vegpower wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 04, 2020 4:23 pm

I replaced rack and pinion bushings from this australian company "superpro" they reduced NVH by a 30 to 40%

They say they are from Texas If your bushings are really, really, really bad then you can get clunks when you hit bumps. But less than NVH, replacing them with stiffer material sharpens your steering. I had no noises out of mine, I was just tired of the standard Pathfinder wander at speed, especially downhill at high speed on California mountain highways. From the ones you bought:

"Your Nissan's Steering Rack
If you are hearing some popping or 'clunking' noises from your steering column then you may have worn rack and pinion bushings holding the steering rack. Even more worrisome is the 'bump steer' that worn rack and pinion bushings can cause, reducing the control you have over your Nissan after hitting a bump.

The original rack and pinion bushings on your Nissan Pathfinder or Frontier are made of rubber, which does a great job of absorbing vibrations from the road to the steering wheel, but they do this by flexing and this can allow excessive movement in the steering rack. As the soft rubber bushings age and are worn down by the elements and everyday wear this only gets worse and can lead to play in your steering wheel."

If you like poly steering bushings...the level up is pretty sweet for highway handling:

https://www.prgproducts.com/product-pag ... k-bushings

Delrin is the last step before going full on road racer aluminum in steering bushings

Got curious about the air bags. What's the specific part number for them? AIR:60829?

I've installed 60810 twice. 60783 also comes up but I'm not seeing a specific difference right away.

One note about these, you can get them in between the coils with the OEM springs. I.e., jack up the truck on one side or the other, remove the spare, and you will have plenty of room under the truck and in the spring to squeeze it in. I used some Windex or something to slip it through the first time. If you do go to aftermarket springs like the Moogs the coils are closer together, and the only way to install is with the spring removed from the truck. This is not hard, especially if you have a good floor jack available, but it is an extra step.

I asked them, it's the 60810 you said. Ordered!

I am pretty much satisfied with the ride now, but I wish the front end would soak up bumps better.

I got the Bilstein 4600...


Cheers!

Ok after an Evening spent in the Emergency Room, after trying to remove the Rusty old shocks. ProTIP wear good gloves when working on Rusty things!!

I put the Bilstein 4600 Shocks and the MOOG 81119 Springs in the back and I love the ride height, it looks way higher now. I didn't actually do a measurement before and after but it looks better. It's definitely stiffer and feels more at home on the corners. I've never been one to dabble with Steering rack and bushings but it makes sense. I'll have to get after that next cause, mine too feels a bit unsettled on the highway. Fine on smooth roads but, she wanders around a bit on grooved pavement.

Now, that having been said, I'm running around on 2 year old Snow tires all year long because that's what was on it and long story short I have a plan for this but, not ready to make the jump yet.
It's a work in progress and I have to say thank you to everyone in here for their posts it helped guide me into working more on my Pathfinder.

Yup, the steering bushings will fix that. Here's my how-to, has a picture of the OEM bushings next to the Delrin versions...it's pretty clear where the improvement comes from:

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=16970&p=89665#p89665

Yes A little over 2 years now. Probably about 20k miles. Absolutely love them.

I too put the Moog 81119 rear springs when I did the Bilstein 4600 shocks all around. I also put on 275/65R-18 Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner AT all around at the same time. In terms of height, I probably gained over 2 inches in the back and an inch in the front although I am not 100% sure because I didn't measure beforehand. Some of that gain is from the 32 inch tires, after moving away from the stock 265/60R18 which has a diameter of 30.5 inches I believe.

My shocks were shot at the time. Some new suspension components were required due to original suspension having some rust issues. For example, the rear lower control arms had to be replaced due to alignment bolts / bushings basically seized due to rust and things needed to be cut to get them off. Can't remember what exactly was done in the front at the time.

From ground to wheel well arch I have 35 3/4 inches in the back, and 34 3/4 inches in the front. Yes, there is a very slight rake that you can kind of see sometimes. I guess if I would have gone with the Bilstein 5100's in the front, I could have leveled the front to the back a bit. But I didn't know about the 5100s at the time.

Here is what she looks like. If I can figure out how to post a pic.

I replaced the 153k mile original struts/shocks on my 2012 with Bilsteins a few weeks ago. The different is amazing. Ride control and comfort is much better. The oem rear shocks would not rebound at all when I compressed them. If you need to replaced struts/shocks, these are the way to go.

mball19 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:08 am

I replaced the 153k mile original struts/shocks on my 2012 with Bilsteins a few weeks ago. The different is amazing. Ride control and comfort is much better. The oem rear shocks would not rebound at all when I compressed them. If you need to replaced struts/shocks, these are the way to go.

Good data for the group!

My new-to-me 2010 V6 SE 2WD Pathy with only 69k miles needs some suspension/steering love. On the highway when I hit a relatively small bump (even a reflector!), I feel the truck shimmy and wiggle around. It's very unsettling. It also likes to follow grooves and road imperfections. When I hit a bigger bump I will get a loud thump or thwack feeling and sound. Occasionally, if I run over a bump I will get a loud pop that sounds like something in the interior is loose, but it could just be reverberating through the chassis.

So far I have ordered some poly sway bar mount bushings and a whiteline poly steering rack bushing kit. To further improve the handling (I don't tow at this time, the Pathy is just a DD/highway rig), I was thinking of replacing the struts and shocks. If I go with Bilstein 4600 struts in the front, can I stick with the stock springs? It mostly sounds like the rear springs are too soft. I would be doing 4600 shocks and Moog coils in the rear too. I'm not looking for a Cadillac ride, just less wandering, thumping, and better control. Thanks!

You didn't say what the condition of the tires were and what they are because that could be why your Pathy follow grooves and imperfections too.

Otherwise, you should feel a significant improvement with KYB 4600 shocks & struts. I have them on the front in my Frontier and it made a big improvement over KYBs.

After you do the struts/shocks and you're still getting noises. Then your issues may lie elsewhere like possibly rear diff mounts or body mounts. Otherwise, I think you're just bottoming out due to dead shocks/struts.

The tires are almost new Michelin Defender LTX M/S. I've never driven a vehicle with these tires, so I don't know if that's normal behavior. In my experience, Michelin makes a great tire and they have good reviews.

beegeezy wrote: ↑

Thu May 19, 2022 7:30 am

The tires are almost new Michelin Defender LTX M/S. I've never driven a vehicle with these tires, so I don't know if that's normal behavior. In my experience, Michelin makes a great tire and they have good reviews.

yes you should be ok with the tires.
Those are excellent tire and if they are near new as you say they should not be a cause.
but beware it is possible to ruin new tires with worn suspension components.
Has your alignment been checked?

No, I haven't checked the alignment yet. I've hardly done anything but drive it (getting 19 mpg with premium though). I fixed the loose rearview mirror and ordered new lift struts for the rear hatch window glass.

It doesn't seem to pull on smooth roads. I'll inspect the suspension and steering components when I replace the rack and sway bushings.

Rear springs are too soft. My truck drove like garbage until I put Airlift bags in (5-8 psi with no load), and later Moog medium springs (negligble lift, but balanced front to back spring rate). Every time the rear end of the truck hit bumps it unsettled the front.

This was a much bigger improvement than the Bilstein 4600 shocks which I'd already done. My truck now drives as close to a big Toyota Camry on the highway as it's going to get: poly sway bar bushings and spring seats, Delrin steering rack bushings, Bilstein shocks, and Moog springs all the way around. I still have Airlift bags, but for load balancing when I put a bunch of things in the back. The truck is great now at 0 psi, or even with the valve cores removed (zero additional air spring).

I've driven behind my truck, and see plenty of other Pathfinders on the road. The wallowing of a stock Pathfinder over bumps and through turns is super obvious and makes me disappointed in Nissan.

FYI. If you have the Bilstein 4600 part number 24-197434 Rear Shocks.

I reached out to Bilstein to get the collapsed and extended lengths. Several 4x4 parts sites say that they can support up to a 2 inch lift. I have 1 1/2 inch PRG spacer lift front and rear, and Moog 81119 rear springs on mine. In total I think it is about 1 3/4 inches lift in the rear. Anyway, this is the info I got from Bilstein

Bilstein Collapsed Length (IN)10.33

Bilstein Extended Length (IN)14.80

I just had new 4600's installed last week due to a squirrelly rear end. Replaced the old ones. Solved the loose rear end. Anyway, I measured the 'unloaded vehicle at rest' shock length. It is 13 3/4 inches. So I only have about 1 inch of downward travel available until the shock is fully extended. It's hard to tell what that means for downward tire travel (due to the shock mounting point being further inboard and also the tilted angle of the mounted shock), but I think it is ~ 1 1/2 inches of downward travel. I doubt it is 2 inches. I guess I could jack the car up to see but it feels like 100 degrees here today.

Anyway, just wanted to point this out for Bilstein 4600 users - part number 24-197434 rear shocks. If you are looking for more downward articulation after a 1 1/2 to 2 inch lift, you should source longer shocks.