Hello,

I have 2 almost identical 2001.5 Pathfinder LEs, one with 190K and one with 145K. The one with 145K has a really noticeable jerk when shifting out of Park. It happens on a flat surface, slight incline, doesn't matter, and it's more pronounced when the truck is cold/first drive of the day. The one with 190K never feels like this, so I know it's not normal.

It feels as if if the whole driveshaft moves backward, not the normal feeling of the transmission shifting into a gear, and it's kinda loud, like a big clunk. BTW, the one with 145k and the clunk doesn't show signs of leaking from the rear main seal (no spots on driveway) but the one with 190K and no clunk leaves a few drops from that area (not major though).

I just replaced all of the suspension pieces, front and rear (had the death sway), but it had this jerk before, so it's nothing there. (Parts that are new: rear upper and lower trailing arms, sway bar links and sway bar bushings, front sway bar links and bushings, inner and outer tie rod ends, struts were replaced before but recently).

I think it could be a few things, and I've done a search on here for what I think it could be, but can't find anything (maybe I'm not using the correct search words)

Anyway, I was thinking:
Transmission mount?
or engine mounts?
maybe the driveshaft mount?
Do these components wear out on these? Is this something I can see easily while under the car?

The truck does not vibrate at all, whether at idle or while driving, so I'm kinda ruling out engine mounts. But who knows! It runs fine other than an O2 sensor that needs replacing, but no power surges or anything strange.

I've replaced engine mounts and transmission mounts on a few Subarus, but they were manual-transmission cars, so the issues were different.

Any help would be appreciated.

My '02 had the same behavior when I bought it used with 170K on it. After I drained and replaced the ATF and the rear differential gear oil it had a remarkable improvement and no longer concerned me. The clunk and jerk into gear behavior returned slowly over the course of 4 years and 40K miles later. I realized my ATF and rear differential gear oil were overdue for a change again and the issue once again went away after the oil change. The issue for me never went away 100% but did so acceptably enough after the oil changes. Could be some wear and tear going on but nothing extreme in my case, as far as I can tell.

Hmm, the fluids were last changed at 64k. Fluids being: ATF fluid and differential fluid, and transfer case. I guess I can start there, but why would fluid cause such a jerk? Maybe it’s low? I’ll check the condition of the fluid over the weekend.

Thanks. Any other suggestions out there?

Wear and tear. Nissan recommends changing ATF every 30K miles or 24 months, whichever comes first, and changing the differential and transfer case lubricant every 60K miles or 48 months, whichever comes first. Shear strength stability and oxidation break down the fluid's viscosity over time and usage which creates inadequate lubrication which causes gears to wear down and become clunky. The more wear and tear that exists in the gears, the more oil shear strength stability is challenged so more frequent oil changes will be needed even before recommended maintenance intervals. I don't keep track of the time change interval at all but I've decided to cut the usage interval in half for my next fluid changes. Still going strong at 225K.

Ok, thanks. Looks like I have another few items on the list!

I have a travel-heavy March, so I won’t be able to get to this until April, so I will let it mostly sit until then and perform the fluid changes in April. I will update here once I do.

Thank you!

I had the clunk jerk thing going on quite awhile back. I lubed the driveshaft slipyoke to get rid of it. I used a thin coat of synthetic axle grease.

It's easy with the driveshaft out to get an up close look at the rear transmission mount and see if it has any cracking / splitting.

Might be all you need!

Good and valid responses above. But before I got too far, I'd have someone look at the engine while you shift it out of park into F or R and watch the engine. Or better, have them do it while you watch. Motor mounts cross my mind, and a quick look while shifting is cheap and easy. Idle speed is another possibility, if it's too high it'll bang in.

According to Haynes:

1. Loose or disconnected rear suspension components. How are your rear control arms doing? Their bushings tend to go bad on our vehicles.
2. Loose driveshaft bolts (unlikely).
3. Worn or damaged u-joint bearings. These can wear out quickly when driving in 4wd on pavement.