Safety recommendation for L24/L30 owners - strut covers

Orebro

Hi all,

Came across this on SpeakEV and thought I'd repost here. The Leaf didn't come with strut covers so it allows pooling of water around the nut etc, which may cause major problems over time due to rust - see here:

https://www.speakev.com/threads/front-suspension-failure.137920/

It's pretty frightening tbh. I would recommend anyone with a L24/L30 to purchase some strut covers immediately and fit them. They cost pennies and take all of 10 seconds to fit and may save a big bit of maintenance or worse later on. These are the ebay ones:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vented-Strut-Cover-Fits-the-Nissan-Leaf-Juke/292745580418?fits=Model%3ALeaf&hash=item4428ff0f82:g:SEEAAOSwyO1axkZ5

And these ones also fit (even though they're for a VW):

https://www.vwheritage.com/17141235901c-suspension-strut-top-mount-cover-vw-spare

Or some people have simply used a yoghurt pot or tuna tin of the correct size to cover.

KCross

Having seen that thread a while back and noticed the pooling of water myself I bought these guys...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153212870684

Fits fine and dirt cheap. Stupid design by Nissan for the sake of a few cent for a cover!

I can confirm that the L40 suffers from the same issue too as seen after a wash yesterday. The RH/driver one was absolutely swimming. Covered the strut tops using 1998-2001 SAAB 9-5 Valeo headlamp rear covers which were a perfect fit. I just needed to drill a small ventilation hole on them and they look really stock. The 2001-2005 may also be the same size in case you happen to come across those somewhere.

Sometimes it's good to keep old stuff. Had to rummage through my stash for a while before I came by these.

slave1

That was brought up here before, I think from memory I got a pair of Golf covers for less than a tenner and a doddle to fit, must take a peek and see how they are holding up

NIMAN

sorry, maybe a daft question here from someone with no technical ability when it comes to cars.

Where exactly do these fit? is it under the bonnet on top of the mount?

I see 'seconds to fit' then see loads of pictures of dismantled pieces taken out of cars.

The tops of the struts are hidden behind a plastic "grille" that hides the process until something fails if you don't know better and take a look. There are small removable trim pieces that just clip out to reveal the strut tops underneath.

Didn't take any pictures but I'm sure there are plenty online.

NIMAN

So is this under the bonnet, at the top of where the shock absorbers underneath would be?

Correct. There should a way to access them from the both ends of the trim piece at the bottom of the windscreen when you open the bonnet.

slave1

From memory there's a snap cover you simply unsnap, all your time in doing this will be in cleaning out the gunk and water, the fitting process takes seconds

NIMAN

Cheers, I'll get a look

slave1

slave1 wrote: »

From memory there's a snap cover you simply unsnap, all your time in doing this will be in cleaning out the gunk and water, the fitting process takes seconds

Indeed. Our one year old car had a shocking volume of rotten leaves etc. in the area. Definitely worth taking a look there.

NIMAN

samih wrote: »

Indeed. Our one year old car had a shocking volume of rotten leaves etc. in the area. Definitely worth taking a look there.

Yeah I 've seen the leaves!

NIMAN

Took a look, and yeah a small amount of water lying in the drivers side. Passenger side was empty.

I have read this is how it works, always the drivers side that's flooded.

Now dried it out and ordered 2 of the VW ones to cover them.

Thanks for posting this up OP.

Roen

Leaf 40 here, ex leaf 24. Just checked the 40 and the drivers side is noticeably way more grimy than the passenger side.
There's a pool of water in there despite its having glorious weather the past 4 or 5 days.
Caps it is.
What a **** design.

NIMAN

Roen wrote: »

Leaf 40 here, ex leaf 24. Just checked the 40 and the drivers side is noticeably way more grimy than the passenger side.
There's a pool of water in there despite its having glorious weather the past 4 or 5 days.
Caps it is.
What a **** design.

Yeah it doesn't seem to dry up easily.

Plus apparently anytime you use the water for window wipers, that gathers in there too.:rolleyes:

Roen

NIMAN wrote: »

Yeah it doesn't seem to dry up easily.

Plus apparently anytime you use the water for window wipers, that gathers in there too.:rolleyes:

Yes, absolutely.
Use Sonax screenwash diluted right down as we don't really get that cold here. Wonder would the antifreeze/detergents in that make things worse or better.

NIMAN

My covers arrived today. Fit perfectly.

Pkiernan

Leaf owners really should be telling Nissan about this.

It could help people further down the line.

deadduck

thanks for this tip OP. checked a few weeks ago to find the same as most, passenger side was dry, but driver side had plenty of water. ordered these based off the part number in OP's post:

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/2x-Original-VW-Front-Suspension-Strut-Top-Mount-Cover-Cap-Nos-171412359-01C/263989610924

perfect size, and a doddle to fit

slave1

Meant to post back here, I put these in when I got my Leaf a few years back and checked them a few weeks back, both had come off so I recommend checking them every few months