2000 pathy suspension noise help

[todapark]

My 2000 pathfinder has a clunking noise in the front drivers side wheel area when going slowly on a dirt gravel road and also when going uphill on a paved road at highway speeds the right tire seems to shimmy ie vibrate and stops when going straight . It has new balanced tires and is all original. I took it to a shop just for a diagnosis and was told it was the tie rod ends, replaced them and it still has the same issue, then was told it is the swaybar links and swaybar rubber mounts, ditto, replaced them and still the problem exists. Then was told it could be the strut mount bearing (plastic), I pulled the strut and found just the slightest play between the coil spring top mount and the strut mount with the 3 bolt studs on it, the plastic bearing looks ok but as said it has just a very small amount of play back and forth. Another possibility is the wheel hub bearing, jacked the front end up and yanked on the tire top and bottom and there again is just the slightest play, about what used to be normal on the old cars with angled bearings. The shop said they didn't think it was a bad hub bearing because normally a bad bearing will make noise, click and will wobble (shimmy) when going straight and then stop when turning due to the load placed on it when the vehicle is turning at highway speeds. I am tired of replacing parts only to still have the problem and am getting frustrated, I like the Pathy but with older cars when something failed well it failed, this thing has a problem yet all the parts seems ok but only with the slightest of play as mentioned. Ok thats the long story so my question is, could the plastic strut bearing with just a tad of horizontal play cause the clunking noise I hear mainly when going over bumps and especially if going slowly on a gravel road? Or any other ides? thanks, burning thru the parts toda

[mpeatc5]

front suspension problems are tough to track down and fix, especially for the DIY'er. you have done a lot to try to solve the noise and shimmy, but on the " glass half full " outlook, you have already ruled out those possibilities.

have you checked the front wheel bearings anyway ? it's a simple and inexpensive procedure to do, especially if the bearings haven't had new grease packed in awhile anyway. plus, it gives you an opportunity to re-torque the bearings. while you're in there check the calipers and make sure they are not sticking.

stupid question but i have to ask, how did the shimmy and noise occur ? were you out on a trail ? if so, it's a possibility that the front drive shaft or final drive is cracked, broken or bent. plus, the " spider assembly " located on the final drive side could have some damage, which will cause your symptoms.

[todapark]

The wheel bearings on the 2000 are not quite so simple, they cannot be re-torked as on other vehicles, the entire hub assembly must be removed and either replaced as a single unit or a machine shop has to use a press to R&R the bearing, not an easy job. On that note, what about the usual symptoms of a loose or worn bearing, ie: wheel should wobble when going straight and stop wobbling when turning as opposed to my symptoms which are drivers side front wheel seems to wobble when going about 55mph around a curve and then stops wobbling as the wheel is straightened and the vehicle is going straight? I am back to the top strut mount "bearing, would a small amount of slop, about 1/2 mm back and forth be enough to cause a rather loud clunking noise when going down a gravel road or over railroad tracks? The amount of slop in the bearing seems rather small to me and I would think with how loud the clunk is that if it was due to the slop in the plastic bearing then the bearing would shatter from being hit with such force from the clunking but Im not sure.

[mpeatc5]

it's possible that the front strut bearing is worn and yes, could cause you the vibration. unfortunately, the only way to know is to replace it and re-torque those bolts down. see if that works.

i am looking at the nissan TIS and your '00 pathfinder's front bearings are the same as my '01 pathfinders. the disassembly of the front wheel bearings are easy. once the rotor is off, take off the grease seal ( have new ones on hand ), the front and rear bearings will come out. clean up, re-pack with new grease and re-assemble using the correct torque specs.

it's worth a shot, as the procedure is easy and inexpensive. whereas, looking at the drive shaft and / final drives are more costly. the only thing you have to lose is a little time. but, worth the time as you will have narrowed down the problem if that doesn't work. plus, you're performed maintenance that needed to be done anyway.

[mpeatc5]

fueler sent this link regarding the wheel bearing service. i know it's for the xtera, but it is the same as the pathfinders.

http://rkrenn.com/xterra/howto/bearing/bearing.htm

[todapark]

I checked out the link and the pictures show a front hub that is not like mine. Mine has a simple metal grease cap (like on a boat trailer) and when I use a large screwdriver to pry it off, there is no nut underneath just a round metal sleeve that appears to be pressed on the spline. The sleeve has no notches or holes in in to accommodate a specialty tool. It simply looks like the hub and bearing are put on the axle and then the "sleeve" was pressed into place. I may be wrong though as I have not removed any of the bolts that hold the "auto locker" in place. Sounds like I need to get it back on the jack and get my knees dirty again. I will try removing the bolts that hold the locker in place and see if that will allow some disassembly of the bearing??

[todapark]

After a few cups of morning Joe I had a brainstorm and am now suspecting that I may have 2 issues, the small play in the upper strut mount bearing and the small amount of play in the wheel bearing may be combining to cause my symptoms. I am always cursed with these odd problems and in the past whenever it isn't evident what the problem is it usually ends up being a combination of more than one issue. So I am going to replace the upper strut mount and bushing and see if there is an improvement in the symptoms and if so but still isn't as it should be then maybe I will also attack the wheel bearing play either by seeing if it is adjustable and if not then by replacing the whole hub. Again here I go burning thru the parts.

[todapark]

Ok I got incorrect advice from the mechanic I originally took the vehicle to. You are correct, today I pulled the grease cap off the spindle, removed the C clip and then removed the 6 screws that hold the outer section on and popped it off and was able to gain access to the bearing nut after removing 2 small screws that hold the lock washer in place. The bearing nut was very loose, so i just snugged it up repacked with grease and re-assembled the whole thing and walla, half my problem is gone. The vehicle unfortunately still makes a clunking noise when going on a gravel road or over railroad tracks however the front drivers wheel does not shimmy anymore when going at highway speeds around a corner so I guess the conventional wisdom about wheel bearing symptoms didn't apply in this case. Anyway I am going to order a top strut mount and bearing and replace those and keeping my fingers crossed here, may solve the clunking noise issue.

[mpeatc5]

let us know what happens.

[todapark]

Will do..... must order the parts and then wait for some time to install the strut mount and bearing, wheel shimmy is still totally gone and clunking is still there, I will update the post after I finish.

[hospitalbuilder]

With all of the work you have done you have probably already checked this. I am not sure of the correct terminology of what I experienced so bear with me. I recently changed out the struts in the front of my 99 QX4. When reinstalling the new struts, apparently I did not get the sway bar linkage tight enough to the strut. I am not sure if that is the correct term, but it attaches to the strut aboujt half way up, with a bolt that requires you use a hex wrench to hold the bolt and a box wrench to tighten the nut. The problem I had was loud clunking noise when I hit any type of bump, I would imagine a gravel road and rr tracks would definatly cause that, but my drive typically avoids those areas.

As I said you probably already checked this but givie it a good wrenching to be sure.

[todapark]

Thanks, yes I already put new sway bar links on and the left wheel area still clunked when hitting a bump in the road. I ordered the upper strut mount and bearing today. Just a odd FYI, everywhere I went, Big A, Autozone and Napa had a price of about 17 dollars for just the plastic bearing and about 60 bucks for the upper strut mount and bearing kit, of course that is for the cheapy ones, I then went to Advance and they ordered the upper mount with bearing and new nuts for a total of 26 dollars. really not sure why such a lower price from Advance on the whole mount with bearing.

[kamiar]

I need those too, what is the website address of Advance?

[todapark]

Hello, if you just type in advance autoparts it will come up. The Advance Autoparts part number for the upper bearing plate with bearing is 903954

[kamiar]

thanks

[todapark]

Ok today I installed the new upper strut bearing plate and bearing, my kind of fun. Any wayI I am half disappointed. The vehicle does seem to handle better than before but and the big but is that the clucking noise is still there in the drivers side wheel well area when going over railroad tracks. I am almost at wits end on this one but haven't given up yet. Now my train of thought is on the axle and or assembly and or front drive shaft. I can see that the front drive shaft to the drivers side wheel has U joints out near the hub but does anyone know what is on the other end that connects to the transfer case?? Is it a CV joint or another U joint or spline assembly. I guess I am going to have to tear into it another day and see if it is the axle bouncing around when going over bumps. Any and all ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Amd here is an oddball question, can I remove the wheel drive shafts and drive the Pathy without them, just to see if the clunking goes away?

[todapark]

It is fixed. Finally I got rid of the clunking noise in the drivers side front wheel area and I am a bit miffed at my (former) mechanic. It ended up being a bad lower ball joint, and I'm miffed because when I took the vehicle to the mechanic for a diagnosis (of which I was charged 1 hour labor) I still remember him stating "well the lower ball joint is fine" well no it wasn't. I checked simply by pulling the vehicles front end in towards one of those concrete stop blocks in a parking lot and used a large curved pry bar to lift up on the edge of the lower A arm and walla, the passenger side simply caused the vehicle to move up and down when pried on and the drivers side made a big popping noise as the ball joint slipped inside the ball cup. That said I thought replacing it would be a breeze, but of course I would be wrong again. It looks easy enough, 3 nuts to remove the ball joint flange and the main bolt on the ball joint and it should come out but NO, even with it loose it could not be removed until a undid the axle assembly and moved the CV boot flange out of the way, and of course with the strut compressed and still attached, the whole hub assembly acted like a giant gimble with a mind of its own as to the position it wanted to be in, I had to grab it like a bear and wrestle it into place. Anyway, the end of the story is it was a bad ball joint that I was told was just fine by a mechanic.