Jump to content

pathy swaying at freeway speeds


nissandoms47
 Share

Recommended Posts

i was afraid you would say that...so the only nuts and bolts i have to worry about are going to be the 8 bolts and nuts related with each mounting point for the control arms? no others? Sorry to be asking so many questions, but i would much rather be prepared for anything that could happen then have to stop in the middle of working and get the parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are really the only fasteners that could give you trouble, although there is a possibility that some of the 10mm nuts holding the ABS and parking brake cables to the lower links may also be bad, but you can get 10mm nuts just about anywhere, and they're not showstoppers anyway.

 

If you don't want to spend the $$ for the fasteners, you could try inspecting them and/or loosening them slightly first to see if they really need to be replaced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

so you postive that these arms come with bushings? reason being is i just bought two arms from the dealer for $120 each. The reason that I bought them from the dealer is that it was the only place that i was positive that that the arms came with bushings, so if you sure that these arms come with bushings i will try to return them and get them online. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so you postive that these arms come with bushings? reason being is i just bought two arms from the dealer for $120 each. The reason that I bought them from the dealer is that it was the only place that i was positive that that the arms came with bushings, so if you sure that these arms come with bushings i will try to return them and get them online. Thanks

 

Did you get them from Tynans? They are good about giving me a wholesale price on stuff if you ask. Just print out the same part from Courtesy and ask if they'll match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, they come with the bushings. You'll note that in the diagram, part 7 (the upper control arm) includes part 8 (the bushings), and part 9 (the lower control arm) includes part 10 (the bushings).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had this problem a few year back. I think they started to go bad in the 8th year, and were completely not drivable in the 9th.

 

I had the whole arms replaced. The shop I was at didn't want to , or couldn't do it. They know one way: yank and replace.

 

Trouble was the nissan dealer, and this other shop couldn't tell me what the problem was until I googled it and told them what to fix.

Edited by Eagle
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I did my own and it was not that difficult to do, just time consuming. I did all four control arms and the panhard rod bushings, pressed out the old bushings with a tool I made by turning down a snowmobile piston to the exact size. I had to heat the old bushings to get them out to break free the steel rings around the bushings in order to get them out since they seemed to have some sort of anti sieze holding them in.

 

I then lubed the new bushings and pressed them in with the same tool using a hydraulic press and some silicone lube. The rod ends were held straight by placing them in a rest I made to keep them from turning when I did the pressing. It took about four hours to do the entire job and all it cost was the $150 I paid Nissan for the bushings.

 

Tom

Edited by ennacac
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did my own and it was not that difficult to do, just time consuming. ...with a tool I made by turning down a snowmobile piston

 

Sounds like you have a lot of mechanical know-how and a well-setup shop, which is probably more than the average member on this forum. I don't know many people who can make a tool from a turned-down snowmobile piston, let alone even having a spare snowmobile piston handy! ;)

Edited by XPLORx4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually anyone with older snowmobiles has old pistions laying around and the one I had was almost the right size. I put it in a friends lathe and turned it down so it just fit inside the outside sleeve for the bushing. I then used it on my shop press (cheap Harbor Freight version) and pressed the old bushings out and the new ones in.

 

My friend has a two post lift, but keeping the wheels on the ground worked better when taking off all four control arms since then the suspension wasn't supported by anything, so ramps worked better for me. So the only tool most people don't have that I used was the press and it is only $110 for the 12 ton model at HF.

 

Any snowmobile/ATV shop will have a junk piston you can have and you could get it turned at a machine shop for next to nothing if you can't do it yourself. They could even do the pressing if you want also, but I expect they would charge you half of what the press costs, so I would rather buy the press to have for later projects.

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ended up reaming the old bushings out because they were too spongee to try and press out. I used a cutting drill bit and went around the outside of the old bushing and "cut" the old rubber bushing out. A bench vise and a large socket worked to press the 4x4parts.com bushings in. I picked up the bolts from the dealer and they were $$ but I bought extras just to be sure. One thing I would do differently is spend the extra money and buy the Split bushings and not the one piece ones that I bought. I had to shave off a shoulder to get them to press in.

 

It was a long process but got easier with each arm/press. The hardest part was lining up the axle on the second arm installation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ended up reaming the old bushings out because they were too spongee to try and press out. I used a cutting drill bit and went around the outside of the old bushing and "cut" the old rubber bushing out. A bench vise and a large socket worked to press the 4x4parts.com bushings in.

 

I guess the 4x4 parts bushings didn't have the steel sleeve the stock ones have, since that is why the tool I made had to fit perfectly to push out the steel sleeve along with the rubber bushing. The rubber on mine was soft also, and it is molded to the sleeve, but after heating the arm just a bit, the sleeve and rubber came out with very little effort with a 12 ton press.

 

Anyway, just a heads up that the stock bushings are not just rubber, but have a steel sleeve holding the rubber in place inside the control arms as well as the panhard rod.

 

If you just cut out the rubber you will not be able to get the stock bushings in!

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahhh, that would explain it. I looked at those sleeves and I had no idea how to get them out..anyway, it worked out with LOTS of grease. ;)

 

When taking the control arms off, did u jack up the rear and take the wheels off? I thought i read somewhere that if you put the rear wheels on blocks so you can get under there it wont be hard to line up the control arm with the axle?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When taking the control arms off, did u jack up the rear and take the wheels off? I thought i read somewhere that if you put the rear wheels on blocks so you can get under there it wont be hard to line up the control arm with the axle?

 

Ya, I took the wheels off and I probably shouldn't have. I did do one side at a time though which I would really recommend.

 

In the end it was a combination of a floor jack, a bottle jack, two jack stands, an extra set of hands (my brother), a little "whoops", some swearing, and a ton of luck that finally got it to line up. As usual, I think I took the hard way though.....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well i got the poly bushings from 4x4parts.com. Im going to tackle at least the lowers next weekend, but i was wondering about one thing. I know someone had said they bought the hydraulic press from harbor freight, and we were considering doing the same. Do you all think a 12 ton press will be enough? And would i need an adapter in order to press the bushings out and in or will the press itself be wide enough?

 

And also, Im really wondering if I could do this with the rear wheels on blocks? Has anyone done this or know if that will be better. I mean when I think about it the control arms dont support any weight or really stabilize while the truck is immobile right?

 

Thanks,

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 ton should be plenty to press the bushings, I'm not sure about the size but there was the snowmobile piston trick mentioned earlier.

 

The only reason I took the wheels off was to give me more room to work at the back, I had to grind the old bolt heads off in order to get the axle end free. If you want, you should be able to leave the wheel on for the frame rail end. It might be a little tight for room on the axle end with the wheels on but someone else might be able to confirm this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I replaced the lower control arm bushings, I didn't raise the truck off the ground or remove the wheels. However, I did do only one side at a time. It's risky to remove all of the control arms at once, because they are what keep the axle in place under the truck. If you remove the control arms, the axle can rotate and possibly let the springs fall out, and then you'd have a really big problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, thats good to hear. I was still planning on only doing one side at a time, but i think i will put the rear wheels on blocks or ramps, just so its easier to get too. All i need to do is get a couple new nuts and bolts for the mounting points. Thanks guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok well the local harbor freight has the 12 ton press so im getting that...does anybody have any advice on a spray to use to hopefully make the nuts and bolts a little more manageable? Im going to start spraying them today and soak them 2 or 3 times a day until saturday when i start replaceing. I may still get new ones but i dont have a blow torch and dont really want to get into grinding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok well the local harbor freight has the 12 ton press so im getting that...does anybody have any advice on a spray to use to hopefully make the nuts and bolts a little more manageable? Im going to start spraying them today and soak them 2 or 3 times a day until saturday when i start replaceing. I may still get new ones but i dont have a blow torch and dont really want to get into grinding.

 

Go pick up an inexpensive Bernzomatic torch at Home Depot. They work great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok im in the middle of doing it. What are the proper sizes for the nut and bolts, since the nuts are a different size then the bolts? I used 3/4" socket and it claimed my first breaker bar already, breaking the male end off in the female end in the socket. Thanks.

 

edit: seems like one of the bolts wont come off even after getting the nut off. Any way to get it loose or cut it off without a plasma cutter?

Edited by laxman0324
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...