My Pathfinder is eating rear tires. The tire store did an alignment when I bought the tires but they wore out on the insides in only 8,000 miles. The tire store replaced them for free and checked the alignment and it was out a little but they thought the rear end was off by too much. Their computer did not show any information so they suggested I take it to the dealer. The dealer said I need a new rear end housing ($3,500.00). I then took it to another Mechanic who was recommended to me by some friends as an honest guy. He could not find any thing wrong and was going to contact Nissan for specs. I haven’t heard from him yet. The car rides great but I don’t want to have replace the rear tires every 8,000 miles.
Any suggestions as to what to check??
What was the reason behind the requirement for a new “rear end housing”
Odd that having the car on the alignment rack did not show any thing amiss (I conclude when you speak about “their computer” you mean a computerized alignment rack, as a engine scan would not help you diagnosis a tire wear concern)
I recommend a speciality alignment shop.
The Pathfinder has a solid rear axle and is not adjustable, according to the dealer. `The numbers are as follow:
Left Rear - -0.4 Camber
-1.15 Toe
Right Rear - -.03 Camber
-0.10 Toe
I really don’t know what these numbers mean. I believe the Dealer really did not know what to do, so he figured if you replace the whole thing,it will probably fix the probelm. I am still waiting for the other mechanics diagonosis
ecobob,
I had an 06 Nissan Frontier pickup with an alignment problem. I first went to a tire dealer for an alignment but it still pulled right. Then, I took it to a Nissan dealer and they aligned it again but still bad. Finally went to another Nissan dealer and they had to install ‘eccentric’ bolts in the front end under a ‘TSB’ - Technical Service Bulletin’. These longer bolts allowed them to adjust the front end more. Finally, it worked. They also told me there were “no adjustments for the rear axle”. I don’t know about your trucks adjustments though. Hope this helps some.
Get these numbers confirmed and post the recommended specs. along with the actual.
Wearing the inside edges of the tires off rapidly points to too much negative camber or too much toe-in.
I don’t have the official specs in front of me but the camber could be a problem. It’s unknown to me if you have the decimal point correctly located.
A .04 or .03 is not much to worry about; a 0.4 or 0.3 is.
The toe also shows a problem with too much toe-in; also denoted by the - sign.
Just offhand, I’d say the rear axle housing, which is a straight tube rear axle, is bent (potholes, curbs, accident, etc.)
Is the axle housing the same as the rear end housing?
I would have the rubber bushings on the “radius arms” checked to see if they are worn or broken. My daughter had a Pathfinder that had a similar problem and it turned out to be that.
These are the arms that looking into the wheel well are attached to the body and the diferential. There is one on each side. If worn or broken,the ear axel will cock to one side and would be hard to see unless the car is on a lift. Sorry to inform you, but the bushings come with the arm.