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I had a similar clunk that i could never diagnose. I torqued everything, gave it a thorough inspection, and eventually resigned to let it continue till it made it's identity more evident. Well, it did. Somehow, the drivers side strut bearing tore apart a couple of weeks ago. It was a kyb with just over a year on it. I've since replaced it with the proper OEM and now the little clunk is gone. Review this thread carefully: http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...mp;#entry345949 4x4 parts is selling the KYB strut mount for the earlier R50 up to 01' or something. After that, it's a new design. I'm not sure if that's the factor or it's KYB's build quality. I had to replace their bearings that came with the lift as well as they were crap. OEm all the way for me from now on when dealing with these components. Good luck. Pete

Like Grim said, we've all got to take responsibility for the current situation. I'm so sick of union government contract workers in my area bitching about how Obama will put them out of work by downsizing millitary spending, then telling me how they got a pair of work gloves at walmart real cheap. Or the soccer mom in the $40,000 escalade cursing the Arabs as they gas up. Not that i'm setting aside the rampant corporate greed either, 1% of the worlds population controls 95% of the worlds wealth. The avearage chair on a corporate board of directors earns an average of 300times more than their average employee, and me personally, i'd rather spend billions on social reform programs like education and civil rights than on bailing out wall street. Or how about funding Veterans benefits and healthcare adequetly, so many people are more than happy to send our troops to war pounding their patriotic chests, but seem to fall quiet when they return with physical and emotional damage. I think each of us needs to look in the mirror and seriously evaluate where the root of our current political and economic situation stems from.

Genius. Pure genius. this issue always bugs me, and now you've solved it. Thank you!

Wanted to let everyone know i finally got the right part from the dealer today and put it back together. Everything seems fine now. So thanks for the help. Pete

Thanks Geoff. I can understand how well they would work, especially with the added hubs, but there's nothing at all available for our rears from them or anyone else, except ARB. So unless they really are very well priced (like the $310 US), i would have to install an ARB in the rear as well as OBA, so i might as well install the ARB in the front as well. Does that make sense? As i read it, it sounds confusing LOL. Could you direct me to any links with others who've reviewed them as well. I'm cautious to believe anything is a perfect solution, especially for such a reasonable price. It must have some draw back, no?

So a week ago or so, i emailed Lokka looking for a quote for the locker and shipping. I got an email this morning from Tom Hewitson of 4WD systems, the manufacturer. Price was $499 plus $20 to ship. But i'm not sure he understood my location was in the states . Also not sure if those are Australian dollars or US. Now if it's in AUD, it'll be roughly $310. Pretty good. If it's US dollars, well, for $2-300 more i could have the ARB locker, which i would probably do. I've got to research the pro's and cons of both. I just thought i'd post up what little info i've gotten so far. Pete

Thanks Dean. I went to the kyb website, and i found the part number stamped on my strut. It appears i have struts for a 96-99 pathfinder. So, it's safe to say, that 4x4parts is selling a kit advertised for 96-2004, but it's really for 96-99. Mine is working, but there have been problems. Namely the strut bearing sucked, i've had an odd light thud and the strut insulator tore very prematurely. Now whether the old style parts weren't compatible and contributed, i can't conclusively say. Pete

Ya know, i get so friggin much from this place, and all the help from so many great people that i can't thank enough. So i was thinking, the best i could hope to do, would be to send some of my hard earned to help keep this place here for a long time to come so that others can benefit as much as i have. I've saved sooo much money due to the help i get here, i gotta give some back. Pete

I just got off the phone with Chris (02silverpathy). He says he has a KYB GR-2 and the exact same mounting insulator, and his works fine. He had an OME strut he had taken off, and it's threaded portion on the top of the strut rod is roughly 3/4 longer. His old strut insulator was also the same length as my new one. It appears that there are indeed two struts being used. His truck is the same year as mine. The kit that 4x4parts is selling comes with the strut with the shorter threaded portion and of course the corresponding strut insulator. So as Dean says, there's gotta be two insulator types. what a pita. my luck lol. So Dean, can you tell me what years used the "old" style so i can try to exchange this one with the dealer. Thanks all for the input, hopefully i can get it back together by the weekend. I wonder if i should post a warning thread to others so they don't go down the same path. no pun intended. I remember your thread on that fueler, and was glad you posted it. I made extra sure when i did the initial install, and checked it often since then to insure the same didn't happen to me. It seems i didn't have the problem because i used all the parts that 4x4parts sent, and they worked together. It's now that i'm trying to mix oem with 4x4parts that there's this problem, i wonder how yours got mixed together. ps. dean, you are a pathfinder god.

Thanks man. How odd. So it appears that only KYB strut insulators will work with KYB struts. I guess I'll be at it with the grinder now. Too bad, it appears to be cast steel, tough stuff to grind or cut, and the rubber "fingers" will only complicate the process. Thanks again.

Ok, bearing insulator driver side somehow got trashed with just over a year on it (KYB). Ordered OEM from dealer saturday, got it today. Tried to put it all back together, and have a problem. The new one is one the right in the top pic. It seems the spacer that is in the center of this one won't slide far enough down on the KYB strut to allow the nut to thread on. Is this the wrong part from nissan or please don't tell me i need a KYB strut insulator for a KYB strut? I need to get this together asap, so anyone with any info please share. Thank you. Pete

Do have rental or home owners insurance? I was surprised to learn that my Allstate rental insurance covers my offroad gear and tools if it were to get stolen. I checked up on my coverage when i finally got my bull bar. I figured now that i had it nearly done, someone is bound to steal it LOL. Oddly the bumpers and winch seem to be a pretty gray area. Apparently my comprehensive covers it if it's bolted on, but only their depreciated value, not replacement. When i'm loaded up for the trail or camping, i've probably got several grand in crap stuffed in there. Sorry for your loss, good luck with finding it. Pete

No Geoff, i don't think it's a parts issue, just vocabulary confusion. If you can see with my attachment, part #4 in this schematic is called a strut mounting bearing, which essentially yes, is just a couple of plastic washers with some lubricant in between that allows the assembly to rotate. Washer, bearing, pain in the ass, it's all good LOL. It sucks you guys can't import the parts, i think it could be argued that a R50 with a ZD30 is not the same as a R50 with a vq35. I've got to make some japanese friends.

x2 on the Optima Yellowtop. I love mine so far. http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/yellowtop.php I belive mine is the D34. Good luck. Pete

Ahhh, gotcha guys. Thanks a ton on that suggestion, but yes, after installing the KYB strut bearing i had nothing but trouble with binding, so i had to do the whole job over with the OEM bearings, and that seems fine, it's got less than 10000miles on it or so. I went to the dealer this morning for a replacement insulator. None in stock, and i can't get it till Wednesday, so it'll have to sit, and i'll be riding my bike to work. Price seemed reasonable at $37. But i've been having MAF problems so for giggles asked for a price on that. The guy gave me a quote of $600!! I couldn't figure it out, either could he. Guess i'll have to dig for that Thread on the Maxima MAF that's supposed to work. O2silver, that noise you hear has been plauging me too since i put in my lift. I could never figure it out, no matter how hard i tried, and i tried allot of different things. I eventually gave up and figured it would make itself known eventually. Just a light sorta pop under certain circumstances. I wonder if this torn insulator was the result. I just don't know, i'm sorry i can't help more. Geoff, thanks for the link. I wonder why i haven't heard anyone else running this locker here. I'll start researching it. What have you done in the rear? Are you guys able to get any of the Japanese goodies like the lifts and fender flares? I've spent many an hour digging through the web trying to figure a way to get some of that stuff state side, but the path hasn't made itself very visible on how to obtain anything. I don't have any contacts in Japan. Pete

Hmm. Well, there's the "spacer" that's a red color that sits between the top of the strut assembly and the fender. Is that it? Or should there have been one between the nut at the top of the strut and the rubber "strut mounting insulator"? I didn't see any washer under that strut nut in the service manual. thanks for the help. Pete Oh, and where'd you get that Lokka locker in your front axle? Is that common in Australia? Want to export one by any chance?

I knew i could count on you to offer some help, and a story on how it could have been worse LOL. Your my been there, done that guy I've been kinda staring at it all night trying to figure it out. It looks like it's somehow been twisting, but i can't figure out how, unless maybe i had it over torqued? Also, you'll know, could i have installed it in the improper orientation, as you have shown others several times? It seems like that rubber cup isolates the vertical forces. Is that right? Then why is it being exposed to torsional forces? It seems like that's the primary question. As for you and Death Valley, woah! Talk about a place where you don't want a terminal failure of your suspension. Problem with our setup too is that it's more than just a piece of suspension, it's also a structural component. That could have been a huge mess for you. What do you think caused it? Just corrosion? Your thought of the mount having a defect might have weight as well. I believe they were KYB mounts, and if they're of any similar quality to their strut bearings, i should feel lucky to have gotten a year.

For me, this was the first year i wheeled the pathfinder seriously. And i mean seriously. I've pummeled the poor girl trying to keep up with heavily modified jeeps and toyotas. Since i put the super swampers on, it seems like traction is rarely my issue. Clearance, clearance, clearance is always whats screwing me. Now with some momentum and all my armor, i tend to skid over alot of stuff, but man, i'm tearing my truck apart that way. Now i'd love a set of lockers, but i really need more space under me. I've yet to figure out how to do it without a SAS, and i'm not willing to spend the time and money to do that. I'll sell the pathfinder first and invest in something better matched to off roading. I'm trying to figure out how to sell my kidney so i can have the Defender 90 i've always dreamed of.

Well, after a few days of bombing fire/logging roads on my most recent camping/wheeling trip, i start to notice an obnoxious squeak coming from the front drivers side. So, i get home, and today start to dig for the source of the noise. Look under the hood so i can hear the noise better and see that the mounting bolt to the strut insulator is covered in rubber shavings. I look closer, and the whole mount is torn to @!*%. So i pull the strut out, and yep, the piece of rubber inside the metal housing is torn and shredded. So my question to the group, is wtf caused that? the passenger side seems fine so far, these are only a little over a year or so old. All new from when i did the lift. The strut bearing appears to be fine. It's an oem with a little over a year on it also. Is it possible by installing the plate in the improper orientation could cause this? I know when i installed them that i didn't pay close attention to that little detail, but i haven't had any other problem with the assembly. Well, i'll hunt down the part in the morning and replace it, but i'd sure like to know what trashed it so i don't destroy another one. thanks for any ideas. pete

Just to clarify, i was being sarcastic. I acknowledge that due to choosing this path we began traveling several decades ago, we currently reside in a society that has difficulty with consequences and personal responsibility. It's most easily identified in the children we're producing. Now I believe, that corporal punishment administered correctly can be a constructive tool, nothing teaches better than pain. But as Legalalien noted, it seems too few people are capable of being parents, much less capable of using a tool with such a narrow threshold for success. This ironically enough, has contributed to the evolution of the problem. Several of the serial killers profiled by the FBI had a history of corporal punishment being applied in their adolescence, shall we say, less than judiciously. But, as Crazyhayseed acclaimed, it's all just mumbo jumbo. Orrr, he's a Crazy hayseed :tonguefinger:

I would agree that from what little info we had it's merely conversational to speculate. But screw it, a swift kick in the ass should cure whatever issues "Freud and his associated clones" have invented. That's worked so well in the past. Why in the "Hay" days of the 50's, a whippin a day kept the devil away. Well, except for the high levels of alcoholism, unreported domestic violence, incest, rape, racism, discrimination, rampant disease and poverty, it was a great time to be alive.

http://perotcharts.com/ And if you think either candidate is interested in helping you, or even capable if they wanted to help you, then you'll get what you deserve. Or you are now, time will tell how these economy issues are going to pan out.

Hard to tell by your description, but perhaps a power steering pump? Have you checked the fluid? I've got a bit of a new noise similar to your description coming from my PS . Just a thought. good luck. Pete

This kids psychotic. I'm with MWS. They should put a ankle tracker on that kid.

did you get the new key at the dealer? If not, that's your problem. I made a spare at the hardware store, it would open the door, would turn over the engine, but it would not start till i put in the dealer supplied key. Sorry, it'll probably cost ya. Good luck and let us know. Pete