Rear suspension cross member bearing

[ksagis]

Has anybody else had issues with the bearing located in the middle of the rear cross member? The bearing apparently is some combination of rubber and fluid and the fluid was starting to leak. Wasn't obvious, but there were definitely some signs of leaking/draining.

Probably worth checking if your car is close to the end of the warranty in case it needs attention.

Apparently the bearing part of the rear cross member can't be changed by itself, you have to change the entire member, about a $2k job. (I was under warranty)

The bearing located is circled in red in the attached image.

[nismolucino]

Thats the differential bushing and it can be replaced, theres a few aftermarket replacements, I put a whiteline in mine. But yeah nissan wont replace it at the dealer.

[gomer_110]

Common problem. Most just replace it with one of the quality aftermarket options.

I also went with the Whiteline bushing.

[dP3NGU1N]

How hard is it to drop the subframe? I did my diff bushings but the subframe just seemed like such a pain in the *** to remove that I never bothered with it.

[N0SL3N]

DIY: Whiteline rear differential bushings

This should help you out

[synolimit]

SPL here, worst to install but I love them being solid.

[HapaZ]

Just swapped mine to the whiteline. You don't have to drop the subframe if you cut the old one out. If it's under warranty still let Nissan take care of it, otherwise just drill a hole and then cut it really carefully with a reciprocating saw.

[JARblue]

Originally Posted by ksagis

Apparently the bearing part of the rear cross member can't be changed by itself, you have to change the entire member, about a $2k job. (I was under warranty)

Only because Nissan is fuckin stupid!! They have a rubber bushing prone to failure under hard driving embedded in a subframe member that has no reason for replacement.

Originally Posted by HapaZ

You don't have to drop the subframe if you cut the old one out. If it's under warranty still let Nissan take care of it, otherwise just drill a hole and then cut it really carefully with a reciprocating saw.

I let a shop take care of it for <$300. His homemade puller for a 350Z did not work, so he ended up cutting it out. I provided the Whiteline bushing for him to install and immediately after delivery wished I had put in a solid SPL bushing

[maizenblue]

I just finished installing the spl bushings. Did not drop the subframe but that thing put up a hell of a fight. I love how they feel but I always wonder how much better they are than the whitelines, because they sure are noisy

[Masterbeatty]

Yha mine was a hunt also. The whole put it in the freezer for a week did not help at all.

[EVOHUNTER]

mine came out first try with a Tapered bearing puller set (made for Subaru rear bearings).

[ufoz8mycow]

I was getting ready to write a post about how the stealership kindly informed me that my diff bushing was cracked and leaking this morning after I took my car in for an oil change but then I saw this thread.

If this is covered under warranty, is it covered under the normal 3 yr/36k warranty or the 5yr/50k powertrain warranty (Differential = part of the powertrain, no?)? My car of course has 39k miles on the clock and the last time I got my oil changed nobody mentioned anything about differential bushings showing any wear. The guy at the dealer said it is around $1600 to do the job, which is not cool, especially considering a quick search on the interwebz reveals that a whiteline or energy suspension replacement bushing can be had for around 50 bucks.

How much should a non-rapey-bend-you-over-with-the-bill mechanic charge to replace the diff bushing if I provide the part?

For those of you that have installed aftermarket bushings, how do you like them so far? Improvement vs. stock? I'm assuming the solid SPL will probably be a little noisier than the other options, do the energy or whiteline bushings make any extra noise vs. stock? If you could go back and do it again would you still go with the aftermarket or replace with a stock bushing (which doesn't sound great given the stock is prone to failure and I don't want to deal with this every 30-40k miles)? Thanks in advance for any insight.

[POS VETT]

The differential is a part of the drivetrain, the bushing itself isn't.

[ufoz8mycow]

Originally Posted by ufoz8mycow

I was getting ready to write a post about how the stealership kindly informed me that my diff bushing was cracked and leaking this morning after I took my car in for an oil change but then I saw this thread.

If this is covered under warranty, is it covered under the normal 3 yr/36k warranty or the 5yr/50k powertrain warranty (Differential = part of the powertrain, no?)? My car of course has 39k miles on the clock and the last time I got my oil changed nobody mentioned anything about differential bushings showing any wear. The guy at the dealer said it is around $1600 to do the job, which is not cool, especially considering a quick search on the interwebz reveals that a whiteline or energy suspension replacement bushing can be had for around 50 bucks.

How much should a non-rapey-bend-you-over-with-the-bill mechanic charge to replace the diff bushing if I provide the part?

For those of you that have installed aftermarket bushings, how do you like them so far? Improvement vs. stock? I'm assuming the solid SPL will probably be a little noisier than the other options, do the energy or whiteline bushings make any extra noise vs. stock? If you could go back and do it again would you still go with the aftermarket or replace with a stock bushing (which doesn't sound great given the stock is prone to failure and I don't want to deal with this every 30-40k miles)? Thanks in advance for any insight.

Welp, Nissan called me back today to kindly inform me that I can go f*ck myself even though the car is only 3k miles past the warranty. They offered a discounted rate of $1275 to get the bushing replaced at the dealer. NOPE.

So back to my original question: How much should a non-rapey-bend-you-over-with-the-bill mechanic charge to replace the diff bushing if I provide the part?

[Masterbeatty]

I was quoted at $400 ish. But that was at a tranny shop, print out the sheet from the tech manual to show the shop and take it to a few places to see how much. I would not do it for anything over $800 for the white line. The SPL is a bioch so that will be had for at least a grand and the energy suspension bushing re-uses the OEM collar so you can't cut it out.