99.5 Energy Suspension ?

[QAtmp]

Hi, my first post here

 

My father has a pathfinder 99.5 LE, and he wants to replace his bushings for the front

suspension, so i told him to go for Energy Suspension but on their page they dont seem to have those for that year, so i was wandering if anyone knows of ES bushings for pathfinder 95 working on a 99.5.

 

Thanks in advance.

[NismoSkyZ]

Hey, welcome to the forum! Stay for a while

 

 

As for your questions, the bushings will not fit, just go with the OEM bushings/parts.

[tmorgan4]

4x4parts.com sells polyurethane bushings to replace just about all of them, except they're extremely expensive. $40 for 2 bushings seems insane to me.

[Trainman]

Welcome!

 

The Pathfinders had a major re-do for 1996, so almost nothing from 95 and earlier can be used on the 96-2004 versions.

[XPLORx4]

Which front bushings does he want to replace?

 

The OEM swaybar bushings are rubber, and there aren't any alternatives.

 

The front A-arm bushings are also rubber, and 4x4parts.com sells a complete set of polyurethane replacements for both front A-arms for $73 that you can see installed in this pic:

 

 

With the poly bushings, steering response and braking became noticeably tighter than before, since the poly bushings are much firmer than rubber. Also, since my truck has larger tires that tend to rub the front fenders, they used to rub a lot in 4WD/Reverse or when braking with the wheels turned. Now they do not.

 

However, it was a pain to remove the original front bushings. I had to burn out the rubber, sawzall through the remaining outer metal collars of the bushing, being careful not to cut through the A-arm, then use an air-chisel to knock them loose. The rears pulled off by sticking them in a vise and twisting the A-arm off. Installing the new bushings was a breeze.

Edited December 22, 2006 by XPLORx4

[tmorgan4]

Dean you just saved me a headache.

 

I couldn't figure out what was flexing as so on as I'd hit deep snow to make the tires rub as it would go away as soon as I got out. I bet it's those damn factory rubber bushings.

[nissandoms47]

Dean,

 

Do those poly bushings squeek at all? I know my friend Eric with a WD has polys on his front end and they squeek all over the place.

[QAtmp]

I guess then he will have to go with the A-arm bushings; arent those the ones that suffer the most ?. He dosent do heavy off-roading but he still goes out of the street , he says he cant stand the thing being loose. Its a 2WD by the way.

[XPLORx4]

Dean you just saved me a headache. 

 

I couldn't figure out what was flexing as so on as I'd hit deep snow to make the tires rub as it would go away as soon as I got out.  I bet it's those damn factory rubber bushings.

Probably is those bushings, but what about:

 

4x4parts.com sells polyurethane bushings to replace just about all of them, except they're extremely expensive. $40 for 2 bushings seems insane to me.

Edited December 22, 2006 by XPLORx4

[XPLORx4]

Dean,

 

Do those poly bushings squeek at all? I know my friend Eric with a WD has polys on his front end and they squeek all over the place.

Not yet! They've only been in for a couple hundred miles, but I greased 'em up really good, so hopefully they won't squeak!

[XPLORx4]

I guess then he will have to go with the A-arm bushings; arent those the ones that suffer the most ?. He dosent do heavy off-roading but he still goes out of the street , he says he cant stand the thing being loose. Its a 2WD by the way.

What does he perceive as "looseness"? There are lots of other suspension components that will improve handling than bushings.

[tmorgan4]

I'm not saying that I won't pay $40 a pair, it just seems insane. Hell, you can get johnny joints that are MUCH more complex for $10 less. They obviously won't work in this application, but when I replace the bushings in the rear links I'd much rather upgrade to johnny joints and spend less money.

 

http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/johnnyjoints.aspx

 

I realize that they're being imported since the company that sells the bushings is in Australia, and I'm not blaming it on AC since their cost is most likely high too. I couldn't find them anywhere else in the world for cheaper.

 

If you look at aftermarket polyurethane bushings you can get "universal" ones for $5 a pair.

 

There's my rant.

[XPLORx4]

Ahh, well, unfortunately for us, "economy of scale" is something we have working against us R50 owners, huh, not just for poly bushings, eh?

 

Johnny joints have a HUGE potential market base. When they're able to sell hundreds of them, of course the cost per unit goes way down.

 

Such is the state of things as an R50 owner.... :sniff: