The Nissan Path

probably doesn't really need to be done, but i'm still trying to knock out the last little bit of sway and nose dive i get. again, i know this is no sports car and we're body on frame, but @64k miles i just think it has too much sway/etc.


this is only the front two mounts. i'll be doing the others later on.

the first one is pretty much in the wheel well. it was NOT where the nissan diagram has it, which is right next to the upper control arm. after taking the tire off, there's three screws holding the fender liner in place.



after you take those out, you can use a coat hanger (you know, like you use to hang your caliper when you do your brakes? ) to hold back the fender liner, which then shows the front mount. It's a 17mm bolt that comes out. you'll also need to losen the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mounts as well, which are along the frame under the front and rear doors.



here's the second mount. it's a 17mm center bolt and 14mm side bolts. you'll need a deep socket to get the two on the side out.




also a note, if you have the super/sliders installed, you'll need to undo the bolts to the frame, and loosen (not necessarily take out though) the bolts on the body seam. so after undoing all the body mount bolts and the slider bolts, you can then start to jack up the body. i did this in the front right next to where that body mount is. probably not the best idea. it ended up crushing in that part of the body. you won't ever see it, but i know its there. anyway, i used my bottle jack and some other supports in order to support the body from the floor, which lifted the body off the frame and allowed enough room to switch out the mounts. not sure if anyone knows how to 'properly' raise the body from the frame, but if so i'd love to hear what you're supposed to do.


shot of the old (left) and new (right)



i'll probably be changing out this rusty old bolt from the front mount




that's all for now, i'll update when i do the rest of the mounts.

Excellent post, have you noticed any less sway or less squeaking from having done this?

They don't cause swaying or squeaking, but replacing old units will certainly eliminate any front end popping noises, if you have any.

slavabon wrote:They don't cause swaying or squeaking, but replacing old units will certainly eliminate any front end popping noises, if you have any.

body mounts can't contribute to swaying? i highly disagree. if the mounts have worn, that means they have more play/give/movement in them. when that happens and you take a turn, then the body itself can start to lean left or right, or front and back.

much like how when you have bad motor mounts the engine will torque more in the engine bay, and possibly cause other issues. i'm not saying body mounts will cause any actual issues, other than your perception of how much roll you'll get.

as for squeaking, i'm not sure how our mounts would do that. however i could see them making a popping sound if they were really worn.

staynlean wrote:Excellent post, have you noticed any less sway or less squeaking from having done this?

not sure yet. i had previous only done the front two on one side, but finally got the other side done. additionally one of the valve cores went bad on my airlift in the rear, so i've been running 0 on one side and ~30 on the other for a week or two. i'll report back after i get some highway turns in.

finally got around to the drivers side front two mounts. while the other side took me a good 2+ hours for 2 mounts, this time it took only about 45min for the drivers side 2 mounts.


did a couple things differently this time, and it made a -world- of difference.


definitely took off the front wheel (after jacking and jack standing), and pulled back the fender liner. i took out the bolts on the (counting from the front to rear) 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th mounts. then i jacked up the body only one time. i also found out that my jack WILL jack up for wheel changing without any additional wood/etc. never knew there was a 'screw top' on my jack head. it gives it the additional 1-2 inches i needed to get the wheel off the ground. here's the jack i have in case anyone is interested: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200304831

as for the jack point, just to the front of the 2nd mount there's a flat space on the body. this time i did a much better job of being safe and did it this way. i had a few boards on bottom, and i have a small wood block on top (fits perfect in between everything).





it gives a ton of clearance to change out the front mount, and just enough to get the 2nd mount out. here's another shot of where i jacked from





i also should have put these mounts up next to each other, because i really didn't notice this on the other side (and i didn't have the old ones from the other side to re-measure up).
2nd mount:


1st mount top:

bottom:




you can really see how these mounts have gotten squashed down. i'll definitely be replacing the 3rd, 4th and 5th ones in dec and will report back later.

I am hearing a popping sound on what sounds like the rear passenger side, only when under a slower speed right hand turn, say, turning into a driveway from a road. When the weight transfers to the left side. I replaced rear shocks with bilsteins thinking that might be the issue. But the noise is still there, im wandering if body mounts might be the culprit, or sway bar bushings. hmm, any ideas?

i'd try sway bar bushings first. they're cheaper ($7 each i think?) and tons easier to install (no lifting or anything, just 4 screws. i did a how-to in suspension i think).

you should even be able to visually inspect the bushings before even ordering.

will give it a gander...thanks for the quick reply doc. outstanding looking path you have.

I did the sway bar bushings a few months ago and it made a big difference. It is a cheap fix as well.