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Dragging / Shuddering sound while reversing?


enkrypt3d
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So I just replaced the rotors, pads, drums, shoes, springs, shocks & sway bar bushings and one thing that I thought was fixed with new brakes all around but its not - When I'm backing up and turning (without applying the brakes) there's this shuddering / dragging sound coming from the rear of the truck. I thought for sure that it was the old rear brakes but these are brand new.....



Also when I go over bumps with the new shocks there's this squeaking noise in the front end - I'm guessing something needs to be lubed? Spring mounts or something? Thanks!

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creaking in the front end doing turns/over bumps could be the front ball joints, my gfs 93 pathy just had a very squeaky front end over bumps and when going slowly with the wheels turned sharply. did the lower balljoints now its silent. worth checking them

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probably unrelated my 92 did the same backing it turned out the lube guy used the wrong oil for the lsd diff it chirped and shuddered nastily until we added some additive its been fine since :)

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I'm pretty sure I have an LSD - I did a burn out in a gravel parking lot at full lock and left 2 tire marks in the gravel so its LSD - even though there's no yellow sticker. I'll have the fluid changed out next time its in the shop which will be soon to replace the front calipers that are leaking, distributor cap & rotor. I'm hoping changing the fluid in the rear diff will get rid of the weird vibrations when reversing... but it only happens when turning which leads me to believe its the diff.

 

To inspect the ball joints in the front, whats required? How much stuff do you have to remove?

 

And to lube the sway bars, where did you apply the grease? on the drop links? That seems like where my clunking is coming from....

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I got rid of a little squeak in mine by greasing the bushings where the front sway meets the frame. There's one bolt on either side (after you've got the skid plate out of the way) and then a rubber bit, and I just rubbed some general purpose grease in there. It didn't squeak much but it doesn't squeak at all now.

 

If it only happens while turning, that does sound like it's the diff. The proper additive should take care of it but I imagine it'll lunch the LSD clutches if it goes too long without the right lubrication.

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front diff is just open it takes regular gear oil, the rear needs lsd additive IF you have an lsd.

 

to check the balljoints you jack up the vehicle and use a jack to cycle and fully onload the suspension. if theres play you will see it. the joint should only rotate on its pivot axis. if there's any up and down motion like the joint is being pulled out of its socket then its loose. also if you have clunking in your front end its most likely your balljoints too... shuddering while turning is probably your LSD. it probably has regular diff fluid in it so it is not disengaging the clutch packs and acting locked all the time. well that is if you had the fluid changed recently and the wrong fluid was used. did this problem just spring up or did you buy the truck like that or? more history would help to determine what may have caused it

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front diff is just open it takes regular gear oil, the rear needs lsd additive IF you have an lsd.

 

to check the balljoints you jack up the vehicle and use a jack to cycle and fully onload the suspension. if theres play you will see it. the joint should only rotate on its pivot axis. if there's any up and down motion like the joint is being pulled out of its socket then its loose. also if you have clunking in your front end its most likely your balljoints too... shuddering while turning is probably your LSD. it probably has regular diff fluid in it so it is not disengaging the clutch packs and acting locked all the time. well that is if you had the fluid changed recently and the wrong fluid was used. did this problem just spring up or did you buy the truck like that or? more history would help to determine what may have caused it

 

 

Not sure how I missed this message - when making tight turns going forward and it feels like its crab walking as if the front is locked...

 

I bought some of this for the LSD (And I did confirm that it is an LSD by having someone run my vin thru FAST)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007QGT34/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

So its possible that the front diff and transfer case needs the fluid changed as well...

 

And yes while reversing the shuddering has been happening but only when turning. As soon as I turn the wheel is turned... I'm hoping that the auto hubs aren't locked up even when its in 2H.

 

I might buy a few more quarts for the front diff and xfer case - that should be ok with the LSD additives in it right?

 

The ball joints aren't a huge issue more of an annoyance + I need to get the timing belt done so i'm tackling one item at a time....... ugh i've already put in more than what i paid for this truck! eeeeekkkk sigh

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you can get a set of balljoints for super cheap online. i paid i believe 70$ for all four (2 upper, 2 lower) balljoints on ebay. they have been holding up great even with lots of wheeling. if ya do the work yourself it really doesn't cost much! :P a set of tools pays for itself pretty quickly...

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if it was stuck in 4H would the light be on? It seems to be fine sometimes and when I'm turning and gunning it i hear the front tires chirping as if they are getting power.... very odd.

 

When I had my brakes done the shop guys said the hubs & bearings looked fine.. but not sure if i trust their opinion....

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When I had my brakes done the shop guys said the hubs & bearings looked fine.. but not sure if i trust their opinion....

That's exactly why I work on my own vehicle. That, and because I'm cheap!

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I pay very little attention to the 4x4 light. I'm not sure exactly what it's hooked to but I don't trust it. If you think the front end is spinning, cinch a zip tie to the front driveshaft so it'll hit the floor as it goes around. If you hear whap whap whap whap then the shaft is turning, either because the hubs are on or because the transfer case is engaged. (If you drive backwards a short distance in 2h, the hubs should disengage.)

 

Auto hubs are common in salvage yards, and manual hubs are way less than the dealer quoted you for autos. Unless the hub is busted to hell inside you can probably just pop it open and grease it. I've been meaning to do mine but dreading fighting the frozen bolts.

 

Just for giggles, put your transfer case stick through its full range of motion, from 2h to 4lo. Make sure it's moving right and that it goes all the way forward when you're done.

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Yea it definitely feels a lot different when its in 4H and 4L works too like a granny gear... when in 4H and doing a U turn w/ the steering wheel at full lock, it does the crab walk but this isn't the same feeling I feel when its in 2H and you get the wobble which feels like the LSD is locked up. I'm hoping the new fluid will help!

 

The shop did repack all the hubs and bearings with new grease when the new rotors & drums went on so I'm hoping those will be good... I think all issues point to the LSD and hoping once it gets new fluid in it, I'll be fine...

 

I should probably change the fluid in the front diff and xfer case but not sure which fluid to use in the transfer case?

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Does sound like the LSD then. Hopefully the additive clears it up.

 

The fluid specs are a little odd on that, seems like the manual-transmission trucks call for gear oil and the auto-trans trucks call for ATF, presumably in case a seal failed and one gearbox leaked into the other. It's the same transfer case. Just put in whatever's in your transmission and you should be good to go.

 

Make sure you can get the fill plug out before you drain the fluid!

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presumably in case a seal failed and one gearbox leaked into the other.

It was stated somewhere on this forum that even if the seal fails, there is no chance one can leak into the other.

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So got the new diff gear in and after a few shudders it seems pretty smooth! And got the new brake calipers and new brake lines for the front on and the brakes feel solid and new but the ABS / BRAKE light is still on?? They tried resetting the ECU but the light wont go off...... before the calipers were replaced, I'd top off the master cylinder and the lights would go out - now that the leaks are fixed why wont the lights go out? :(

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It seems so - the brakes feel amazing compared to what they were before... very stiff brake pedal... maybe ill just unplug the sensor and forget about it? lol

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/34522-abs-and-brake-light/

 

been reading this thread.... ABS doesn't seem all too useful.

Edited by enkrypt3d
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What I'm saying is you have to unplug the ABS unit and bleed. I think you even have to unplug the battery...I did just in case. Then you bleed each wheel, then the ABS unit on the frame rail itself, then plug everything back in.<br />My brakes worked great but the light stayed on until I unplugged the unit and then bled them.

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