Side to side wallowing like a convulsing whale.... Help?

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Krymdog
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Side to side wallowing like a convulsing whale.... Help?

Postby Krymdog » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:50 pm

I have a 2012 Silver with 71k. The tail end 'wags the dog', as it were. In doing research here, I have just come up with more questions.

I would like to maintain stock height, but if a small bump is required in the response, that is fine.

QUESTION: What does everyone here do to correct what seems to be a common problem?

I see a lot of 'Air Lift 1000' in the tag lines. Is that better than a heavier duty spring and shock?

Sway bar bushings, front and rear, are going in. Looks like poly with squared off bracket is the way to go, and I should contact PRG. Is that correct?

Control arms and sway bar links tend to go in whole pieces, not just bushings. That is fine.

So... What to do for a firmer ride that doesn't body roll and is stock height?


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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:32 pm

So are you complaining about the rear end being too soft?
Thats a common complaint (even though Xterras are worse)

Moog makes some nice springs that stiffen up the rear a bit but w/o excessive lift.

Or is it insecure handling?
Thats a rare complaint for an R51.
If that then dont discount shocks as a cause.

I had dealers and independents tell me "shocks are fine" and then spent countless visits chasing down handling issues..
In the end put in new shocks.... fixed the problem.

This was after new sway bar bushings, tech tested the originals.. said they were still good... but they werent expensive and i enjoyed a low labor rate so i told him to put them in anyway... only very little improvement until shocks were renewed however.
Of course this depends on the condtion of your bushings.. results may vary.

Krymdog
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Yes, the rear is soft

Postby Krymdog » Wed Jan 16, 2019 12:59 pm

Bilstein 5100s are the tried and true, from what I have seen?
They will need to be replaced, regardless, as that is something most people neglect. The rest of the vehicle is practically a museum piece, but I get the feeling that a non-car guy/enthusiast was hit with a suggestion for a 60k service and decided to buy a new one.

I will do the bilsteins and have my guy look around at bushings, ends, and arms while he is under there.

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palmerwmd
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Re: Yes, the rear is soft

Postby palmerwmd » Wed Jan 16, 2019 1:53 pm

Krymdog wrote:Bilstein 5100s are the tried and true, from what I have seen?
They will need to be replaced, regardless, as that is something most people neglect. The rest of the vehicle is practically a museum piece, but I get the feeling that a non-car guy/enthusiast was hit with a suggestion for a 60k service and decided to buy a new one.

I will do the bilsteins and have my guy look around at bushings, ends, and arms while he is under there.
The Bilsteins are quite good but There are other brands out there that might come much cheaper.

Have a look at this page:
https://www.summitracing.com/int/search ... 4294948686

When I did mine I did them with slightly used OEMs but these seem to have a good rep in the Xterra community (and the Xterra of course is basically a shorted decontented R51)

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smj999smj
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Re: Yes, the rear is soft

Postby smj999smj » Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:01 pm

Krymdog wrote:Bilstein 5100s are the tried and true, from what I have seen?
They will need to be replaced, regardless, as that is something most people neglect. The rest of the vehicle is practically a museum piece, but I get the feeling that a non-car guy/enthusiast was hit with a suggestion for a 60k service and decided to buy a new one.

I will do the bilsteins and have my guy look around at bushings, ends, and arms while he is under there.
If you are maintaining the stock ride height, go with Bilstein 4600's. Adding Airlift 1000 air bags help stiffen the ride and keep the factory coil springs, which were a bit "soft," from bottoming out over bumps. They also are good if you tow. Later, Moog came out with a set of stock replacement springs that are much better than the original coils and don't tend to bottom out, even without the air bags. Ride on these Pathfinders are always a bit "unsettled" when going over bumpy roads or potholes, but that's a characteristic of many body-on-frame SUV's.

Krymdog
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Postby Krymdog » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:20 pm

Roger that.
Moog replacement coils.
Bilstein 4600's.
Airlift 1000.

Or, are the Moogs in lieu of the Airlift 1000?

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:09 pm

If you are installing the Moog rear springs, than I would hold off on the Airlift 1000 air bags, unless you tow something heavy. If you were to stick with the factory rear springs, then I would say install the Airlift 1000's regardless of whether you tow or not.


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