So I went back under my car to make sure that none of my suspension components were causing the loud clunking and thunking noises coming from the front driver side of my car. I'm pretty sure, like many of you on here, that my compression rod or compression rod bushing, is shot.

I'm going to call the dealership to set up an appointment to take it in today. I wanted to know if replacing the bushing is covered under warranty, given that there was a TSB on this also. I have the extended warranty. I am also wondering if I'll get a load of s*%t from them saying my aftermarket suspension components were the cause so they won't cover it. If anyone has faced this and can offer some advice, it's much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

RUBBER Suspension components [like belts, hoses, shocks] are not usually covered for wear and tear or abuse especially after the 12,000 adjustment period, however Nissan has been bending over lately. If you are orginal purchaser I don't believe you will have warranty problems unless you have installed heavier larger wheels or redesigned the suspension by lowering springs or added adjustable components.

A TSB is just an addendum document to FSM adding proceedures after the printing.

 

Q45 thanks for chiming in. That's the issue, I HAVE added coilovers and adjustable front suspension components. I'm lowered about 1.25" all around, so not slammed or anything. But I did everything so that it would get done right (upper A arms, endlinks, sway bars, coilovers) the first time.

Is there basically no way they will fix it under warranty with these parts on the cars?

Just as another bit of info, I recently took my car in for the intermediate mileage work (45K). It had very minimal noise going in. The service guy told me one of my suspension parts was "loose" and that they tightened it. When I got the car back the noise was MUCH more prominent. I got under there and somehow my caster jam nut had magically come lose, VERY lose. I tightened that back up. But now the noises has persisted. I was just under there and all suspension components are tight, so I know it's the compression rod / bushing making the noise, all the symptoms are there. Now I know it may be a bit paranoid, but I don't see how my caster jam nut could have gotten extremely lose within one day of the tech supposedly tightening everything. I'm wondering if they made the suspension have some "noise" to hide the root problem they know was there.... Just my conspiracy theory I guess...

 

After dealing with this clunking issue and not being to resolove it till the end, i found out that my aftermarket endlinks were causing this. I would suggest that u take out the swaybars and the endlinks first and drive the car like that to see if the noise is still there before u predict that it is the compression rod that is causing this... Just a suggestion

 

Interesting that your endlinks caused this. Did you have Powergrid endlinks? I have made sure that my endlinks are on there damn tight and that the jam nuts are nice and tight too. I check periodically to make sure they aren't lose by trying to wiggle the adjustable rods and the jam nuts. The other thing is that if you don't preload the sway bar slightly, the endlinks would have some movement. I've tripple checked that as well and even given them more than the recommended 1/4 turn in opposite directions. I've even tried wiggling the sway bar itself and got nothing.

Thanks for the advice, I will keep that in mind.

 

Were your endlinks installed on a alignment rack where the suspension is compressed by the car's weight? My problem was that it was installed while the wheels were hanging from the air, therefore not having the proper preload on the sway bar. Once the car was on the ground the endlinks were not sitting the way they were installed. Ofcoarse i figured this out after getting rid of the car.....

 

Nope, I did the installation. Easy trick is to go to Home Depot / Lowes and get some 8" cinder blocks which cost $1.50 each. jack the car up and bring it back down onto the blocks. Then crawl under there and set the pre load on the endlinks...

 

well if the dealer decided to be an a$$, i would suggest u taking out the sways anyway just to make sure it is not coming from the endlinks before u buy the rods/bushings...

 

The dealer has ONLY TWO SOURCES of revenue their largest customer NISSAN WARRANTY CORP. and the vehicle owner. Every dealer will be happy to do any work they are PAID to do. If Nissan won't pay then it is up to owner to pay. Simple
If Nissan refuses, up to owner to persuade them to pay.
Why should dealer waste much time and goodwill trying to force Nissan to pay and cause them problems in the future.

Important to understand how dealerships work instead of blaming them for your problems.

 

Q45, I wasn't blaming the dealer at all! I'm just curious if, given the fact that I DO have aftermarket suspension parts, the dealership will cover the bushing replacement under warranty? That's all I'm asking.

I'm gathering that you're saying they most likely will NOT. To which my second question to you would be, do you have any advice or ways that I MIGHT be able to get them to cover it? Honestly, I don't know why I paid so much for the extended warranty if they won't cover little things like this when CLEARLY, stock vehicles have had many problems with this in the past.