2001 Nissan Pathfinder Rear Shock & Front Strut Replacement

[nheitz]

My 2001 Pathfinder has 108,500 miles & I think it's time for new shocks & struts. It just doesn't feel the same anymore & is kinda wobbly. I have a few questions.

1) I got an estimate of $1110.76 to replace the front struts & rear shocks with OEM parts & an alignment. This is at a quality suspension place that I trust, not a dealership. I found the OEM parts online for $425 plus shipping but I have never replaced shocks or struts. My question is... how hard is this to do? I've changed all fluids, changed 2 oxygen sensors, & a throttle position sensor... to give you an idea of my experience. Is it a real PIA on the 01 PF or something I could probably handle?

2) Are there other suspension components that might need replaced with almost 110,000 miles & 7 years on my PF? I know the older PFs had problems with worn bushings. Has anyone seen this happening on the 01+ PFs?

3) Anyone seen an online guide for 01+ shock & strut replacement?

[Empty V]

I've got on 01 QX4 and changed those out at the beginning of the year. The shocks are a piece of cake, 5min a side. If you've got an impact driver it makes it even easier. Lift up the rear end, unbolt the shocks and remove, put the new ones on and cut the retaining cord. Done and done. The struts took a little while longer you'll need a spring compressor which can be rented at most autoparts stores which is just a piece of all thread with teeth at each end, it's not a powered compressor. The first one took about 2 hours because we had no idea what we were doing and the 2nd only took about 30min. You'll still need to get an alignment but this will save you a good chunk of cash. My old mechanic wanted to charge me $360 in labor for the struts and $90 per shock, total rip off and that's why he's my old mechanic.

I just uploaded the 2001.0 QX4 Service Repair Manual to my server which should show you exactly how to fix everything. I'm sure it's almost if not totally identical to you car for the major repairs. Follow this link and use the login info below.

http://www.oocpromotions.com/t...anual/

Username: nicoPassword: club

Both are case sensitive.

Hope this helps!

Billy

[nheitz]

Huge help... thanks!

[nheitz]

Anyone else have some input?

[jimmyzzer]

when i did mine i took the front struts off and took them to the garage around the corner for $25 they changed them over using a hydraulic press.i was also putting on 2 inch lift springs from ac that are heavier than the stock spings.

[wcwc316]

sorry I'm new to this what is the shock retaining cord?

[02pathy]

you could just u a 3'4 by 3' or 4' iron pipe or breaker, yea i keep one these in my car for u know who, and a 1/2" or 3/4" rachet, take off the front and take them to a shop, they are hard if you don't know what u r doin u can lose an eye, finger, or even u if u r not careful

[hospitalbuilder]

I changed both the front and rear shocks in my 99 Q. Not sure if there are any differences between our models. As has been said, the rears are very easy, but the front struts are a bit of a wrestling match. In fact, I have seen Pep Boys offering to change the rears for free if you buy the shocks from them.

Be aware, the struts with the springs on are heavy so a second set of hands would be helpful. It took me a few hours for the first one, but probably 30 minutes for the second. The big issue I had was with the top nut. I took the first strut out, compressed the spring, and tried to loosen it with the assembly on my garage floor. I could not get enough torque to it as the entire shock turned with the nut. After a long while with hands on hips and curse words flowing, I decompressed the spring (compressing it is not complicated, just a real pita), and reinstalled it and turned the nut with the strut secured by the top three bolts. I just broke it loose and then took everything out again and finished up the change. Loosened the nut on the second strut before I took it out, made everything easy and quick, relatively speaking. The other issue I had, minor compared to the above, is the stabilizer link connection (I think that is right) which required a box wrench and a hex wrench to loosen, and a healthy dose of PB Blaster.

Read up here for some tips on some of these types of things, which make any work you want to do easier. This work is fairly physical due to the tightness of the bolts (you need a breaker bar if not an impact wrench), and the weight of the strut and spring, but entirely doable.

Good luck.

[wcwc316]

thanx for the info on the struts how about the rear shocks? do I have compress the shocks before I install them or no?

[wcwc316]

sorry for all the question. after I change my struts and shocks I probibily need to get my allignment done. But would I be able to drive my car after I install the new strut and shocks?

[hospitalbuilder]

I am referring to my 99Q, but the front and rear shocks are different. The fronts are actually strut assemblies which hold the spring, hence you need to remove the entire thing and compress the spring to remove the strut (the shock part) and replace. On the rear's the shock and spring are separate, so you can remove the shock without messing with the leaf spring. The new rear shocks come with a retaining cord, which you need to remove at some point. The shock wants to and will fully expand without any external pressure to keep it compressed. For me, I attached the top of the shock, released the retaining cord and caught it as it expanded with the bottom mount (I was able to compress it by hand as well to get it to fit). The retained and fully compressed shock was too short to fit. I think they use the cords to keep the shock small for shipping and inventory. YRMV

[hospitalbuilder]

And yes, you want to get an alignment done (I did only after replacing the fronts, not the rears), and you can drive to the shop for that work after your replacement.

[wcwc316]

so for the rear shocks its pretty much unscrew and take it out and put them back in as simple as that?

[dadukeness]

Hello all -

quick question - I'm replacing my struts and noticed that I need new bellows, however, the bellows that are on my old struts, which I believe are the factory struts, don't have a "bumper".

My question is, is it necessary to get the factory strut bumper? or can I just use a generic bellow (or "boot") to cover the rod?

Empty V - when you removed your old struts, did they have the bellows with the strut bumper?