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Thanks for the dialogue. The correlation between the longer trips at the start of ski season and the clutch failure over the past four years is indeed perplexing. I actually probably shift as much or more during my 30 minute daily commute than the mostly highway trip to the mountains wherein I spend about 45 minutes of the hour without shifting at all. Equally perplexing is that for like 2 of the 4 years a good strong system bleeding got it through the balance of that winter and the following summer. The lines are in good visible shape...no rust or anything and very clean. Irrespective of that...there could indeed be crap in there somewhere. But of course that begs the question of correlating that to the recurrence triggered by the longer trips? For your reference..the damper is actually located up near the master. And ..unfortunately I started down this road with a dealer so that's where it went this morning. Driving it there I had to pump up the clutch system every five minutes or so to create enough pressure to shift for a while. That's what I've been doing since Friday....and so if there were a leak somewhere in the system...one would think the reservoir level in the master would be down a bit. So checked it when I got to the dealer and the master was full up. Implication there is that system loses pressure by fluid leaking back in to the master. could a faulty damper do that ? or at least contribute to that? Or is it more likely a faulty master? One sense I have is that I have more than one problem in the system ..potentially. Also, spoke at length with the head mechanic at the dealer. Our agreed upon game plan is to first replace the damper which is original to the vehicle. If that doesn't do it....only two things left are....replace the lines...which might fix it if there is a contaminant in there that does not seem to get dislodged by bleeding....not very likely...but cheaper than the next step.....which is to replace the clutch!! He said there's an outside chance a fork is sticking in there which MIGHT cause this problem...but he said it in a way that made me think he thought that was a far stretch. BUT....all this problem started in the winter of 2007/2008 after having a (different) dealer put a new clutch in during Oct 2007. So maybe the clutch kit was defective...or they messed up the install? It kills me cuz this Pathy is in GREAT shape for being 13 years old....and I want to keep it many more. Thanks for listening and all thoughts welcome. Praying it's the damper....or that at least that buys me another year or so before I have to put in my 4th clutch...the original being the first.

Answer to your first part is..yes that is correct. So the only conditions that are different when the problem get triggered are longer trips..which means higher temps under the hood...and cold weather. But there is VERY VERY high correlation with the longer trips...as opposed to the cold ambient weather. Pumping the pedal brings pressure back up...but not for very long....need to pump it up every 20 minutes or so to get good shifting. I'm thinking the higher operating temps under the hood during the longer trips is this trigger...just need to figure out how. Elevated temps would increase pressure of the hydraulic fluid...

1997 SE OR about 150K miles...original owner. I have a chronic clutch hydraulic problem that resurfaces at the start of the past four winters. Outside of the winter I NEVER take trips longer than my work commute which is about 30 minutes of mostly stop and go. In the winter I ski at a mountain that is about an hour away from my house...most of it highway running at 70 MPH give or take. Every year for the past 4 years I lose clutch pressure after my first trip or two to the mountains. This has happened since replacing the clutch itself in Oct 2007. Master and slave cyl replaced in Dec 2007 got me thru that winter. Nov 2008 problem resurfaced...solid bleeding of the system got me through that winter. Dec 2009 problem resurfaced....replaced master and slave again along with rubber hose to the slave...got me through rest of that winter. Drove to the mountain a week ago Sunday and by Friday lost clutch pressure. Only parts left to try replacing is a couple more tubes and the clutch damper. No visible fluid leaks anywhere. Anyone have any thoughts? And what is the purpose of the clutch damper? I'm thinking that is a strong suspect.

I have 97 SE OR..about 150K miles....am original owner....until early this year used dino oil or semi synth Castrol changing every 3K ...4K max....am transitioning to Mobil 1 Synth which is what will go in next oil change...just put Mobil 1 synthetic in both diffs, Tcase, and manual tranny..THAT wasn't cheap!! Edit to add...my engine doesn't burn a single bit of oil which I atrribute to keeping up with frequent changes over the past 13 years...much more so than what went into it.

Oh...yeah...I understand...sorry if my post wasn't clear. I understand his issue ...and was thinking maybe he could get one of those socket universal joints on there...but as I think about and take a closer look at the picture...not likely....but can't he just cut the dang thing out per my other suggestion? Then it's just a matter of whether he can get an open end wrench on the new nut to be able to snug things up to torque spec. But maybe alternatively consider putting the bolt in from the other direction...as it might be possible to get it in there that way and then put an open end wrench on the bolt head and deal with the nut from the other side?

Define "best"....you've asked a question that can only be answered very subjectively. My best advise is change it more often than not...and that's much more important than which oil you use.

I had the same experience with Michelin LTX M/S's....serious steering wheel vibration from Day one....rebalanced many times but not much improvement...and sadly that's how it went for the 100K miles of their life...this August I finally replaced them with Bridgestone Revo 2's and MADE SURE based on lots of reading I had done to have them road force balanced....well...not sure if it was the road force balance or that the Michelins were crap and Revo's phenomenal...but my Revos glide like "buttah" at any speed and I have absolutely ZERO steering wheel wobble anymore. They ride better than several all seasons I've used in the past. Not sure what to attribute to what ...but the difference is incredible. Therefore...I am now a BIG fan of the Revos AND road force balancing...it's been a great recipe for me so far. ETA: In case it matters to anyone...the LTXs mentioned above were originally purchased at Costco.

I've done my lowers a couple times...haven't done the uppers yet..myself..but will be tackling that next spring. Will a pivot socket get on there? Not sure that's the correct term for it. Or Can you get a Sawzall in between the bracket and bushing and cut the bolt?...since you might have to do that anyway? Sawzall or angle grinder with thin cutting wheel?

Was this shifting experience happening right AFTER you dinged the link but BEFORE you replaced the link? If not...put the damaged link back in....jk. But the answer could help the diagnosis. I presume the condition exists in 4WD too?

Thanks for the explanations...I don't have a WD and don't pretend to entirely understand that suspension but I get the general idea I think...but I do know my R50 quite well. There is definitely conflicting information in this thread....but it seems that's simply because different folks are thinking of different suspension designs but are making universal comments...including me! In order for a 1", 2", or 3" lift to have no impact on the shock range of moton ...then the "resting" distance between the top and bottom bolts of the shock would have to be unaffected by any lift. Because if that's not the case...then a shock on a vehicle that has 3" of travel in either direction on a stock setup...is then lifted 3"...then you end up with 6" of travel in one direction and none in the other. But what I understand MYPATH1 to be saying is that with a WD suspension...the lift does not impact the resting shock stance..or distance between top and bottom at rest. Which is not...what Simon sez....Thanks again for the edumacation. Knowledge is good.

Thanks...but that crayola would still color me confused. What your saying is exactly why I'd think one would want different shocks/struts when putting on a lift...2" or whatever (BTW...I have an R50 but I believe the principles are the same here??). Instead of living with the situation you outline above where one has only 1" of downtravel and 5" of up travel....ain't it much better to have the same amount of each?....achieved by a shock/strut with a 2" longer rod?

To do mine I picked up a 20 ton shop press for $130....take an add'l 20% off that with a coupon...more than paid for it with what I saved from having a stealership do it. Didn't need a funnel...just greased the crap out of it....though I did rip the lip on one before I figured out the technique.

How does this happen? I thought one would want/need longer shocks with a lift kit. I mean you just can't extend a shock up to 3 inches beyond unlifted suspension without impacting upward/downward travel limits. Am I missing something here???

Yeah...very well could be. I know when the current clutch went in the flywheel was resurfaced...not sure about the prior one that only lasted 50K miles. And on that note....what do folks believe to be the approximate lifespan of an OEM clutch? Now I KNOW that all depends on so many factors...but on average.....not beating on it...and someone who knows how to use it....what's a range of expected life? Say..140K to 160K miles? closer to 200K? 100K?

Somehow I KNEW that was coming! :-) But no....I do know how to use a clutch. Have owned a number of stick vehicles over the last 30 years without issue...including an old Bronco...3000ZX...69 Vette...Harley... Could be a fluke on the orig one....and maybe bad job done replacing the original one...who knows.

NOT a fan of OEM Pathy clutches. I am orig owner of 97 SE OR...orig clutch went at 70K ....new one only lasted just short of add'l 50K miles....OEM brakes on the other hand are phenomenal....13 yrs and 140K on my front rotors...and now finally need to replace....drums and shoes are still factory originals and lots of life left...anywho..back on topic...next clutch for me is a Centerforce for sure.

Hunh....That's 34% higher than the 26 recommended for mine. Not saying 32 would cause a problem necessarily....But recommended PSI exists for a reason and isn't random. Does Nissan not know what they are doing when it comes to the pressure they area specifying for the vehicles they build? Or is this another reason why people abhor dealerships? ....just saying...

Ok...time is up...How much better?

As colinnwn stated AC knowingly falsely advertises the Rancho RS5000's as appropriate for the R50. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with them to no avail....they believe..in fact insist.... it is ok to sell them as appropriate for the vehicle despite the fact they are not....as confirmed and documented by Rancho. Colinnwn clearly states in his blog why RS5000s do not fit properly. This, along with some terrible customer service I've experienced leads me to be very distrustful of anything from them. you are warned. Note that Rancho DID make RSX17000 shocks for the rear of R50 Pathy's but those have been discontinued....though there are still some for some years in the supply pipeline. When I go to replace my springs I'm going OME no doubt based on all the research I've done. I replaced my front struts with the KYBs this summer and so far so good. I also replaced all the strut mount components with OEM based on recommendations on here....it ain't cheap but dang if my front end ain't smooth as buttah now. Insulators seemed toast but bearing seemed fine but already had the new one so in they went. If you have automatic hubs then the front axles don't spin unless you are in 4WD. If you have flanges then things spin all the time and some folks put in the manual hubs because of that.

Well you can OEM ones from places like Courtesy Nissan....or 4x4parts.com seems to be the only game in town for poly ones. I want OEM when I did them in 2004....redid this year with the one piece poly ones from 4x4parts.com They have 2 piece ones too which are easier to get in...once you get the old ones out. PS. do a search LOTS of threads on here about this.

I have a burgundy '97 also...an SE Offroad so black bumpers and no pinstripe. Mine is in good shape and yours is in excellent shape...especially for begin in BC. I particularly can't believe those steprails....mine rusted away almost to literally nothing so finally pulled em off this past spring. And interestingly my left rear bumpstop is sittin in the bottom of the spring too...must have been a quality control issue when the BURGUNDY ones were coming off the line!! Anywho...curious how you plan to address that bumpstop as I haven't decided for myself. Thinking I'll just leave it be for now as I believe you need to remove the spring to replace the bumpstop. Hoping/planning to go with some OME springs in a few years...but just did the front struts so will probably wait til those need replaced again to do the front springs...with OME also. Options I know of for the bumpstop are OEM replacement or 4x4parts.com and I believe theirs just sit in the bottom of the spring. Just a quick question...don't mean to hijack the thread. My rim pictures are boring...OEM originals.

Ahh...thank you kindly for your prompt and helpful reply!

Was just noticing that each forum only shows 3 or 4 pages of post...so not much history. I know there's a lot more history out there. Is there some setting that I need to change to see deeper history? Or is this just the way it is? TIA.

GR2s for my 97 SE are ....$61 per strut on tirerack.com...$79 per strut from 4x4parts....that's 30% higher...or $36 less for the pair on tirerack.com. To me that puts 4x4parts.com "much higher"....

That explains it all. AC is known in some cases..of providing incorrect application information...including the Rs5000 issue. They post RS5000s as appropriate for the R50 and despite Rancho themselves confirming they ar not...AC insists on misrepresenting that. Highly likely AC screwed you up. Beyond that...their prices for KYBs are much higher than many other places including tirerack.com.