Turning Radius

[Guest Curly95]

I just got a 95 Pathy, so I dont really know much about them, but i was wondering. Do all stock Pathies have a really crappoliphic turning radius? I have to back up just to turn between trees on the hometown trails. Along with that, when I have her turning as hard as I can, I hear some mild popping/gridning sounds, I guessed it was just the linkage or the 4x4, but am I wrong? Please fill me in in.

 

-Curly

Edited July 8, 2005 by Curly95

[madhatter_xe]

I know what you're sayin, my old K5 Blazer had an even better turning radius, but you learn to deal with it.

 

That grinding noise at full turn is a common problem, this write-up from the Garage probably covers what you're talking about:

 

Front End Clunking/Squealing Noise When Turned To Lock

 

Steering stops keep the front wheels from being turned past a certain point. The steering stops are built with plastic caps. How long would anyone expect those to last? Anyway, they fall off or wear out, and you have metal-to-metal contact between moving parts. The result is when going over bumps, with the steering turned to lock, such as when turning across curbs, you get a nasty sounding and feeling squealing/clunking. The solution is to grease the stops and contact areas, or to replace the plastic caps. There are four of them, two in front of your front wheels and two behind your front wheels. They are easy to find and grease without raising the vehicle.

 

Another source of front end squeals or noises are the front differential crossmember bolts. Over time, the bolts can loosen, allowing the crossmember to shift slightly every now and then, causing noise from the front end...sometimes alarmingly nasty sounding. The fix is to re-torque the crossmember bolts. There are four bolts to re-torque, two on each side of the front crossmember. They are easily accessible from the front of the vehicle without jacking it up. I don't have the exact torque figures on hand, but simply cranking the bolts tight with a 1/2" drive ratchet worked for me.

 

 

Cheers,

[Trainman]

Even the newer ones are bad for turning, our Sienna which is wider and longer than the Pathy has a way better turning radius. But the Pathy is much better than the full size 3/4 ton pickups I have used in the past.

[denisb]

I just got a 95 Pathy, so I dont really know much about them, but i was wondering. Do all stock Pathies have a really crappoliphic turning radius? I have to back up just to turn between trees on the hometown trails. Along with that, when I have her turning as hard as I can, I hear some mild popping/gridning sounds, I guessed it was just the linkage or the 4x4, but am I wrong? Please fill me in in.

 

-Curly

Yup the turning radius on Pathy's (and many other 4x4s) makes a 3 point turn seem like a 15 point turn.

 

The noise is probably your stops rubbing aginst the metal, scary, but normal. I would say it's The Pathfinder's Call Of The Wild

 

If this is the worst noise you hear while wheeling consider yourself lucky. Just watch the Jeep Liberty video someone posted on this site (can't remember what the title is). That's a sound you don't want to hear. Of course that's a truck you don't want to take off road. :o

 

Denis

[jj big shoe]

Try adjusting the turning stops. They are on either side of the steering knuckles and contact the lower control arm when you turn (they might still have a plastic cap on them). My friend's '95 had the same crap turning radius until we adjusted them.

[denisb]

You have to watch out when adjusting them though. If you back them off too much, you can damadge your CV knucles. This is the purpose of the stops.

 

Denis

[Guest Curly95]

Thanks alot everyone. I love this site. You guys are really helpfull. I'm glad I dont need to be freakin out now, I'll take a look at that stuff then.

 

- Curly

[Slick]

When I had the 29" tires on my Pathy...I had a much better turning radius..now I need ALMOST 40 acres....