Shock absorbers Nissan Almera Classic - how to select and replace

The Nissan Almera Classic is an unpretentious and reliable car. Front MacPherson struts can easily last more than 100 thousand km before replacement. At the first signs of malfunction, deterioration in controllability, comfort, they must be replaced with new ones or repaired. This operation is simple and can be done yourself in the garage using a minimal set of tools.

What types of struts are there for Nissan Almera Classic?

There are two types of front shock absorber struts: collapsible and non-dismountable. In the first case, a replaceable shock absorber (liner) is placed inside the body, which can be replaced separately. The cost of a single elastic element is noticeably lower than the entire rack assembly. Original units most often have a non-separable design.

Original Nissan struts are sold under article number 313851-2 for the left and 313851 for the right. These same units are used by dealers in service centers. Despite the high price of 2800 rubles per piece, they are of high quality and work well on our roads.

Non-original racks are presented by well-known and not so well-known brands. The most famous: KYB (article 333310-333311), Monroe, Mobiland, Miles, Stellox. The price for the most expensive parts from KYB will be about 3,000 rubles, while a cheap original can cost 1,800 rubles (as of December 2019). The difference in price is more than compensated by the long service life and excellent handling of the car on these racks.

The rear pillars on the AlmeraClassic are also represented by original and non-original parts. But due to their design, their cost is lower than for the front ones. On average 1900 for an original or a high-quality analogue from KYB. Shock absorber article number 341226. Replacing the rear shock absorbers of a Nissan Almera Classic may be required if an oil leak is detected or a “breakdown” of the struts themselves on uneven surfaces.

Article number and cost of good analogs of original rear shock absorber struts for Nissan Almera Classic

Not wanting to purchase used components or overpay for new originals, car owners are inclined to buy analogues. The best options for shock absorber struts for Almera Classic are presented in the table below.

Table - Recommended analogues

Signs that shock absorbers need to be replaced

Almera Classic has been widely sold since 2007 and was built on the basis of Almera in the N15 body. Suspension sores and the reasons for their occurrence are well known to repairmen. First of all, you need to pay attention to the following signs:

• body swaying when driving on uneven roads for no apparent reason;
• incomprehensible reactions of the car to turning the steering wheel, excessive rolliness of the car;
• the car pulls to the side, uneven tire wear;
• metallic knock when passing speed bumps;
• oil leak on the rack in the place of the boot.

Indirect signs of shock absorber failure may include a tear in the boot, excessive sagging of the car under load, or rust on the rod. All this may indicate an upcoming suspension repair.

Advice! There is a simple way to check the performance of shock absorbers. To do this, you need to press hard with all your weight on the front of the car and release. A serviceable elastic element will work once and stop the body in its original position. With a damaged rack, damped vibrations will occur or a metallic knock will be heard.

In addition to the shock absorbers themselves, the strut design includes support bearings and a rubber bumper, which can also fail and produce characteristic sounds. It is possible to finally determine their condition only after completely disassembling the shock absorber strut.

Installing a new support bearing on Nissan Almera 2 (G15, N16)

1. After disassembling the shock absorber strut, we check the condition of the parts, including inspecting the anthers of the front struts and the lower support plate.

1. The upper support must also be in good condition. Cracks, damage, deformation, and severe corrosion are not allowed. Otherwise, the support itself will also have to be changed.

Before installing a new support bearing, evaluate the performance of the old one. If it sticks or jams, try to carefully halve the housing to check what is causing the problem. Sometimes it happens that dirt gets inside or corrosion forms. The problem is solved by thorough washing and lubrication of the rolling elements. If after restoring the ball bearing the jamming disappears, then replacement is not required (you can put the old one back).

Drawing conclusions from the above, it can be noted that it is necessary to buy new spare parts only after troubleshooting the old ones.

1. We assemble the unit in reverse order. First, if the old parts are in good condition, we clean them of dirt/corrosion.
2. Pay attention to the assembly diagram. The end of the spring should rest against the stop of the lower plate.

1. After tightening the nut, release the ties from the spring and install the stand in place.
2. Replacement of the support bearing for Nissan Almera H16 is completed. Remove the jack and check for knocking, skipping, and rotation of the steering wheel.

Tightening the upper bolts of the front strut support for the Nissan Almera Classic, as indicated in the manual, is required after releasing the car from the jack.

List of tools for replacing the Nissan Almera strut

For repairs, it is advisable to have an inspection hole or a lift, but you can get by with a flat platform. The car will have to be jacked up and placed on supports to make it convenient to remove and install the rack. The list of repair tools is as follows:

• ring and open-end wrenches for 8, 13 and 17;
• socket heads for 13 and 17 with ratchet and extension;
• special ties for springs;
• a special wrench for unscrewing the nut of the collapsible stand;
• metal brush;
• hammer and chisel.

Sometimes you have to use WD-40 or similar to unscrew a rusted nut. In difficult cases, use a gas burner.

Replacing the front shock absorbers of a Nissan Almera classic is often carried out together with the replacement of other spare parts: boot (55240-95F0A), supports (54320-95F0A), support bearing (54325-95F0A), alignment bolts and nuts.

Advice! This must be done together with removing the strut, because after this the front wheel alignment is adjusted. It is impractical to separately remove and disassemble the entire rack to replace the support bearing. Moreover, the resource of all these parts is approximately the same.

Required tools for DIY replacement

In order for the replacement of the front shock absorber strut to be successful, you should prepare the tools in advance from the table below.

Table - Tools required to replace the front strut

Appearance of spring puller

Instructions for step-by-step replacement of front struts

Replacing the front struts of a Nissan Almera classic is not fundamentally different from the same work on other Nissan cars with MacPherson-type front suspension.

The replacement order will be as follows:

1. We install the car on a flat surface, put supports under the rear wheels. We hang the front axle and remove the wheels.
2. We unscrew the two mounting bolts with a 17mm head at the point of attachment to the steering knuckle. The bottom bolt has special adjusting washers for the angle of inclination of the rack, so before removing it you need to mark the original position with a chisel.

1. In this position, you can try to loosen the top nut securing the rod. It is accessible from under the hood. If the rod rotates with it, you will have to use a puller after dismantling the rack.
2. Unscrew the bracket securing the brake hose to the body. It is not necessary to remove the hose itself; the stand can be carefully removed without touching it.
3. Now you can unscrew the upper nuts 13 securing the support bearing to the body. After they are loosened, the entire strut will go down along with the suspension arm. Remove it by pressing down all the way and pulling it towards you. We do the same with the opposite one.

1. Using ties, we compress the spring until it rotates freely relative to the rod. Now you can use a special wrench to unscrew the nut 17 securing the rod to the support. We remove the rack housing and evaluate the condition of all components.

1. We install a new elastic element into the collapsible rack or replace the entire one. Before installing it on the machine, it must be bled according to the installation instructions.
2. We put everything back together in reverse order. We install the spring, then the bump stop, boot, support bearing. Tighten the nut, after which you can loosen the spring tensioner.

Important ! The position of the support is indicated by an arrow pointing at the wheel.

1. We install the racks in their place, while tightening the upper support bearing mounting nuts to the end only when the car is standing on the ground. We set the camber bolts according to the marks, but this still does not guarantee correct camber, so a visit to the stand is mandatory.

How to check the front shock absorber support on a Nissan Almera 2 (H16) and where is it located?

To check whether the upper support or support bearing on the Nissan Almera H16 (N16) has failed, perform the following operations:

1. When the steering wheel rotates, there should be no squeaks or crunching sounds from the racks;
2. Find the upper support under the hood and press it with your hand. Next, rock the car to load the “support” and check for extraneous knocks and crunching sounds;
3. The verification process with a description of the characteristic malfunctions of the Nissan Almera N16 support bearing is shown in the video below.

Video “How to determine the malfunction of shock absorbers and support bearings”:

Nissan Almera Classic front strut structure

As can be seen from the layout, the problem unit is on the right, the bearing is designated by number 54325, and it should be replaced. To do this, first dismantle the stand, then unscrew the rod nut and remove the parts one by one. After replacing the bearing, the assembly is assembled in the reverse order.

To work, you will need standard spanners or sockets. Note that to safely remove the spring from the front strut of the Nissan Almera, you will need special ties, as in the photo, or a machine for tightening the springs (as in auto repair shops).

Replacing rear struts

To replace the rear struts, we use the same tools as for the front struts. The strut itself consists of a shock absorber, a spring, and a support. Replacement procedure:

1. Raise the rear of the car and remove the wheel. From the trunk side, unscrew 2 nuts securing the strut support.
2. Disconnect the lower bolt securing the shock absorber to the beam bracket. We remove the assembly assembly.
3. We compress the spring with ties. Unscrew the top nut by 17, having first grabbed the locking nut by 8 with a wrench.
4. Remove the upper support along with the rubber buffer. We remove the boot with the bumper (bushings). We inspect for damage and replace if necessary.
5. We reassemble in reverse order. After installation on the vehicle, the tightness of all fastening nuts is checked again. No wheel alignment is required.

Replacing the rear and front shock absorbers on an Almere Classic yourself will not cause any difficulties even for a novice car enthusiast. The design is extremely simple and repairable. All work will take several hours and will save the owner money on visiting a car service center. The only operation that will require additional costs is a visit to adjust the front wheel alignment, which costs from 800 rubles for a given car.

Preliminary preparation for replacement

When replacing shock absorber struts, the parts listed in the table below may be required.

Table - List of elements that may be additionally required

Anthers

Fastenings

Experienced car owners recommend pulling the hose onto the shock absorber strut spring. According to reviews, this significantly reduces squeaks and extraneous sounds from the suspension. Therefore, before starting repair work, it is recommended to acquire a hose of a suitable diameter.

Hose placed on a spring

Reasons for replacement

A replacement on the Nissan Almere G15 should be carried out when the following symptoms are present, both front and rear:

• Metal fatigue appeared: in the free position, the height of the spring decreased.
• An unwanted bend in the element has appeared.
• The coil is broken.
• Corrosion has appeared on the coils.

Front shock absorbers Almera Classic

The production of Nissan Almera Classic in Russia began in 2006, the basis for which was the Nissan Pulsar. For the countries of the Far East, the car was originally called Samsung SM3, this platform was produced since 2002, and for the countries of the Middle East the car was sold under the name Nissan Sunny. Therefore, shock absorbers for this type of car are widely used. The original shock absorbers and their struts were produced in factories in Japan; they are also suitable for Nissan models such as Sunny and Almera.

The front shock absorber struts are represented by original part numbers 5430395F0B for the left and 5430295F0B for the right shock absorber. Car enthusiasts speak mostly positively about them. Despite their durability, they are considered a little harsh. Technological parameters are shown in the table:

The original shock absorbers for the Almera Classic are not cheap, and the softness of the ride on bumpy roads leaves much to be desired, so many car enthusiasts want to replace the front shock absorbers with corresponding analogues as quickly as possible.

The manufacturer of all original rear struts is the same as the front struts. Therefore, they are also similar in characteristics. When selecting a shock absorber for the rear strut of a Nissan Almera, you should take into account that they are symmetrical and fit both the right and left strut of the car. The table below provides information on the main parameters of shock absorbers:

Rear shock absorbers original

Analogs of rear shock absorbers for Nissan Almera Classic

Since the original shock absorbers soon begin to “float” when driving over 100 km/h, many car enthusiasts try to replace them with analogues at the first opportunity. The low cost of such parts also plays an important role in this. The most popular of them are listed in the table: