Strange clunk and/or rattle from rear passenger side of Pathfinder?

[bmlawless]

I'm going to throw this out there even though I doubt it is your problem. I had a rattle that was driving me nuts. It turns out the pin holding the rear glass had backed out and the window was rattling.

[fitzx4]

Checked everything this afternoon. Completely remove spare tire and lowering mechanism. Checked for play in the suspension. Checked interior panels and whatnot.

Still persists. I've never been so stumped on anything.

I've checked everything I can think of.

If anyone has any suggestions or help I would be extremely grateful.

If it helps, the problem cannot be reproduced by pushing on the suspension or rocking the truck back and forth. <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0"> <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... es/wtf.gif" BORDER="0">

could be your running boards when they rot out like they all seem to do it will make that noise i shimmed mine up with some wood and screwed it in and mines a queit ride except for the subs

[UndeGuy]

Check the rear shock bolts at the top and bottom. I had to tighten the top to clear the rattle and one shock had slid off the grommet on the bottom.

I just installed a new pair of shocks on the PF a few weeks ago... and it looks like they're doing just that on the bottom bolts. One moved forward and the other moved backwards. Man, I hope I can fix that without buying new shocks... $120 for a couple of weeks is NOT cool.

I'm also hearing a little bit of rattling at low speeds and of course, the rear feels stiffer than it "should be."

[markmdz]

My wife has a '97 QX-4 and the same damn thing is happening.

I've narrowed it down to a few things I think could be causing it.

1. The exhaust hanger WAY up high above the axle and just before the muffler (front to back) looks like it's stretching out and causing the exhaust to bump around a bit. I already have a new hangar and will replace it this weekend and go for another drive.

2. When replacing the rear shocks last year (noise was not evident until a few months ago) I noticed the bump-stops on the inside of the coil spring was just flopping around inside the coil. After looking at the service manual it looks like that was supposed to have been bolted to the upper part of the inside of the spring. Not anymo'. Anyway, I have yet to drop the axle and replace/remove that, and I suspect that's the main source of this damn friggin noise that won't leave me alone.

[nissanjdm]

figured out what the noise was shortly after i posted. It was my spare that was coming loose as i was driving! haha simple fix!!!!

[mott6904]

For all the other noise haters out there another issue is the struts for the rear glass have a plastic bushing that wear out around the upper mounting bolt. Also the rubber stoppers for the rear window wear out and the license plate trim loosens up.

[markmdz]

My wife has a '97 QX-4 and the same damn thing is happening.

I've narrowed it down to a few things I think could be causing it.

1. The exhaust hanger WAY up high above the axle and just before the muffler (front to back) looks like it's stretching out and causing the exhaust to bump around a bit. I already have a new hangar and will replace it this weekend and go for another drive.

2. When replacing the rear shocks last year (noise was not evident until a few months ago) I noticed the bump-stops on the inside of the coil spring was just flopping around inside the coil. After looking at the service manual it looks like that was supposed to have been bolted to the upper part of the inside of the spring. Not anymo'. Anyway, I have yet to drop the axle and replace/remove that, and I suspect that's the main source of this damn friggin noise that won't leave me alone.

Well good news and bad news....

I replaced the stretched out exhaust hanger only about a week after my last post. The wife told me the noise had gone away, but just last weekend I drove it and that damn noise is still there. I need to get to the bottom of this soon. Next is trying to replace those bumpstops, but I'm not at all happy about having to drop the whole rear axle just for those stupid rubber bumps.

I'll check out the spare too, but when I was under there last I didn't feel any play at all on it.

[jdkkcooney]

Answer Found!!!!!
I had the exact same rattle with my 2005 Pathfinder and I searched endlessly online for answers. 2 Mechanics and 1 Dealer later, I was no closer to a solution. Took apart the entire spare tire assembly, rear window brackets, everything.

The answer turned out to be the emergency / parking brake cable. There was a little too much slack in the cable and it was rattling inside its housing. I was able to determine this by depressing the pedal until it clicked once and voila! Noise gone. Quick trip to the mechanic for an easy cable tightening solved the issue permanantly. Hope this helps someone else out there.

[Bluemill]

Do you mean the brake drum by "housing" in your post? Do you think the cable was rapping against the backing plate of the brake drum?
I have looked at about 20 things so far... HELP!!!!

Bluemill

[Me stock]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ex_HVPm9yps

This gentleman had a few fixesfor the rattle.

[Me stock]

Hope this helps!