# HOW TO: Install "Alutec" Strut Bar



## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Hi Guys,

OK, it's here and it's on 

Just finished the installation and test driving if the Alutec Strut Bar and here are the steps (for those that haven't yet fitted them)

1. As soon as you open the bonnet and have a look at the 6 strut nuts you will notice that 1 on each side is in a tricky and un-reachable position.

2. I have managed to loosen all other 4 nuts with some force (they're pretty tight) and then tried to loosen the hidden nuts in the corner using a flat 14mm spanner (that didn't work at all), so I had Turkish black coffee and scratched my head thinking how the hell am gonna reach this nut and with what? so I used an offset 14mm ring spanner to get to this hidden nut (here it is)



I quickly went to my mate (local mechanic) and borrowed one from him. I used this spanner to loosen the 2 hidden nuts and it did the job perfectly.

3. When you take off these 6 nuts you gonna need to take off the strut rings that are attached to them



4. Take off the strut brace and position the bases (one on each side)





5. Tighten all nuts (really well and hard) as they were quite tight when I tried to loosen them, and then attached the brace and tighten it as well.

P.S. Do NOT use excessive force, as you could end-up with something like this. hehehe 







This concludes the installation  BUT...

My installation process took much longer because of the aftermarket cruise control and the bracket of which was in my way and would not fit along the strut bar base  here is a photo when I tried position the strut bar next to the existing cruise control bracket



I had to remove the cruise control bracket and drill a different hole in it to move it a bit so it can sit right next to the strut base. It worked-out well at the end.

Here is the finished product fitted and ready for a test drive.





Here are a couple of pics illustrating the distance between the strut brace and the brake fluid reservoir.





*TEST DRIVE REPORT*

OK, took the exy for a test-drive and noticed a difference in handling straight away on the 1st corner in my street. I then proceeded to a roundabout and gave it a bit of power at the turn and could feel the exy much more stable on such a hard turn and did not sway at all or cause a body roll.

I then proceeded to one of the streets where I could pick-up enough speed (up to 75kms/hour) and turned into another street and the exy was as stable as a rock.

I also tried doing a U turn in one of the wide street and again, handling was much better than before.

The last test involved having the left front wheel go above a high kerb (in a parked position) and let the other 3 wheels stay on a lower position on the road. I proceeded to open the tailgate and the bonnet (which usually give you trouble when the chassis flex in a position like this) and was happy to find out that both the tailgate and the bonnet opened and closed normally.

*Conclusion*

The strut bar has definitely improved handling and cornering and I can tell ya that you guys gonna have fun in roundabouts "if you have them in your country that is" 

Diffidently worth every Dollar spent on it and an addition well worth considering for every xtrail.

Sorry about the long post


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Very nice work Jalal!

Again that strut bar design looks really cool  

And I see that it leaves you with plenty of room to get that rear bolt without having to move the "cowl top" like mine did... Excellent!


(ps: please see you pm and respond. Thanks)
Marc.


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

*NICE!!!*

Great instructional and pics, Jalal! 

I am happy you got the same palpalble effect I got when my strut bar got installed. It definitely is a great addition.

One thing I did notice in your installation instructions that was absent... and one that might help in handling EVEN more... is to raise the car before tightening the bolts on the bar. 

Here is something I found at Tanabe's USA website... http://www.tanabe-usa.com/strutbars/

----------------
"Adjustable Preload 

A very common error when installing tower bars, It is always recommended to raise the vehicle when installing so that the load of the shock uppermounts on the shock towers is relieved and balanced out. When raised, and the tower bar is placed onto the vehicle, the preload can be adjusted and set. After it is bolted on and the car is lowered, each shock tower will have equal load and will prevent independent movements of each shock. This will provide an extremely noticeable difference after installing. If a tower bar is installed on a car that is not raised, great benefits will be missed."
---------------

I made the same mistake when I installed my Jaos bars. Despite that I noticed a difference in handling anyway. But when I redid it the way it was recommended, I (at least subjectively) felt added stability.

Well, the bar looks great! I'm happy you finally got one and are feeling the benefits of it. Its been on your list for a while and you certainly got one that goes very nicely with your black, bling-bling X.  Congrats!


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks guys 

Tim: I'll take your advice on board and will undo just the top brace off tomorrow, raise the car and tighten again, although I don't think it would make a huge difference, as the struts themselves are still bolted in the middle even though you take the 6 bolts off.

Don't think I'll notice the difference as I did already, but I could be wrong.

Oh well, guess it's good to have a "how to" and some tips before doing the install and it would help others for sure and prevent them from repeating our mistakes.

Will report back tomorrow.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*Adjustable Pre-Load*

Hi Guys, 

Just finished re-installing the top brace of the strut bar with the car jacked-up and took it for a test drive and I can report that I have not noticed any major difference to the way it handled yesterday. 

I think the above "fitting method" is applicable to the Tanabe strut bar which has the adjustable pre-load nut on it. Alutec doesn't have that, hence I don't think it would make a difference.


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

That's true, Jalal... the Tanabe bar might have a design that's different. 

Thanks for the feedback as usual!


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## Sergei_dekker (Jun 4, 2005)

dude u forgot one point too after installing the strut bar....I felt that the steering does not vibrate at very high speeds
(180KM/h and above),car's steering feels more precise oh yea...and now it has OVERSTEER to play with... :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Sergei_dekker said:


> dude u forgot one point too after installing the strut bar....I felt that the steering does not vibrate at very high speeds
> (180KM/h and above),car's steering feels more precise oh yea...and now it has OVERSTEER to play with... :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


hehehe. My road test did not involve going on a suicide mission LOL  but am happy to know that anyway.


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## Sergei_dekker (Jun 4, 2005)

sorry about not posting pics of my strut bar...I don't have a digi cam with me but anyway here they are...sorry for the night photos....


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## SCHESBH (May 25, 2004)

*Ordered mine...*

Thanks for the thumbs up on the bar! I ordered one from MaxDax whihc he will be shipping soon to me.. now I can't wait to get it installed!

Stephen


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## colshie (Jun 1, 2005)

Boys

If I was to fit strut bar to my X T. Would it affect/negate my warranty?
Any clues??????


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

It would not affect warranty.

For a part to affect warranty it has to be proven that the mod you made has directly created the problem for which you are now trying to claim warranty.

Adding the strut bar is a pretty "safe" mod.

(unless, as a crazy :crazy: imaginary example, one bolt falls off your strut bar bracket while driving and winds up traveling through the path of your belt drive, then you would be in bad shape trying to claim warranty for your crank & belt drive... because the trouble was directly caused by your strut bar)






colshie said:


> Boys
> 
> If I was to fit strut bar to my X T. Would it affect/negate my warranty?
> Any clues??????


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## jtanoyo1 (May 15, 2005)

OMG! StuPID STUPID HIDDEN BOLTS!!!!! We were using the flat spanner and they are JUST DARN IMPOSSIBLE....

...off to go and get me slanted spanner tomorrow.... grr..


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

jtanoyo1 said:


> OMG! StuPID STUPID HIDDEN BOLTS!!!!! We were using the flat spanner and they are JUST DARN IMPOSSIBLE....
> 
> ...off to go and get me slanted spanner tomorrow.... grr..


hehehe, that's why I put the "how to" here, so you would save yourself time and frustration 

Have a good breakfast before you start loosening these bolts


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## LimLim (Jun 4, 2005)

Jon, don't forget to tighten the nut until the spacer (blue arrow) tight enough,

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2344/bold9tn.jpg


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## jtanoyo1 (May 15, 2005)

Well, my dumb a$$ managed to strip that bolt. Even with the bent spanner, it won't bite at all. I guess I need to take it to the shop tomorrow.

Man, I feel so silly, having to go to a shop just to remove a stripped nut...


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## L.Lee (Jul 24, 2005)

I received my strut bar from Leng today and going to have fun this weekend trying to install the thing. I noticed in Jalal's steps, there are two 'C' ring things, what do you do with that?

I also bought from him the stainless steel door sill garnish (with LED), man they look great. Now I have a question, where to tap the power supply for this door sill garnish, rear and front? Any one have experience with this? Thanks!


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## jtanoyo1 (May 15, 2005)

You should tap the power from your door courtesy light, so your sidesills will light up when you open your door. The last thing you wanna do is to wire up to "on" all the time. You will run out of battery power in no time!


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

L.Lee said:


> I received my strut bar from Leng today and going to have fun this weekend trying to install the thing. I noticed in Jalal's steps, there are two 'C' ring things, what do you do with that?
> 
> I also bought from him the stainless steel door sill garnish (with LED), man they look great. Now I have a question, where to tap the power supply for this door sill garnish, rear and front? Any one have experience with this? Thanks!


Those C rings would have been in place from the factory, now that you have a strut bar, you don't need these anymore, as the base of the strut bar would act as a C ring. so just put them somewhere safe in your garage and keep them for good memory LOL 

I'll answer your question about the door sills wiring in the accessories thread to keep this thread on the subject


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## L.Lee (Jul 24, 2005)

Thanks Jon and Jalal :thumbup: . I will wait for your detail instruction on door sill wiring in the 'after market' thread. One of my questions is where do I tap the power supply, at the fuse box (vanity light) or clip the wire somewhere in the middle (where?). I hope I don't have to remove the door panel due to the fear of causing rattling noise later... Cheers


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## lakmethemud (Nov 15, 2004)

Thanks for the great walkthrough Jalal! I received my strut bar and installed it today. It took a heck of a lot of force on my socket wrench to loosen any of those dang bolts, and when it came to the back 2...well...things got ugly. I scowered the city for a shop that sold offset spanners. NONE! Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Princess Auto, Parts Source, etc, etc. I must have called 20 places with the same reply: We don't have any offset ones.

Dang!!

With daylight departing quickly I called my buddy (both extreme novices in car repair) and we began to remove the windshield wiper housing thingie. Best word there...thingie. It got tricky when we dropped a few plastic clips down into the great unknown. Once those bulky pieces were off strewn across my lawn in exact order of removal it was a sinch to socket wrench the last 2 bolts off and install the bar.

Things got back into their respective places easily and I felt good knowing that I didn't have to resort to bringing it to the shop. Though...I had made an appointment after the first 10 shops had rejected me. 

Improvement in stability was noticeable and highway cruising was smoother for sure.

Thank-you for the help.
ltm


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

No problems at all and am glad you managed to have it fitted at the end.

No offset spanner??? That is a worry 

Maybe we need to ask Alutec to supply one with every strut bar. hehehe "just kidding"


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