About a year and half back I got distracted and ran into a curb and what eventually caused the right front strut to leak. I managed to get the strut replaced on the effected side (passenger). However I always wondered about the drivers side and if anything could have been effected from the impact of the curb. After a while of replacing the strut on the right side, lately I've noticed when I slowly and I mean slowly go over speed bumps the smallest sound occurs from the left side only. Which you would have to turn off the ac, turn the volume down and listen for a small knocking noise that feels like it�s coming from the left front. How I noticed the front left more because I avoided going on the speed bump with both front tires. It's such a small knock that I would only notice, because of obsessive overanalyzing. I know suspension issues are hard to pinpoint over the net etc. but I couldn't explain the sound any better than that. My research has narrowed it down to a compression rod, bushing, or it could be the stillen gen 3 that is knocking up and down on bumps. I've put more insulation under the intake tube to eliminate the noise, but I keep coming back here to bother you guys lol.
It doesn't bother me at all because as far as tire tread everything has been wearing out evenly both front and back, and there are no drivability issues as far as shaky steering or excessive pulling. Just want to be aware if I need to replace anything as far as maintenance is concerned. Btw I'm at 85000 miles strong!
Thanks guys,

 

I have the same issue as well...sometimes, when going over bumps, I get a slight knocking sound or when I accelerate from stop. I have never ran into a curb or gone into an accident regarding the suspension or wheels. I can also feel the knock in my steering wheel. I've already had a leaky power steering rack replaced under warranty.

I took it to the mechanic many times and they say that everything looks good and tight, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

You could also check your sway bar end links, although when the joint is blown, you usually hear much more frequent pops and knocks at low speed.

 

It sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on what to look for as far as the knocking noise, but there is one other thing that may arise as a result on the curb impact, so I just anted to mention in case it pops up in the future. The wheel bearings on these cars are apparently "soft" and more susceptible to deformation/damage as a result of a sharp impact such as hitting a curb. If you do a bit of searching, you'll find here is a tsb out for it.

 

i was gonna say my maxima had same issue and it turned out to be some bushings in the sway bar. bearing would make more noise not only at bumps, believe me i drove a car with the bearings going bad. best to just put it on a lift and taking the look at the bushings. i do remember at auto school we hooked these clamps up to different parts of the car and they had long wires that hooked up to headphones and u can listen to them while driving. kind of like a stethoscope they use to listen for engines for ticking or noises.

 

I hate to thread jack but now you got me thinking, i have been having a bad squeaking sound when i go over speed bumps slowly or little imperfections in the road. I am pretty sure my issue is that my struts are at the end of their life being i have 82k miles on my car but now maybe its just the bushings. does anyone know if there is a way to tell if your struts are bad? I mean my car does ride way more harsh than when i first bought it(brand new in 2007) and it is most deffinitely starting to sit lower so again, im pretty sure my struts are done, but maybe someone else has another idea, maybe it is the bushings?

 

move one corner up and down. if it bounces too much you got a bad strut. if it goes quickly to its position/ tight movement its ok.

 

yep just put some weight on the corner, mine has 96k and they are still good. depends on how u been driving on them really. my maxima had 135k on them and right when i sold it they started to go and i had the car sonce 40k.

 

Check your endlinks. I had some clunking noise when going over speed bumps too. I finally got around to putting my car on a lift and 1 Endlink was broken and a bolt came loose in another. Also, check shock tower mounts and all bushings. It takes time but it's your ride.

 

If it's a squeaking noise when you go over bumps, try taking a can of silicone spray or some other lube and spray in and around the sway bar bushings, as they are frequently the culprit. If nothing else, it's a quick and simple elimination.

 

Another follow up on this:

After a recent heat spell, I finally got sick of it and pulled the sway bushings off of my car and lubed the snot out of them with silicone and figured that would be the end of it. Well, as it turns out, it did absolutely nothing to the noise.

OOOOkay, so next, I put the car up on ramps, dropped the belly pan (again), opened the hood and made my wife climb up on the radiator support, then had her bounce up and down while I listened from underneath. Sonofab&*tch if it wasn't those same bushings I just lubed (still dripping yet) that were squeaking up a storm.

After removing them again, I noted that the inner mating surface of the bushing rubber (to the bar) was all rough and textured, like an inner fibrous weave was starting to come through (reinforcing maybe?). Anyway, I also noted that the sway bar also felt rough, with little ridges running parallel to the bar all around its circumference, but only where the rubber had been covering it. It appears that the roughness of the fiber inside the old bushings had worn grooves into the powder coated paint on the sway bar. This is most likely what was causing all the racket, in spite of the generous portion of some very slippery silicon lube that I'd used.

So, I called up local Infiniti and Nissan dealerships in my area for pricing on replacement bushings. Infiniti wanted something like $16 a piece, while Nissan had them for (what they claimed was full "list" price of) $7.42 each. Same exact part, with the same exact part number, in the same exact bag, with the same exact labeling. Thanks for nothing Infiniti!



I went ahead and used some scotch brite pad to buff the sway bar smooth again before installing the new bushings and added a swab of some silicone grease before buttoning them up. It's been a few weeks now, and after some more 95* weather, with the AC running flat out (to generate as much heat on them as possible), I can finally say that the dreaded squeak is GONE!


TLDR: It's the sway bushings! Lube alone won't do it; you need to replace them and make sure the bar is smooth where it meets them.

/thread