Let me start by saying I am pretty handy when it comes to cars. I do most of my work on my own but learn as I go. Last week I decided my 2006 G35x needed new struts. It has 98000 miles on it and has the original struts. So it was about time. I looked up videos on how to do it and it looked pretty simple,of course it does on the internet, so thought I could easily do it. I purshased the spring compressor and all the tools needed to do it and began. First issue was getting the front strut off. If you know about these struts it has a curved bar attached to the bottom of the strut that goes to the control arm. I couldn't get the bottom main bold removed so I thought hey let me just compress the spring while it's on my car and just lift the strut over the bar. Long story short I got the bottom bolt off and then hit the end with a hammer, not a mallet, and my brother and I were out trying to rethread it for an hour and finally got it. The spring compressors were far from easy so I brought them to pepboys and they put the old springs on the new struts for $20.00 a piece which I think saved me a lot of work and was a good deal since I couldn't even get the top bolt off the strut. So that all went good there. Then when it came to the back ones the first one was really easy. Came off easy went on easy.
Then of course the last one had to be the worst. I started by taking my breaker bar to the bottom bolt. The bolt was spinning but instead of coming out it broke the threaded part off of the strut and spun the bushing inside the control arm. I took it to the dealership since Pepboys said they wouldn't work on that and just to put that $10.00 bushing on and cost me $307.00 because of 2.5 hours of work. So in conclusion, if a bolt does not come off easily when doing your struts. Go to the dealership before you twist the bushing. Save yourself some money. All together it cost me the same ,or more, if I would have just went somewhere and got it done in the first place.

 

i did mines in 3 hrs and though it was easier than other cars i had worked on. if you couldnt get this done dont try doing bushing or other stuff. i believe replacing struts/springs is the easiest job on a car and the rears are a piece of cake compare to other cars ..

 

Welcome to DRIVER Ryanab! We've all had situations like yours although most of us wouldn't consider taking our G35s to Pep Boys for anything! For work in the future find a qualified independent brake/alignment shop in your neighborhood. Enjoy the ride!
Gary

 

wow, sounds like a nightmare, im glad you got the G fixed though.

 

Thanks for the replies everybody. The struts weren't necessarily hard just a pain because the bolts were rusted on there pretty good. All the other bolts came off pretty easily but the one. Like I said, I learn as I go. Michael: I wasn't gonna try the bushings. I know I don't have the tools for that. Most things I do were with the head unit and fluid changes. They are simple. Major jobs I go to the dealership. Gary: pepboys was just conveinient and cheap; five minutes up the road and they had it done in a half hour. If I could go to a repair shop for that cheap and quick I would. Joker: Thanks man. It rides like it's new now. I have four new tires, the struts, and a really good alignment from the dealership. This is my first G and am planning on keeping this one for a while.

 

Gotta get that bp blaster! Makes suspension work (especially the first time), so much easier!

 

Another tip is to keep the nut on the end of the threads and slam the nut with the metal hammer. That should get the bolt though enough to pull it from the other side..

 

Yea, gotta be careful if the bolts are rusted. Been there done that.

 

Luckily for me, I was able to use my telekinesis to loosen the bolts with my mind.

 

The front struts on the X are the hardest i have ever had to replace. There is very little room to manuever, and even with the springs compressed, the strut assembly is still longer than it can be to align all the holes. Best tip is to line up the top and use a jack to compress from the bottom and slide it into the hole on bottom swing arm.