Front spring clunk at hard turn after new struts/mounts

[moose_grunt]

Hi all. I've been a stalker here for the past few months after I bought a 2001 Pathfinder. I've finally been emboldened enough to tackle replacing the worthless front strut. It went about as expected-took me the entire weekend, made even longer because I only have the one car. Had to put everything together to run to the hardware store a couple of times to buy sockets I didn't have...

I replaced:
Passenger's side strut (Sensen)
Knuckle bolts and nuts (OEM)
Top mount (including bearing and mount nuts) (Duralast)

I finally got the job done, but now get a clunk when making a hard turn slowly. Watching the spring, it moves smoothly, catches, then jerks. I've got the bottom pigtail aligned correctly, and the notch on the top plate matches the notch on the bottom. I used a Duralast mounting kit, so put in a new top mount, bearing, and nuts.

I'm thinking that I over- or under-tightened the nut on the top of the strut, as both the strut and nut turn a little when I turn the wheel. I assume that's not supposed to happen (doesn't on the other side of the car). Any ideas? I'll probably tear everything apart and put it back together again next weekend to see if that hleps, but any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks!
Jim

[Hawairish]

Hey Jim, can you get any pics of the assembly? The upper spring perch moves in unison with the lower spring perch (welded to the strut). If the spring is able to move during a turn, then something isn't correct. The nut and shaft (viewed from under the hood) should not move during turns. The hole where the strut rod goes through the top mount is keyed, which is what keeps the strut rod from turning.

Did your top mount kit include a metal bushing, and do you have a pic of your old top mount? The R50s had two styles of top mounts, and the bushing in the kit is either used, or not used, depending on year. Do you recall how the strut bearing was installed, and did you use a new one?

[moose_grunt]

Thanks for the reply. I'll get some pics and a video up after work today.

I compared the new vs old sides, and the springs on both sides rotate during a turn. That's not normal, then?

I actually didn't realise the strut rod was keyed to the top mount. Probably should've. Doh! I was able to tighten the top nut down pretty good, so I'm guessing I got the alignment right, but I guess that's something to check. The rod doesn't turn through the whole range of a turn, just a few degrees at the very limits of turning the wheels.

Per the top mount, the kit came with a metal bushing, which I used. The mount I took off did not have a separate bushing--the spacer was attached to the mount itself. I did install a new bearing in the correct orientation.

Pictures after work. In the meantime, thanks for the advice so far!

Jim

[moose_grunt]

So I couldn't get it to do it again this evening when I had the camera--figures!





New (top) with bushing, old (bottom) with built-in spacer.

http://vid1228.photobucket.com/albums/e ... G_3072.mp4
Video turning hard right, hard left (movement around 10 s) then back to center.


http://vid1228.photobucket.com/albums/e ... G_3071.mp4
Video turning hard right to hard left then back to center.

Sorry for the crappy shaky cell phone videos. I left my camera at work today, and can take better ones tomorrow.

Thanks again!
Jim

[Hawairish]

Thanks Jim, that helps.

Is the nut and rod rotating freely without binding up the rubber on the strut mount at the 10s mark? You may only need to tighten down the nut some more. It doesn't take much resistance to prevent the rod from rotating, so the keyed part and clamping from the nut should be sufficient. Give that a try?

[moose_grunt]

To update, I've finally had a chance to get back outside and work on the pathfinder. I got another half-turn on the top nut (putting my weight into a breaker bar with the wheels on the ground), and the problem has not gone away. I got a video of it yesterday.

http://vid1228.photobucket.com/albums/e ... G_3089.mp4

I'm going to take it all apart, and make sure I've got everything mated correctly and check the bearing and orientation. If that still doesn't fix it, I'll try putting the old top mount and bearing in.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Jim

[moose_grunt]

Final update.

Tore everything apart again, and it turns out the bearing was shot. I put it in upside-down (doh!), and it didn't like that so much. Put the old one back in, and everything is smoooooove.

On a side note, the Duralast mounting kits I got don't really fit that well. While one side of the hole is keyed to match the strut shaft, the hole is way too big, and there is a significant amount of play. I put the old one back in here, too. Basically it ended up being a waste of money getting those, but I guess it's better to have and not need than need and not have...

Thanks again,
Jim

[fueler]

I am late to reply but I was going to say 100% strut bearing issue.

Do not use aftermarket ones. Use OEM Nissan only!

I am about to replace my KYB bearings that are doing the same thing