The Nissan Path

I started hearing slight knock/clunk in front suspension when making a slow turn to the left on the uneven surface. Whenever the weight of the vehicle shifts over the front wheels due to uneven pavement/bumps i hear small metal clunk. This happens when travelling slow and making a turn (mostly left turn), but no problems when driving straight. It sounds like stabilizer bar bushings have gone bad on one side, but they appear to be fine upon visual inspection, plus the car is too new for worn out suspension I'd think. What do you guys think this could be? What else can I check?

did you look at the stabalizer bushings in the middle of the bar? Those are notorious for going bad premature. I think there was even an updated bushing recently. Mine were bad by 30k miles.

You are correct. The design of the sway bar bushing has been updated. The bushing on the left is the new design, and the one on the right is the old. The location of the slit was moved up so that the bushing will not deform as easily. They are about $10 a pair from the dealer.

derrmjd,
Thank you very much for taking time to reply and posting pictures. I took it in today for an oil change and asked them to check out sway bar bushings. Guy comes back and says he can't find a problem and that my old busings look ok. I went to the part counter asked them to pull the busings and they had new version in stock. I went back to the service advisor and asked him to put it in. He hesitated than agreed to do it and was eventually willing to do it per warranty. Problem solved! If I had not gotten this info from you regarding the bushing update, they would simply tell me there is nothing wrong and I would still be scratching my head. Thank you for your help!

Glad you got it fixed under warranty

Another good reason to join forums. Glad it was fixed for free.

good stuff...Im experiencing the same in the rear suspension after the lift install..

Good info

After a few months of looking for the cause of this noise I was finally able to find the problem and get it sorted. As I have mentioned above - I would hear clunk when taking a turn when driving over a bump or uneven road surface - anything that would contribute to more flex on the frame. Dealership kept telling me all suspensiuon components are in good shape. Replacing sway bar bushings and front end-links did not get rid of the noise, though I though it made it quiter originally. After spending hours here, as well as Xterra, Frontier and russian Pathfinder club forums I figured its worth to check the front body mounts (bushing that go between your frame and body on the very front). These are impossible to trouble-shoot unless you take them off, but I as I found out mine were damaged and were making metal on metal contact with the frame, causing the clunking noise. They were tightened to spec (65 lbs/ft) but there was a very small amount of rubber that got worn off on the part of the mount that fits inside the frame and it was impossible to see unless you remove them and take them apart. You can see the damaged area in the pictures. First pic has one mount intact and the other on its side and taken apart:

This picture is a close up of where the damage was found:

Both units required replacement and were about $60 from Courtesy. To replace them, you have to partially remove your fender liners, unscrew the bolts on both mounts to give you more play (I even loosened the second set of the body mounts back on the frame to give it more play. Once replaced, torque them to 65 lbs/ft and things will be quiet again. I was only able to find one thread on the NewX.org discussing this - guy replaced one of the mounts and it took care of the clunking. Russian Pathfinder owners seem to be more aware of this issue - must be due to their bad roads that wer them out quicker. I saw a lot of folks on Frontier site replacing bushings, end-links, even struts to come back to the same problem. If you have front end clunk and your suspension is in good shape and your sway bar bushings and ens-links are OK, this is your culprit. This would apply to Pathfinders, Frontiers and Xterra's.

Great to hear you got this resolved! Turns out I have the same problem but when going over bumps.

Could you post up a link to courtesy or the part #'s so that I can order them. Thanks in advance!

Part 95510M as shown in the diagram from courtesy:
http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder ... _6993.html

I will have to try replacing these. Ive got new suspension and have replaced everything else up front and have clunking sound going over bumps

05pathyse wrote:I will have to try replacing these. Ive got new suspension and have replaced everything else up front and have clunking sound going over bumps

I just replaced mine. Havent drove it yet but they were shot!!

I think it's our clunking is gone, based on that pic. These bushings are destroyed! It sucks that you can't really see their condition until you remove them. Once removed, you might as well put in the new set. But ipthis is an easy task, assuming you have already checked all other obvious things and everything checked out well ( while you still hear clunking).

interesting, i'm having the same kind of noise i think. to me it sounds like the 'clunk' or knock you get when you power brake/load the transmission. i've looked at alot of things, but nothing seems worn. i'll have to check these out.