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pathy swaying at freeway speeds


nissandoms47
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Well you can get new bushings for it but they are a %$#ch to press out and in... lots of lube is the key. The bushings will run you about $20 a piece x8. That is from Nissan and the only guaranty them for 50,000km. Apparently you can get polyurethane bushings now, defiantly look into this if you plan on off roading. The whole control arms are about $160 and there are 4 of them, Shop around though I found these for 120ea, and I was only able to get then from the (S)tealership. You are looking at about 4 hours to put them in, plus you need new nuts and bolts, because you will more than likely need to torch the old ones out. If you do end up torching careful you don’t blow through the mounts, cause then you’ll have to weld it back. Hope this helps some, Cheers and good hunting.

 

Pathfinder Rookie

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Replacing the lower arms (or bushings) only will solve the death-wobble problem. The upper control arms are harder to access, and don't contribute to the death wobble. If severely worn, however, they will allow the axle to rock back and forth as you accelerate and brake. FWIW, I've only replaced the lower arm bushings on my rig. It has about 140,000 miles on it.

 

If you want just the OEM control arms, which come with bushings included, try Pinnacle Nissan

 

You can get the lower control arms for just $68 each, and the uppers for about $102.

 

If you want to replace the lower control arm bushings only with polyurethane ones, you can reuse your current control arms, have the old bushings pressed out, and the new ones pressed in. AC sells the polyurethane bushings.

 

The advantage of replacing the whole arm is that you don't have to pay for the additional labor of pressing the bushings.

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  • 2 years later...

I have the same problem. While going down the freeway at around 60-70mph my pathfinder begins to wobble side to side with any slight imperfection on the road. The tire also begins to bounce like if i'm running over something. I took it to get checked out and this is what they told me and what needs to be fixed.

 

Prostop platinum front disc/dr

F prostop rotor p/s platinum R

F sensa Trac Strut sensa-trac

F sensa Trac Strut sensa-trac

R Sensa Trac Shock sensa-trac

FRT Strut and/or cartridge r&r

Shc: Shock Front/Rear R&R

R&R Panhard Rod Bushing Both

Torsion Bar bushings

"Vibration comes from Brake system...vehicle vibrates alot when braking. Customer was also advised about his struts and rear bushings."

 

No vibration comes from braking, I don't know what the Tech was smoking, but does everything that they mention sound right, or should I get a second opinion? This was from a PepBoys.

Thanks for the help guys

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88pathfinder is correct. There are NO torsion bars or torsion bushings on any 96-04 pathfinder.

 

bouncy wheel is from a bad strut

 

the side to side sway is notorious in 1996-1998 pathfinders. They fixed it for the 99 and up models. Its from bad rear traction bar bushings. You can get the bushings from 4x4parts.com for $40 but u gotta get em pressed in. Or you can buy the whole bar from NIssan with the bushings already in for about $150 each.

 

I see that the pep boys douche didnt even include those in his ridiculous estimate. You would probably pay $600-$1000 for all that work and your problem wouldnt even be fixed!!!

 

 

 

That pep boys ass hole is trying to pull a fast one on you. Oh, and those sensatrac struts are GARBAGE!! Go KYB!

Edited by FUELER
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That pep boys ass hole is trying to pull a fast one on you. Oh, and those sensatrac struts are GARBAGE!! Go KYB!

I agree there, i have the sensatrac shocks on the front of my wd21, and they maybe have 30,000 miles on them and are about a year old and they're already mushy.

 

Edit: oh and I don't wheel my truck, strictly on road daily driving to and from school on the highway.

Edited by redfinder
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haha... well sorry, i didnt mean to offend but really, those monroe sensatrac are one of the most inexpensive.... that should throw up a red flag right there... typical pep boys stuff....

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Its what Canadian tire up here pushes as their in house brand kinda thing and the guy who had it before me said it was a quick fix b/c the originals were blown.

 

And simon if you read this, i know what the difference between a shock and strut is. :P

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where do you guys recommend taking my truck? Should I go the a Nissan Dealer ship, 4x4parts store, another pepboys? Do 4x4parts stores do diagnostics/maintenace work or just aftermarket installation work? I also have to take my car in for the major tune-up, so I was thinking about doing everything at the same time. Thanks guys.

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where do you guys recommend taking my truck? Should I go the a Nissan Dealer ship, 4x4parts store, another pepboys? Do 4x4parts stores do diagnostics/maintenace work or just aftermarket installation work? I also have to take my car in for the major tune-up, so I was thinking about doing everything at the same time. Thanks guys.

i would take it to your usual mechanic, except if its the pep boys. Talk to your friends and see if they know someone good in the area.

 

I would assume a pep boys is like canadian tire auto service up here ??? :ill:

 

Dealer is usually more expensive but from my experience they usually do pretty good work.

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take it to a reputable mechanic.

 

 

Theres a reason real mechanics dont get any of their parts at PepBoys. Mechanics ALWAYS have accounts at CarQuest, AutoZone, Napa, WorldWide, etc.

 

Pep-Boys is like the Toys-R-Us of auto parts stores.

 

I'm angry that this pep boys kid thinks he can write up a christmas list of everything he can think of, and hopes it will solve your problems. In most cases this would probably be true, so you cant get TOO mad at the guy... but the brakes thing... the torsion bar thing... thats just uncalled for and ridiculous!! Someone should fire that guy!

Edited by FUELER
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Does anyone know the actual part numbers to the traction bars and upper links? Trying to find out if it's cheaper to buy bushing and pay to have them installed than get the parts and do the install myself. Thanks

Edited by rod_b
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Does anyone know the actual part numbers to the traction bars and upper links? Trying to find out if it's cheaper to buy bushing and pay to have them installed than get the parts and do the install myself. Thanks

 

It may NOT be cheaper to buy the bushings separately, have them pressed into your old control arms, and install them than it would be to simply buy new control arms with the bushings pre-installed, unless you do some of the labor yourself.

 

You can buy polyurethane bushings for all 4 rear control arms at 4x4parts.com. They cost $36.50 per pair of bushings (so you would need to buy 4 pairs for a total of $146). And then, in addition to removing the old arms, you would have to have the old bushings pressed out and the new bushings pressed in.

 

New lower control arms (which include the bushings) cost about $74 each and New upper control arms (bushings included) cost about $105 at AllNissanParts.org owned by Pinnacle Nissan. That's $358 in parts.

 

So, if you can have new bushings pressed into your old arms for less than $358-$146, or $212, then you'd come out ahead. Keep in mind that if you do the labor yourself, while the control arms are removed from your truck, it's obviously not driveable.

 

By the way, to correct the swaying problem, only the lower control arm bushings are the ones that need replacing. The upper control arms simply control axle wrap during acceleration and braking (and don't contribute to swaying), so if you're on a budget, you can postpone replacing the upper arms until a later date.

Edited by XPLORx4
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does anyone have a writeup or know of one for replacing these? I have all 4 pairs of bushings coming from 4x4parts.com, and I was wondering what kind of job this is going to be. I will be doing it myself. I am a pretty good DIY guy, done water pump changes, brakes, all that. What should I expect to have break and replace while I'm at it? Me and my dad are going to get the arms off, and Im going to take them somewhere to get the bushings pressed in with my sisters car...

 

TIA Mike

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does anyone have a writeup or know of one for replacing these?

 

It won't be an easy job. Try this link to start with. Since you live where undercarriage rust an corrosion is common, you may want to pick up a new set of nuts and bolts for the control arms, since they may be rust-welded to the bushings and may need to be cut off.

 

Also, don't take all four links out simultaneously. It's better to do just one at a time, or it will be really hard to wrangle the axle back into place. Even with only one control arm removed, I still had to use a hand-winch to realign the axle with the bolt-holes.

Edited by XPLORx4
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Thats a great diagram...from what it looks like though, they look like they are a piece of cake to get to (at least the lowers), im guessing its a lot harder to fight to get them off and back on with the holes aligned. Should I just go to the stealer to get new nuts and bolts, or can I get these at an autozone or home depot or something?

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