Which suspension part is bad

[franzman]

My 2000 R50 has about 270k km on the clock and the ride starts to feel a bit like a rollercoaster. I cannot see any oil leaking on the shocks, both dustboots in the front are torn though. Leaning on the fender and letting go does not make the car swing more than once, it settles quite quickly. However when I'm driving i feel like a "wobble-head", the car is just rocking left to right and that starts to be annoying (and unsafe i reckon).
I can't tell if any suspension part has ever been changed :/
I also looked at the rear control arms but can't tell whether the bushings are gone or not. It looks alright, when I grab he lower arm I can twist it a little bit. Is that regular play in the rubber bushing or is it shot?
thanks guys!

[Buzzman]

Bushings are shot.
Classic "death sway".
Tons of info on this problem. Give it a search.

[franzman]

yeah that was my thought but when i looked into it the bushings always seemed completely destroyed so i thought maybe its just normal play as it is rubber
I guess i'll jack it up and have a closer look. i saw the other posts.
thanks!

[barnaclebob]

When my front shocks were bad the car was getting scary when you'd hit a bumpy stretch on a turn on the highway. You could tell the wheels weren't making as good of contact as they should have been. When the backs were bad you'd get the roller coaster oscillation feeling but only in the vertical direction when heavily loaded and you hit a bump.

[cr4west]

You have the death sway. Its the rear lower control arm bushings. Get the Adus (4x Rear Upper/ Lower Control Arm Bushing Kit Fits: 96-04 QX4 & Pathfinder - PSB 594) urethane ones on Amazon for $68. You will need a 1/2 drive socket wrench set to get the rear lower arms out, a drill and a reciprocating saw to get the old bushings removed. Detailed instructions are in other posts on this site. The new bushings are two piece and go in to your old control arms easily. Results are solid straight ride without changing the struts. you will be happy with the ride.

[franzman]

thanks guys, much appreciated!

[Platinum04]

Check the upper control arms also they go bad too. I did my entire suspension. shocks, struts, upper and lower control arms and the panrod, coil springs and bump stops.