R50 pathfinder control arm replacement 4link suspension explanation 

Did it fix it? Got the death wobble too

It sure did. drives great.

Yeah, what you said works great as long as the sleeve inside the bushing doesnt spin.

Quite true. I really was fortunate on this job, as all four sleeves were held in place by the remaining rubber bushings well enough that I was able to spin the bolts before removing the nuts. If the sleeves started spinning, I would probably try to jam them with a small metal chisel inserted between the bracket and the control arm. From my disassembly, it appears the bolts are not rusting, but since they have a rather heavy cadmium plating, are suffering from cadmium corrosion, which is a white powdery substance, that causes a bonding with the unplated sleeves. After a twenty mile test drive, the polyurethane bushings are stiffer, but superb in terms of rear stability.

I tried the chisel trick off camera. I threw the entire tool box at it. Haha. It seems things rust where I live worse than in other places. I only live 1.5 miles from the ocean. The salt air is rough on things. I have used poly bushings on other projects, and I agree they are superior. This truck is my worn out beater daily driver, so I opted to go the cheap route in this case.

Mr. N D "Nolathane" is a BRAND name for polyurethane bushings made in Australia. They were purchased through Amazon. Approximately $59 for the complete lower set. They are two-piece push-in by hand and after two weeks, I really like the slightly stiffer feel in the rear suspension.

some body roll is normal if you hit certain dips a certain way. its just the nature of the suspension cycling. however, r50's are known for having control arm bushing issues. crawl underneath and visually inspect those bushings. if the rubber has cracks in it, its time for replacement.

Copy that then

Off the top of my head without looking at it, you have to take loose the plastic cover that covers your fuel fill pipe. Then you can get right to it. You shouldn't have to remove the entire cover, just the bottom part and move it out of the way.

Thanks. I got past the cover. Maybe it’s my compressor I just can’t seem to get the nut off. Might buy a new one and maybe I can just zip the nut off!

these do not creak. I've only had noise issue with the poly bushings.

more than likely yes. crawl under there and look for cracked bushings.

Yup. I had the same problem. The rear control arms are the culprit. I’ve replaced them and the fishtail is gone, the death wobble is gone. Be careful about over torquing the nuts on these bolts. They need to be able to move a bit when going over bumps or you’ll get a hard ride.

Cant remember exactly what size it was. I do know I replaced it with a standard size, not metric. I matched them up at ace hardware. Make sure you get a grade 8 bolt and use some kind of locknut. I used nylock nuts.

Lord of junk thank you dude! I got half inch bolts grade8 at home depot but they have a little more play than the original bolts. Going to ace now since they were closed last night? And see if they have something closer to the original. Once again thanks!

I just grabbed them from ace hardware. They are grade 8 standard bolts with lock nuts. Can't remember the size I used. I just picked up the standard bolts that were closest to the size of the metric ones I pulled out.

@@Lordofjunk good video btw. Thanks

not on this particular vehicle, but I have done them before on others, yes.

just eyeball it, get it somewhere close. it will be fine. as long as you dont tighten it at full droop, your bushings will have a nice happy life.

@Lord of junk Thanks for the quick response, you extended them all the way & it was enough? Do all jack stands extend to the same height? I feel like these aluminum Harbor freight ones I have don't extend as high as yours.

@Lord of junk Also I put new rear Gabriel Ultra shock absorbers, does it matter when I tighten those?

mine are harbor frieght also, but the steel ones. yours should be high enough unless you have oversized tires. just set the stands to where if you installed the tire, there would be like a 1/4 to 1/2 inch between the bittom of the tire and the concrete.

shocks do not matter

they did not. I used grade 8 bolts from the hardware store with lock nuts.

@@Lordofjunk Thanks, and thanks for the video. Still trying to decide whether I want to try this at home or take it to a mechanic.

You mean the suspension bottoms out? Like it bounces off the bump stops?

@@Lordofjunk yes it bottoms out on bad roads and bumps.

Mine does it too if I hit a bump really hard. The only way to prevent this would be getting some sort of heavy duty shock.

@@Lordofjunk okay thank you for your help. I appreciate it.

it's a matco gun I've had for years. couldn't tell you the model right off hand, but it is quiet and powerful.

Well, I had another go at it and I don't know if an impact wrench will do it. I tied one end of a ratchet strap to the tow bar, and the other to a braker bar, tightened it up real good and it didn't budge. Gave it a few wacks with a hammer too but no dice. Might have to cut it.

That is a fantastic question. And yes you should account for the ride height difference if you want your bushings to live a long happy life. I have a 4" subframe drop lift I will install at some point, and was going to go over that on that video. All you have to do is loosen all of the link bolts after you install the lift, and jump on the bumper like I did in the video. Or you can leave them loose and drive around the block, slowly. Whatever it takes for the bushings to find thier new sweet spot.

@@Lordofjunk have you installed the 4” SFD yet? Would love to see an install video as i plan to do the same very soon. Just in the process of wrangling all the parts together first.

I have not installed the 4" SFD. The kit I was going to get was a never installed kit from an old friend of mine. he was gonna get it for cheap. I got busy and I haven't followed up with him. Maybe he still has it. I'm really torn on whether I want to install it on this pathfinder because it has so many miles on it (312k). if I end up installing it, there for sure be video.

I'm in Wilmington. problem is, I'm having enough problems getting my own stuff done lately. If you attempt it yourself, and would like some advice, email me at the address in the description. thanks for watching.

Bahahah get a load of this guy ^^

i liked the sketches. best explanation I've seen.