IndianRider

hello all .. 1996 Pathy 4X4 Se Auto here .. 133K miles .. just noticed this today ..when the pathy is in motion (eg: 45 mph) and i take a slight turn to the left i feel and hear a clikcing and/or thumping noise coming in from the steering and front end .. this noise goes away when i return the steering to center position .. its not exactly like a clickin noise you get when the CV joint is busted on a front wheel drive vehicle but its similar .. i have no problem on right turns when the vehicle is in motion .. also this does NOT happen when the vehile is stopped and turning slowly at 5mph when the steering wheel is totally locked to the left side .. only happens in motion at above 5 mph speeds .. i thought it was the front CV joint but the clicking is still there even after i take my foot off the gas .. i know that the pathy front CV axles rotate all the time even in 2 wheel drive but if its the CV joint i thought that the clicking would go away when you step off the gas in a turn .. or is this only true in front wheel drive cars with cv joint problem .. ? also with the motor turned off and the vehicle parked, the steering wheel kinda has excess play and when i turn the steering wheel to the left and let go suddenly to center position, i feel a thud or a click in the steering when it returns to the center position .. like there was excess play or something like that .. this doesnt happen when i do the same after turning the steering to the right and releasing it suddenly to the center position .. what else can it be ? tie rods ? any tests that can be done to test steering components ... ?

redpath88 thanks for the tip .. thats what i had in mind .. should get the job done ..

i have the same EXACT problem .. after about a year of the annoying rattle, i got rid of the bracket that holds both the exhaust pipes to the underbody .. i need to come up with a cheap home made bracket to tie up both the exhaust pipes from shaking excessively .. maybe one of those aftermarket exhuast clamps with some heavy duty exhaust repair tape might solve the problem ..

mine was doing that on level ground too at around 100K miles .. so i changed the tranny oil and filter and made sure that the tranny oil level was up to the mark and its running great now .. make sure u check the tranny oil level after properly warming up the engine/tranny and check it while the engine is running .. it took me 3 or 4 days of driving and repeated checking to get the tranny oil up to the mark ..

can anyone please post a pic of the 1996 pathfidner front strut assembly please .. i have doubts on how i reassembled the strut bearing and top mounting assembly .. actually a service manual pdf the strut replacement procedure will be really helpful ..thanks in advance ..

everything did go back together .. upon installation of the new KYB strut, there was about a 2 inch distance between the "upper stabilizing bar link bolt" and its bracket on the KYB strut.. hence i jacked the the lower control arm assembly from underneath to compress the strut so the bolt would allign with its "bracket" on the strut .. (Haynes Repair Manual - page 10-6 , Fig. 3.2b, Part labelled B in the pic) .. i should have not said "spindle" i actually jacked up the whole lower control arm .. heres is what i did to remove the old strut. removed wheel, removed the 2 big bolts that attach the strut to the spindle, removed the upper bolt of the stabilizing bar link and removed the 3 upper strut mounting nuts in the engine bay .. i DID NOT remove the lower bolt of the stabilizing bar link nor did i remove the stabilizing arm itself hence maybe the 2 inch difference in allignment upon installation of the strut ..

1996 SE 4X4 , auto , 122k miles . finally got to change my front stock strut to a KYB strut ..used the factory coil .. was such a B**** doing it alone outside in 100f temps .. i am going to do the other strut next weekend.. question: do i need to do a wheel alignment after changing the front strut? also, had to jack up the wheel hub/spindle assembly so the upper stabilizing bar link bolt would fit the hole/bracket in the strut .. is this correct ?

nice ...

what remote sensors on the SE model ??????? first ive heard of them ..my SE has regular shocks ..

vengeful, i cant beleive i missed ur reply to this thread ..id love to have ur coils .. 40K on them doesnt look like a lot ..i got 120 now on the stock ones and the pathy rocks and rolls all over .. please let me pay the shipping .. i really appreciate it .. my email is : drvijay007@hotmail.com thanks ..

i get not more than 10mpg in the winter (when i start it up and let it run for 3-4 minutes each day morning in the cold winter morning) -thnkboutit- otherwise, im arund 14-17 city/hwy in spring/summer/fall ..

my 96 SE 4X4 auto has the LSD ..

thanks for the detailed pic .. so why did u install the manual locakable hubs ? when u leave it in OFF in 2 high mode, does it get u better gas meilage ? and then u cant shift on the fly anymore if u leave ur hubs unlocked right ??

thanks a lot for the links .. yeah looks like its better to go ahead and replace the bearings too coz ur in there .. snowing bad here might get to it next week though ..

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