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That's my understanding...if it's rubber or some composite thereof and you want to preserve/maintain it...silicone spray is the stuff. As you noted spray form permeates and soaks things well.

One of the primary things larger tires will stress is the drivetrain...could be U-joints? One of the first things I'd do is get those struts replaced since they are leaking anyway. BTW...the KYB warranty is against manufacturers defect...something that could be pretty tough to prove in a strut. KYB does not warranty against normal wear or abuse...not saying you abused them....but struts ARE a wear item. Why is the steering rack moving around?? That shouldn't be...The mounts should secure it in place. Good luck.

That's interesting... I would not have thought that corporations would have access to DMV records and the personal information therein. As far as I know...they don't. I know the DMV would not give that info to me...and with all the privacy laws in place today...I'm surprised they'd give it to Nissan. I mean..yeah they sold the vehicles....but that doesnt' give them special rights. Just curious.

Maybe I'm missing something..but I thought silicone spray was the "no question go-to" stuff for this sort of thing...??

I ordered mine....in 1997....don't recall the discount. But in theory dealer should discount more as they will have zero carrying costs for any inventory on it. On the other hand...they may be more motivated to clear a space on their lot with one that is already there.

I'm glad you mentioned that...because of the gap between the bolt and the collar....sparks could generate and when you are making a right turn into a headwind downhill on a Sunday the sparks could make their way to the fuel line and kaboom!!!

Well...you can get em on there...but Rancho will tell ya they don't make one for the R50. Link to their catalog below...check out page 54 or so for Nissans. The ones AC sells....you can get them on there...but one of the bolts...believe it is the lower...is of somewhat smaller diameter than the piece on the shock...so unless you rig up some sort of shim or something...they'll be a little play in there. Again...you can get em on....and not saying you'll have a problem....but Rancho will tell ya they don't make a shock for the vehicle...and personally I wouldn't put them on. I informed AC and they said they know better than the shock manufacturer themselves. FWIW that's pretty blatant and intentional misrepresentation...not trying to make it more than what it is...but that is...what it is...just saying. http://www.gorancho.com/catalog.php

Good call getting the Bilsteins. The Rancho 5000s aren't applicable to R50s...they are just misrepresented that they are on the AC site. Mangled boxes are fairly common with AC....the good customer service you got is not.

That wouldn't meet my definition of "repaired PROPERLY".

Having young children I can fully appreciate your take on this. But OTOH....if repaired PROPERLY it can be made to be as strong or even stronger than the day it came off the factory floor. Not trying to change your mind...just saying....the structure of the vehicle when originally built had lots of welded steel to begin with.

Anyone have any guesses why there is absolutely nothing posted on nissanhelp.com yet in the Knowledgebase?? No TSB nor recall campaign info. http://nissanhelp.com/index.php

yeah...well....good luck with that....you'll be hard pressed to find a company that is more widely renowned for being arrogant toward their customers, highly incompetent, and insists ....yes insists after being told the facts....on posting false fitment information on their site. You've been warned...

search "ome"....you should find all u want to know...

Not real sure what the issue is with your buddy's R50...maybe worn tie rod ends? But the way I'm interpreting your description of struts moving sounds like totally normal function to me. I guess depends what you mean by "move". But yes the entire spring and strut assembly will rotate as normal function when one turns the wheel....as the assembly is fixed to the steering knuckle. They rotate on the bearing....and speaking of bearings...someone mentioned "cheap plastic". I did my struts on my 97 SE last summer. Put in replacement OEM bearings....but honestly the 13 year old "cheap plastic" original ones were functioning perfectly....no play or noticeable wear whatsoever. Only replaced them as I'd already bought the new parts.

I'm gonna be going with braided lines this summer. AC sent you a defective brass block? That's not a good thing. Anyone else have issues with the 4x4parts braided lines?

There sure ain't nun(ya) up 'ere in the North Hills!!

That's probably pretty much the case everywhere. A state as big as Pennsylvania has like 15 stations that are alleged to be ethanol free. And if the regulators keep at it there's more ethanol in our future. Worst thing ever.

what I can't reconcile is that for my '97 SE the owners manual recommends "AT LEAST 87" for octane. If there were no benefit to running a higher octaneWhy would they state it that way (instead of specifically recommending 87 and 87 alone)....? I believe I get slightly better performance with 93 octane...and I'm willing to pay the extra money to give up that 0.129 miles per dollar. A number of folks state that running premium can be a waste of money....I don't think it is for me...and in the end ...each of us are entitled to "waste" our money as we wish.

Yeah...+1 for sure. I think everyone who has one or more vehicles should have a scanner. The interface is standard on every vehicle sold in the US since 1996. Actually...what SHOULD happen is noone should need a scanner. The biggest scam in the history of the auto industry is that they have this stupid light that comes on that gives you virtually no information whatsoever despite the fact that the precise code indicating the exact error condition is sitting there in the ECU. I think and hope that eventually that the moronic SES light will be replaced by a digital display showing the error code. Then again...they gotta dumb these things down to the lowest common denominator of ignorance. So how about keep the SES light for the driving monkeys...and add a digital display for those with IQ above 40?

Could you describe "it" in a bit more detail? Not clear by your post that you actually have what is commonly referred to as the death wobble. are you experienced an essentially violent rocking of the entire vehicle from side to side at higher speeds? If so, does it temporarily go away by either applying or letting off the throttle and/or applying the brake? If so..then you probably have the rear control arm problem and you'd be wasting your time on the front end. davekell, yours was not what folks refer to as the death wobble...more likely a tire/wheel balance issue or simply worn tires.. ETA: Never mind....just discovered I'm late to this Groundhog Day Party... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29640&st=20

Why can't you use the OBD2 tool? If your vehicle was sold in the US it had to be OBD2 compliant effective with 1996 model year.

I could not agree more...on all counts.... and this seems like it will be one of those nonsensical things. Will keep a closer eye on things...and unless and until something else emerges....chock it up to another mystery of the universe. If something does emerge...I'll post back. Thx.

Wow...you might be on to something...or not. Here's where I'm at at this point. It's pretty inconceivable that it's a head gasket problem given no other symptoms or indications of such. To recap the facts....long highway drive over an hour...vehicle sits for 48 hours....snow falls overnight two nights later...next morning is very high humidity...start car and move it and observe coolant dripped from front and rear of muffler. So the coolant either got to the muffler via the interior of the exhaust and subsequently leaked out from the front and rear...OR it got to the muffler by travelling along the exterior of the exhaust. Let's look at each. If it got their by the interior it did so not in liquid form but in gaseous form and subsequently condensed out after the exhaust cooled. Reason for that is ...if coolant somehow got into the interior of the exhaust at full operating temperature I presume it would vaporize immediately due to the heat. Then...after the vehicle cooled down...the previously vaporized coolant left remaining in the exhaust system between the muffler and the exhaust manifold condensed back to liquid form...then would have to have been blown out of the exhaust via presumably pinhole leaks at the front and rear of the muffler (the low point in the exhaust system) when the vehicle was started. Alternatively, if it got to the muffler by the exterior of the exhaust system...well...as stated above it would vaporize on contact...or so I believe...if exhaust system is at operating temp. Also, hurting this theory is ...How could coolant have gotten to the BACK part of the muffler? as it would not been able to travel past the flange and front face of the muffler.... I just don't have time to do a pressure test at the moment..but I did check the oil and other than being dirty in need of a change..no signs of water/coolant. Coolant level in reserve tank was at low mark with vehicle cold...where it should be. No visible signs of coolant or any other leak elsewhere on the engine. This is my daily driver and not a drop of anything on the ground since the day of the "incident". Honestly, at this point I think the ambient weather/humidity that day which was very unusual played a role somehow...and also...despite the fact that I without question saw the coolant colored snow on the ground with my own two eyes...I find the sum of the observations extremely difficult to believe/understand/explain. Biggest questions are: HOW did it happen that day? and...Why did it not happen before nor after? I suspect the answer to the first may answer the second....but these are the two questions which totally stump me.

Haven't used this yet but am in need of repairing. First it was one horizontal grid line out a few years ago....noticed this morning it's now up to about 5 of them out!! Gotta be more careful with gear I pack in back that must be scratching the grids. Hopefully this stuff will work as claimed...and hope this helps others. http://www.frostfighter.com/index.htm

Holy confusing thread batman. Hard to tell which posts are about struts and which about shocks...or both...Anywho... Rancho USED to make rear shocks for the R50 but not anymore....They were RSX 17000 and stopped making them in the last 12 months some time....so if your mechanic found some of them you are good to go. If not, they aren't for the R50. RSX 17000s are what I run and been happy with them. Trust nothing on 4x4parts.com for product application info unless you've confirmed it elsewhere. They show Rancho shocks on their site for the R50....5000s I believe...but they are not. Good luck with the Rancho struts...I've heard many folks say they aren't nearly as good as the KYBs...but I have no personal experience with the Rancho struts.