Nissan Patrol 1989 with wheel wobble (can't fix)

Try this site for help
www.patrol4x4.com

Mine was fixed with new tyres. usual cure seems to be panhard rod bushes but only use rubber ones not poly. good luck

Is it in fact fixable or a design issue in the Nissan.

I remember the tabloid current affairs programs doing programs on similar issues about 12 years ago and Nissan refused to do anything about it. I don't think it was resolved but the problem was not showing up on all cars just some.

That aside - similar issues happen in older series landies where the death wobbles can occur when backing off at higher speeds - very often it is the landrover equivalent of the king pins being ever so slightly worn or out of adjustment. So looking at your king pins may help.

Also tie rods etc.

Garry

Howdy Leanne

Had a 92 Patrol with same problem - replaced everything as you did and still got the wobbles. Mechanic eventually did an "on car" wheel balance and fixed the problem immediately ! This helped balanced everything that rotates instead of just the rim and tyre. Hope this helps !

Cheers

Gazz

Gday
I had the same problem with mine. I fitted a new genuine Nissan damper and had a good wheel balance . Then found one front wheel was slightly out of round.

Not sure about your older Y60 Patrol but the later Y61's suffer from the same problem. This is often fixed by removing the upper and lower swivel hub shims, this tightens up the swivel hub and reduces the freeplay which comes with wear and tear.

It's an easy job, undo the four 14mm bolts on the upper swivel hub bearing cap, remove the cap and shims and refit the cap, repeat for the lower bearing cap. Then do the same on the other side.

Jon

Sounds like you've spent some big $$$ trying to solve this problem.

You mention you've replaced just about everything....at the risk of sounding too obvious...have you tried different wheels?

Come to think of it...what wheels are on there? Alloys? Steels? OEM or aftermarket?

Fab.

Leanne, did you happen to fit new suspension when you started to get the death wobbles? If so, I would say it is the caster angle, can be easily fixed with new offset bushes. Cheers.

Sounds to me like your king pin bearings are rooted. This is a common problem amongst all vehicle makes with solid front axles, including Toyotas!

Jack the front of the vehicle up so the wheels are clear, disconnect the steering arms from the swivel hub and then turn the wheel from side to side through the full steering arc. If you feel any notchiness at all, replace the king pin bearings, (or swivel hub bearings) and you'll be sweet. While you're in there, you can do your inner axle seal and swivel hub seals and felts, and repack your front bearings. Most 4x4 shops sell kits to do this job.

And I wouldn't go pulling out shims. That's just dodgy!

G'day mate, had the same problem in a 1999 Gu. Lot of chasing around and waisting money to find out that the mounts on the axle for the drag link were slightly off to one side. Cause (wombat)