01Pathmaker

The old girl performed flawlessly, fully loaded, out on the beach today. It's amazing how much better this thing handles now, I really didn't realize how worn out everything was! Unfortunately, the fish didn't cooperate today, but had a great day with my girls regardless. Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

Haha haha! I actually thought about washing it too! [emoji38] Maybe if there's enough time tomorrow, but it won't matter much since Friday she'll be back on the beach, getting all salty & sandy and hopefully covered in fish blood & scales!! Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

Alright folks, my (almost) 200k mile suspension rehab is finished (except alignment)! So to sum up, thanks to a snapped coil, I replaced my apparently tired Old Man Emu MD suspension after roughly 140k miles of use. New parts are as follows: (FRONT)new OME HD front springs, KYB struts, OME trim packers (7/16" spacer), stabilizer links, repacked wheel bearings (replaced them at ~150k), a little wire brushing, applied rust converter, then rattle can bedliner. (REAR) near new OME MD springs (bought from@CDN_S4 years ago), near new OME Nitrocharger shocks (bought from@hawairish years ago too!), new SFC 1" spacers, sway bar links & bushings, a lot of scraping, wire brushing, rust converter & rattle can bedliner. She rides much more firm now, didn't realize how worn out everything really was! [emoji38] She Now sits between 35" & 35.25" to the center of the fender flare at all 4 corners (on fresh 255/70/16 Wildpeak AT3W's). Now I'll start on the rest of the 200k service (change all fluids & filters from bumper to bumper) I guess! Heck, I even restored my headlights! She'll never be as clean as those Quey's, but maybe all my cleanup work will make@Mrelcocko happy! (Didn't go crazy with pics because I was way too involved, but here's what I got!) Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

It is crazy how life sometimes gets us away from our hobbies for long periods, in what seems like a blink of an eye. Good luck and best regards!

Welcome back to the dark side! I hate how clean and rust-free stuff stays in the southern/central states! A while back I picked up a seemingly clean 99 Burb that I was planning to replace the R50 with, but that didn't end well. Long story short, it wasn't as clean as it looked, in fact it probably took the previous owner about 4 gallons of bondo to make it look as good as it presented, plus it was plagued with electrical gremlins and the engine coolant would frequently disappear (most likely needed head gaskets). Basically, I was the sucker for that one! That was my last straw for GM, unless it's pre-1988 or I come across a clean squarebody Burb. I'm currently revamping my R50's suspension again (close to 200k, snapped an OME front coil) and trying to put the brakes on some structural rust that's been popping up. Wish you well on your search, I'm sure you'll find plenty of the same info on here, as well as some pretty cool (fairly recent) rear spring availability (namely using Land Rover springs!). Enjoy the hunt and welcome back!

The lower strut bolts, which you will have just replaced 2 with cam bolts and the other 2 you will have just R&R'd. Other than that, they may need to adjust the toe-in/out which is done by loosening the lock nuts on the tie rods and rotating the "threaded rod" looking piece that threads into the tie rod end. In most cases, those are fairly easy to free up, sometimes they just require a little heat to break them free. As far as I recall, there is no adjustment available in the rear.

Finally, after around 16 hours of fighting with almost every single nut & bolt, the front is done (except alignment of course)!! I didn't take any pics along the way because of the frustration of having to heat almost every fastener up with the torch, breaker bar w/4ft cheater pipe, high torque impact gun, you get the idea, but I only snapped 1 little bolt off (one that holds the bracket of nonsense on top of the drivers side strut tower and a bunch on the hubs). Had to ditch my Mile Marker hubs, as they were locked in the lock position and when I was attempting to take them apart, damn near every one of the little bolts that hold the "cap" on snapped. Once I got them off I inspected and repacked the wheel bearings, then put it back together with the stock drive flanges (thank God I saved them!). She drives good, now has about an inch & a half "Cali-lean" going on, but that'll be addressed midweek when I tackle the rear. Time for a hot shower and a cold beer... Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

Wow, must be nice having that kind of workspace available and a clean undercarriage to work on!! I'm currently doing my front suspension overhaul (due to a snapped coil) and so far I have about 12-14 hours into it. Almost every fastener has needed to be heated with the torch, backed off with a HD impact gun, most bolts have needed to be heated and beaten out. Luckily I have a decent size garage with a decent arsenal of tools, but the rust and corrosion is beating the hell out of me!

So my package from 4x4parts arrived with what's hopefully supposed to be my OME HD's, but there are absolutely no markings on them whatsoever. Way back, at least 12+ years ago, when I ordered my first set of OME MD springs (also from 4x4parts because I didn't know any better at the time), they arrived as these did, in a plain brown box, BUT they at least had factory OME tags on the springs themselves, these have nothing, just plain black springs. So, fingers crossed that these are what I expect them to be. Let the wrenchfest begin... Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

Nissan Part No.:21230-8P300 - VALVE ASSY WATER CONTROL is the rear "thermostat" Nissan Part No.:21200-4W010 - THERMOSTAT ASSY is the thermostat on the front of the engine Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Hope that helps!

Nice work, it always saves money, gives you a better sense of satisfaction and of how things work, when you do your own wrenching, As far as your rear ride quality, if you used factory replacement KYB rear shocks, those will be just about at maximum extension when the truck is sitting level. This lack of available down travel will make your ride more harsh than it needs to be. If you swap those out for a shock that is appropriately valved and 2-3" longer (to match the added height of your springs), like the Bilstien 33-185352 (or there is a less expensive option from ProComp, but the part number escapes me), you'll find the ride quality improved. Just food for thought.

Can you clean mine?! Pics above! [emoji38] Sent from my Mobile Communications Device

Well, about 30mins ago I got an email from the ebay seller I ordered my new OME 2923's from, that were supposed to be "in stock" and listed as "last one". Surprise! They claim the warehouse guy noticed a manufacture defect and when they tried to have another set drop shipped, they were told they're on national backorder and won't ship until lare September (duh!). So I replied to get a refund, punched up 4x4parts (AC), and that's when things got crazy. I called them, asked if they had HD fronts springs for my 2001 Pathfinder, he answered with "yeah, we usually keep a couple on hand", then he wasn't terribly happy when I asked him to physically check, but begrudgingly he did. After about 6-7mins on hold, he came back and said "we've got 'em, I hand my own hands on them", so I ordered them on the spot. I almost choked on the $54.90 UPS ground shipping charge, but either way I was forced to eat it, since my backup plan was to have him look for MD's, then lastly their 2" springs. Now the waiting game begins and we'll see what actually arrives...

It's unfortunate they drastically overcharge on shipping, they would do so much more business! I just got off the phone with them about 10 minutes ago, had him physically look and put his hands on a set of OME HD's (2928) after he told me they "usually keep a couple on hand", he had them so I placed the order on the spot, Their 2" coils were gonna be my backup plan. Fingers crossed that I actually get the HD's...

Your ride is coming along nicely! As for your reminder, we do these things because of our love for outdoor adventures, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun playing an off-road game while sitting on the couch! Cheers!