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Planned Murano suspension work

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saabin

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Planning some suspension work on the kids car before she heads off to college in a month.

2007 Murano platinum, 195k miles. We've owned this car since new and I pretty much do all the wrenching on it. I dare say I don't mind working on it, kinda enjoyable..

I plan to R&R:

  • Both lower control arms (one has the lower ball joint a bit sloppy, the other has the ball joint boot cracked)
  • Both front stabalizer links (all original at almost 200k miles)
  • Front struts (going with the Value advantage kit from the dealer so I can just swap the entire assembly in without messing with the spring compressor)
  • Both front driveshafts (drivers side boot is completely ripped, grease is everywhere, passengers boot is badly cracked)
  • Rear shocks
  • Both tie rod ends. Both are shot and the boots are ripped.


I get most of my parts from Courtesy Nissan, they have good online prices and are local so I can just pick 'em up. I've been burned by aftermarket parts before and at this point in my life I prefer to go OEM or dealer parts.

Suspension work on this car is pretty breezy with the air tools.

Wish me luck :)
 
#3 ·
Good luck!

I especially like the idea about the Nissan Value Advantage Complete Shock and Strut Assembly, I wasn't aware of them. Seems like a better solution than after market quick strut assemblies.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
All the parts are here.. Not cheap, but after 200k miles the suspension bits were starting to get a bit tired.
Nice to see the strut assemblies came with new top hat nuts, and the axles came with a new Axle nuts.

I printed out 3 pages of diagrams from the service manual with the torque values so I'm ready. Sat morning we will see if I can get this knocked out.


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Discussion starter · #5 ·
So, I finished up this job today.. Dang it's hot here in TX these days, I started at 7am.. unfortunately, my garage is not climate controlled but I did setup a portable A/C unit to blow on me all day. My lift definitely helped as well.

I didn't take any video, there are good videos out there that tell you how to do these repairs. I just used them and it went pretty smoothly..
Control Arm replacement: How to Replace Lower Control Arm 2003-2007 Nissan Murano - YouTube
Tie Rod end Replacement: How to Replace Outer Tie Rod 2005-2007 Nissan Murano - YouTube
Strut Assembly: How to Replace Front Driver Side Strut Assembly 2003-2007 Nissan Murano - YouTube
Rear Shocks: How to Replace Rear Shock 2003-2007 Nissan Murano - YouTube
Driveshaft: How to Replace Right Front Axle Shaft 2003-2007 Nissan Murano - YouTube

Thankfully, our car has no rust like the ones in the videos..

Probably the hardest part was the nuts on top of the strut towers. They are depressed in a bit and the drivers side one is not easy to access. I'd suggest a magnetic socket so you dont drop the nuts (either taking off or putting on.)

I re-used the axle nuts that came on the car (32mm). The new ones that came with the axles were 36mm and I don't have a 36mm impact socket.

Here's the pile 'o parts from one side. You can clearly see the blown out ball joint and the bad boots on the tie rod and driveshaft. Frickin' messy as heck with the blown out driveshaft boot. I cleaned up the mess on the car's frame and other bits which prob added 30 min to my work.

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Everything came out pretty easily.
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I used an old bucket to hold the brake knucle & brake disc while I did the other stuff.. Just need to mind the brake line so it doesn't get kinked. That assembly is darn heavy.
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All the new stuff on now
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Passenger side "void" :)
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I didn't get any pics of the rear shocks, they were super easy. It's just like in the video(s). I'm glad I did decide to R&R them because the passenger's side one was leaking and pretty much toast, effectively no rebound at all.

I do need an alignment now, but this thing feels like a new car now. No more clunks or noises when going over bumps, and steering is super smooth.

+1 for air tools. I only needed about 4 of so impact sockets, both deep and standard, plus the assorment of prybars, rubber & metal hammers, etc. No special tools required.

For anyone contemplating doing this yourself, just go for it! Makes a huge difference, and I probably saved at least $1,000 in labor (maybe more?) for what a shop would charge me to do all this work.
 
#6 ·
Great work, thanks for the update!

You mentioned the impact socket for the axel nut, I hope you used a torque wrench to tighten everything to spec, not too loose or too tight...
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
MuranoSL2003 said:
You mentioned the impact socket for the axel nut, I hope you used a torque wrench to tighten everything to spec, not too loose or too tight...
Click to expand...
Yep, impact to remove, by hand to tighten. Only had to use my 1/2" torque wrench and the values came out of the service manual. Axle was 92 lb/ft as I recall.

deeman said:
I looked at the pictures of your Murano's undercarriage with jealousy. You were right that there is no rust, makes it so much easier to work on. Congrats on the job well done. (y)
Click to expand...
Thx. One of the benefits to living in the south.. but we do have the heat :LOL:
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
2ndGenMaintainer said:
Nice! Thanks for the info too! Just curious if you ended up having to replace the shaft seals on the TC and Trans outputs? How much did you have to topoff after axle replacement? Thanks!
Click to expand...
I didn't replace the diff shaft oil seals.. the service manual says you should replace them every time you remove the axle... the online videos mention no such thing. I was careful in the way I pulled it out so as to not damage the seal. Also, I didn't get any leakage out of the opening once I removed them.
 
#11 ·
saabin said:
I didn't replace the diff shaft oil seals.. the service manual says you should replace them every time you remove the axle... the online videos mention no such thing. I was careful in the way I pulled it out so as to not damage the seal. Also, I didn't get any leakage out of the opening once I removed them.
Click to expand...
Right on! I've heard others here say the same thing. Maybe a little residual fluid came out in some of the other posts ive seen. But thanks, I'll consider this if and when I have to.
 
#12 ·
saabin said:
Yep, impact to remove, by hand to tighten. Only had to use my 1/2" torque wrench and the values came out of the service manual. Axle was 92 lb/ft as I recall.

Thx. One of the benefits to living in the south.. but we do have the heat :LOL:
Click to expand...
I always wondered about this axle nut torque spec of 74-110 lb-ft. All other cars I worked on are higher, about twice as high. On my 02 Maxima, it's 188-245 lb-ft, with the same size nut.
 
#13 ·
Axle nut torque can be very specific to a vehicle.

My '03 had a TSB that addressed a clunk when first accelerating. The problem was addressed by changing the torque from 92 foot pounds to 147. See attached TSB.

@saabin, you may want to increase the axle nut torque of your '07 if it clunks, it's included in the TSB.
 

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#14 ·
MuranoSL2003 said:
Axle nut torque can be very specific to a vehicle.

My '03 had a TSB that addressed a clunk when first accelerating. The problem was addressed by changing the torque from 92 foot pounds to 147. See attached TSB.

@saabin, you may want to increase the axle nut torque of your '07 if it clunks, it's included in the TSB.
Click to expand...
Good to know. The last time when I changed CV boot, I torqued it to the upper end of the range at 110 lb-ft. I need to re-torque it next time.
 
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mrmajestik
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