piste

Question on the strut mounts....I have my 97 SE apart in the driveway with KYB GR-2's ready to install and OEM strut mounts. Do you all recommend replacing EVERY part of the OEM strut mounts??? There's like 7 or 8 parts to the mount. I ended up getting them all....for a grand total of over $250 for both mounts from Courtesy Nissan. I had my original struts replaced about 6 years ago and checked the paperwork and looks like they did not replace ANY parts of the mounts so believe what I just took off the vehicle is 13 years old as far as mounts are concerned. After breaking down my old ones...my observations are as follows: -spacers - definitely needed -upper insulator - probably needed...seemed kind of ok but tough to assess wear and Courtesy said most folks replace these when doing struts -bearings - actually seem quite fine...but I already have the replacement ones for $64 a pair...wish I could save that $$$ but don't want to cheap outand regret later so will probably throw them in. Another part Courtesy said frequently replaced every time struts are done. -top rubber spring seal - amazingly after 13 years the ones that were in there seemed just fine for a piece of rubber...would have expected them to be more dry and cracked. But for $32 and have them already so will likely throw them in. -bottom rubber spring seat - well this is kind of more like a piece of plastic..old ones don't seem too bad...but new ones are going in anyway -bracket front strut insulator..lower...Didn't order these originally but lower part of the plate had some corrosion and the rubber part inside was starting to come apart a bit so I got those...they function as other half of the upper insulator so seems prudent to replace. Also replacing all nuts and bolts. Hope this post helps someone...and curious if anyone has any observations from doing this job themselves. What I learned is that when someone says OEM strut mount....there's a LOT of parts that go into that...not to mention $$$$$$$$$$$. But in my case where they all had a good 13 years of service on them...figured best to replace more parts rather than less....particularly being as I'm doing the job myself. I can only imagine what a dealer would charge to do a strut job where they replaced both struts and ALL parts of the mount including nuts and bolts....that's GOTTA be a $1,000 job give or take.

Thank you.

To anyone interested....I have a '97 SE and once the OEM Duelers were done at 40K miles I put on the Mich LTX's in p265/70-15....got just shy of 100K miles out of them!!! no joke. But you don't get that kinda treadlife without accepting as somewhat less comfy ride. Get your money's worth though!!! Course at this point the wear bars are showing and won't pass inspection. Gonna try the Gen' Grabbers HTS next up.

Newbie here....I was so excited to find this thread so I could finally figure out WTF is an SFD!! Seen it in many posts related to suspension...but can't figure it out to save my life....anybody? Thanks.

Well my advice would be that when you want to "speak from your mind" without knowledge of what it is your speaking...don't state it as fact.

there's a reason they exist....you may not value it....but sounds like your coming from a point that warrants some further education on the matter on your part.

Well...not sure "NEED" is the right word..as I don't know that anyone NEEDS poly bushings anywhere. But the benefits of poly bushings as I understand it are longer life and somewhat stiffer and/or improved performance. But all that aside...what is it about sway bar bushings in particular that you believe the general benefits of poly would NOT apply? And to my knowledge ...your statement that they don't make that much of a difference at all is incorrect.

Actually...that's not what I see. Try it for a 1997 Pathy SE....and I get two responses...one for rubber bracket bushings... http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsShelf.jsp?displayName=Sway+Bar+Bracket+Bushing&currentPage=1&categoryDisplayName=Suspension+%26+Steering&navValue=14600205&itemId=205-0&parentId=46-0 and one for replacement links with rubber bushings... http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsShelf.jsp?displayName=Sway+Bar+Repair+Kit&currentPage=1&categoryDisplayName=Suspension+%26+Steering&navValue=14600197&itemId=197-0&parentId=46-0 Or if I use the "product search" box instead of navigating through the parts catalog...I get 80 different bushings back of all difference sizes. Now...I'm not saying AZ doesn't have polyurethane sway bar bushings and links for a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder SE....but danged if they can be found without knowing the part dimensions via the web site. They appear to carry this sort of thing so I'm just gonna stop by the store and see if tehy can help me there. And BTW...someone deleted their post in this thread wherein they might owe you $100 via Paypal??

Eh? I don't get it. Why the stick whack? Thought it was a simple question...Seems it's not as simple an answer as 87pathy seems to think.??

Anyone have any thoughts on the Rancho RSX17000's? I've had them in my 97 SE and am due to replace. Was going to do RS5000 but figure the RSX17000 would be a worthwhile upgrade.?

Thanks. Don't know the specs on mine...but there is an AZ store right near me so figuring they can help me with that....bar diameter...link length and all.

Know them well...tried them first..ordered a bunch of stuff yesterday in fact. They don't have them for 97's. And regarding split vs one piece...I think you might be thinking about link bushings......and on that note...just pressed in the one pieces in my lower links last weekend!!

Thanks man...to be clear....you mean all four longer bolts in the lower links and the four shorter bolts for the upper links?

Thanks to all for this thread. I ordered the GR-2 struts yesterday from 4x4parts and also ordered the strut mounts. They've confirmed the mounts are KYB so I cancelled that part of the order. Now I need to figure out what OEM pieces to get. I have a '97 SE and am going to have a local garage do the work. The original struts were replaced in 2003 by a dealer and paperwork does not indicate anything about strut mounts so believe I still have complete original mounts in there today and at around 150K miles. Getting everything in the above list from Courtesy prices out at $300 for both struts. I want to get all I reasonably need without hopefully spending $300!!! Courtesy recommends getting mount, bearing, and upper spacer which will run me about $160 total for both sides. Would anyone recommend adding any other pieces? I am original owner and will likely have this vehicle for some time so don't want to go back and redo any work. Thanks in advance!!

Replacing the bushings in my lower links...got a full set of 8 OEM replacement bolts that covers both lower and upper links. Four of the bolts are longer than the other four and I didn't pay attention taking the old ones off...so trying to figure out where the long ones go vs. the shorter ones. I have the Service Manual and checked some online schematics and can't seem to figure it out. Anyone know? Thanks in advance!

Anyone know a good current source for a set of polyurethane sway bar bushings...preferably including links...for a 97 SE?