Rusting bolt on front suspension strut - potential safety issue

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What I did was to use a small plastic container that you can get at your local supermarket's olive bar. It's flexible enough to squeeze through the opening and I held it in place with some silicone glue. It fits totally over the strut - the pic shows it in my 2017S after 15 months - the bolt is like new!! For max protection you could squeeze another through the hole and place it over the first.

https://imgur.com/a/qBCUdh3
 
It seems even though almost every LEAF in a wet environment has this issue with water filling up the top strut tower area, we haven't heard of ANY vehicle having strut tower failure or rust eating through the bolt. Is it the time needed to do so (10 yrs+) or is the bolt possibly protected well enough in there? I still plan on using the diy olive bar cover though...

I've compared other strut tower designs to random cars, and the LEAF is rather peculiar with the tower hiding nearly under the corner of the windshield, while most other vehicles have the tower at least a few inches in front...and a bulge or flat surface around the bolt, rather than a deep depression in the LEAF.
 
joeriv said:
What I did was to use a small plastic container that you can get at your local supermarket's olive bar. It's flexible enough to squeeze through the opening and I held it in place with some silicone glue. It fits totally over the strut - the pic shows it in my 2017S after 15 months - the bolt is like new!! For max protection you could squeeze another through the hole and place it over the first.

https://imgur.com/a/qBCUdh3

Great idea — I just did this on the driver side. I'm not going into grocery stores due to Covid concerns so will wait for another container to turn up that's the right size. I didn't bother gluing it because the wire that's routed over the driver's strut tower will keep it in place.

I applaud the efforts that others have made for tightly-fitting, sealed covers, though I don't think they are necessary. By covering the entire strut mount, water won't pool in it. And because it isn't fully sealed, there isn't a risk of trapping moisture inside it.
 
I bought my 2012 Leaf a couple of months ago and just learned about this issue yesterday when I took it to the dealer for some other recalls and they did their multi-point inspection. Looks like the previous owner didn't know or do anything about the issue; take a look at how corroded the driver's side is :| The car has been here in Hawaii its whole life; it rains alot. I dug out the accumulated mud and debris, dried it out and found that the corrosion is pretty advanced.

VWC1MTl

TDZ4eoj



Considering I'd like to get another 5 years out of the my 2012 Leaf that is in otherwise great shape (batt health is at 80%), I think I need to actually attend to this as it looks like it might even be difficult to get a socket on that nut at this point. I'm wondering if I could get by with just swapping the nut or since the whole strut shaft is rusted too, I just need to swap the whole strut. The dealer wanted $2k to swap the whole thing. I swapped a strut on my old Civic once, but this looks like a different beast. I'm working on getting some covers 3d printed, but in the meantime, any advice on what I need to do to handle this before it gets worse?
 
That's some serious corrosion. I've untangled your images:

VWC1MTl.jpeg


TDZ4eoj.jpeg


it's a well-known issue. I use some plastic caps from peach (etc) containers to cover the strut nut.
 
Thanks for sorting out my photos @coulomb and for the suggestion @lorenfb. I am actually having some covers for them printed that some thoughtful leaf owner is sharing here:
https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-nissan-leaf-suspension-strut-cover-74565

My bigger question is: What should I do with this nut and strut shaft that are already so corroded. I would like the car to last another 5 years and considering how wet Hawaii is (even if the mounts are covered) I think this will corrode beyond the point of being serviceable or it might completely break through, as I have heard of. Is there anything short of a full strut replacement that anyone would recommend?
 
Leftie, you think it might be helpful to make this a sticky? Or a new post stating this problem is real and recommending the tower caps be purchased and installed? My 2022 is 6 months old and the driver strut mount is already corroding. The sealant installed on mine was inadequately applied.

I understand watching product costs but to not install something that is $1 or so at their price to prevent this serious issue if left alone is appalling.
 
That is, AFAIK, above my pay grade*, but I can ask Mike. You can also ask him, by using the 'Contact Us' link that is on every page here.

* I can do it, but I think it requires Admin approval as a courtesy.
 
Eyeresearch said:
Here is a product we used in the military, (USCG) for combatting corrosion on aircraft in areas that were prone to set up a corrosion cell and cause nasty little problems that turn into big ones. It's called CorrosionX-Heavy-Duty, it's a corrosion inhibitor, a dripless aerosol, dries to a thin film. Maybe the engineers at NISSAN could use a little on the assembly line and it does not interfere with future maintenance. If you are worried about over spray just make a little tin foil collar around the top strut assembly and leave a hole big enough to cover the desired area. Great stuff, might find other uses around the house were you need a corrosion inhibitor, this is NOT an oil.

http://www.shop.corrosionx.com/CorrosionX-Heavy-Duty-12-oz-aerosol-90104.htm

Remember, Corrosion never sleeps.

Unfortunately as of 2022-05-18 that link doesn't work.
This link takes you to a page of all their corrosion prevention products: https://www.corrosionx.com/collections/corrosion-prevention-control
 
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