut kit for ease of install. I replaced the struts and I still had the same clunking. I ended up replacing ball joints, tie rod ends, motor mounts, and most recently the sway bar link ends and I even took the brakes apart and regreased to make sure that wasn't causing any issues. All the squeaking and growing sounds are gone now except for the clunking. At the end of the day, the cause has been the really badly made strut mounts from KYB. I had a mechanic take a look and he confirmed that the strut mounts were binding. Don't get me wrong, the coils and shocks themselves are great and the ride has really improved. But it's really annoying to have to pull the struts and fix the problem a third time. I am buying Nissan parts and I'll post a follow-up.


https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11674989&cc=1505865&pt=15174&jsn=865&_nck=Ekt6BqBF1pwlXdx0gYlm1esw98pF26vehMm%2FGG3C%2Fl2QOXSJubi7WSpUmUSdg3OxWOs2f5z9h422EONy36O0PjCuaadDqI1r86y%2FvJ1lBqxeBNhI9mMX8H1x0fHFzmF%2Bemc5SoFjBM4YwvQ2tLgA0bBeGftY6hwHyLHQiRSVBbt6CTUiyOsVm6ULZDb3KHE%2FdcHxolESy83EuTcu3RPj%2BI%2FCM0faq7Mn3BRcBNeS6E60nFVGuzObVEJRK42m7TPy9H8WcQ9XJMvCxrAFL0TT91ZbihBMLzLkB9XxYbPV5mTNh81KTySE55RA7Ik80dDAqXT21xiqd%2BOjoUQTV3TDdRCZR%2FOTZvPDFD5VVxcxBz9d1g%2FOzVqDhIxJtu3pajRj
 
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