2008 Altima Rear Suspension Questions-help me out
- Thread starter litt
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When you say "may need" are you having issues with noise or movement in the rear of the car? The rear cradle on these are a known bad area, mostly in the 06 and older one but I have seen it on 08 also, inspect it carefully for rot and breaks at or near the welds.
OE springs, boots and mounts with Sachs struts/shocks.
OE springs, boots and mounts with Sachs struts/shocks.
Hi Trav, thanks for the reply. I know I don't have many posts here, but I've read yours many, many times over a long period and greatly appreciate your response. I have a lifetime warranty on this car for alignments. Took the car to one place that does the lifetime alignment and they recommended new shocks/struts due to not being able to adjust the alignment because it was too far out of alignment to adjust. Took it to one of their sister companies (Firestone) and they said the same thing. Firestone said they could change out the camber(?) adjustment with another one that has a wider range of adjustment, but took that back when I brought them the parts to do the work. I have not taken the car to my own personal mechanic, but I am basically researching this before the fact that I might have to go ahead and have to replace the springs and struts.
Thanks again for the reply, Trav. Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks again for the reply, Trav. Any other suggestions are welcomed.
Unless the springs are weak and it has sagged the rear alignment should not be affected by worn shocks. If it rides well with no bouncing and has no fluid leakage from the shocks and is not sagging in the rear you possibly only need camber/toe bolts.
I cant say and wont accuse them without looking at it but its quite possible they are looking for an up sell. Have your own trusted mechanic look at it before opening your wallet.
I cant say and wont accuse them without looking at it but its quite possible they are looking for an up sell. Have your own trusted mechanic look at it before opening your wallet.
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Mando claims to be the OE supplier in their listing on Rock Auto. Mando is a Korean company that mostly supplies Hyundai and Kia, but they have other non-Korean customers, too. Sachs is another good choice, as they are a big OE supplier to Nissan. KYB makes good shocks, too, and they have a rebate right now.
It looks like Nissan also offers OEM quick struts for your 2008 Altima, so when it's time to replace the front struts, you have a good option. Rock Auto has the left, but not the right, in stock at this time
But of course, make sure you actually need new shocks first.
It looks like Nissan also offers OEM quick struts for your 2008 Altima, so when it's time to replace the front struts, you have a good option. Rock Auto has the left, but not the right, in stock at this time
But of course, make sure you actually need new shocks first.
AutoMechanic
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I agree make sure they are bad before you buy them and install them. Places like that will try to upsell anything.
Thanks, guys. Yeah, that's what I was pretty much thinking, that they were trying to upsell me. I just wanted to know what to buy and where to do it at in case that was the case. I am going to have my mechanic look at it and see what he says. Thanks again for all your imput. If anyone else wants to chime in, feel free. I'll post a report when I take the Altima to my mechanic.
I'm told with that shape Altima they sag in the rear with age (think Taurus/Sable)
The fix is to installed Altima Hybrid springs in the rear to bring it up, and keep it up
It's not a Macpherson strut design, so just the springs is a relatively easy no spring compressor job
The fix is to installed Altima Hybrid springs in the rear to bring it up, and keep it up
It's not a Macpherson strut design, so just the springs is a relatively easy no spring compressor job
Ok, so now that the snow is gone from my house, I went out and took some pics of the Altima. It appears to me that the rear body sags just a little bit lower than the front end. There is less gap/space between the top of the rear tires than the front. Would this indicate that the springs/struts are bad to you guys? What do you think?
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Not necessarily. Many cars' wheel wells are smaller in the back than up front. Is your driveway level?
Does the rear still look low when parked on the street or in a parking lot?
Does the rear still look low when parked on the street or in a parking lot?
slacktide, thanks for the reply. From what I can tell off the net, both the front and rear rims are 16 inch. My driveway is not completely level, but mostly so. I seriously doubt that the small incline on my driveway is influencing the clearance between the top of the tire and the fender. I haven't looked at it in a parking lot type of setting, but I wouldn't think it would be any different.
That generation of Altima does squat a little more than other generations over time-but the suspensions are pretty solid. I had a customer with an 08 or 09 that had around 100k miles and the rear was sitting about 2" lower with nobody in the car. Come to find out she does car pooling and the 2 back seat riders where large people and we figured she was hauling around between 550-600lbs in the back everyday so it took a beating over the years. The exhaust showed scrape marks so she had been bottoming out too. Replaced worn parts and she was back on the road.
Flat ground and measure at the rocker panel lip to ground front and rear. You should be able to find the spec in the FSM, I will look tomorrow and see if I have it.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Our Camry does the same thing. We replaced the front struts and it started doing it it’s back at factory height now in the front because of the new components.
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