RE: '05 G35 AWD sedan: I have been reading posts on the net about front end rattles in G35's and observed horror stories from others spending hundreds of dollars due to improper diagnostics and replacing the wrong parts. I don't want to be one of them so this discription will be long.

First started on the right side at about 90k miles shortly after replacing the right front wheel bearing (for the second time). Sounded like a wrench or screw driver was left in the suspension or something bouncing around the inner fender well. Not a clunk but a very annoying rattle, especially at slow speeds over small bumps. Going 35/40 it is still there but not as noticeable. Going over small bumps while braking it reduces the rattle. I thought it was the right swaybar end link and purchased a new one. However when changing the right end link one of the two lower retaining bolts snapped off and I stopped. Afraid to go any further I retighted everything and dropped the jack. THE NOISE WENT AWAY!.

Now at 102K the left side developed the same rattle. If feels like it is under my left foot somewhere. Everything was fine until the car was jacked up to rotate the tires. A week later this left side rattle started.

I believe somehow jacking the car up and unloading the suspension caused stresses and something old to shift or crack in the suspension. In the right side it reshifted the worn part and stopped the rattle when jacked up the second time and on the left side it cracked something and started it.

I am eliminating the shocks because it can rattle on the smallest cracks in the driveway. I do my own brakes and do not think there is a problem in this area. I suspect compression rod cracked bushings but how do I prove it??

Last night I pulled the "G" up on ramps and hammered joints I could get to with a sledge to try to reseat them if anything was not seated right. I also took WD 40 and sprayed all rubber areas. The noise reduced some but is still there. What helped? Hammering, WD 40 or outside temps rising above freezing here in Youngstown Oh.

One thing odd(?) appeared. On the rubber mount for the rear of the left compression rod when I sprayed WD 40 on the top side of the rod bushing the WD 40 dripped THROUGH the fitting and came out the bottom. IS THIS NORMAL OR DOES IT REPRESENT A CRACKED BUSHING?

Thanks for staying with me this long. Last if it is the compression rod bushings, DOES ANYONE HAVE A GOOD LINK TO A SITE THAT CLEARLY DESCRIBES HOW THE REMOVE THE ROD on an AWD sedan??

Any other words of wisdon will be appreciated!

By the way, other than brakes, rotors and battery, after 102K, the only repairs made so far are three front wheel bearings and weld a rusted exhaust flange between the muffler and exhaust pipe.

 

Might be the compression rod ball joint. If you had an impact that caused the wheel bearing to bust then that put a lot of stress on that compression rod ball joint. Just because wd40 is leaking through doesn't mean the bushing is bad. But it should probably be replaced. I would download a FSM and go to work, changing the compression rod isn't difficult and if you read enough compression threads here and my350z then you're good.

 

Thanks for the reply AARONHL. I did not have an impact that caused the front bearings to go bad. On the AWD models the front wheel bearings are a bad design and appear to go bad on many. Mine started making noise at 70K and both front were replaced. Two months later the right front went bad again. The bearing was replaced under the manufaacturer warrenty but I had to pay the labor again.

I am leaning toward the compression rods but just want to research it more.

Thanks again.

 

I have this same issue you were talking about with the screwdriver sound loose. Looks like I'll have to check my ball joints.

 

I have a 2006 G35X with 160K miles on it. At about 120K miles, I had to replace the front end links due to a rattle. To isolate the rattle to being a symptom of the end links, I simply removed the end links from the car - completely - and secured the sway bar so that the curved ends were not pointing down towards the road, and took a test drive. If the rattle's gone, then it was definitely your end links. I don't suggest driving the car like this; it will definitely change the handling characteristics.

Currently, at 160K miles, I just started hearing a VERY similar clunking noise from the front end. I thought that it might be the end links again, but noticed that the entire bushing on the right compression rod was detached from it's retainer ring and the compression rod/retainer were slapping up and down the vertical bolt they are secured with, hitting the compression rod stay at the bottom and the underbody of the car at the top. Very annoying.

As for your dripping WD40 when you sprayed it onto the top of the bushing, I don't believe that it should run down through the inside of the compression rod - it should have to travel around the rod. If it's leaking straight through, by the rubber, then the rubber is definitely cracked and failing/failed. Unless you notice horrible inability to keep it straight at hiway speeds or the alignment feels whack or tire wear is hastened, I wouldn't bother replacing the compression rod or bushings until you felt like it.

From your symptoms, it's definitely the ELs or the CR, and I would almost bet it's the end links. I never noticed anything wrong with my compression rod until I started hearing the horrible clunking (way more than a rattle!) which only began after the bushing was entirely separated from the CR.

Anyway, here's the FSM for the 2005 G35X: http://psedog.com/cars/fsm/g35/sedan/2005/
Here's the section with your front suspension, including ELs and CRs: http://psedog.com/cars/fsm/g35/sedan/2005/fsu.pdf

If it IS the compression rods, here's the information (for both RWD and AWD cars) pertaining to part numbers and procedures for BUSHING ONLY replacemen, not full compression rod, which is usually not necessary anyway: http://trueler.com/wp/wp-content/upl...ITB08-013a.pdf

Here is the bushing you would need: https://www.infinitipartsusa.com/G35...4570ac71a-.htm

Just FYI, I removed the compression rod on my X on Christmas Eve, and it's a piece of cake. Just follow the directions in the FSM. My ball joint on the outside end of the compression rod came free with just a few whacks on the spindle where the CR ball joint inserts (make sure to leave the nut loosely upon the tapered bolt to keep from accidentally damaging the threads).

In case it's the ELs, here's a source for the AWD parts. Beware, anything to do with the front suspension on the X is not interchangeable with the RWD cars, but none of the retailers seem to grasp this fact! http://www.infinitipartsusa.com/2006...tm?searching=Y

 

Anyway, I did put my own post up here last night - I need to understand if the Energy Suspension CR bushings can be used on the AWD cars, since AWD have a steel compression rod and the RWD cars use an alloy rod?

Does anyone know the answer to that question?

BAsically, since AWD cars' CR's are iron, and prone to rust, can we use the two-part bushing, or must we use a press-in bushing?

 

munkle!!! You Da Man! Thanks for your excellent information. Mine is diffinately a rattle. Like I said, when if first happened on the right side I went looking for a lost wrench left stuck in the suspension or inner fender well by the shop that did my wheel bearing replacement. I also suspected the right end link at that time, bought it and snapped off one bolt that holds it in place. Decided to stop and tightened the remaining two bolts, dropped it down and the rattle stopped. The "bad" end link is still on the car.

Now the problem is on the left side. I am in no hurry to begin buying parts. Handling is not affected so I will keep researching this for now.

Thanks again!

 

We have a new G Zilla poster. Ty buddy. Ty very much!!! Great research.

 

For those following this link, this is just an update. For now I have done nothing but drive the car. Weather wise it has gone from -13 to +51 degrees in the past two weeks. It does not seem to be temperature related.

However, the sound has definately reduced on the left side. It went from being very, very annoying. Like rattling all the time, especially at slow speeds to almost not rattling at all now. I have to think about it to hear it now.

This leads me to further think that jacking the car up unloads the suspension and shifts or cracks hard rubber parts (compression bushings) and that later when driving it for a while causes the suspension to reset itself for a temporary "fix".

I am still in a holding pattern and will be for a while. In two weeks I am having bi-lateral knee replacement and will not be driving for a while.

To be continued in a few months.

 

Having a very similar issue with my '05 g35x. Wheel bearings on the front both went bad around 70k miles, last fall. Metallic rattle started about 5 weeks ago. Bearings replaced about 3 weeks ago. I don't think the first problem had anything to do with the second, because the bearings were bad for some time.

We attempted a left front sway bar link replacement this weekend because that's where the rattle was coming from. By the way, I did snap off the second bolt on the sway bar link connecting rod (which we thought might have been bad too). In fact, every one of the bolts or nuts other than the 14mm on the bottom part of the link were completely welded in place. Bent the hell out of the metal flange that's supposed to hold the top in place when removing the 17mm nut. Spent most of the day removing the snapped off bolt.

When all was said and done, and the new end link successfully in place (along with the original link connecting rod, which appeared to still be good after inspecting it), the rattle remained. No change. A bummer after several hours of work. (The left end link certainly seemed to have way more play than the new end link.)

The mechanic who replaced the wheel bearings thought the end links had too much play, plus that was the diagnosis by several here on g35driver.That said, I wonder if I should investigate the compression rod bushing. There are no other symptoms. No misalignment in the steering. Just the rattle.

Should I remove both end links and drive the car without them to see if that's the cause of the rattle? Or do I replace the right end link first? Would a bad right end link cause a rattle on the left side???

 

Sorry you had so much trouble. I must apologize. I had both knees replaced in January and just last month I got around to addressing the suspension rattle.

Like you I first thought it was the sway bar end links but after breaking off the first bolt I stopped to re-think things. My rattle was solved by changing the compression rods. Drives as quiet as a church mouse now.

Here is what I learned. The compression rods for the all wheel drive are made from steel. Two wheel drive aluminum. Infiniti instructs you to remove the compression rod and press out the end fitting. If it is rusted inside change the whole rod. Since I have the steel all wheel drive rod and live in the northeast I just bought the entire assembly. The assembly does not come with a bushing that is needed on the steering knuckle side so ordered it too because the original may be too hard to get off and reuse. For both sides my mechanic charged $200 labor plus my cost for parts.

 

Interesting, and thanks. Will investigate further. I live in Michigan, so rusting-out is certainly a possibility.