Does the '97 Pathfinder have a steering box or a rack & pinion?
Rack & Pinion
Mike,
When did the rack and pinion steering come available? Early '80s or before? Just curious.
1997 was the first year. My 90 didn’t have it…but my 98 does.
Mike, The reason for the question is that the car does more than just wobble, it violently rocks back and forth when I hit any little bump or dip at about 40 mph or higher. Someone said I should check my Rear Control Arm bushings. I thought it was the rack & pinion but maybe not. I’m trying to track down the actual problem and fix it myself. Any ideas?
I’m the one in the other post to check the Rear Control Arm bushings. It’s a known issue. If it is you have a couple different ways to deal with it. Just replace the bushings with poly bushings. Or replace the control arms that come with new bushings. The later is more expensive and doesn’t last as long as the poly bushings. The poly bushings however can be noisy and you have to drill out the old worn out rubber bushings and have a machine shop press in the new bushings. Only take this route if the control arms are in very good condition. If they have any damage or a lot of rust it’s probably worth replacing them. The control arms cost about $500. The poly bushings…about $100 and then you’ll spend about 50-100 for a machine shop to put them in. If you have someone do this…expect to pay 2-3 hundred for labor. This will take a few hours.
This also sounds like worn shocks. You really need to have them check it out. It does NOT sound like a bad rack.