Suspension REBUILD

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Code Pathfinder
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Location: Minnesota

Suspension REBUILD

Postby Code Pathfinder » Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:01 pm

Now that spring break has started for me, I can begin with the suspension rebuild.

Almost all of it :roll:

Yesterday I installed brand new struts from MOOG Suspensions. These struts were paired with a 2 inch lift spacer from Supreme Suspensions that I was already running with the old struts.

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Here it is installed

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I haven't noticed any unusual darting to veering with the new struts. Wheels appear to be in the same position last time and the height in the front didnt change with the new struts. I will get an alignment soon just gotta schedule it.

I attempted to install the lower control arms in the front and rear today and im running into the same issue.

My lower pinch bolts in the front and rear and the upper pinch bolts in the rear that clamp the ball joint to the knuckle are seized pretty bad.

Im letting them sit in PB Blaster for a couple of days before I try again.

if that doesn't work then ill cut the ball joint off and remove the knuckle from the assembly to drill out the old pinch bolts.

the new pinch bolts from Nissan are fairly cheap. Last time I checked they were around $2.00. the nuts go for $0.98 each.


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Thupertrooper
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Postby Thupertrooper » Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:55 pm

I hope the PB blaster gives you a break but sounds like cutting is your easiest option.

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Code Pathfinder
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Day 2

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:06 pm

So PB blaster and a new control arm made my day!

The pinch bolt for the ball joint came out with some hammering and the ball joint was pressed out of the knuckle using a pitman arm puller ( this is a must have for this. you will thank me later :) )

Here is the new control arm on the passenger side (im doing the drivers side tomorrow).

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Here is the old control arm. It turns out I didn't have adjustable cams in the front before cutting them out.

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Seized Bolt Nightmare (same story on both sides) :shock:

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I set the camber as close to factory as I could using a method I saw in a titan swap video. The video maker explained where the cam washer needed to be when aligning the control arms. Gonna get it aligned on Monday when the front control arms are all done.

The rear control arms are getting put on hold for now. Gotta order new uppers for the rear before tackling that project.

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Code Pathfinder
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Postby Code Pathfinder » Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:10 pm

I also accidentally stripped one of my bolts that holds the sway bar to the frame.

how is that issue fixed? it appears the nut is welded on to the frame.

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:13 am

Nice goodies!! :D

You Sir are my hero ..
Cant help with the bolt but i am sure someone else will have some good tips

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:59 pm

Code Pathfinder wrote:I also accidentally stripped one of my bolts that holds the sway bar to the frame.

how is that issue fixed? it appears the nut is welded on to the frame.
Can the nut be heated with a torch and taken off with vice grips or something similar?

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Code Pathfinder
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Day 3

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:14 pm

Front suspension is done.

New lower control arm installed on the drivers side with Moog camber bolts.

A FEW NOTES:

1. I cannot stress this enough, get a pitman arm puller. This thing made my job a lot easier getting the ball joint out of the knuckle.

2. the drivers side pinch bolt was still stuck even after soaking in Pb blaster last night. I cut off the ball joint (see photo down below) to separate the old LCA from the knuckle.

I then proceeded to use my pitman arm puller to press out the stuck bolt in the knuckle. I needed to hit the bolt with the impact to get it to spin before I did this. once it began to spin, I was in business.

3. Impact wrench and heat are your best friends. I personally didn't have a torch but my impact wrench saved my rear end from hours of frustration and difficulty dealing with stuck nuts and bolts.

4. Add anti seize to your new camber bolts and control arms bushings. This will prevent the bolt from getting stuck in the bushing again.

5. I was able to get my sway bar bolt to thread back into the nut. I cut off the damaged threads on the bolt and slowly threaded the bolt back in.

Off to get an alignment tomorrow and recycling my old car parts for some $$$ :lol:

Finished install pics

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Aftermath of my old suspension

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Here is the LCA where the joint was cut.

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Code Pathfinder
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Postby Code Pathfinder » Fri Mar 15, 2019 1:58 am

Forgot to post regarding the alignment results

The front end is now back to factory specs.

The rear is still off. No surprise there :roll:

I ordered new rear upper control arms for both sides so i can replace the lower control arms.

Almost every bolt that goes into both rear knuckles are seized on my pathfinder. Nothing my powerful impact and sawzall cant handle :lol:

I do post a question for anyone who can answer for me

How do you remove the parking brake cable from the rear knuckle on the R51 pathfinder?

I need to do this so i can use my pitman arm puller to press out the seized pinch bolts that are stuck in the knuckles.

BullDozer
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Postby BullDozer » Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:37 pm

Thank you for all the pictures

Regarding removing the e brake. There is a link in one of the stickie to nissan tech manual

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:07 pm

O many nice pics! :o

Also It must feel good to look under the vehicle and see so many shiny new suspension components! :D

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Code Pathfinder
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Rear Suspension nightmare

Postby Code Pathfinder » Tue May 07, 2019 11:47 pm

So I haven't posted in a while on my rebuild progress so ill catch you up to speed. This will be a long article but it will warrant itself to be this long.

Since i replaced the front suspension, I put off installing the rear until i had another long stretch of free time. That whole plan changed this week.

Fast forward from march to this past Sunday. Im driving down 35W in MN on my way home from a car show and my pathfinder hit what appeared to be a pothole/bump. This was a pretty big bump that the construction workers didn't patch yet.

The rear suspension made a loud cracking noise followed by an annoying clicking sound. I knew from there that my CV was damaged bad on the passenger side (It was leaking grease back in February and it needed to be replaced soon).

I make it home and decide to deal with it in the morning.

Monday happens and I begin disassembling the rear suspension on the passenger side. Everything was going smooth until I had to get the knuckle out. ONCE AGAIN the stupid ball joint pinch bolts were seized and i couldn't pop out the ball joints to separate the upper and lower control arm from the knuckle.

So i say to hell with it and cut off the ball joints. Good news was the knuckle was out. Bad news, I still couldn't get the pinch bolts out :(

So there i am stranded in my garage with my Pathy on 3 wheels and a jack stand. I called a tow truck to get it towed to a shop since i couldn't do the repair myself. No damage occurred to the suspension when we dragged it out of my garage and on to the flatbed.

Here's my pathfinder this morning

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Shop is going to replace the knuckle and finish my suspension rebuild for me. This includes:

1. New Knuckle on the passenger side rear

2. New Rear upper control arms i had already purchased but hadnt installed yet

3. new Rear lower control arms i had already purchased but hadnt installed yet

4. new PRG sway bar end links i had already purchased but hadnt installed yet

The Pathfinder will have full alignment capability once the repair is done.

I will keep everyone posted and feel free to ask me questions :D

Brmadsenad
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I just did my whole front end. . .

Postby Brmadsenad » Fri May 10, 2019 9:18 pm

About two weeks ago I re-did my front suspension. Upper and lower control arms, CVs, outer tie-rod ends, strut/spring, and sway bar linkage. I think that was it for major components, did the CV seals and other incidentals along the way.

I was able to remove ONE lower control arm bolt. The other three got cut with reciprocating saw. Old bolts were non-adjustable, new bolts ($25 each, BTW) were cam adjustable bolts.

Other than having to cut lower arm bolts, the job went about like I expected. Took me longer than expected, and thought I was stuck a few times, but just forged on.

I didn't take photos, but if you ask a question I might be able to answer.

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Code Pathfinder
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Location: Minnesota

Rebuild DONE

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sat May 11, 2019 8:39 am

So i got my pathfinder back yesterday from the shop

Here are some pics of the new rear components installed:

Passenger side

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Drivers side:

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Shop couldnt do alignment due to my pathfinders lift and size.

Here are the current alignment Specs:

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Here is a shot of the rear tires (its hard to see the misalignment but both wheels are slanted pretty bad.

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going to my local 4x4 shop with a laser alignment machine on monday. Hopefully they can align it now with the camber and toe bolts free in the front and rear.

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sat May 11, 2019 2:13 pm

Good luck on that alignment!
Everything else looks GTG!!! :D

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Code Pathfinder
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Better Alignment

Postby Code Pathfinder » Mon May 13, 2019 10:34 am

Went to a local 4x4 shop to get this thing aligned.

The tech got it pretty close to spec but the tires wont wear down as fast anymore.

Here are the new results:

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They ended up replacing one of my Rear camber bolts as the threads were stripped pretty bad. didn't charge me a dime for the cam bolt either :D

I went ahead and ordered the super pro suspensions Rear UCA offset bushings. That will hopefully free up some adjust ability camber wise in the rear.

Only thing left to replace is the front uppers. Going with freedom off roads tubular control arms for $320


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