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2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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MaximusD
Novice
Oct 25, 2021, 9:00 PM
Post #1 of 11
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2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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Hey, Thanks for taking the time to read about my misfortunes. 2009 Nissan Pathfinder 4WD 6 Cylinders A 4.0L FI DOHC 244 CID 175,000 miles Has been used as a tow vehicle 100 days out of a year I was recently on my way to AutoZone to pick up some coolant to perform a radiator flush. On my way back home I was crossing an intersection when a mid 2000s GMC Pickup Tboned me in the rear passenger side wheel. The driver fled the scene. It was dark on my way home and I was a little shook up so I didn't notice any damage other than some scuff marks on the wheel. The next day the first thing I noticed was I was having to hold my steering wheel to the right to go straight. Me being fairly ignorant when it comes to vehicle parts and their functions immediately suspected front end alignment. I got it home and started inspecting the front wheels only to notice that my rear passenger wheel had a pretty extreme camber with the top of the tire being closer to the vehicle than the bottom and a pretty noticeable toe out. Furthermore, I noticed my rear driver's side tire had a very noticeable camber. I dropped it off at the nearest tire place because it was the weekend. This morning when I got to the tire place the guy at the counter immediately started trying to make me feel like crap for having a messed up car. He dropped down on his belly and looked under my vehicle and started exclaiming how terrible this was and how expensive it was gonna be. But If I wanted to they could take a look at it. Making me feel like I was stupid for bringing and I should have just took it to the junkyard or something. I waited for about 2 hrs and they finally got it up on the rack. While I was outside smoking I caught the guy at the desk making fun of how bad my tires were out of alignment and how much joy it was bringing him. I do handyman type work so my vehicle stays loaded down with all sorts of different tools. I took out the whole middle row of seats to offset some of the weight. When the tech came to get my vehicle the first thing he said was that's a lot of weight in there he may not be able to get it back to factory but he could get it close. Guess he didn't see the camber. So I'm watching and I see the desk guy walk to the bay where my vehicle is and he is having a good time talking about my vehicle. He comes back in doesn't say a word to me so I ask him what's up. He says man it ain't pretty. We are still trying to figure everything out with all the tools in there it's hard to tell. Ok. I am no mechanic but I do know when you remove 500 pounds of seats and replace it with 500 pounds of tools you are at the same weight as when the truck came off the factory floor. So counter guy comes back with a piece of paper with some scribblings on it mainly stating how they couldn't really tell what was wrong citing all the tools weighing the vehicle down. It said 1/2 ton of tools in vehicle, upper control arm bent, rearward control arm bent maybe all. And that's all they could tell me. I went by a place that I know the guys pretty well but they don't do alignments to see if they could just take a look. He put it on the rack and me, the guy that works the counter, and one of the mechanics inspected the rear suspension to see if there were any obvious signs of damage and nobody could really find anything. Granted these guys don't do alignments but they are familiar with the underside of a vehicle and I know bent steel when I see it. As he was backing of the rAck the mechanic noticed that when in reverse the wheels stand back up straight but when you go back forward they lay down again. I posted my issue at one of the question websites where you get an expert to answer your question for a few. The guy told me since it changes from forward to reverse it has to be a bent rim. Ecstatic to have an answer I rush home and put my spare on only to find out that it does the exact same thing. Couple more notes. The only noise I'm hearing is the squealing of the rubber from being on the pavement at a weird angle. I noticed it jerking a couple times when taking off from a stop. My SLIP light and my vdc off light are both on constantly now. Images of wheel and suspension https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1I60Txzp6PfH2Qy1PaN5knfLMJqIVt3a4 Sorry for the digression into personal feelings I just thought it was fitting for this story. Thank you!
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 26, 2021, 1:03 AM
Post #2 of 11
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Re: 2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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I do feel your pain and dismay sorry this happened it was an accident plus the other took off on you. What to do? It's bent metal, you know that. Its either practical to unbend or toss what was wrecked or have to call it quits on this vehicle? Suggestion if you really need to carry a REAL 1/2 ton of tools for you use perhaps a trailer would be the right thing and leave tow vehicle alone with that and the vehicle out of it except making it ready to do so. Taking seats out is a bit extreme seems it's just not the right vehicle for your use/needs unless they were made to quick release which I doubt, T
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MaximusD
Novice
Oct 26, 2021, 2:33 AM
Post #3 of 11
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Re: 2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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I do feel your pain and dismay sorry this happened it was an accident plus the other took off on you. Yes. Woe is certainly me. I can't help but think it was just a well deserved lesson brought to me by Karma. I do appreciate your empathetic view.
What to do? It's bent metal, you know that. Its either practical to unbend or toss what was wrecked or have to call it quits on this vehicle? Yes. I am certain it is bent metal. I really need help identifying which metal is bent though. I fully intend on fixing the vehicle. Shes not quite finished.
Suggestion if you really need to carry a REAL 1/2 ton of tools for you use perhaps a trailer would be the right thing and leave tow vehicle alone with that and the vehicle out of it except making it ready to do so. I perform a wide variety of jobs day in and day out so I do require an extensive range of tools but I would be very surprised if I had 1000 pounds of tools in my Pathfinder I think the tech was exaggerating.
Taking seats out is a bit extreme seems it's just not the right vehicle for your use/needs unless they were made to quick release which I doubt, You call it extreme, I call it the only logical move. They were made for easy entry where they flip up and fold up. You just have to remove 4 readily accessible bolts and voila! T
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 26, 2021, 3:33 AM
Post #4 of 11
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Re: 2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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Most of your pictures are taken from a rear view and I suspect the damage may be ahead of the wheel. If your wheel is physically moving when shifting from forward to reverse, then the damage should be very visible and obvious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Oct 26, 2021, 3:34 AM)
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MaximusD
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Oct 26, 2021, 11:48 AM
Post #5 of 11
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Re: 2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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I will get more pictures this evening. I had a mechanic on one of the question websites tell me it had to be a bent rim due to it straightening up when backing up. I changed to my spare and it didn't the exact same thing. I reported the results to him and he said is has to be the hub then. Does this sound probable. I ordered new hub and bearing assembly.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 26, 2021, 11:52 AM
Post #6 of 11
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Re: 2009 Pathfinder extreme rear camber after impact
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It sounds like he has no idea what he's talking about. Both of those things will merely cause a wobble in the wheel, not a consistent move in one direction. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Oct 26, 2021, 11:52 AM)
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MaximusD
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Oct 26, 2021, 2:56 PM
Post #7 of 11
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Well that's money well spent. I added two new images. From front looking back.
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MaximusD
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Oct 26, 2021, 3:26 PM
Post #8 of 11
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I was able to get a lot of it out by adjusting the camber bolts. I backed the vehicle up since the wheel straightens up when doing so. I think this relieved some of the force on the control arm which allowed me to turn the camber bolt.
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MaximusD
Novice
Oct 26, 2021, 4:57 PM
Post #10 of 11
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I can't see anything from those pictures. It requires a close up inspection by someone that knows what to look for. Yeah I figured it was a long shot but had to explore all avenues. I really just prefer working on my own vehicles. That way I know where every round corner of a nut is.
Don't just jump in and drive it after doing that. for. Yes sir. Just trying to get her to where I can get to work down the street and pick up some parts. A full set of new shoes will do her good when I get to the bottom of this.
If your steering wheel centering changed from a hit in the rear it means you changed the thrust angle and that means a major toe change. Yes. There is certainly a toe problem. I couldn't get the camber ( is it still called a camber bolt or do you call it a toe bolt :) ?) Bolt that adjusts toe To budge but I think I had some pressure against me. I'm considering getting new control arms for comparison. I can always return em. I cancelled the order for the hub assembly. Thanks for your guidance
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Oct 26, 2021, 5:02 PM
Post #11 of 11
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There are separate adjustments for the Camber and the toe. Moving the Camber dramatically changes the toe so the Camber has to be done first and then the toe. That will require equipment for measurement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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