Compression Rod - How To Tell If It's Bad
 

Okay, so for all you guys who had their compression rods replaced by the dealer, how can you tell if the compression rod is going bad besides the creaking noise? Will there be a noticable degradation in handling? With a visual inspection, could you actually see the bushings on the rod ends worn out or damaged? I have the creaking noise most defintely and suspect that my compression rods are the culprits. So the other day I got the front end up and went under the car to do an inspection. The bushings seemed okay to me as I could not see or feel any obvious wear or damage. I grabbed the pieces with two hands and could rock the rods side to side about a good 1/2" in movement. Is that too much play? Should a fully functional compression rod not be able to wiggle that much? TIA for any help. If my rods really are bad I would love to have them replaced on my next dealer visit and could use all the info I can get beforehand.

i'm very interested in the same info. which dealer are you going to? i'm going to frontier tomorrow to have this very issue looked at.

I went to Pleasanton once but all they said was unable to reproduce noise. I'll prolly try Pennisula next since a member here has had success with them before.

Well I have an appt. at Peninsula this Sat so if they do replace my rods I will ask to see the old rods and have the tech point out the damage/wear. Wish me luck.

Hey Darrin...dumb question, but by "compression rod" do you mean the piston in the center of one of your shocks? If so, do you have stock shocks back on? I thought you had Tokicos...

No, the compression rod is a stock aluminum piece that connects the spindle to the frame of the car. It's piece #9 in the picture. Costs about ~$200 each from the dealer. :eek:

http://www.trademotion.com/schematic...al/F624050.gif

my car is currently @ frontier. apparently the tech couldn't reproduce it yesterday. i told them it's very noticeable when the car is cold so they are going to try again tomorrow. if it still doesn't happen, i'm going down there myself to demonstrate it to them, one way or another. i remember seeing a thread by someone saying he figured out how to ALWAYS reproduce it. something about turning the steering wheel ... anyone remember this?

yeah, he said at a complete stop turn the steering wheel all the way to left. then for an auto let the brake go but do not step on the gas. let the go car until the wheel unwinds itself. you should start hearing the creaking noise while doing this. i tested on my own 6mt and could not reproduce the sound all the time. tried it on an auto loaner and could not really reproduce the noise noticably.

!@#$!@#$ just got a call from frontier infiniti. my service adviser said 1.) they couldn't reproduce the sound and 2.) that they will not warranty the suspension b/c I have lowered the car. FVCK. not sure what i should do right now.... i was sleeping when i got the call

yeah, i got the same bs run around even though i only have tokico shocks with oem springs. said that's considered aftermarket suspension. said they couldn't reproduce the sound either. i don't get the creaking as much now that i have my strut tower brace isntalled. but if it ever really gets bad i'll install my oem suspenion back and bring it in again.

that's what peninsula told you? i'm going to have to try another dealership or call infiniti consumer affairs if i can't get this resolved to my satisfaction. it's ridiculous when it's a KNOWN problem.

i'm moving in january anyway so i need to start going to a new dealership... niello and oakland will be equally far away. hopefully one will be satisfactory.