LINDERS

Why don't I replace them myself and save the $$? I promised myself that when I got this car I wouldn't work on my cars anymore. I'm getting too old for that kind of labor plus I get funny looks from my neighbors (being a girl and all) and in the end the money is worth the saved labor, pain and frustration I’d experience:-) I am going to get the struts replaced- after I call the dealer and ask them about the lifetime warranty thing (see below) I'll let ya'll know if it fixes it. btw: my tires are in perfect condition. Nice wear pattern and not too worn. "sooo if Nissan makes lifetime struts why weren't they on there in the first place could've saved this poor college student some serious coin.... " OHHHH!! I can't wait to ask my dealer about this one. They're bastards here and any chance I get to give them a hard time always makes me feel better :-) They're the kind of dealer ship that when I took my car there they would tell me this or that needed to be replaced and tell me that it was done poorly last time ...and my response was, and it was true at the time, "well, I had it done here so if it was done poorly you did it poorly and here's the receipt and you should fix it" that usually shut them up. Then there's the time they told me I needed new brakes and I asked them if they stood behind their parts and workmanship because I had them done here at the dealer less than 30k mi ago and with my style of driving there must be some defect in the product because I can't imagine they would be worn already. Go figure -over a year later I actually needed brakes...hmmm vengeful: check your tire balance. I haven't done anything to the vehicle for a week now. I'm dealing with it until the week before Xmas. I have the whole week off and will take it in then. :-)

i'll add my thoughts on this even though the topic has pretty much been covered. I have a '97 and yea, sometimes when you come out of 4x the light'll stay on for a bit, sometimes not. And yes, i've read all over that if you change your RPMs or turn or break or shift it'll make the light go out. And yep, it does. Not always using the same method but it'll go out eventually- just be patient. it's all good and working the way it should.

funny you should ask. they are the originals- it's a '97 and i noticed on the trip the right front is leaking. I didn't think it would be bad enough to cause the issue especially since it started leaking after the shimmy started. but it IS on my list. I hope that IS the problem! please please let it be. I've already gotten two estimates -one for 670 and one for 360. both include the struts. I think i'll go with the guys that gave me the quote of 360 but i'll bring my own struts. (why so much of a difference in price especially if the strut price doesn't really vary that much?)

it's taken me a while to get back on line becuase i was busy driving the ol' girl out to colorado and back- with my route taking me through AZ and NM. I haven't checked the tie rods specifically -I will this week though (But I have pulled and yanked and prodded most pieces I can get my hands on). Strange as it would seem the whole time driving, as long as I was on a freeway and going above 60-ish things were fine. It wasn't until I got on secondary roads that the shimmy appeared again. And now that I'm back in CA well, the freeways must be crap here cause it's back to buggin' me everyday. So my final thoughts on this are...I can make it do it when I hit a bump. Which leads me to believe that the bushing replacement really did nothing except buffer the problem. I'm tired and am at the point of just accepting the imperfection she now has... living with it and hoping that eventually something will break and both the problem and resolution will become obvious. An added note and maybe proof that my car is currently possessed.... during the two thousand mile trip my engine light (which has been on now for over a year- that's a entirely different issue which we can discuss at a another time) went off, came on, went off and came on again...

no. my steering wheel actually moves. but confusion of the terminology- yea, i've had that problem. I have a shimmy that does one thing and wondered if it was the wobble other people were talking about and then there's the shake... but- after some clarification :gossip: ...mine is definately a shimmy. maybe yours is a vibration? :-) hope the wheel bearings take car of it. mabe they just need to be tightened and lubed. good luck with that. sly

well, the shimmy is most noticable on the freeway between 70 and 80, at least now it is. This is a change from the original speeds at which is occured (50-70 peaking at 65). it's also now noticable when going over bumps at lower speeds. and it was never noticable then.... I thought of checking for a weight off the driveshaft but haven't crawled under there since i had that thought.

to be honest- I didn't verify the adapter they were using I just mentioned to them if they knew that Pathfinder wheels have issues and asked if they were using the special adapter. they said yes, and the manager (the second time i went back) said he would double check to make sure. They could have been using the wrong one. I can double check that. good thinking. and i do not know about the front propeller shaft alignment. I do know that the alignment place i took it too double checked EVERYTHING twice. I bet they're getting tired of seeing me... I'll ask them about that. Again, good thinking... anything else you can think of while you're on a roll??? :-)

Yep. sliding force adjustment check and verified. see? i told you. this shimmy is special..and not in a good way.

I have not been to the dealer. but I did watch the boys at discount tire and they used the flange adapter. they have the hunter 9700 super duper balancer and have assured me the tires are perfectly balanaced. My pathy is a '97 SE 4x with 112K.

Ok- let me reiterate. This is NOT the same rear control arm bushing shimmy. This is my, seemingly special, pain in the arse shimmy that no one can figure out. So please if you have anything to add...do so. :confused: About three months ago i developed a mild shimmy in my steering wheel. This would generally occur on the freeway between 50 and 70, peaking at about 65. This continued to get worse over time. As it increased in intensity i rotated and balanced my tires- 3 times and it was still there. Got new rear socks, because i needed them and since they were so bad thought this may be contributing to the problem but it was still there. Took it back to my mechanic- throwing paper work and print outs and questions and ideas and TSBs in all directions :contract: because they’ve looked my car over and I’ve looked my car over and ... they thought...and they thought and tightened and lubed up the wheel bearings- assured me that was the problem… and it's still there. Everyone kept saying rotate and balance - so again...i went to discount tire (it's where i got my BFGs) and they did the extra special, super duper balance and it's still there. So the next day i went back and spent three hours at Discount- they took the tires off the wheels and moved things around and rotated and balanced and assured me the wheels and tired are perfect – it’s still there. I took my car back to my puzzled mechanic and they said they wanted to keep it for the day, so i rented a really ugly cheap car :oops: and...the next day got a call that it's the front control arm bushing. ok- fine. fix it. Whatever you need to do. And you know what??? After all of this it’s still there. I must add that after the new control arm bushings it’s down to about 20 percent but I’m thinking that’s just because they’re absorbing some of the shimmy and they really had nothing to do with the problem in the first place. :help: Help….

Big J- would it be the lower control arm or the upper control arm?

well, big johnson, I guess one can't be entirely sure. I'll check again. I'm taking her back to the mechanic this afternoon to have a pulley put on and I'll have them double check. and the struts could be shot. I'll check that out too. thanks for the input.

Hi all. I'm a new poster but have been reading the forum for quite some time. I've only stated posting recently because i've been having some issue with my baby (the car, silly) and I'm getting concerned. Could be the bushing- but i'm told they're fine. So, i keep searching for another answer. I have a 97 SE. She's fabulous and she's Rain Forest Green.. I take her off road most weekends - she's never let me down. I live in California now and spend most of my off road time in the desert, but have been in Colorado, Utah, Arizona - and most places within an 8 hours drive. She's mostly stock but she's not your mother's grocery getter (BFGs AT 10x31.5s on her paws, KYBs and a soon to be safari rack :-).

I seem to be having the same problem with my '97 SE. I did the simple things... rotated and balanced my tires- that didn't work. I've checked the bushings and had them checked-they're fine. Replaced my old shocks (it was about time anyway)and still have the same problem. it's gotten increasingly worse over a three month period and i'm getting concerned. (plus i've a big road trip coming up). so if anyone has any ideas...i'm listening.

I'm having a similar issue with my '97. So I understand the frustration. However, after spending 600 bucks I applied to the CAP (consumer assistance program). They offer financial assistance to help smog vehicles. It's a rather long and annoying process but they will provide a voucher for 500 dollars worth of assistance at an authorized mechanic. There are two versions of the CAP program. 1) poor people-you need to prove that you are financially needy with a w-2 or 2) if you've already spent, i think it's 500 bucks and have the receipts to prove it. The information can be found on the Cal DMV website. I figure heck- if the state will give me money I'll fill out a form.