damuho Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Just got my '95 Pathy and noticed that my steerer stop is too high. Does anyone here know why this is? The front was sitting low and I have adjusted the torsion bars to correct the height and the steerer stop height didn't change. The bolt was so high that it created a groove on the stop on the lower arm. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9bmmLxtE0tYVlVycXNiWDd6Y28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) I think I know why the stop is so high, I saved your pic so I could make it larger and zoom in, than I ran outside to look at my pathfinder to compare. It appears someone installed the lower ball joint on top of the arm, the thick part of the ball joint mounting surface should be on the bottom of the arm. The steering stop should not change height in relation to the torsion bars being adjusted up or down, it may just change the angle that the stop contacts the bracket on the Lower control arm. Also when you fix this, add some thick wheel bearing grease to the head of the steering stops (1 front side of arm, 1 rear side of arm each side of course), the grease will prevent the scraping noise when you make a full lock turn and are going up an incline. Some trucks have plastic covers on the heads of the bolts and you can put grease on them as well. Good luck, let me know how you make out after you install the ball joint the correct way. the ball joint should be installed from the bottom of the control arm and than the bolts go through from the top, and the nuts are on the bottom. You can see it here in the FSM for the 95 pathfinder, see picture below: You can download the FSM for your pathfinder for free, here: http://www.nicoclub....FSM/pathfinder/ click on your year, than open each section and save each file into a new folder and you will have the FSM, very good thing to have. The FSM's link is under the garage section in the pinned topics. Edited October 8, 2012 by ahardb0dy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 Thank you very much for taking the time to look closely at my picture and comparing it with your Pathy! I really appreciate your very detailed reply! I will start working on it tonight. The previous owner had all the service on this car done at a Firestone shop. I am surprised they screwed it up because my Firestone shop does a good job on my cars - alignment and tire change jobs. I will report here on the result of my work. And thanks for the links to the FSM. I could definitely use it! :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 ahardb0dy is a good example of the kind of members here we strive to be known for good eye buddy And definatly download that FSM, it's the right price and will pay for itself on many occasions! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Good job aHardbody! I didnt even notice the first time I looked at that pic! Still scratching my head how they got that to work...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Thanks, I never saw a steering stop sitting that high before than noticed the ball joint, a quick run outside to look at mine and I knew it was installed wrong. Thanks again, this is the reason we have so many members, anyone can come here for assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Thanks to ahardb0dy, I have corrected the mounting of my lower ball joints. Here are some pictures after the fix: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9bmmLxtE0tYYk9sVVgtT1VPWGs https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9bmmLxtE0tYR0lETEk2R0RaSVU https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9bmmLxtE0tYLTQ4ZXh0aWx1RDQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Someone had installed a ball joint on my old 95 like that. Only on one side so it sat lower on that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 That looks much better, they must have been mounted wrong for a while to dig into the bracket on the control arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Yes, the car must have been driven like this for a while and it's troubling because when you max out on the steering, you will feel the stopper grind into the groove on top of the bracket and it will take some muscling to steer it back out. It is a problem that you would want to be seen right away. The car was sold to me by a graduate student who inherited it from his parents. Except for an unglued headliner, which I reupholstered, the interior is very good after I cleaned it. The engine on this car is in great condition. I just need to have the no-reverse AT issue fixed. Thanks again for your help! The world needs more people like you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Definately what it is supposed to look like now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 thanks appreciate the kind words ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Ha ha! I did that on my truck when I replaced the bjs last summer. Fixed it before I put her on the ground though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Heh this is the second time I see this after seeing adam's get screwed up like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Good old Firestone !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damuho Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 I forgot to mention that the front end was a bit high after correcting the mounting of the lower ball joints. I adjusted the torsion bars to lower it to my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I suggest going for an alignment if you have any front end issues now. Tinkering with the torsion bars will change the camber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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