2004LE

UPDATE: Sorry for waking this thread up again but i just thought i'd post an update for anyone who is having this same issue. Finally got time to install the airbags and FINALLY the issue has been solved. Let me just point out that the NEW springs we put in had shrunk and were approximately a quarter to half an inch smaller than the old springs that were taken out. No wonder it was bottoming out so much. We returned them and got our money back and re-installed the old springs with the airbags, left the new shocks in, and voila, no more bottoming out. Plus we can increase and decrease the air-pressure as desired depending on load. Thanks for all the input form everyone, great forum! Highly recommend this product to anyone having a similar issue.

I guess my final question (so far) would be that will having no bump stops ruin the bags or will everything be alright without them, Just asking because i'm going to have the coil springs out again so if I have to put bump stops in I might as well do it now.

Ended up buying airlift airbags for $140. Anywhere I can find a diy or something or is it just as simple as stuffing the bag through the coil spring....i read on another thread that the procedure may be more involved with drilling and such but not sure if that one was for another r50 or a wd21, unless the procedure is the same for both.

Yeah the bump-stops will definitely stop the bone jarring smash that happens. The monroe shocks made a world of a difference to the ride and handling compared to the ones we took out which were pretty much close to shot. I'm starting to think this is just the way the r50. I think the only way to stop it completely is the airbag kit, i mean its only $125 on amazon...it'll probably really help when towing. Might as well spend the money once rather than having to spend it over and over guessing to see which part fixes the problem, if it fixes it.

Well thanks for all the replys guys, greatly appreciated! The trailing arms/bushings seem fine, no twisting in them. And lifting is not much of an option, my mom uses this vehicle to go to work everyday and with arthiritis + a knee replaced, lifting it wouldn't do any good in making things easier for her, which is why we got this vehicle in the first place. If it was mine i'd probably do it I think my only options are to just try a different set of shocks or put spacers in the rear/airbags or fix the bump stops and deal with it. I know the banging noise i'm getting when it bottoms out is because the bump stops are all torn up. I'll be looking into what options I have within the next few days to see what I can do. Thanks again

Thanks for the reply xplorx4, i think my problem has to do with the monroe shocks being too soft. My first step will be to take those out and replace them with a better quality/firmer unit. From there i guess i will see how things go, the airbags seems like a clever idea since in the future this vehicle will be used to occasionally tow a small utility trailer. I will change the shocks, hopefully sometime in the next 2 weeks and report back whether it made a difference or not. Any idea how much it costs approximately for those bags? Thanks

Thanks for the reply, trust me..it is bottoming out. If the bushings/sway bar links were bad, it would be making a clunking noise, or something along the lines of that and/or getting a swaying feeling in the rear. We had them go bad on our xterra, had a camry that had the same problem and a lincoln town car with the same issue. Rear links and/or bushings were the issues for those three cars. This bottoming out issue only happens when there are people sitting in the back. If there's just a driver or just a driver+front passenger, the vehicle drives absolutely perfect. But when there's a load on the back, it makes a loud banging noise when going through dips. Normal bumps in the road and its fine. I'm 100% positive its bottoming out because when alone, its fine and feels nice and firm but when people are sitting in the rear, it feels all soft and kind of mushy in the rear. I had a 1998 pathfinder that did the same thing a few years ago except the noise wasn't as loud, same type of feeling/noise from the rear. The shocks that we took out from this car were pretty much dead, don't know about the springs because they weren't cracked or broken...we just assumed they got soft over time and replaced them as well. My uncles 2001 pathfinder doesn't do this when there are 2 people sitting in the rear of his so it's a bit confusing as to why ours is doing it after new shocks and springs. I will definitely check out the parts you suggested though. Thanks!

Hello everyone, very new to the forums here. We bought out 2004 LE last year for $850 (yes thats eight hundred and fifty ) with 225,000kms and have so far replaced an alternator, serpentine belts and the rear door hatch. Recently we noticed the rear end would severely bottom out with a LOUD smash/thud noise. Sounded like the shocks were about to come through the floor! This only occurred when there are 2 passengers or a heavy load in the rear of the vehicle. So we ended up buying OEM springs and Monroe oe-spectrum shocks and replaced those. Massive improvement in the ride when you drive alone but still bottoms out with the same LOUD thud (thought not as much as before), not on normal bumps but it especially occurs when the road his a small dip in it. When replacing the rear suspension components, the bump stops (i think thats what they're called) are all torn up and not really doing anything which might explain why the thud is so loud. However, my main question/reason to post is to find out why after completely new shocks and springs the rear end still bottoms out. This vehicle isn't really used for more than one person to drive but it is occasionally on family outings and long trips so it's kind of annoying when it bottoms out like that. Rest of the vehicle is perfect. My guess was the shocks are too "soft". My dad and I have replaced shocks and springs on a few of my Mercedes and other nissans before so we were surprised when this one kept on bottoming out when people sat in the back seat. Any suggestions on forward steps to take? Suggestions on a different brand of shocks? Help is much appreciated, thanks in advance