svneo

My 97 4x4 se pathfinder is having a clunking problem. Have actually had it quite a while. I can hear it and feel it under my left foot if placed on the floor. Looking at that area under the car, there is a shaft that goes up to the front wheel, which I imagine is the drive shaft from the 4x4 transfer case? With the car in park, should I be able to turn this at all, or should it be stiff? Could that be where the clunking is coming from.

jadcock

I think your clunking would be coming from something worn out in your front suspension -- maybe a stabilizer bar bushing, strut mount, etc. You probably won't be able to turn the forward drive shaft, since your hubs are "automatic" and stay locked 100% of the time, right?

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

svneo

If the car is in 4wd and i shut it off, i am not able to turn the drive shaft, but if its in 2wd I am able to twist it. I have replaced the struts and that didn't help the problem, please let me know about the strut mounts that could be the problem. I don't know much about the suspension, but am trying to learn. What should I look for, and where? Thanks

jadcock

Well, the strut mounts (also called bearing plates, bearing mounts, strut plates, etc) are sandwiched between the strut and the body tower and provide a means for the strut to angle back and forth as the wheel moves up and down. The mounts are usually replaced with the struts -- check to see if the shop replaced them when they did yours.

That's probably not likely to produce a "clunk" though. Other items to check are the stabilizer bar bushings and end links (where it mounts to the frame and to the suspension, respectively), ball joints, tie rod ends, things like this. Unless something is plain LOOSE, you're looking for wear items...something that will wear and develop sort of a tolerance that will move slightly over bumps (and cause the clunk you feel).

I bet it's something to do with the stabilizer bar...check that first.

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

svneo

I got down there and checked everything out the best I could. Without knowing what normal tolerances are, I suspect that the stabalizer bar bushings aren't doing their job. There is a slight horizontal movement which I suspect is normal. I did have my wife jump up and down on the car to try and replicate the problem, she wasn't heavy enough, but I did notice that the stablizer bar moved up and down quite a bit where the bushings are. And made a sort of clunking noise. Without dragging along under the car while its moving, I think it will be hard to replicate the problem and see it at the same time. Anyway, this seems like an easy thing for me to replace and shouldn't cost much so I will try and replace those bushings, as I believe the bar itself is ok.

svneo

does the stabalizer bar go by another name? I am having trouble finding this bushing online?

96R50

Check out www.nissanpartsdistributor.com They sell the bushings for $4.83 USD. You need two of them.

jadcock

I think that's your problem. There shouldn't be ANY movement in the stabilizer bar. You should be able to shake on it vigorously and the rubber bushings should hold it tight. The rubber usually deteriorates and sometimes shrinks with age and use, so that's probably your problem.

Lots of people call them lots of things...stabilizer bar, anti-roll bar, sway bar, roll bar, etc. Not sure what Nissan actually calls them. General Motors calls them stabilizer bars, and that's what I'm used to, so that's what I always call them.

__________________
Jason Adcock
Always Tread Lightly!
1995 4x4 XE King Cab - 189,000 miles
1997 Cadillac Seville - 141,000 miles

svneo

Thanks for the help jadcock. I am going to try and track down the bushings locally otherwise I will order them online. I'll post when I'm done and let you know if it worked.

svneo

One of the stablizer bar links seems loose compared to the other one. Are these things easy to replace? Would I need any special equipment. I have read that if you go with the poly bushings for the stabalizer bar they just snap on. Anyone replaced the stabilizer bar bushings and links?

96R50

If one of the links is loose where it attaches to the front strut, then this might be the clunk that you feel. Although it sounds as though your bushings need to be replaced as well, tighten the link to the strut. If indeed that is where it is loose.

svneo

How tight can you bolt down the bracket that holds the bushing. Is it safe to use an impact wrench and really crank them down? The end links seem to go on and can only be tightened so far, but I would like to tighten down the sway bar more if it is safe. I think on the third setting my impact wrench is rated at 400lbs. Thanks

1997XETruck

400 LBS!!! Even the harmonic balancer (at least on the Q45) doesn't call for that much! I'd think you run a great risk of breaking something or twisting it in two... I'd go with whatever the torque spec. is in your service manual....

Heath

__________________
1997 Nissan XE Truck - 133,000 Miles
1990 Infiniti Q45 - 91,000 Miles
2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan - 34,000 Miles

svneo

I haven't gone that tight yet. That's why I wanted to check first. I'm just worried about having it too loose.

96R50

Torque the bushing bracket bolts to 46-65 ft-lb. And the end link bolts to 61-76 ft-lb. Straight from the FSM.