nissan navara D40 rear springs

[rogerf]

can anyone advise me if there are any legal requirements for the gap between rear springs rubber stopper and the chassis when a vehicle is loaded to the specified legal load. On my new Navara D40 which has a specified load capacity of 820 Kg when loaded to 780kg the gap is a mere 1.5 cm and the springs continually bottom out. Nissan stated after inspection that this is to design parameters despite the fact that even on the smallest of bumps on the road the springs bottom out really hard. Even at a load of about 450 kg the vehicle continually bottoms out on country roads to the extent that the chassis is polished bright from the continual bumping of the rubber stop against it. I am concerned that continual hard bottoming out will cause some structural damage to the vehicle but can get no satisfaction from Nissan. it appears to me that it may be a design fault and nissan do not want to admit to anything being wrong.

[2 BRUTAL]

take a Rodeo, Triton, Hilux etc, any ute for a drive and load it to it's limit and they will all be the same, genuine suspension is crap no matter what vehicle it is on.
If you are going to be carrying these loads regularly you will have to upgrade the rear end to something more suitable, the only issue with the D40's at present is there is nothing for the front end as yet to match it.

[Seaweed]

I have a D40, what a great vehicle. I live on Fraser Island and found that the front end was too low and it bottomed out in the soft sand. A few months ago I had heavier ciol springs fitted to the front and lifted it 50mm which has made a huge difference!

[Kenny72]

I ve had my D40 for about 3months and love it, but also found it had a very saggy bum under load so i bolted up a set of Firestone air bags between the leafs and chassis. Dramas solved, I adjust the pressures to suit the load(alredy have a compressor under the seat).:truck:

[Banga]

I asked a 4WD outlet to instal an EFS 2" lift to help solve exactly the same problem you have. I measured the ground to bottom of rear gaurd before the lift and it read 33"high. Picked up the car after the lift and it measured 37" high. A whole 4 inches! When I asked them about this, they said it may be that my original springs had sagged 2" and that the lift was only 2" and that meant I got the factory 2" back plus the 2" I asked for.
Being a bit sceptical I took a tape measure down to the Nissan showroom and measured 3 New Navaras and found that they all measured around 35". So the 4WD shop was right. Factory springs had sagged 2" after 14 months.

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Talk to Tuff Stuff here in Sth Aus re the Noble Bump stops (sometimes called No-Bull bump stops or suspension supports), they replace your OE bump stop and will support the full weight of the vehicle as well as slow down the jarring effect of the springs bottoming out! Not majorly expensive, and really worth the investment! You can also use them as extended bumps stops for lifted vehicles, and they have the same effect as the hydraulic extended bump stops, just achieved with nolethane (or summat like that) and a helluva lot cheaper!

I've put them on all our Patrols, and they are great, both as an extended bump stops for the lifted vehicles, and as a load/ride leveller. We had one punter on a trip with a GU Patrol that virtually rode on them for the entire 5,000km, only a small portion of that on formed roads or blacktop, and they performed fantastically the entire time. In fact, it was only thru crawling under the car and looking that I found out he had them fitted! They WILL make a big difference to your bottoming out problems, and the ride/load levelling improvements will be added benefits!

[Tomax]

Peter.......Noble Bumpstops sound interesting/worthwhile. How much, and are they made in SA? One of my sons needs something for the back of his D40.

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

They are certainly good for what ails your vehicle, and Yes, they are made here in SA. The guy who does them is Alan (I think that's right) at Tuff Stuff Spares, Main North Rd, Prospect SA and there is even a Website at Tuff Stuff 4WD Spares for 4x4 parts (http://www.tuffstuff.com.au) but he hasn't got the Noble Suspension Supports on it yet! He hasn't really had them that long, the guy who kicked them off was out Loxton way, and used to run them from his shed, but the whole deal got too big for him. Alan took over and so far has just been servicing the repeat business, but I expect he'll kick it all into gear pretty soon. Still, give him a ring, he should be able to help.

The Suspension Supports come in a range of 'load' limits, and different colours for each load, but they are bog easy to fit on a std height car, only slightly harder for a lifted car, and they are just soooo good for levelling the ride AND taking out the bottoming, without limiting the spring's ability to do it's thing! And they protect the springs while under load too! Can't say enough good things about them, and NO, I don't get a commission, but it wouldn't hurt to tell him that I should!

Give Alan @ Tuff Stuff a yell on 08 8342 4422 or 08 8342 4433 and ask about Noble Suspension Supports. Tell him that it's for a Navara D40 up front, just so you can make sure that I haven't been leading everyone down the garden path and they do actually do them for the Navara, but I'm pretty sure that they did them for most of the load carrying types, and for vehicles with bump stops similar to the Patrols.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers!

[Tomax]

Thanks Peter - excellent info. We'll certainly follow it up.

[wazzab]

gday tomax i put TJM springs and air bags under my d40 before i picked it up. 2inch lift all round it makes a good ute a whole lot better.

[Symon]

I used to love my D40 until the front end bottomed out one day in the sand, destroying my radiator and lots of other stuff that was expensive to fix.

I then fitted an OME kit with a 2" lift and front bash plate. It now flys over most obstacles, and the bum doesn't sag at all even when I have my camper hooked up, which weighs a shitload after the missus loads it up.

I now love my D40 again.

[MissGu]

I have had my D40 for 7 months & use it every day for work & play. We tow ( inc the trailer) just under 3T's worth of Patrol with it.
After Inverting the springs in 4 months i upgrade to the "comfort" pack TJM 2" leaf speing with matching coil/strut in the front, added Sump & Trannie Guard & i now can go everywhere! Best investment i have ever done! We also added an Aussie Super Spring to help cope with the load from all the comp gear we take with us and the Trailer
It now sits level when towing fully loaded!

i would go this set up again ( and prolly will when we maybe upgrade to the X-tra cab Navara D40)

[boogaute]

Did you speak to Nissan about what happened to your D40?? I did the same thing and they didn't say much

[Big Boots]

What rogerf said is the response we have all be given from Nissan.
After seeing a D40 with a bent chassis due to what has been described as 'changing the pivot point' by adding air bags to help with (over)load carrying, I will only be reccomending Aussie super springs for a load helper device.

[boogaute]

Symon, did you speak to Nissan about what happened to your D40 when you bottomed out??