How to Replace the front struts on a Nissan Xterra/Frontier/Pathfinder
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- This video demonstrates removing the front shocks off of a 2005 Nissan Xterra. This process should be the same for many Nissan front ends. Especially the trucks/SUV's.
The torque specs for the bolts that need to be reinstalled are as follows:
Lower shock bolt: 155 ftlb
Top shock nuts: 22 ftlb
Sway bar link: 62 ftlb
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#howto #diy #auto
Well instructed! It does continue to amaze me how even a simple auto mechanic job can become a nightmare in my driveway! I’ve done my share of wrenching so I’m not a newbie, today replacing my front shock coil overs on my 06 Xterra took me 6 hrs form start to done. The 17 year old top of shock mount bolts needed 3 of 6 sawzalled off, the sway bar for some unseen reason on one side was ……impossible until boom it just came loose, putting in the new Bilstein 4600 was easy after the stock assembly finally surrendered. I always come to appreciate more all car mechanics after I do a job myself, it’s a tough road even from a guy who has been in construction trades for 45 years, auto work ain’t easy !
I requested this! Your the man, I'll be doing this job next week. Thanks for the great tutorial.
My pleasure! Glad to have helped. Hope it goes well. Don’t forget to pick up sway bar links if they need to get done.
L
Yes... did the rear shocks yesterday and I just completed the front struts today. You're the man.
Awesome! Glad it worked out.
Great job on the vids Ry. I know making the vids take time with the editing, and all. Very much appreciated!
I appreciate that. You guys watching them makes it worth it!
Well I finally did this job. The struts and the wheel bearings same time. So I know you say it's easy. I would say it's doable and doing it for the first time it's time consuming, very time consuming. Also you better have the tools. So I had the time and the tools. So my son and I tackled the job thispast weekend. Ordered the parts from Rockauto. Moog bearings and KYB struts all put together with the coils all installed. We used your video as a the main guide and a few others to collect all the torque information. The whole job went smoothly and the truck feels good. Thank you for your very informative videos! I have no doubt it saved us a lot of money not just in labor but parts too, because you will pay an up-charge at the dealer or the mechanic for the 2 combined.
Thanks so much, changed mine on 2008 Pathfinder with no issues or worries thanks to your video, great job!!!
Great video, wasn't sure I wanted to tackle this but you showed how easy it is, Thank you
For the 2000 models we dont have the shock setup like the different models but still looks simple. Thank you for the video. The dislikes are definitely folks hating how good the video is lol
Haha thank you.
Many thanks!
I’m a newbie in doing work on my car and you’ve been helpful.
I own a 2004 Nissan Xterra and got tired of mechanic shops ripping me off.
Yea they are crazy expensive. If you can do it yourself, go for it and save! 🤘🏻💪🏻
Thank you for the videos😎love my frontier 2006 v6 135,00. Miles I keep it running like a clock -no. I. won’t tune it in for a new one . ❤️
Very clear and helpful suggestions. Very nice that you cleaned the components to make the car look like new. Thank you!
Thank you for the nice comment! Believe it or not but I didn’t clean anything. That car spent the first 12 years of its life in Florida. I swear that state is like a time machine for cars. Its been the easiest car I have ever worked on.
L replace the shocks and struts on a 06 Nissan Frontier
Power wash the nuts and bolts that you will be loosening! Even wire brush the threads of the bolt that holds the bottom of the front strut. If you don't, the dirt/rust will bind the nut to the bolt threads before you can run the nut to the end of the bolt. Even if you use spray-can solvents/lubricants to pre treat that bottom bolt.
One recommendation, if you need a little more room or when adding a lift kit, disconnect the upper ball joint from the knuckle.
Great job...try this on a 2006 frontier that’s lived in the rust belt all its life...what a cluster F . Thank god for acetylene torch
Sorry to hear. That’s one thing I hated about living in Michigan.
Great job explaining. Thx. Camera used is amazing.
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video ..Thanks ! I have replaced the rear , was ez ... This spring I plan to do the front with Bilstein 5100's , so thanks again as this will help ... Man your Florida X is so clean , not rust !
Yea, I really love working on it compared to my Michigan cars.
Best video out there. Very informative and straight to the point.
Thanks man! 💪🏻💪🏻
** you should mention that you have to disconnect both sides of the sway bar for it to move**..otherwise! super well done. You saved me a couple hundred bucks!
1:00 Glad the video helped!
alli walters
he did...
I like it when you emphasize safety. You made it look easy n simple. Thnx! Do you have video on cam bolts install?
Currently doing this job and not sure if it makes a difference but I have an 05 Pathfinder and the job on a scale of 1-10 is like a 6.5 . It is simple but what makes it hard is getting Most of the bolts off as they are seized or are almost seized. The lower bolt , using a breaker bar and long pipe for leverage took me maybe 45min to an hour to get out. My dewalt impact wrench was useless. I rounded off one of the top bolts on the strut on the far right using the 12 point end on the combo wrench, had to get a reciprocating saw to cut the stud off. I should have used an extension with a socket. I finished one side today, the other side will wait because the bottom bolt seems like it's more seized than the other and I'm planning on torching it to loosen it. However it is satisfying to do things yourself.
Great video I was able to swap the driver side one out. I wasn't able to take the three nuts off the passenger side off though... Ended up messing up the bolt. Gonna take it in tomorrow see what they tell me.
just did this in november! nice video! 283,000 miles on my 2012 nissan xterra
Just did this last weekend using your video as a guide. Very helpful! Thanks!
🤘🏻💪🏻👍🏻
I just did this on a 21012 Pathfinder after watching this video, not 100% the same since this is Xtera but close enough. BIG THANKS this was not that hard to do a long as you have all the correct tools.
Unfortunately, mechanics have to work as fast as possible to make any money. I am like Ry, I go slow, take my time, am overly careful and do every step by the book. I wish Ry lived close so I could pay him to work on my Xterra! Ry, this is like the 4th Xterra video you have done that has been a help to me, thank you. This one is easy, but I liked being able to take a look for any tricks and "gotchas" to avoid. Excellent job as always.
You're welcome Jeff. Really glad to help out anyway I can. I appreciate you trusting my content. 🤘🏻👍🏻
Thx man great video helps with my Frontier.,👍
No problem! Glad it helped. 🤘🏻
Really detailed and complete- thank you
Your video is excellent. You should tech other technical RUclipsrs how to do a technical video. Top notch.
Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words.
Excellent is right! Another video instructs taking off the caliper and removing the spindle at the top ball joint
:D
Ry, I liked this video. A lot of other tutorials have a lot of pre-talk before they get to the actual demo - - you don't. I also like your camera angles - easy to see. If you have a video of changing out the steering fluid pump, I'd love to see it, as I've got one on order (2004 Pathfinder). It was probably why my alternator crapped out (leaks). Cheers.
Great video! Thank you for the lack of fill words and time and just getting to the point!! Lol! Thank you!!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
Very good video. directions are clear and easy to understand...Thanks!!
Nice straight to the point
👍🏻
Great video! Unless you're buying OEM, in my experience I would use the the spring and top plate. If you don't know how to remove the spring safely. Have someone who does do it for you. Springs that come on after market struts/shocks are sometimes thicker material and make your ride stiffer than you will like. And sometimes noisy.
Just a thought..
👍🏻
Your videos are always so helpful can you do a videos on how to put heated mirror on the Xterra
always good stuff on the Nissans!!!
Thanks!
I have xterra 05 too and u videos help me so much!!!!! Thank u ????
Would you happen to have a video that shows how to replace the camshaft position sensors? If not, I'd like to recommend that. Ty.
dude...you sooooo rock! Totally doable and total money saver! Thanks!
You got it!! 🤘🏻👍🏻
I let the control arm go to full droop that way the lower bolt isnt under spring tension, just slid right out
Doing this tomorrow morning , think I’ve got it down just by lookin at it all but skimming RUclips for any possible stumbling blocks ….of course ry the car guy has a video on it lol…..I noticed a couple bags of clubs on your wall,are those ping clubs or just the bag is ping? One club I never swung ( sliced with 😜) are pings …
Oh just the bag is ping lol. Not nearly good enough to justify expensive clubs. In fact that's only a ping bag because I found it at a garage sale and it was in good condition 😂. How did the job go? Hopefully it went smoothly!
@@Rythecarguy didn’t go well at all….north east / salt and older vehicle binged with cheap HarborFreight wrenchs stripped out some bolts….which with either a sawzal o 4.5” grinder with cut off wheel will make fast work of it but stopped/ paused till I gets new end links, bottom shock bolts (ordered up last nite) ….
Yeah I sort of had / have the opposite a cheap bag but half decent clubs……now if only I could hit the ball half decent on a regular basis.
And today found top 3 bolts , or nuts are complete rusted onto the bolts …& cutting in the confined area is proving slow work …. Am not even half way cutting off rusted hardware on one side , so am putting it back together and gonna research better ways to cut top bolts . Need to drive Tomorrow and can’t be stuck not done …. Am thinking cold chisels possibly next weekend…
Thank you for all your videos
Great vid! You're a pro at this. Thanks.
Thanks man. I appreciate it.
5 star man, thanks a ton!
Great video on the Xterra, but will be putting a unassembled coil/shock.
Watch this video and start at 7 minutes. I'm demonstrating on my Audi but the process is the same. ruclips.net/video/LsUIj_T7EoU/видео.html
Excellent video my friend..thanks
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video! Thanks!!
Guessing I need an alignment after the struts are done?
I was temporarily encouraged that there could be an Allen wrench place in the face of that bolt for the Stabilizer bar. Mine doesn't have one. I have looked for flat sides on the back of the bar to prevent that nut from spinning. I soaked the nut with Pb Blaster. Good idea to lift up with the floor jack to prevent spinning? Other ideas?
Hi Ry, love your videos about the X. Can you do a video how to change to remove front left and right UCA's? Thanks keep it up.
Your Xterra videos are so helpful! From you and others you seem to lean towards buying a pre assembled front strut. Can we use the old ones? The price of the coil seems to be as much as the shocks if you buy them separately. Am I looking at this correctly?
I would HIGHLY suggest not reusing the coil spring. I bought some Bilsteins (which don't come assembled) and it's a pain in the ass to get those coils off. I wish there were Bilsteins that came preloaded. Or I should have taken them to a shop and asked them to do it.
I am glad it wasn't just me that had a lot of difficulty getting the struts apart. My truck is a 2010 Off Road with factory Bilsteins, so I was not going to put anything else back on there. The way the springs are made it is hard to even use the spring compressors on them. What should have been a quick job ended up taking me several hours!
Thanks for the video, very helpful. Did mine yesterday! Question: Do I need an alignment after doing this job?
No, honestly you should be ok.
@@Rythecarguy thank you!
You're amazing. Thank you.
Thank you too!
thank you good help
Glad it helped!
Awesome thanks! I have the same color and year 👍
I dont have a torque wrench. Does it really need to be a torque wrench or could i just use a regular ratchet set. If i definitely need torque could you put a link to the exact tools i need to do this please
for anyone just reading this. You need a torque wrench. (rentable)
I'm working on it but the bolt on the bottom of strut is rust welded and doesn't want to come out
How do you feel about monroe shock and struts
Thanks for all the great info man. My X is shaking a little bit more than normal when I hit the bumps. Do you think new shocks are going to make a huge difference or I should get the lift kit? got 131500 miles on it I'm pretty sure it needs new shocks but I'm also on a budget sooooo....
Can you make videos about everything to transmission and shift solenoid???? Please
Great demonstration. I'm ordering my parts now. Do you have a brand recommendation? I replaced the rear struts a year or so ago with Bilsteins because they were OEM for the offroad model (not my model). Also because they were on a really good sale.
Man your stuff looks way cleaner and less corroded than mine. Im in Ohio though. The upper control arm was rough.
AWESOME VID BRO!!!
I tried this and failed miserably. I couldn't get the bottom bolt off of either strut and I used an impact wrench with PB Blaster. The top three weren't a big deal.
First time
Doing this thanks for the video
Where did you get the strut assemblies from?
Is this the same on 2001 pathfinder?
Good stuff man. Thank you.
You're welcome. 😃
Quick question for you... I purchased a set of pull off Bilsteins (strut w/spring and shocks) from a Pro 4x. I have a 2wd SE. I am concerned that the front will gain some height with out the back gaining any. Do I need some additional lift for the rear? BTW these vids are great. Thx!
I have a 2 1/2 in front leveling kit I just need to change the shock is this possible
Wow. Great video. What was the issues? Why did you change your suspension? I owned a Nissan Frontier 2016 and it is making sqeeking noise when in lean on the front wheel driver side.
For this video I actually didn’t have any issues. I simply took out the front suspension so I could show people how to do it. I ended up doing a full suspension swap just a couple months ago to lift my Xterra an inch or two.
You rock brother thanks again
🤘🏻💪🏻
Ry thanks for the great video, I managed to replace the struts in the front and replaced the rear shock and springs of my of 06 pathfinder. But now my pathfinder is taller on the front by two or three inches, I can actually see the three bolt on top of the strut with all four wheels on the floor. It looks very funny. Any inputs on this I would appreciate it. Thank you
Very respectfully,
MITCHELL
did you find out what the issue was?
Thanks for the info. 👍
What if the bottom nut is completely seized on?
Can anyone confirm this is the same method for a 2018 frontier base model ?
Do the vehicle have to be be realigned after replacing strut?
I bought a preloaded set from Detroit Axle. They sent me the wrong parts. The vehicle sits up higher in the front and bottoms out on bumps at slow speeds. It drives no better than it did before. They only offered me a warranty.
Thank you!
Have you done the catalytic converters? For a 2006 Nissan Frontier
Hey Ry! I have a question. I have an 08 OFF Road model. It comes with the bilstein struts. Im not concerned with off roading anymore or anything like that. Just my daily. I bought some new struts/shocks one assembly. They are black monroe all in 1 like you said. They kind of look like the ones you took off here. Dont need to compress anything to put them on.
Is it ok that I replace my bilstein's with these? Im sure these bilsteins are worn the hell out. Car has 152K.
Thanks!
Yea. Of course it's all about the type of ride you want
I’ve been having trouble doing this job. All the bolts are super rusted. The top three nuts keep spinning with the bolts. Anyone have any suggestions how to get the nuts off in this case?
easy but took me about 2 hours using only the scissors jack that comes with the car and no impact wrench
saved me 350........thanks
I did the strut replacement as you did on my '09 Xterra. Afterward, my VDC, ABS, and SLIP lights stay on. On top of that my 4WD does not engage. It was not an easy job as it looked since I had rusted bolts. So don't repair, replace.
Sounds like you did a number on your speed sensor. Gotta be more careful.
@@Rythecarguy we were dude
Well replacing the shock does not effect you're speed sensor. So you either disconnected it or struck it. VDC, ABS, and Traction control (slip) all require healthy speed sensors.
@@Rythecarguy All the issues are solved and it was nothing to it. Remember gotta be more careful boys and girls. Have a nice day.
Hey can u show a how to put a lift kit on a Nissan truck
If you care about your truck, don't put on a lift kit.
Is it possible to jack one side at a time to do this job? I'm thinking of moving the sway bar out of the way while the car is on the ground.
Absolutely. Disconnect sway bar first, then lift it
Awesome, thanks dude.
Hi Ry, thank you for the great video. Someone recommended Bilstein shocks to me. Bilstein does not sell a complete strut assembly for this vehicle. A local mechanic shop where I live said they could compress the springs off my old strut assembly for me and move them over onto the Bilstein's etc. and then I can put them back in. Just wondering if you think that is worth the trouble or if I should just get another brand that sells a complete assembly? Thank you!
I am wondering the same thing. I'm wanting new shocks and struts all the way around but don't want a lift. Mine is a daily driver. I like the 4600s and don't want to fool with the 5100s. Guess I'll just use the factory strut springs on new 4600s if I go that route. There's so many shocks out there I'm not real sure whether I want to go Bilstein, Gabriel, Monroe, KYB etc🤷
My exact question too. I don’t have a spring compressor so wondering if I should go with the complete assembly from Monroe, Gabriel, Mando, or KYB vs paying a shop to put the old springs onto new Bilstein shocks
Great video and very informative! One question though, what is the size of the upper 3 bolts on the strut?
14 mm
14mm on the original but my replacements came with 15mm
Hey Ry! Great video ! Question is there a certain postion the new strut assembly will go in? Like the lowest part of the spring faces outward towards the tire ?
Did I not mention that? Take a look at your strut assembly before you pull it out. I believe the notch for the spring needs to be facing outward.
the bolt in the control arm is not coming out - used a gun on both sides to try and shake it lose no movement - any advice?
Sounds like it's seized. If you want to remove the control arm you will likely have to cut the bolt with a reciprocating saw and then press out the old bushings and press in new ones.
@@Rythecarguy thanks, i was afraid of that LOL
Did you have issues getting that lower bolt on the Strut removed?
Nope. Just a quick turn of the breaker bar. I actually just took it off again last night for another video (lift kit) and this time I just threw an impact gun on it.
Nice man. Very well done 💯
Thanks!
What shocks did you use? Want to make sure I get a reputable brand and product.
This was a viewer request video so I actually didn’t not replace the shocks. I simply took mine out to show how to do it then put them right back in. I’m not quite ready to replace them and will just repeat the process when I do. Sorry I could not be more help!
Thanks!
OMG a second one. You're awesome. Thank you so much. 💪🏻🤟🏻
No prob. Wanted to give a thanks to the vids that helped me the most with my X over the past few years.
🤘🏻👍🏻
The only thing that makes me afraid to do this is knowing if I tighten all the bolts up enough and while doing that that the car wont rock and fall off the jack or stands
Then align the ratchet where you are pushing down and not forward and back. Also, I mean no offense but if you have you jack stands set up correctly there is no way you are strong enough to topple the truck off of the stands. Don’t let that stop you from trying. As long as you take proper precautions everything will be fine.
What struts did you go with, KYB Strut Plus?
I eventually went with 5100's
Any suggestions if a couple of the top mount bolts are just spinning(not stripped)?
Bolts on what? The coil over?
@@Rythecarguy the 3 bolts on the top of the mounting plate. Tried to take the nuts off but the bolts are turning and can’t access the bolts because the coil is blocking the underside of the plate.
I had a clunking noise from front suspension on my 2006 nissan pathfinder se 4x4..I replaced the front strut assemblies and sway bar bushings and end links.we had no noises for a 100 miles or so and now the noises are back,I retightened the front sway bar bolts last night and today my wife said still making noises. Any ideas?
in case you need to know and you just got here...
ball joints and/or wheel bearings
@@DemocracyIsNotASpectatorSport ball joints were all replaced, not the bearings, ex wife complained it was still making noise. Told her to take it to a mechanic.