justint Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 My 2004 pathfinder is starting to see some wear and tear after all the forest roads I take it on. I recently had the front drive shaft u-joints replaced hoping that would fix the issue I am having... WHEN and only when I put the Pathy into 4wd it feels like the front end is going to fall off, the JERK at the shop told me I needed the front drive u-joint replaced which was pricy and only made it about 50% better. Then JERK at the shop wanted big bucks to replace the front diff isolator mounts... He claims the diff is moving around cause the bushings are shot. I purchased the mounts and was planning on doing this myself... I've seen some small how-to's around the interweb but not on this specific issue..I gave it a shot last weekend but the bolts are very very suborn so before I got into deep I stopped. Is it as easy as it looks? Is it just the 8 or so bolts drop the diff down to maneuver the old mounts out and swap? I gotta quote from a shop and they are booking like 5 hours of time? Just looking for some info... Hate to pay a shop $$$ for something a weeknd warrior could take on..need it soon thoo it's ski season j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltaR50 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 get yourself an fsm first so you know what you are about to work on. its hard to take @!*% apart when you dont have any idea how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Isn't the front diff bolted in? -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justint Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 There are mounts with two bushings each that mount to diff then to the frame...those bushings are shot so when 4wd is engaged the diff vibrates so badly you cant go over 15mph without it feeling like something is gonna break. I have the Nissan R50 manual and nowhere in there does it give you info on this disassembly. Me and my buddy with air tools which I think are a must are gonna give it a shot. Nissan's p/n's 54730-0w002 and 57720-0w002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltsnotme Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Is it as easy as it looks? Is it just the 8 or so bolts drop the diff down to maneuver the old mounts out and swap? Yeah, pretty much just the 12 bolts, assuming you're able to lower the differential enough without unbolting the driveaxles. Definitely shouldn't take as long as 5 hours. Can you actually see that those bushings are shot though? Because to me, it sounds more like an issue with the driveaxles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justint Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Pulled out one of the mounts last night was a pretty easy task with some good buddy's. Had to heat up the bolts to break them loose and drop down the traverse arm. The bushings were fine so just put it right back in. Glad I didn't pay "all american 4wd shop" 750$ to replace those. So now back to troubleshooting... Thinking the CVs now but they seem to pass all tests in 4LO... One thing I Noticed was that it seemed before your could go from 4hi to 2 without having to go in reverse to unlock hubs or green indication light to turn off now you must. The U-joints are brand new but i wonder if I did Some damage to the t-case before I replaced them. Might take it to a drivetrain shop and see what they think.. thanks for the help guys keep on pathfinding cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justint Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 WOW so after all that it turns out that when I got new tires in June The tire shop put 2 245/70's and 2 254/75 on my pathfinder... Get the right sizes on and wallah... all better. I'm in talks with tire shop to re-coop some of the cash I dished out... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 WOW so after all that it turns out that when I got new tires in June The tire shop put 2 245/70's and 2 254/75 on my pathfinder... Get the right sizes on and wallah... all better. I'm in talks with tire shop to re-coop some of the cash I dished out... I am not sure about your 2004 Nissan Transfer Case and how it works but I do know from some >bang head< personal experience that running different sized tires with transfer cases that use viscous couplers or clutch packs that you can do serious damage to them, damage that will sometimes show up down the road. I would not sign off on anything until the tire shop paid for an inspection at a reputable garage (or Nissan) to determine if any damage has occurred. If it has done damage they need to be held accountable for your loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I am not sure about your 2004 Nissan Transfer Case and how it works but I do know from some >bang head< personal experience that running different sized tires with transfer cases that use viscous couplers or clutch packs that you can do serious damage to them, damage that will sometimes show up down the road. I would not sign off on anything until the tire shop paid for an inspection at a reputable garage (or Nissan) to determine if any damage has occurred. If it has done damage they need to be held accountable for your loss. ^Agreed. That's one of the stupidest things I've heard in a while, definitely make sure they check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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