How To Stop a Tire Carrier from Rattling - 1995 Nissan Pathfinder - Jonathan Reinke

Today, I stopped the intence rattling coming from the back of my 1995 Nissan Pathfinder. The rattling was coming from the tire carrier. I fixed it by gluing in some higher density foam to wedge between the tire carrier bar and the mounting bracket.
It took some troubleshooting to figure out what foam would work best. After all finished, I now think softer rubber would work better vs. higher density foam. Problem solved, and I can always give it another go at it if what I did does not last. I am happy this project was completed with a ZERO budget as I already had everything I needed.
If you have done a simmaler project or have any advice, let me know! 🙂
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Jonathan R.

[@RealRyanDeLuca]

Nice job problem solving your way to a fix! I have one the same year and the tire carrier latch won't hold! It appears to latch well when I close it, then if I accelerate at all, it unlatches and swings open. I've examined the latch mechanism many many times and just can't see anything wrong with it. Do you have any ideas why it won't stay latched?

[@jonathanreinke9392]

Thanks Ryan!
No fun ...
My latch has always closed nicely. It does help to get a bit of swing speed to get it to close. It seems to work better vs a slow push.
You may want to take a closer look at the latch to make sure it is not bent. You may need to pry bend or do a bit of grinding with a dremell to get the latch to line up.
My spare tire is a bit worn out so I decided to remove the whole tire cairer as a temporary try. I am using my Pathy only close to home so not a big deal for me. After removing I got a free little lift on the back and I will adjust the tortion arms to bring up the front about a inch. It now turns in a little quicker as it now has less swing weight. More fun to drive and faster to open the back hatch. Next time I go on a long drive I will probably just throw a in good condition spare in the back hatch.
To do it remove the spare first then to remove the 8 bolts. It can be done with one person just be careful when removing as it is heavy. I recomended doing it with 2 people.
Just screw in the 8 bolts we're they were and use rubber washer if you want.
Might be worth trying if you can not find a easy fix for your latch.
Eather way Happy Projects! 🙂
Jonathan R.

[@RealRyanDeLuca]

@@jonathanreinke9392 Thanks! I'll give that a try 👍