00PathfinderSE Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I've got a 2000 Pathfinder that pulls to the left when I'm driving alone. But when I have my family in the vehicle (wife 125 lbs and 2 small children) it drives straight or even slight pull to the right some times. I can't for the life of me figure out what the issue is. It has been doing it for quite awhile. does this sound like a wheel alignment issue or is there another problem. struts, ball joints and bushings seem good to me . anyone else had any similar issues? I was thinking about having a wheel alignment done while I was sitting in the drivers seat. could that help? Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvdloc Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Tire pressure is even? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 tire pres is 30 psi all around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Have you checked your steering rack bushings? they could be allowing the rack to move, it is a common problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 That isn't too much weight difference to affect things so what ever the issue, it must be quite loose. How much do you weigh? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Yea I didn't think it could be just from my weight, I'm 190. The driver side rack bushing has a very small amount of play in it. I can get to make a clunking sound with truck off and turning the steering wheel hard back and forth. I didn't think it could be enough to cause such a significant pull. what else should I check? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Sorry, I'm not very familiar with the R50 front end but I will tell you, this is probably part of or the problem. I can get to make a clunking sound with truck off and turning the steering wheel hard back and forth. Can you have someone turn the wheel while you watch for movement and go clunk hunting? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the responses guys. I'm not sure why I found It hard to believe that small amount of play was the issue. But now realise this has to be the problem as everything else seems good under there. Does anyone have a step by step on how I can go about getting the old bushing off and the new one on. Will the steering rack move freely enough once the bolts are out to replace the bushings. Thanks again for the help. Edited November 16, 2013 by 00PathfinderSE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Did you chek your outer tie rods? My '97 did the same thing, and replacing the outer tie rods solved the problem. Greetings, Diego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I would check the rack bushings as well. "small play" - even 1 degree to the right- is a big difference at 70mph. In land navigation, if you are offcourse by just one degree in your heading then for every mile that you travel you get 92 feet further away from the right heading. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Did you chek your outer tie rods? My '97 did the same thing, and replacing the outer tie rods solved the problem. Greetings, Diego Did you have any reason to think it was the outer tie rods specifically? What brand did you get? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Tie rods, loose wheel bearing, bottom ball joint shot, etc, all things to check. It's easy to see if the rubber rack mounting bushings are shot (mine were, steering fluid had leaked on them & disintegrated them) plus you'll probably hear a "clonk" when you turn. I replaced the rubber mounts, it's not hard but the driver side is a bit of a pain in the arse. There's 2 bolts that hold a metal retaining cup for each bushing & there's one bolt on the driver side that is a bit hard to get to, but patience & persistence will get you through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 I got the steering rack bushings installed. Not as big of a pain as I thought it would be. The driver side bushing was definitely on the way out. Steering is much tighter now, but still have the clunk and think the steering should be tighter still. Ordered front lower control arms, ball joints, half shafts, inner and outer tie rods, and manual hubs. It's got about 115000 miles on it, and it's all original. Plan on keeping the truck for years to come, so figure now is a good time give her a refresh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 interested in seeing where this goes. let us know what you found to have been the problem. and congrats on wanting keeping your old truck running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 axles, control arms, ball joints and hubs installed. Huge improvement. The pull seems to be gone completely. Well worth it. Will do the tie rods another time, still need to find a tool for that-any suggestions? I'll have to wait and see about the gas mileage increase, I'll keep you posted. Thinking about the rear suspension now-upper and lower trailing arms as I can feel quite a difference from front to back over bumps. Plans for spring I guess. Thanks for the suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 It's a tool called a Tie Rod End Puller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 I got a hold of an inner tie rod tool and replaced all four tie rods kind of spontaneously. The moog inner tie rods I put on were identical to the oem ones I removed-even made in Japan. The outers were a little different and beefier looking than the OEMs. The front end feels great now and absorbs bumps like it was new. However, despite my best measuring my front wheels are significantly out of alignment. I've seen some videos on youtube of guys doing alignments with a piece of string going from the back tires to the front and then adjusting the toe. Anyone tried this? I'm tempted to give it a shot. Or should I just fork the 80$ for a shop to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I got a hold of an inner tie rod tool and replaced all four tie rods kind of spontaneously. The moog inner tie rods I put on were identical to the oem ones I removed-even made in Japan. The outers were a little different and beefier looking than the OEMs. The front end feels great now and absorbs bumps like it was new. However, despite my best measuring my front wheels are significantly out of alignment. I've seen some videos on youtube of guys doing alignments with a piece of string going from the back tires to the front and then adjusting the toe. Anyone tried this? I'm tempted to give it a shot. Or should I just fork the 80$ for a shop to do it? Easiest way to check toe is with a tape measure or, even better, two! Make sure you measure from the same lugs on both front and rear of the tire as close to center as possible. I know when I do it on the rear of the front tire it's almost touching the torsion bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 What silverton said. I just did this to my truck today, since I had the suspension out doing the transmission. For the r50 you probably want 0 toe since it is rack and pinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 I used the string method and aligned my wheels. Worked like a charm! Took a few adjustments and a couple of test drives to get it just right but she drives perfectly straight now. Really happy, it has been years since my Pathfinder has driven like this. Best of all, saved 80-100 bucks and probably did a better job than a shop as I really took the time get it just right. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Good, just keep an eye out for funny tire wear. I would still check the toe with the tape measure method just for the hell of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00PathfinderSE Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 I should have specified I did both, measuring with a ruler and string. Pricing out some rear upper and lower control arms. There are Moog uppers available. Do I go Moog or Dorman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEviLDeD Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Could someone give a link to that "string" and or "tape measure" methods of wheel alignment. Please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdj Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I've got a 2000 Pathfinder that pulls to the left when I'm driving alone. But when I have my family in the vehicle (wife 125 lbs and 2 small children) it drives straight or even slight pull to the right some times. I can't for the life of me figure out what the issue is. It has been doing it for quite awhile. does this sound like a wheel alignment issue or is there another problem. struts, ball joints and bushings seem good to me . anyone else had any similar issues? I was thinking about having a wheel alignment done while I was sitting in the drivers seat. could that help? Thanks for any advice. I was just wondering if your wife knows that you posted her weight on line? Yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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