03 Pathfinder - Need rear shocks!

[robbykennedy]

The rear of my pathy feels really bouncy. For my 03 Pathfinder there are not too many choices out there for rear shocks.
After reading reviews from users the best brand out there is KYB. They offer two different types of shocks but I can't decide which shocks to buy.
The first choice in the KYB brand is the EXCEL G OE Replacement. According to KYB's website this is the recommended OE replacement. One reviewer gave it a one star by saying that his Pathfinder bounces excessively. Another reviewer gave it a five star by saying that They're the perfect balance of firm/pliant for on-road driving where the biggest obstacle is a speedbump or a pothole.
The second choice in the KYB brand is the Gas-A-Just monotube shock absorber. One review rated it with four stars by saying that the Shock provided the compression as needed such as on bumps and drops (same as Rancho), yet provide the stiffness on turns (bit better than Rancho). A second reviewer gave it a four stars by saying After having drove around 100mi in these Gas-A-Justs, I do notice a stiffer ride in the rear compared to the front.

Bottom line is that I need to replace my shocks but I do not know which ones under the KYB brand. I would appreciate input from anyone in this forum who has replaced their rear shocks.

[attofarad]

I put on the KYB Excel G rear shock, but that didn't fix all of the bounce. Some, not all. A while later, I replaced the fronts, but that made essentially zero improvement.

I just replaced the 4 rear control arms (also called "links" or "trailing links"), and it is much better.

So, it may not just be the shocks.

How many miles on your car? I see reports of bad links in the low to mid 100k range. Ours has 188k on it, but the problem started maybe 40k ago.

[robbykennedy]

I have 86K miles on ours. I was able to fix the bottoming out specially when going over bumps with airlifts 1000.
I can happily say that I can now go over bumps at any speed and the rear of our 03 Pathfinder does not bottom out at all.


The rear feels a bit bouncy so I had a shop inspect the back of the truck and they said that everything looks fine. The guy basically told me that I do not need trailing links yet.
Long story short I had to have my front struts replaced due to a clunk noise coming from the front, the culprit was the strut mounts. To replace the strut mounts basically you have to remove the strut and at 86K miles it made sense to replace the struts. I am not sure which struts the mechanic installed in the front, I do know they installed KYB. The front of the suspension feels pretty good.

Based on your experience I should go with the gas-a-just monotube KYB shocks. But I am affraid it may make the rear a little stiff.

[attofarad]

OEM rear shocks are $78 each from courtesyparts.com, but they may be made by KYB anyway, for all I know. Unlike the fronts, the rears are a quick DIY, with no need to remove a tire or even lift it. You are supposed to replace the nuts rather than re-use. On such things, I usually replace bolt and nut if I am ordering parts anyway.

If your links are in similar shape to what ours were, I doubt that your mechanic can tell whether they need replacing. The bushings in mine were just a bit softer than the OEM replacements, but replacement made quite a difference. Nothing I could tell by looking or flexing them while on the vehicle. I could see some excess movement (tilt in the pinion) when I put the car in N, parking brake on, and pushed the body fore and aft.

Do the shocks first, since they are much cheaper and easier, and need replacing anyway at 87k.

[Towncivilian]

OEM shocks are indeed made by KYB.

I have KYB Gas-A-Justs and I am happy with them. They made a significant difference over the OEM KYBs that did not even retract by themselves whatsoever. Very easy to install too.

[donald]

... A second reviewer gave it a four stars by saying After having drove around 100mi in these Gas-A-Justs, I do notice a stiffer ride in the rear compared to the front.

Hey! that's my Amazon.com review

I still have them on, and after 3years (to this date ) and maybe about 40,000miles later, they still feel good

And I did compare the GR-2 vs. Gas-A-Just rear shocks. That is, I bought the GR2's first, didn't like how "soft" they were, returned them, and got the Gas-A-Justs.
So, I didn't do any fancy technical testing, but my "test" consisted of pushing down on the shock to note how fast it compressed, then a "shock" test, where I quickly exerted as much body weight down into the shock to see how much/fast it absorbed my body weight shock.
IMO, the Gas-A-Justs were significantly better at shock absorption.

I should note that the ride is of course stiffer, but that also includes OME medium duty springs in the back. Which, btw, in you're going to replace your shocks, you might as well put in an extra hour or so to do your springs since you're down there pulling things apart. Of course, the work needed to remove/replace shocks is not too bad. Just a thought.

and not to intend to persuade you to the Gas-A-Justs, but I bought them back in 2011 for $52/each. They're a little cheaper now

... Based on your experience I should go with the gas-a-just monotube KYB shocks. But I am affraid it may make the rear a little stiff.

IMO they're not so stiff they they don't bounce at all.
I would relate the stiffness to a newer sedan, when comparing each going over speed bumps. It's not sloshing up and down when going over, and it isn't so rigid that it causes things to fly around in the cargo area.

... front struts replaced due to a clunk noise coming from the front, the culprit was the strut mounts. To replace the strut mounts basically you have to remove the strut and at 86K miles it made sense to replace the struts. I am not sure which struts the mechanic installed in the front, I do know they installed KYB. The front of the suspension feels pretty good...

could you confirm with the mechanic that they did not install KYB strut mounts?
Hopefully they went with OEM.
From what I recall , KYB strut mounts are pretty crappy. Something about them not holding up too long (meaning, 1-2years). Most comments I've read suggested just going OEM/Nissan on the strut mounts.
Here's what one Pathfinder encountered (see post4:
http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/ ... ly-driver/