Does this sounds right?.
Why do I feel my pathfinder moves to the left and the right from the rear?.
My pathy moves to the left and right in the rear?
Moderator: volvite
I guess the job is less painfull when there is no rust involve.... I see you are in costa rica... so I doubt you have that... When rust comes in, the steel get bigger (swollen).. At that point the sleeve of the bushing become next to impossible to slide out.. You need to to torch it and a bunch of other steps to remove it....
No rust in Costa Rica? I do drive on the beach sometimes.
With a sawzall cut the sleeve very carefully lengthwise taking care to not cut and damage the link metal. Make a second cut 180 degrees from the first and collapse the sleeve with a hammer and chisel. Burning the rubber with a torch is messy and unhealthy but, certainly works also. I didn't have access to a torch
The sawzall also comes in handy for cutting the bolts to remove the links. I did all four links during the course of a day.
By the way, are you going to start selling the aluminum skid plates again?
With a sawzall cut the sleeve very carefully lengthwise taking care to not cut and damage the link metal. Make a second cut 180 degrees from the first and collapse the sleeve with a hammer and chisel. Burning the rubber with a torch is messy and unhealthy but, certainly works also. I didn't have access to a torch
The sawzall also comes in handy for cutting the bolts to remove the links. I did all four links during the course of a day.
By the way, are you going to start selling the aluminum skid plates again?
Replacing the trailing arm bushings is a little tough. I am actually in the middle of doing it on my '03 with 181K miles. I read many times that folks were having to cut through the bolts to get the links off. I am a hands on guy that happens to be a machinist and I thought, "I bet I can remove those bolts". Wrong. I had to cut them. I used a sawsall and cut through the edge of the bushing and the bolt. I suggest taking the arms to a machine shop to remove them for you. It took me about 20 min to set up and remove the bushings(we have a large motor driven hyd press). New bushing pressed right in. I bought the bushings from O'reilly for only $12/ea. I am only replacing the lower ones to start with. I suspect that they are causing most of the sway.
I had a hard time finding the 14 X 1.5 X 90mm bolts. I ended up purchasing 9/16- 18 x 3.5" bolts and lock nuts from McMaster Carr for $15(plus shipping).
In hindsight, I wish I would have just bought the whole kit from 4x4parts for $190 that comes with ALL bushings and bolts. I will have ~$70 invested in 4 bushings and 4 bolts/nuts. But if my upper link bushings are OK, then $70 is a pretty cheap fix.
I had a hard time finding the 14 X 1.5 X 90mm bolts. I ended up purchasing 9/16- 18 x 3.5" bolts and lock nuts from McMaster Carr for $15(plus shipping).
In hindsight, I wish I would have just bought the whole kit from 4x4parts for $190 that comes with ALL bushings and bolts. I will have ~$70 invested in 4 bushings and 4 bolts/nuts. But if my upper link bushings are OK, then $70 is a pretty cheap fix.
I sure hate to hear that. I'm really hoping that the lower ones were the culprit in my case. They had by far the most movement.smj999smj wrote:While any of the bushings can fail, it's usually the ones in the upper link on the right side that seem to be the most prone to fail...or, in other words, to fail first.
I just wanted to report back that the lower bushings were definitely the main cause of death sway on my 03 Pathfinder. I don't plan on worrying with the upper bushings because it drives so well now. I bought this used with 180k on it, so I don't know if the uppers have been replaced before.
If I had it to do over again, I would have bought the poly bushing kit from 4x4parts that came with everything you need. As I stated before, I had to cut the bolts off and find new ones. After seeing how the bushings work, I can see why the std bushings will eventually fail due to the twisting of the rubber. From the looks of it, the poly bushings rotate on the sleeve and therefor don't twist the bushing itself which will eventually result in failure.
If I had it to do over again, I would have bought the poly bushing kit from 4x4parts that came with everything you need. As I stated before, I had to cut the bolts off and find new ones. After seeing how the bushings work, I can see why the std bushings will eventually fail due to the twisting of the rubber. From the looks of it, the poly bushings rotate on the sleeve and therefor don't twist the bushing itself which will eventually result in failure.
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