suspension problem

[pathfinder_se_black]

i feel a vibration on the stearing wheel everytime i hit a bump. the car just doesnt drive very smooth anymore. i got the tires balanced and rotated and a 4 wheel alignment done at the nissan dealer 2 times. i changed the rear shocks last year (nissan oem parts) and the front shocks are still good. I also checked to see if the brakes were rubbing at odd points on all the wheels. i see that i have 2 split bushings in the back but they arent giving me the "death sway" the problem is mainly coming from the front with a constant steering wheel vibration. any sugestions?

[02pathy]

i would say take a look at ur ball joints, they tend to go bad over a long period of time giving you the sense that something is wrong but can never be found type of thing

also maybe the tire weren't balanced properly, i have seen people just slap wieghts on ne where and give it back to the custumer, but if its only when u hit a bump. i would check balljionts and struts( struts should technically b replaced every 80k 2 100k km roughly 4-5yrs

[ewh3160]

Check your sway bar bushings and sway bar linkage that run off the end of the sway bar, sometimes connected to your struts, depending on the year. If there bad you would get a sway in the front end or even a slight noise.

[pathfinder_se_black]

thanks for the advice guys. i honestly think it is all of the parts mentioned unfortunatly haha. the only thing that has been changed suspension wise was the rear shocks.

[hospitalbuilder]

I had a similar problem and changed out the struts in the front. My car would vibrate significantly whenever I hit any bump at high speeds (driving in the interstate highways here in Denver was a real dream). My understanding is that the springs want to rebound and continue bouncing after a bump and the shocks prevent that, but when they go bad they don't prevent the spring from rebounding which was the shaking I was feeling. Depending on your mileage and usage (ever have the front wheels under water?) you may also want to repack the front bearings. That made a difference in my ride quality (but I was well north of 100K).

You said your front shocks were still good, but if the rears went bad, it may be time for the fronts as well. Anyway, that is what worked for me. Good luck to you.