Rusting bolt on front suspension strut - potential safety issue

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I ordered two pair, one for each LEAF and some waterproof grease from Tasca Parts in Rhode Island last night, $39 including shipping. Don't know if I'm going to plug the air holes yet, I might.
 
If you don't plug the air holes, water will get in. I plugged them and it stays completely dry. What I also did was to smear the lip of the dust cap with grease so that it seals the cap from any water intrusion.
 
I capped both of mine on my '16 SL just now, only the passenger side was rusty.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ytm0v6bskajijji/2017-05-24%2012.15.05.jpg?dl=0

Waterproof grease and the stock '11/'12 part from Nissan previously mentioned did the trick. I was surprised how small the strut tops were, but the little screened access doors made it easy.

I haven't checked the '14 S yet but will this weekend.
 
Just a suggestion here but could a small, 1/8th inch weep hole take of the problem being carefully drilled on the lowest point of the "cup" area? I see them all the time on aircraft where you don't want water collecting and causing problems. And for the internal wrenching "alan" bolt hole, either paint it after you put a dab of corrosion converter on it or just gob of grease. Done. The universe is safe, continue on as normal.
 
Eyeresearch said:
Just a suggestion here but could a small, 1/8th inch weep hole take of the problem being carefully drilled on the lowest point of the "cup" area? I see them all the time on aircraft where you don't want water collecting and causing problems.

I thought of that, but didn't want to drill a hole in the rubber mount not really knowing what exactly was beneath it. Don't think it'd hurt though, thanks for the idea.
 
Here is a product we used in the military, (USCG) for combatting corrosion on aircraft in areas that were prone to set up a corrosion cell and cause nasty little problems that turn into big ones. It's called CorrosionX-Heavy-Duty, it's a corrosion inhibitor, a dripless aerosol, dries to a thin film. Maybe the engineers at NISSAN could use a little on the assembly line and it does not interfere with future maintenance. If you are worried about over spray just make a little tin foil collar around the top strut assembly and leave a hole big enough to cover the desired area. Great stuff, might find other uses around the house were you need a corrosion inhibitor, this is NOT an oil.

http://www.shop.corrosionx.com/CorrosionX-Heavy-Duty-12-oz-aerosol-90104.htm

Remember, Corrosion never sleeps.
 
Eyeresearch said:
Remember, Corrosion never sleeps.


LOL Awesome. I'll check this stuff out.

I greased up my strut tops with a clear silicone waterproof grease that's meant to be used in faucets, but I expect it'll do the trick for my
purposes.

https://www.amazon.com/Danco-88693-Silicone-Grease/dp/B000DZFUPC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1497164244&sr=8-6&keywords=waterproof+grease


I bought four of the stock Nissan strut caps, cleaned the scale and dirt of each nut & threads, and greased each one with a Q-tip and a generous heap of the grease I mentioned above, then capped it off. I expect I'll never have to touch them but I did set myself a reminder to look at them again in the spring to see if I've collected any water through the evaporation hole in the cap. Some other guys have plugged them but I didn't. We'll see.
 
Gonna have to wave the yellow caution flag on the silicone grease route, remember it is specifically designed to be a long term lubricant for rubber to metal surfaces and I would be hesitant to expect it to provide reliable corrosion inhibitor qualities. I worked Corrosion Control for several years (yes, it was quite an active foe and we had a team in the hanger to go after it with vengeance) on the old amphibious rotary wing aircraft and fixed wing and silicone grease was not in our arsenal against corrosion.

It stays pretty damp where you are at in Washington for months at a time, am I correct, and moisture is the start to the chemical process in a corrosion cell.
 
I'll second the Corrosion-X product. I keep a bottle in my hangar and just brought it home to use on the LEAF. I had the LEAF up on ramps while with the forward aero cover removed while installing DRLs and was unimpressed at the amount of rust already formed on various fittings and joints.

The folks that make Corrosion-X also have a paint protection product called RejeX. Applies like a synthetic wax, and a little goes a long way. Adds a nice shine and bugs practically wipe off. When the bugs start sticking again, I know it's time for a new application.
 
Eyeresearch said:
Gonna have to wave the yellow caution flag on the silicone grease route, remember it is specifically designed to be a long term lubricant for rubber to metal surfaces and I would be hesitant to expect it to provide reliable corrosion inhibitor qualities. I worked Corrosion Control for several years (yes, it was quite an active foe and we had a team in the hanger to go after it with vengeance) on the old amphibious rotary wing aircraft and fixed wing and silicone grease was not in our arsenal against corrosion.

It stays pretty damp where you are at in Washington for months at a time, am I correct, and moisture is the start to the chemical process in a corrosion cell.

Good call, I'll definitely take your word for it and clean out what I've done here and have a look at what you're recommending. If you can keep helicopters from falling out of the air, it's certainly good enough advice for my strut towers.
 
i'll throw my 2 cents in. yesterday i looked and my drivers side had water in it and a bit of corrosion. my solution was to glue a 4.5" diameter plastic plate over the top with RTV to keep water out of any area of the shock tower. this mounts at an angle so the water just runs off into the rain drain that is around the shock tower anyway.

i had a sheet of about 1/16 plastic sitting around which is stiff enough to hold shape on it's own and i used metal shears to cut a 4.5" disc for driver and passenger side. i first sprayed the nut/stud down with some rustoleum paint to keep existing corrossion at bay.

cE0hYBL.jpg

UJSpWjU.jpg


should keep water out of the whole area as long as it doesn't pop off on it's own.
 
I just bought a 2017 Leaf and rusting of these bolts would definitely be something I want to prevent.

It looks like the common solution is to cover it with grease and a plastic cover, but as an alternative does anyone think spraying the area with Plastidip or Flexidip rubberized coating would work instead?
 
that would probably fix it 95-100%. the 5% variability comes from the fact that water still drains into that hole from the wiper and you cant guarantee that the flexidip won't let water seep through at some point and slowly start rusting the bolt from underneath where you can't see it.

if you have it around, then spray that on first, as that will take most of the issue away. then later put in a fix that doesn't let water sit in that pool.

Marko
 
Thanks for the reply Marko.

I just popped off the plastic grates under the hood and saw what you described. We had a thunderstorm earlier and the two wells were full of water. No rust at this time, but the car was only built in May so I'm glad there was none.

I agree that flexidip may not be a 100% solution since water will still sit in the well... any pinhole will hide the rusting.

Instead I fashioned a plastic hood from a small sheet of clear plastic from a strawberry container, bending the edges to hold around the outside. I wanted it clear so I can check inside without having to remove it.
 
rodenti said:
Thanks for the reply Marko.

I just popped off the plastic grates under the hood and saw what you described. We had a thunderstorm earlier and the two wells were full of water. No rust at this time, but the car was only built in May so I'm glad there was none.

I agree that flexidip may not be a 100% solution since water will still sit in the well... any pinhole will hide the rusting.

Instead I fashioned a plastic hood from a small sheet of clear plastic from a strawberry container, bending the edges to hold around the outside. I wanted it clear so I can check inside without having to remove it.
Just did mine like estomax above.
Used a cut down 4" drain cap from plumbing dept at Home depot .
I have never found water in the passenger side on my 13 or 16.
 
Has anybody checked with a dealer on what nIssan's thinking on this is on 2018s? Looking through parts drawings, up to 2917 they at leats had that cap with a hole in the middle, but they removed it in 2018s.
 
They were actually dropped after the 2013 model year, neither my 2014 S nor my 2016 SL had them. I purchased the old Nissan part myself and installed them after cleaning the bolts and spraying them down with some protectant.
 
the cap doesn't help at all so i used grease to make a kind of seal

one thing i noticed is that the drain hole on the right side is very small and mine was blocked but accumulated dirt
you have to check it with your hand moving almost all the way to the rear of that space
the left side the drain hole is way bigger and will fit tree fingers
 
I just checked my 2017 and both sides were clean and dry. I live in a pretty arid climate though so YMMV. I did notice that there was some sort of black rubberized type of coating that was sprayed over the bolt after it was installed. In my climate it doesn't appear to be an issue but I guess I'll check on it every time I pop the hood to fill up the washer fluid, which is my yearly maintenance routine so far on this car :mrgreen:
 
Just did mine- will see if it helps after a few rains:
Stock NIssan caps (954330-ED000) with vent holes covered by some surplus GoreTex vent stickers I had laying around.
HOpefully that will let things breathe but not let water in
Some Liquid Film spray on the bolt/nuts
Silicone grease on the plastic cover's mating surface
Silicone.png

PassSide.png

InstalledPass.png

INstalledRight.png
 
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