Cobra99

I never got to see my old ones as I picked it up after the shop closed and they must have kept/tossed them, but despite the shop manager telling me they "looked fine," just like you said the difference is amazing. Thanks guys. Wish he would have tossed the old arms in the cargo area, I imagine they might have come in handy for someone who wants to do their own bushings.

Hey guys, out of curiosity should the bushings be visibly damaged or decayed when they're "bad?" I ask because my '01 that I'm selling just recently developed a pretty severe kick just like all of the usual symptoms describe. I never even crawled under to look or try to twist them by hand, but I want to get it driving better before I sell it, plus I figured with 110k miles it wouldn't hurt to do anyway. I ordered new upper and lower rear arms and had them installed today (for $100 bucks labor I couldn't bring myself to do it alone). Just got off the phone with my buddy at the shop who said the old ones "didn't look like they had anything wrong." So I'm excited that they're done and new, but a little nervous I'm still going to have a wobble of my own. Anyway, I'll update this thread after I drive it this evening, but figured while I'm stressing myself out maybe I could get someone to chime in and tell me the bushings often look fine even when they're shot.

I'd be surprised if that were the case. Just about any discs would probably be better than any drums. Sorry to bump an old thread, only one I could find on this topic and I'm considering doing this conversion myself. Anyone done this since the thread fizzled out last year?

That makes sense Howie. Thanks!

I don't think springs really 'wear out' over time, do they? I really wasn't looking to lift it at all if I can avoid it, and there's probably no sense replacing the springs with factory replacements. I tow pretty regularly during the warm months here, we tend to use the boat at least 2 weekends a month and often on both Saturday and Sunday and have to trailer it to/from the launch each time. Based on the above sounds like I could benefit from new shocks just due to their age, and maybe add the air lift kit. Likely wouldn't add the compressor/gauge but would rather just find a happy medium between towing and everyday driving and deal with it.

Here's a shot of my 2001 Pathfinder hooked up to our boat, a 20' Key West center console. Fully loaded weight of the boat is probably around 3000-3200 lbs, with a tongue weight in the 250-300 lb range. The Pathfinder has no trouble towing it, but as you can see it's definitely sagging a bit in the rear. This picture was the day I picked up the boat last July. I hooked it up tonight and I think it may be sitting even lower, which sparked my search for how to remedy it. I started out thinking about adding an Air Lift 1000 kit, but I also know that I have all original suspension parts with about 110k miles. So what would you suggest? Start with new shocks and see how that helps, or go ahead and add the air bag kit at the same time? I'm leaning towards a new pair of rear shocks (Monroes?) and see where that gets me but I want to get input from others that may have faced similar situations. Thanks guys. Just went out and snapped a new pic, kinda dark but you can still see the sag:

Man, talk about annoying (sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but shockingly it was the only one with 'P0140' in the title). My '01 has been throwing this code for months. I came across some documentation on TSB NTB02-006, as seen in the following link: http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/baddad1/2010-02-08_222344_NTB02-006.pdf Unfortunately I don't think I'd be covered for free by a dealer as the truck is obviously now 9+ years old and has just over 100k on it. I originally planned on replacing the rear sensors, but since they do nothing for the performance of the vehicle and we don't have inspections here anyway I opted to just eliminate the SES light by manufacturing a homemade MIL eliminator. But damn if the O2 sensors aren't the most difficult to remove of any car I've ever worked on in my life! Not the location of the sensor itself, but the 4+ feet of cable that seems to be secured to the vehicle every 8" is a little ridiculous and I'm not even sure how to get to some of the clips. Anyway my main reason for this post is to see if anyone thinks Nissan would do the repairs per the TSB free of charge or if I'm @!*% outta luck on that one, and if I am are there any guides to removing those sensors without tearing apart half the truck to do it? Option C is I do nothing since the sensors don't do a damn thing in the first place. That light is just so freaking annoying. I'd appreciate any input you guys can give.

Well I had every intention of doing this, but it was just too messy of a process to try and bother with the camera in between steps. I got the whole job done tonight, taking probably close to three hours to do the first side and then no more than an hour on the other side. I swear I spent an hour just trying to figure out how the bearing grease packer I got from Harbor Freight was supposed to work. Once I got that mastered I was able to fly through the rest of the job. As far as a write up, I referred to these two sets of directions periodically and between the two of them I didn't have any issues. http://rkrenn.com/xterra/howto/bearing/bearing.htm http://forums.nicoclub.com/how-to-replace-brake-rotors-and-pads-for-2001-qx4-pathfinder-t445492.html Oh, except for one of the screws that secures the lock washer to the lock nut. I managed to strip out the head with my phillips screwdriver. Fortunately I was able to get to it with my Dremel and used a cutoff wheel to cut a slot and was able to remove and later reinstall it with a flathead screwdriver.

Well, my Nissan dealer doesn't stock the seals and won't order them without me coming in there and pre-paying, so that's about as inconvenient as possible. I'm just going to go with Pep Boys or Autozone, but I still can't verify which part is correct. Pep Boys lists a "wheel seal" and an "axle seal" with two separate part #s for the same brand. I just want to make sure I'm getting the right piece. My instinct tells me I want the wheel seal, whereas the axle seal is the inner seal between the axle shaft itself and the spindle/knuckle. Pep Boys has two of this guy in stock, so that's what I'm picking up this afternoon. Hope it's the right part. http://www.pepboys.com/catalog/partfind/c2c?on=9286&pn=22230

You make a good point. Generally I've been pretty lucky with non-OEM parts be it belts, sensors, etc., but I may have better luck at the dealership parts counter anyway if I want to be able to do this job tonight. I just want to make sure I have the right part name before I call and ask if they have it. I assume this would just be the "front bearing seal," or do I need to specify "front bearing outer seal?" Thanks again.

Looks like Autozone sells a seal by Timken for about half the price...unfortunately also a special order item. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Timken-Wheel-Seal-Front/2001-Nissan-Datsun-Pathfinder-4WD/_/N-jetepZ6o268?counter=0&itemIdentifier=199180_3214_5770_ Again, assuming I've got the right item, it's looking more and more like this job isn't going to happen today. Or I just won't be touching the bearings at all.

Hey guys, I purchased the parts to replace my rotors and pads (2001 LE 4x4) before realizing that the hub have to be removed to change the rotor, at which time I found many many suggestions to repack the bearings at that time as well. What I can't find is difinitive information on is how exactly to repack the bearings, and what needs to be replaced in that process. Repacking the bearings should be a pretty standard process, so I'd bet I can find a lot of detailed info about that even if not specific to the Pathfinder. However on this forum I've seen comments about needing to replace a seal, but I want to make sure I can get the correct part if I stop at a parts store on the way home from work. The only seal I can see referenced on O'Reillys site is listed as a front axle outer "oil seal." The oil seal bit throws me off, but I suspect this is the right part. I'll post a link and hopefully someone can confirm: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BCA0/710398.oap?year=2001&make=Nissan&model=Pathfinder&vi=1432945&pt=C0055&ppt=C0337 And if that link doesn't work, maybe a direct link to the image will: http://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/img/medium/bca/natlf_seals_ang.jpg Lists for 15 bucks each, of course it also mentions on there they don't have them available in store. Assuming I have the right part tracked down, now I just need to locate a couple locally and determine how I plan to tackle that lock nut. Thanks for any help guys.

On the topic of bleeding brakes, I assume there is a fairly easy to use bleeder valve on the calipers? It's been a while since I bled brakes (and that was on a Miata) but I don't remember having to purchase special bleeders or speed bleeders. I'm ordering parts to replace my front pads and rotors and want to make sure I have everything I need to do the job complete with a fresh fluid replace and bleeding. Now if I could just figure out a way to turn my rear drums into discs.....

Is that fix still holding up? I don't drive my Pathfinder much at all, in fact hadn't driven it in over a week until yesterday. We've had some heavy rain here this past week, and my passenger side carpet was also completely saturated. Since it was so wet after just being parked in the rain, I don't think it's coming from the tire kicking water up through the wheel well, nor could it be the A/C evaporator. I found inside the fender just in front of the door jamb a drain hose that doesn't feel like it's attached at the bottom. I suspect this is the culprit. I haven't figured out yet if this is coming from the cowl vent area or perhaps from the moonroof, but wherever it originates it just doesn't seem to have a route out through the floorboard. Need to get back out there and hunt it down. Mine is an '01 for what it's worth.

I've had my '01 Pathfinder since June. Had 44,000 miles when I picked it up, up to about 55,000 now. Never heard any troubling noises from the rear end at all in that time, and I had towed a few times. Well, just this past Saturday I was towing a boat and the rear end was just whining like crazy. Only towed about 3 miles and never over 45 mph, and as soon as I unhooked the trailer I couldn't hear it at all again. I even thought the noise may have been coming from the trailer, but I hopped in the cargo area and had my brother drive, and the whining was definitely coming from the rear of my truck. I've heard plenty of Mustangs with whining ring and pinion gears from improper setup, but those whine at all times. What would it indicate if mine only whines when pulling a load? By the way, the boat/trailer had to be at most 3000-3500 pounds total, so I wasn't exceeding the reccomendations by any means. I'm thinking I should go ahead and check/change the diff fluid, but I don't want to just mask the issue if it's something that needs to be fixed. I have a warranty with a $100 deductible, but if I bring them the truck without a trailer there's no way they'll hear the noise. Thanks for any of y'alls ideas.

I knew there had to be a board like this around the net somewhere. I picked up my 2001 Pathfinder about 2 months ago, haven't gotten a good chance to do much with it short of throw a class 3 hitch on and start pulling borrowed boats around with it. Not really sure what all I have planned for the future, but more than likely will put my Alpine head unit in it. From what I've seen so far, this could be easy or it could be a pain in the hiney. I have the Bose stereo with the in dash changer, so something about running new wires to bypass the amps is all I've heard so far. Not too fun from the sounds of it. Anyway if you're wondering about the name, I traded in my '99 Cobra convertible on the Pathfinder...I had a blast with it, but I wasn't drag racing anymore and I needed something with more space and something that could tow, and the Nissan won my personal taste test over the 4Runner by a landslide. (I'm always looking for my next used Mustang if anyone has any leads )