noisey safari. .

[Aza]

ok... well ive owned my safari for about 2 years now and have always had a knocking noise coming from under my feet maybe more towards the front axle. I have checked all body mounts and no problems with them, i have replaced the engine mounts, new bushes on the radius arms n prolly done alot more that i cant remember.

i have a swb manual diesel gq and its been fitted with a 2" suspension lift before i bought it.

it makes this knocking/clonk every now and then when i am either turning at speed or when articulating ie just driving down a river bed. it happens in 2wd and 4wd.

anyone got any other ideas? could something in my front axle make a noise without being in 4wd?

[juz]

Just get used to it,its a safari thing.

[Aza]

haha ive tried bt cant take much more!

[DieselBoy]

Replace the body mounts with new mounts.

It will solve the problem.

While they might seem to be fine and tight, the bolt will only be going tight on the crush tube through the mount. The rubber part will be farked and not allow it to hold the body in place properly.

Common as for people to think the mounts are sweet co's its tight and looks ok, but its actually rooted.

Or fit a body lift, that fixes the problem also

[Aza]

yea that was the next step. . body lift and 35"s

[DieselBoy]

Tips with the body lift:

Use M12bolts, they are a much better fit (OEM are M10)

Only do 40mm lift, makes hoses and gear levers easier to correct.

[muskie]

as above there is only one way to get rid of the knock noise, replace mounts, keep bodylift to a minimum and try not to use 2'' material as it can punch through, i used 3'' material, i have 35mm bodylift and that is more than enough with 3'' suspension lift but i cut my arches away a further 35mm.

[darinz]

You should use at least 75mm diameter blocks. 80mm is better and to make it fit all you need to do is chamfer one edge of the ones under the driver a pasenger feet.
There are about 4 different body mounts and some seem to last better than others. The thing that seems to fail is the rubber lining on the face that contacts the chassis. We are looking at getting thin rubber sheet and using that to replace the rubber that has worn away as the rest of the mount looks OK. If you leave the knocking a long time then the steel of the mount can be damaged as well.

Be aware that if you do alot of offroad then a body lift just bolted in can tear the body mounts out of the body. I always ad a big steel washer to the inside as well to spread the load. This means you loose the rubber bungs but increases strength a fair bit. The last one I did we just beat the floor flat then used a 50x50 washer. The carpet covers it so no worries and if no carpet then who cares what it looks like!

[Aza]

sweet thanks for the tips

[DieselBoy]

The last one I did we just beat the floor flat then used a 50x50 washer.

If your worried about stress cracks and mounts pulling through the floor, the metal fatigue you created by beating the floor flat will have increased the potential for that to occurr.

Might not be an issue if you have 450hp though eh

[meece4x4]

ok... well ive owned my safari for about 2 years now and have always had a knocking noise coming from under my feet maybe more towards the front axle. I have checked all body mounts and no problems with them, i have replaced the engine mounts, new bushes on the radius arms n prolly done alot more that i cant remember.

i have a swb manual diesel gq and its been fitted with a 2" suspension lift before i bought it.

it makes this knocking/clonk every now and then when i am either turning at speed or when articulating ie just driving down a river bed. it happens in 2wd and 4wd.

anyone got any other ideas? could something in my front axle make a noise without being in 4wd?

I think know exactly what it is if it feels like something is thumping forward of your feet... your firewall is separating from the floorpan, just under your feet is a seam, it will look fine but there will be a couple of broken spot welds under the seal, Mine made exactly the same noise and you could swear that it was coming from the front axle ... drove me potty for months untill i finally found what it was after replacing every bush forward of the radius arms, new body mounts, etc etc .. still clunked and thumped .. A couple of rivets carefully placed is a temp cure if thats what it is (just be aware that the rear heater pipes run along the floorpan under the carpet ... DRILL DOWN NOT UP from underneath or you may dill though the heater pipe *ask me how I know* ) Im ripping the carpet out in a few weeks on mine and seam welding it properly

quick temp fix if it's thumping and clunking badly on the road after a 4wd run is to get under the truck with a hammer .. find the seam and tap it with a hammer to change the shape of the floor slightly .. works until next time you flex up the body.

the other annoying thump/clunk that Safari's have is the front springs have a rubber donut at the top between the coil and the spring carrier , they can flog out and cause the spring to clang and thump can also make a "tick" noise when powering off from the lights as the spring unloads but mostly heard on undulating roads and going over speed bumps... annoying as hell but not as bad as that bloody thumping/clunk from under the feet

[extreme_treeman]

Well this thread helps me deal with the next question I had about my own truck....lol

[42south]

Yep its almost certainly those pesky body mounts. I have the same truck and it was doing the same underfloor clunking noise.
I trolled through all the forums I could then took the plunge and did the mounts.
You can only get aftermarket nolothane ones as far as I am aware. Cost for the lot $743.
Cheers

[pressy]

i had the same fault, i did a two inch lift but cant remember if that fixed it. but also found the engine mounts had broken though the rubber bit, replaced both . just food for thought. but how dont have what knocking noise any more.

[coxsy]

my noise is to much backlash in the rear diff

[Twodiffs]

Yep its almost certainly those pesky body mounts. I have the same truck and it was doing the same underfloor clunking noise.
I trolled through all the forums I could then took the plunge and did the mounts.
You can only get aftermarket nolothane ones as far as I am aware. Cost for the lot $743.
Cheers

I need to do mine...Cockram Nissan ChCh quoted $85 each x Japan. Guy on the Aust Patrol forum sells genuine mounts for $A45 each.

[pressy]

if you have one or want to try anyway go to 'the mount shop'. have mounts for almost very thing mainly rubber i think. we have one in chch and i think theres one in auckland but not sure were else.good prices too.

[42south]

Thanks guys, I didnt need to hear that, after spending more on Nolothane.
I must admit I was in a hurry to get away, so took the quick option.
There are 8 mounts I think. So for genuine ones its slightly cheaper than the Nolothane. the issue was the waiting time for them to come from Japan.

[Aza]

i was quoted $30 each for body mounts at cockram nissan

[gary_in_nz]

my safari is in the same boat, clunky, clunky, i went into BNT and asked the chap behind the counter if they could supply the body mount bushes and he looked at me like i was retarded then asked, are you sure they're not suspension bushes? so any where else sell them or best to go for genuine nissan ones?

[Aza]

some bodylift blocks on trade me. . . if u dont want a lift just cut them down to factory height?? cheaper than genuine 1s