The Nissan Path

Well my 2005 Pathfinder SE 4x4 has almost reached the century mark...as in 100k miles. And amazingly/stupidly I'm still riding on the original shocks and struts.

But I think it is time to replace them. They aren't leaking or outwardly showing signs of death, but the truck feels like it moves around a lot more than it should over rough roads, around corners, or under heavy breaking.

So I've been looking around and it looks like new ones from the dealer are around $400 for the complete set. About the same price as O'Reilly has for the KYBs, but they want around $550 for their Ranchos.

Does anyone have any recommendations for shocks/struts for just a good high quality OEM replacement. I just need something good for the street and every day driving.

I almost always go with Bilstein HD's. I've put them on the rear already and plan to put them on the front as well. Best combination of ride/handling IMHO.

Bilsteins are what I would recommend as well.

+1 for Bilstein HD's, really transformed my truck.

Bilstein HD for my 08 Pathy for rear are
Part Number: 24-186919
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-E220-H0
Does anyone know the part # for the front?
Thanks.

I got the Ranchos and I cant really tell a difference unless they are dialed all the way to 7. Anyone else have the rancho 9000xls? Still bouncing side to side down the road as usual. It is annoying enough to make me want to trade the damn thing in. I turn the dial to 9 and they jar my teeth loose. Should I replace the rear springs or is it a sway bar or even possibly a tire issue? Thanks

Well you're never going to get rid of all the roll on this thing.

You might also check the sway bar bushings and end links. The u-bushings on mine are shot already and I've noticed it wallowing a bit more than usual lately. I'm sure a thicker sway bar would help but I've not found one aftermarket. I think the V8 has a very slightly bigger bar but not worth the effort to swap in my book.

I put the Rancho 9000's on a few months ago but haven't played with the dial much. I think I have them tuned in to a 7 or 8 and I've been pretty happy with them. I also have the Airlift 1000 airbags in the rear; I would highly recommend these as the easiest and least expensive way to get rid of the "wallow."

As just mentioned, check your front sway bar bushings. You should be able to see if they're bulging out. Mine started making a bit of noise...there's a TSB out for it...but I'd imagine they could have some impact to your handling. Nissan changed the design of the bushings; previously they had the separation right between the bar and the body, now they have the cut on angle so that the sway bar won't contact the frame.

I think I need to look into the bushings on the sway bar. When i'm driving highway speeds and go over a bump the whole truck just wobbles side to side and it is so bad that if I didn't hold onto the steering wheel, the truck would loose control for sure. Even if I turn the wheel side to side, it starts doing the same thing. It bothers me enough to not let the wife drive the kids around in it. Thanks for the advice.

Fookn4x2 wrote:I think I need to look into the bushings on the sway bar. When i'm driving highway speeds and go over a bump the whole truck just wobbles side to side and it is so bad that if I didn't hold onto the steering wheel, the truck would loose control for sure. Even if I turn the wheel side to side, it starts doing the same thing. It bothers me enough to not let the wife drive the kids around in it. Thanks for the advice.

The airbags cured that for me. I found that the rear bottoms out so easily that it upsets the front. I didn't like driving it at speed around corners with any kind of bumps because it felt like it was going to let loose or something. With the extra spring in the back preventing the wallow, the front is actually much more competent. Between that and the Bilsteins it's almost like driving a big car.

Good thing I found this thread, I have an 05 pathfinder LE and have the same the problem, I get a side to side wobble on the highways if I hit a bump with the same exact feeling as previously described; also the ride is really harsh, but the ride was always really harsh it's just something I accepted when I got the truck (brand new). It has 47k miles on it now but I feel like changing the rear struts would be a good idea. It almost feels as if the rear screws up the front because as you take off from the bump the front holds steady but the rear throws everything out of whack.

I had the dealer look at it and they said there was nothing wrong at all with the suspension. Would you guys still recommend changing at least the rears? And the consensus seems to be the bilstein HD's ....

I would recommend chaning the rears. I always say start with the least expensive fix first then move up from there. So rear shocks will be cheaper and less time consuming then the front. Try it and then go from there.

just ordered rear bilstein 24-186919. I noticed when i shake the car from the back I can hear the suspension, and I can see it wobble side to side, makes me feel like one of the shocks are blown or close to it.

The first mod I'll be doing to my pathfinder is going to be installing the Air lift. 100 bucks=can't go wrong for all the good reviews i've heard about them.

khaosduke wrote:just ordered rear bilstein 24-186919. I noticed when i shake the car from the back I can hear the suspension, and I can see it wobble side to side, makes me feel like one of the shocks are blown or close to it.

Check your rear lower control arm bushings. They've been known to go bad.