2001 QX4 Suspension upgrade

604allstar

New member
Hi,

The dreaded "death wobble" has finally showed up on my 2001 QX4 so I thought I would take this opportunity to upgrades some of the other suspension parts at the same time as there is 237km on it.

I work in sales and this is my daily driver but I do go hunting take the QX4 on unmaintained mountain logging roads that can get pretty adventures. Currently the front end noise dives pretty badly with a little tap of the brake and the vehicle bottoms out pretty easily especially when I have it loaded up with hunting gear. Since the vehicle is my daily driver I don't want to go too aggressive with anything so I was wondering what people thought of the setup below.

-Front Struts
KYB GR-2/Excel G

-Rear Shocks
Bilstein 5100 (Does anyone no the part # for these) - FOUND

-Front Springs
OME HD Springs

- Rear Springs
OME MD Springs

-OEM strut mounts and bearings

-Upper and Lower Trailing Arm
4x4parts - http://www.4x4parts....i-18981216-rear ... -arms.html
(Plus new bolts)

- New Bump stops.

I went with HD springs in the front and MD springs in the back to give the truck a level stance but I am concerned about "topping out" the front struts. I don't plan on changing the bumper ever or adding a winch. I do have the OEM grill guard but im guessing that's only 60-75 lbs, so still well below the 110-220lbs recommended rating of the HD springs. Would I be better of getting MD springs all around and then getting a spacer for the front?

Please pass along any feedback, Suggestion or anything that I have left out that I should also do.

Cheers
 
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duke90

Adventurer
I spent a long time looking up this information and asking questions and what you have listed is the same set-up I went with for my 02 R50..problem is that I'm still waiting for the rear coils to come in (apparently there is a backlog with ARB and it's taking them forever to ship out certain parts) so I can't tell you how the ride feels with new suspension since I haven't been able to get it installed yet.

Bilstein 5100: I was looking through the different forums and could not find the part number for the ones specific to my 02 so I ordered it from 4x4parts and paid the pricey shipping. The ones they sent me are #24-185509. I'm assuming it'll be the same for your 01?
In addition to what you have listed I went to rockauto.com and ordered new rear lower and upper control arms (I got the dorman brand and the quality looks pretty good.) as well as new front control arms. Also read Fleury's thread on CV boots and ordered new boots from Rockfordcv.com (2 sets of part number: 166-21 and 166-23). If you need part numbers for anything else then let me know.
 

marty1977

Adventurer
Looks like you are on the bang on with the upgrades. I did most of the stuff you listed and it made a great difference to the ride of the vehicle. I have no personal experience with the OME springs but from what i have read my choice will be ( once funds come ) MD in the front with the spacer as HD seems to be to hard with no extra weight bold on. Again that is based on my research not personal experience.
 

604allstar

New member
I spent a long time looking up this information and asking questions and what you have listed is the same set-up I went with for my 02 R50..problem is that I'm still waiting for the rear coils to come in (apparently there is a backlog with ARB and it's taking them forever to ship out certain parts) so I can't tell you how the ride feels with new suspension since I haven't been able to get it installed yet.

Do you know if all sites have the same back log?? I was going to order them off find4x4parts.com

Bilstein 5100: I was looking through the different forums and could not find the part number for the ones specific to my 02 so I ordered it from 4x4parts and paid the pricey shipping. The ones they sent me are #24-185509. I'm assuming it'll be the same for your 01?
In addition to what you have listed I went to rockauto.com and ordered new rear lower and upper control arms (I got the dorman brand and the quality looks pretty good.) as well as new front control arms. Also read Fleury's thread on CV boots and ordered new boots from Rockfordcv.com (2 sets of part number: 166-21 and 166-23). If you need part numbers for anything else then let me know.

Thanks!

I actually just came across the part number this morning after going through Stioc's AMAZING write up on his 02 build, Well worth the 95 pages I read through. Here is what he listed

If you want 5150's with 255/70 valving, part number is 25-186307.
If you want 5125's with 255/70 valving, part number is 33-185552.
If you want 5100's for affordability, and you don't care about the valving, get 24-185509.
 
Last edited:

604allstar

New member
Looks like you are on the bang on with the upgrades. I did most of the stuff you listed and it made a great difference to the ride of the vehicle. I have no personal experience with the OME springs but from what i have read my choice will be ( once funds come ) MD in the front with the spacer as HD seems to be to hard with no extra weight bold on. Again that is based on my research not personal experience.

Yeah, I think I might be leaning that way too but hopefully someone with this setup and not running a winch can give their advice
 
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duke90

Adventurer
OEM parts I ordered were the strut mounts/bearings, ball joints, and rear trailing arm bolts and nuts
These are the part numbers for the bolts and nuts:
4x 54368-0W02A
4x 55080-0W00B
8x 08918-6441A

-I ordered them from factorynissanparts.com and it was $35 shipped. 4x4parts has them for $36 + shipping



The CVs I ordered were Cardone Select (Select is the new part, the other cardone option is rebuilt), CV boots from Rockford, and all the bushings are the poly ones from 4x4parts. I also ordered inner and outter tie rods, but those were not OEM.
 
Last edited:

604allstar

New member
OEM parts I ordered were the strut mounts/bearings, ball joints, and rear trailing arm bolts and nuts
These are the part numbers for the bolts and nuts:
4x 54368-0W02A
4x c
8x 08918-6441A

-I ordered them from factorynissanparts.com and it was $35 shipped. 4x4parts has them for $36 + shipping



The CVs I ordered were Cardone Select (Select is the new part, the other cardone option is rebuilt), CV boots from Rockford, and all the bushings are the poly ones from 4x4parts. I also ordered inner and outter tie rods, but those were not OEM.


hmm when I called the dealership I was told i would need 8 x 54368-0W02A. Have you received your order yet? do 54368-0W02A and 54368-0W02A look different at all?

Also, my friend who will be helping me with the install suggested the following items saying "these would be a good idea, especially if they are cheap as on most vehicles the rubber isn't very thick and they can wear through after a long time which can cause the spring to rub against the seat which causes the paint to wear off and the spring will rust in those areas and on occasion break in half."

54036 - Upper seat upper insulator (Seat-Front Spring)
54034 - Spring lower insulator (Seat-Rubber, Front Spring)
54034A - Seat-Rubber, Front Spring
54034B - Seat-Rubber, Front Spring

Looking to save money where I can so if anyone has any feed back I would really appreciate it.

Cheers,
 

Rota

New member
So no more death wobble anymore? My Pathfinder has had it for a while and I'm planning on doing a total suspension overhaul like you in order to fix it.
 

604allstar

New member
So no more death wobble anymore? My Pathfinder has had it for a while and I'm planning on doing a total suspension overhaul like you in order to fix it.

I just placed the order for all the parts today, I was hoping their would be some good deals for Black Friday... turns out there wasn't any big discounts.

The OME 2928 rear spring is out of stock till the new year so it looks like i will have a pile of parts sitting around for a few months
 

RainG0at

New member
If you want 5150's with 255/70 valving, part number is 25-186307.
If you want 5125's with 255/70 valving, part number is 33-185552.
If you want 5100's for affordability, and you don't care about the valving, get 24-185509.

Please forgive my ignorance but can you explain the advantage of the 5150s &/or 5125s over the 5100s? They appear to no longer make the 5150s but I think it has been replaced by the 5160s. Thanks!
 

bushnut

Adventurer
I beielieve that the valveing is different.
This might be a question best answered by the good folks at www.npora.org
The Nissan Pathfinders off road association.
 

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