Nissan Pathfinder Lower Tension Rod Replacement Steering Fix - Project Cheapfinder S11E36

[@PathmakerProductions]

www.patreon.com/pathmakerproductions ☝Support my channel & get exclusive videos & content.

[@nunocatarino2536]

Was going to do it on mine soon, and now with this video you just made my life easier. Im welding some new metal cups to keep it for some more years.Thanks and keep the crazy hauling with these machines. Greetings from Portugal.👍

[@PathmakerProductions]

Its well worth the effort! Keeps your front end together much longer!

[@offthebottomoffroad9895]

I ran the steering on my pickup for almost 2 years and never had an issue, it was my daily driver/ weekend worrier and I definitely put it through it paces and it worked just fine

[@DurtySailor]

Haha seen a pathfinder in the junk yard last weekend was like oh shit Brady would snag this

[@PathmakerProductions]

I love me a greasy rusty Pathfinder. No Toyota Tax included!

[@hillninjasadventures5169]

Been on vacation time to check up 🤘🏾

[@PathmakerProductions]

Vacation! My man! I haven't had one of those in years!

[@creak92]

This gave me flashbacks to when I did the same job on my Hardbody, one tension rod was worn so thin it snapped when I tried to remove that 24mm nut🤣 Welded it up again just like you and it's been holding up just fine but I'll have to go weld in some new inner cups at some point as the crappy new rubber bushings are cracked again anyways.

[@PathmakerProductions]

Its a definite weak point in this design. Its also a big reason why people go thru so many tie-rods, because the tension rod being worn allows all sorts of bad movement in the rest of the suspension.

[@tylertkelley6779]

Free-99, gonna use that! But you are absolutely correct too remedy that, and here is why. Radius support(fore and aft) becomes exponentially more important as suspension travel increases. Control arms are effective on small cars w/ limited travel especially if symetrical from ball joints; but w/ wallered out parrallel support vis-a-vis rust, wear and age: camber will never stay consistent through travel in regards to + and - degrees w/ that micro-radius arm swimming around. Bad enough and you were close, you hit a bump and get the McCshimmies! Death Wobble. Safe travels this week!

[@PathmakerProductions]

You sound so much smarter than I do! I just say it needs fixed because its a weak link in the system! Great to know tho and makes complete sense! I see a lot of Nissan steering problems often but no one talks about the tension rods! Im really glad I caught that one in time, they don’t break on the highway gracefully!

[@tylertkelley6779]

@@PathmakerProductions Cool, have a safe trip!

[@tranyarelisher4185]

I see very few of the WD's here in New England these days, so anything with a Pathfinder in it I enjoy watching. This job can be a PITA, I'm not a fan of the poly bushings for the tension rod they seem to wear a lot quicker. You are a good candidate for the Hardbody steering conversion or the Grassroots CL.

[@PathmakerProductions]

I was thinking about the Hardbody conversion, always trying to keep the cost down so its hard to order fancy aftermarket parts for it!

[@Mister510]

Poly bushings don't last as long but they're worth it, even if you have to replace them every couple of years. They reduce the amount of deflection vs rubber and that helps massively in keeping the front tires pointed the same direction when climbing stuff. I replaced mine with spherical bearings and the difference in what it'll climb vs rubber bushings was astounding.... but that mod costs almost what the Swampers on the Cheapfinder did. 2wd steering sucks. It's weaker and ruins the steering geometry. IMHO you're better off feeding a Pathy stock CLs than running 2wd junk. I run a HD CL that's the same as Grassroots but I made it myself, that's the way to go.

[@PathmakerProductions]

So what you're saying is....ignorance is bliss and I should just keep throwing $21 tie rods at it...........sounds like my kinda fix! We all know the frame is gonna split in half before long anyways haha! Back in the day on the Pathmaker I had the Calmini HD Steering kit, it was mint, but I sold it long ago when I SAS'd it!

[@chadmurtorff573]

Saturday morning cartoons on Wednesday. 😂

[@PathmakerProductions]

Had to sneak some tech in there and didnt want to ruin Saturday morning cartoons! So your normally scheduled dumbassery will still be taking place as usual!

[@Fourgunner]

Woah a Wednesday upload!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@PathmakerProductions]

I snuck this one out on Wednesday because there was no wheeling.....in fact, I tried to be actually helpful for once!

[@offthebottomoffroad9895]

Put two wheel drive hardbody center link and tie rods in the cheap finder, when you look at the two wheel drive stuff you’ll see the difference, much better🤘👌

[@PathmakerProductions]

Thats a controversial subject, people say the 2wd stuff messes up the steering geometry and it doesn't last. I have no real world experience with the 2wd steering so I can't say personally how it holds up. Back in the day I kept killing steering on the Pathmaker so I ended up with the Calmini HD Steering kit, was awesome, but I hear its pretty difficult to deal with Calmini these days!

[@dancox3251]

FYI, the bushing orientation is correct but the washers are on backwards. Perhaps counterintuitively, the cupped end of the washer faces _away_ from the bushings. This allows the bushing to deform and 'roll' around the lip. You can see the proper orientation in the Factory Service Manual. on 2wd hardbodys - which have a different control arm - it faces the other way.

[@PathmakerProductions]

Interesting, good to know, thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the info!

[@NCdtMooney]

How far did you lift up the front end before you pulled these guys out? Looks like the tires aren't off the ground. I'm just looking to see how much I have to do before I do mine!

[@PathmakerProductions]

Tires were just in the air. They don't have to be far in the air its just a lot easier to turn the adjustment bolt if they're floating. Adjust, lower it back down, turn the wheel back and forth a few times and then take a new measurement. Repeat until it is the same measurement on the back of the rim as on the front. Nissans love eating the tie-rods.

[@TRiToN219]

Interestingly, the tension rod, it's mounting hole and tie rods etc. on the LEFT side of my wd21 are worn out much more than on the right. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that we're usually using steering to the left way more in countries with LHD vehicles just because of how the traffic is organized.

[@PathmakerProductions]

My guess would be that there is always more weight on the drivers side because of the driver sitting there which puts more strain on the suspension on that side.

[@R.Sole88109]

00:01 Cool, you've made a 4 wheel steer Cheapfinder😂

[@PathmakerProductions]

One of one! Back to rock crawlin on Saturday mornin!

[@R.Sole88109]

@@PathmakerProductions Not sure if it was my phone or the camera angle but it looked like the rear left wheel was toe out. Couldn't believe your luck finding the bolt in the box. I'm glad to see I'm not the only mook saving old fixings from old vehicles.👍🏻 But if using the Nutsmacker to tighten 🔩 you need a touch like midwife😄 Remember the trail sodas Saturday mate👍🏻

[@PathmakerProductions]

The angle is probably from the "SuperView" on my gopro, it distorts things a bit. As far as I can tell the tire is straight.........which is good, because it had to go over 800km for the Whipsaw trail! In a past life I was a carpenter, hence the big axe handle framing hammer to lightly smash the bolts into the holes.....it probably explains a lot about my fab skills, I always said I was a ROUGH framer hahaha!

[@mdsalmanazeem6580]

where did you buy those bushes? will you be able to share the amazon link if possible ?

[@PathmakerProductions]

I bought them off RockAuto, they're the same from 1986-1996. These trucks are getting old so rock auto (and parts manufacturers are starting to phase out of building parts for them as they're over 25yrs old now) Ebay might work. I find Amazon to be terrible for buying specific parts like that.

[@dancox3251]

I went through 4 different sets of bushings trying to find the right ones. The Moog ones shown aren't _quite right_ as the metal sleeve is loose, same issue with the others I tried. I eventually found the correct ones as Whiteline W81075 (black/poly) - but you'll have to get the washers separate if you need new washers - either use the ones from the Moog kit, buy new from the dealer or just reuse the old ones if they aren't toast.

[@RaisingLionsNotSheep]

I’m sorry but I like cheapfinder more then the pathmaker lol. My type of rig

[@PathmakerProductions]

The Cheapfinder is a beauty, but she definitely won't last as long as the Pathmaker haha shes a lot more fragile!