Nissan pathfinder problems

i have a 1998 Nissan pathfinder, and I need to replace the upper and lower control arm links in the rear suspension because its not safe to drive because of the problem I am having. you see the problems I am having with this SUV is that when I am driving it rocks side to side and you feel like the car is going to roll over or something, its feels very unsafe when it does that. to fix it, I will have to replace the bushings.

this is in regards to post:
http://www.wallpaperama.com/forums/nissan-pathfinder-wobbles-problem-rocks-side-to-side-t6838.html

NOTE:

upper and lower control arms are also known as links.

The Dealer

i went to the dealer and they told me there was a service bulletin on this. I bought both of the upper and lower control arms, the whole thing cost me $620 dollars.

then I went to my local equipment rental, and I rented a pneumatic impact wrench and an air compressor, it cost me $60 dollars for one day. you will need an impact wrench, otherwise, you will not be able to do this. the bolts are just to tight to remove them by hand, trust me, I tried.
20081207_6856_impact-wrench.jpg





About Me

Before we start, a little bit about me.. Hi my name is Eduardo, I am from the country of El Salvador. El Salvador is a small peaceful country in Central America. We have many Nissan cars there. I want to apologize for my English is not perfect. My primary language is Spanish.

Safety

the first step is to make sure you are aware of shop safety, you will be working under a car, proper safety should be practice. DISCLAIMER: I don't take responsibility for any injury you may have. this is tutorial is only meant as informational purposes, its up to you do the repairs. don't try this if you are unsure of any of the steps. Its best to pay a professional to do it. Now that you are aware of my disclaimer, lets get started, below is the step by step tutorial on how to replace the links on a Nissan Pathfinder:

Alternative

a cheaper alternative would be to replace the bushings only. each busing costs like $25 bucks. It will be much cheaper. the only problem is that in order to remove the bushings and install them in the control arms, you will have to take them to a machine shop to press them out and back in. you can't do this without a machine shop, that will probably cost you an additional $50 dollars. there are ways you can do it yourself, but the costs from the machine shop will be worth it, you wont have to deal with taking them out, plus it will also save you time in the long run, I recommend you take it to a machine shop. If you replace only the bushings, you will only spend 250 dollars instead of 650 dollars. I had to buy the control arms because I had to take a trip to Reno the following week, I couldn't wait, plus, since I have never done this before, I didn't want to take any chances. If you only replace the bushings, please take some pictures and post them here, I would appreciate any feedback or comments from you.

Pathfinder Suspension Diagram:

the whole thing I was able to replaced it in about 4 hours. Here is a diagram that will help you find where the parts are located and shows you the torque specs
finder-rear-axle