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wobble in the rear end


thorpe991
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so today on my way to work i was going around 45-50mph and the rear of the pathfinder started to bob back and forth i was

still going down the road straight but it felt like i was going over whoops but opposite on each side

 

it got kinda violent before i slowed down and once i hit 40 it stopped

 

im thinking its what iv read is the "death wobble"?

 

when i got the pathfinder in august of 2013 i replaced both rear sway bar links and replaced the rear shocks

 

i went with cheap autozone ones as i was short on money but i blew one so i needed them

 

i am running what equals 32" tires they are the green diamond mud terrains on chevy 16" rims with 1.5" wheel spacers

 

my front tires are cupped horribly but the rear are still perfect im running right around 35psi and they are a very stiff side wall tire

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You are correct, it is the death wobble, due to bad lower trailing arms (the bushings to be exact). I had mine replaced, then those went bad 2 years later, so im on my second set of them since obtaining my truck in 2010. From what I understand it isn't too bad to do yourself (others weigh in on this?) but I didn't have the means to do so, so I had shop&dealer do mine.

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Did my 98 a while ago, purchased the bushings from Nissan, took off the control arms and the pan hard rod. I pressed the old bushings out (used an old snowmobile piston) and pressed the new ones in.

 

Took about three hours using a Harbor Freight press and a hoist that allowed the wheels to hang free.

 

It was actually pretty easy, I did use heat on two of the bushings getting them out (the metal sleeves were rusted to the arms) but them came out without a lot of work.

 

Tom

Edited by ennacac
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If you do it be sure to torque the bushings down with weight on the wheels. FSM states all rubber bushing be torqued with weight on wheels. This is because you want the bushings to be in a neutral position when the vehicle is on the ground under it's own weight. If you torque them up with the wheels hanging down they will be neutral in that position. When you lower the vehicle on to the wheels you're going to be winding up those bushings and you don't want that with the vehicle in a static position. They're supposed to wind up when the suspension is traveling up and down over bumps. Not doing this will probably wear out those new bushings a lot faster than they should.

 

 

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Here are the part numbers for the upper and lower bushings:

PART NUMBER: 55046-0W001

BUSH-REAR, UPPER $10.16 EA

QTY NEEDED: 4

 

 

PART NUMBER: 55045-0W023

BUSH-REAR, LOWER $18.13 EA

QTY NEEDED: 4

 

 

I see you are in a rust prone area. Check the arms to make sure they are in good shape as well as the bolts. If they look questionable you may want to consider replacing the entire arms which include the bushings in them already:

PART NUMBER: 55120-2W100

LINK COMP, UPPER

$106.44 EA

QTY NEEDED: 2

 

 

PART NUMBER: 55110-3W700

LINK COMP, LOWER, RH $75.93

 

PART NUMBER: 55111-3W700

LINK COMP, LOWER, LH $75.93

 

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FWIW, the bushings may have different numbers, but I could not see any difference between any of them including the pan hard rod. When I checked the bushings in the pan hard rod, they were not as bad as the control arms, but still softer than the new ones were.

 

Also, my 98 was purchased in CA just a year before I did the job, so that my be why there was not much of a problem getting the bushings out.

Edited by ennacac
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Not to thread jack, but along a similar line, I have a strong wobble in the steering wheel when going about 55 over relatively smooth pavement. I just had it aligned, and the tires balanced, any suggestions?

Edited by Karmann
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I had a minor wobble in my 2002 and it seemed to go away when I installed the Missing Link to stabelize the unibody up front.

Hmm I already have a 4x4parts skidplates which seemed to stiffen the front end, but maybe I'll make sure it's all tight?

 

I'd be surprised if my tires were cupping as I rotate and balance them ultra-religiously, and always have an alignment...

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I just had all this fixed at perfection tire, upper lower control arms and the other bushing that is random and don't remember. Ran me about 550 with new arms instead of doing just bushings. Also did front sway bar bushings. No more wobble. Mine was bad though, no bushing left in the passenger side, wobbled at all speeds.

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

If you do it be sure to torque the bushings down with weight on the wheels. FSM states all rubber bushing be torqued with weight on wheels. This is because you want the bushings to be in a neutral position when the vehicle is on the ground under it's own weight. If you torque them up with the wheels hanging down they will be neutral in that position. When you lower the vehicle on to the wheels you're going to be winding up those bushings and you don't want that with the vehicle in a static position. They're supposed to wind up when the suspension is traveling up and down over bumps. Not doing this will probably wear out those new bushings a lot faster than they should.

 

 

If I torque with the rear diff lifted in the air (jackstand underneath as a "catch" if something were to slip) would this be sufficient? or did I screw it up? I didn't have the rear-tires nor spare wheel installed as it gave me better access to torque the bolts down.

 

I also laid on a hefty amount of marine grease (inside and outside the bushings) on the reinstall, I'm guessing even the grease may not help it "un-wind" when in neutral position (ie. weight on the wheels).

 

Here's a pic I snapped of the UTA. There's grease all over those bushings :) specifically, between the bracket and bushing itself. Though, Under ~100ft-lbs of torque, not sure if the grease would even allow it to unwind (assuming I torqued it improperly).

 

IMG_1022.JPG

Edited by Qx4donald
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  • 2 months later...

So i plan on rebuilding the suspension this month what causes the wobble more lower trailing arms or upper

 

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Tapatalk

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The lowers cause the wobble I believe , but I'd do both upper and lower .

If one is gone can the other be far behind ? And you're already in there .

 

Out of all the stuff I fixed on my '96 , the upper and lower rear bushings were the most bang for the buck .

 

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  • 2 years later...

So I would like to ask if somebody has any suggestions on this topic. I have replaced all of the control arm bushings in the suspension, front and back. I have replaced the shocks and struts, as well as the springs. I have replaced the sway bar linkages front and back, and I have replaced the front axles. I still get the death wobble in the back, not as much but it does happen still while driving down the freeway. I also get it once in a while driving down the road when I hit bumps. I am not sure what else to do, have I missed something or is my car just not worth working on anymore and should I sell it for parts or to a high school auto shop for a project, any input would be helpful.

 

Thanks.

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