# Bad Vibration at 60mph + 2005 Pathfinder



## roadwarrior (Jun 11, 2009)

Hey Guys,

Just took my 2005 SE to the tire shop the other day and had them balance the tires. 

This did not fix my problem... here are a few my symptoms...

at 60mph a very high frequency vibration starts in the car at 80mph its almost "loud" in the car if that makes sence. the rear view mirror and outside mirrors vibrate so quickly that you can't see out of them... its almost like when a car with subs hits a big bass beat... its almost same feeling inside the car... only constantly while driving. there is a sweet spot around 72 mph thats tolerable but its still pretty bad all together. There is no steering wheel vibration or "pulling" going down the road so it leads me to believe that its in alignment but i have not confirmed that. 

Any ideas guys? Thanks!


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## Calimoxo2 (Jan 25, 2005)

broken shock?


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## XE_KING (May 5, 2008)

Check your CV joints man... My driveline cv went bad and did the same thing! If it feels tight, Drop the rear drive line just to be sure. Mine felt fine and when I dropped the DL it exploded...


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## roadwarrior (Jun 11, 2009)

XE_KING said:


> Check your CV joints man... My driveline cv went bad and did the same thing! If it feels tight, Drop the rear drive line just to be sure. Mine felt fine and when I dropped the DL it exploded...


Good advice man, thank you for the reply.

About how much do you think thats gonna run me at the dealership?


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## XE_KING (May 5, 2008)

roadwarrior said:


> Good advice man, thank you for the reply.
> 
> About how much do you think thats gonna run me at the dealership?


Man... I would just unbolt your drive line and take it to a shop that specializes in them.... Your looking at around $100-150 for a full replacment.. Dealer will eat your wallet... Its very simple to remove, At the rear axle there are 4 bolts(i think there are 4 at least) remove those then it should slide right out of the transmission. Drive that baby down to the shop and have them check the cv. They will tell you within 30sec if its bad.


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## turrican (Feb 23, 2009)

Probably a driveshaft u-joint, and if you've got a 4x4 (I'm assuming you do) then it's probably the rear joint on the front driveshaft.

Get it looked at ASAP. You don't want to see what they can do when the joint pops and the shaft flails around under there.


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## NPath (Dec 12, 2004)

turrican said:


> Probably a driveshaft u-joint, and if you've got a 4x4 (I'm assuming you do) then it's probably the rear joint on the front driveshaft.
> 
> Get it looked at ASAP. You don't want to see what they can do when the joint pops and the shaft flails around under there.


Crawl underneathe and use both hands and shake both ends of the drive shaft. If they wiggle, rattle... move... then that's more than likely your problem. U joints are replaceable, shouldn't have to replace the entire shaft. 

Get the greasable ones, if you like, I would since I have a grease gun at home.


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## Outkast (Jan 29, 2006)

I agree with the others, Nissan put 2 different types of drive shafts on the small trucks. Some got the U joint style and some got the CV joint style. I have personally had to figure out the CV style for 3 days till tech line suggested swaping it with a known good truck. If it's the CV style it's not rebuildable so you'll have to get a new one. But if it's the U style you can.


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## joeseif (Mar 6, 2008)

I had a smililar sound on another make of car, it was the u joints, so i agree with the guys who said that. They were pretty cheap, and very easy to replace. USE THE E BRAKE when doing this and any repair.


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## boogyman (Jan 24, 2005)

I might be having the same problem. Since i took the Pathy from the wife i noticed an unbalanced feel over 75, not that I try to go that fast, but it just happens. I guess i'll try and get the wheels balanced first to rule that out, since I have revo's on them with a lot of meat. Hopefully I don't have a u-joint problem, but it may be an excuse to get a new vehicle.


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## roadwarrior (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies guys. Its at the shop right now and i've given every last symptom i can think of to the mechanic for his diagnosis including all of your input here. 

I will update this with what the mechanic tells me - if it got fixed - and general pricing for future member help. 

Thanks again guys


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## boogyman (Jan 24, 2005)

So how did things turn out for you?


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## goldmaxnyc (Jul 14, 2009)

Hi. I am curious to know the outcome. I am experiencing identical symptoms on my 06 Pathfinder LE.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Yes... would like to know !!


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## GMP (Jul 6, 2009)

I just did this. '06 with 80K and high frequency vibration. Transfer side U-joint of front driveshaft was toast. Looks like the seals failed, it spun the grease out and then self destructed. $15 ea. for a greasable joint in the local auto parts store, just like those in my Toyota with over 200K on it. I swapped both out. The truck can be driven without the driveshaft in 2WD while you do the work.


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## sgott17 (Oct 18, 2005)

*2005 SE with 91K miles*

I just noticed that I have this deep vibration at a "perfect speed" like 62 sometimes lower when I am in the high gear. When I roll slowly on the throttle it hits this "perfect point" and this deep bass sound engulfs my pathfinder. If I give it gas it goes away. Would this happen to be the problems that you others are hearing? Would this happen to be the transmission kickin? Torque converter going? Help!!!


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## GMP (Jul 6, 2009)

Just remove and check the drive shaft, drive the truck without it and that will tell you for sure. Before you remove it mark the flanges for correct reinstallation position.


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## dostrowsky (Mar 23, 2012)

I am in the process of replacing the u joints on the front propeller shaft as I too had the slight vibration and noise at 40+ mph. Crawled under the truck and can see the grease splatter on the under carriage at the transfer case of the front drive shaft. I figure I will do both since I am taking the drive shaft off anyway. 

I just want to confirm, you CAN drive this vehicle without the front propeller shaft in? It is our only vehicle and I cannot be sure to get it all done in one night.


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## turrican (Feb 23, 2009)

dostrowsky said:


> I just want to confirm, you CAN drive this vehicle without the front propeller shaft in? It is our only vehicle and I cannot be sure to get it all done in one night.


Yes, you can.


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## mrBlack (Sep 29, 2018)

sgott17 said:


> I just noticed that I have this deep vibration at a "perfect speed" like 62 sometimes lower when I am in the high gear. When I roll slowly on the throttle it hits this "perfect point" and this deep bass sound engulfs my pathfinder. If I give it gas it goes away. Would this happen to be the problems that you others are hearing? Would this happen to be the transmission kickin? Torque converter going? Help!!!


Hello,
I am looking for the answer on the same question. My Pathfinder 2005 SE start shaking exactly after 62 mph and stop shaking by 68 mph (100-110 kmh). At the same time I am driving on 5th gear at 2K rpms and usually hit slight uphill. So it feels like if you were on a stick shift and put in 5th gear going uphill at low speed and do not have enough power to pull the car. It start shaking back and forth and as soon you push the throttle and accelerate to 3K rpm shaking goes away. In other words in this cruising mode on 5th gear in economic mode the car is having difficulties pulling up the slight hill. Also if you turn overdrive off and the gearbox shifts down to 4th gear raising rpms - no issues. Basically it doesn't shake on 4th gear at all. I also found that going uphill on 5th gear at 3K rpms and and 75 mph (120 kmh) shaking comes back.

Transmission liquid was inspected and replaced - no coolant leaking. Spark plugs replaced. Coils inspected visually and they don't look bad. I.e. no oil, cracks or damage. Check engine is not lit on as I would expect it to be if coils were causing misfire. Misfire is usually causing check engine light and you can trace which cylinder is misfiring by reading the error message. Should not be the suspension as the car is driving very sharp and quiet and doesn't vibrate.


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