DesertKyle

I'd suggest jacking the front end up and using a pry bar to check the suspension and steering joints for movement, if you haven't done this already. If you can detect any play the part is probably bad as driving will put much more force on it than you can with a pry bar. Good idea to check the rack bushings, as others have said. I'm running Dorman bushings and have been happy with them. I tried some eBay poly bushings first but they weren't thick enough to hold the rack tightly. How are your diff bushings? I was getting a lot of clanking when mine were shot, but it was really only noticeable off-road. A loose fitting axle (as in need of a thicker snap ring) or a bad axle makes a hell of a racket too, you can certainly hear me coming down the trail lately ?

Little late, but I have the same all top strap and while I haven't used it for any hard pulls it seems like a quality piece of kit. Nice material and construction.

I'm chasing a similar issue on mine, no dtc's though. Pulled the whole evap system apart this weekend and couldn't find anything wrong other than a possibly sticky vacuum cut valve. I cleaned the valve some and it seemed to help a bit, gonna work on finding a new or better used one however. My theory is the valve is allowing excess pressure to build (and vacuum as I'm getting vapor lock at idle when it drops below a quarter tank). My charcoal canister is probably pretty used up at 211k but it still weighs under 4 lbs (3.8). I was going to swap it with one from a junkyard but learned that 03's have a much bigger vent line coming off the tank and into the can vs my 01. Makes me wonder why they changed it...

Here's a few pics from a quick trail run today. Really loving these tires!

I recently bypassed the coolant on mine while changing the spark plugs. I just used a 3/8 brass "hose mender" with the stock hoses and zip tied it out of the way. Using a single piece of hose would be better but the back connection looked rather difficult to get to. Easy enough to do for the peace of mind.

Steering extension is supposed to be from a 91 Honda accord. Going to try this method next week once I finish my sfd kit, I've read mixed things so we'll see how it goes!

IIRC ome's lift numbers are with the added weight from accessories. The added free height results in more preload which gives the extra lift and a harsher ride (without the weight from a winch bumper). If you installed your HDs recently mine took several months to break in, I rarely get harsh top out now and they ride much nicer then when I first installed them 6 months ago. No bumper but I do have beefy skid plates and a missing link which add some weight.

Did you have to drop both oil pans to do the rear main seal? Any tips for the job? Haven't researched it yet but I've gotta do mine soon, trying to wait till I find a decent trans to swap at the same time though.

Check the inside for debris before installing it, my Amazon one was full of tiny chunks of rubber and I had to scrub it out. Seems like good quality otherwise though.

Got some new wheels and tires, only had to cut a little metal ?

Finally got around to doing this mod last month. Used a third member from an 01 r50 and pulled the clutch pack out of a 95 pathfinder. Didn't score any 1.6's so used all the best 1.5's and did the triple spring with an sp and sd. Couldn't turn one wheel by hand so its fairly tight but still behaves fine on the road. Doesn't seem to help much when I lift a wheel, but that's to be expected I guess. Not bad at all though for under $100! Thanks again for the awesome write up!!

I had a vibration above 45 (in the front/steering wheel) that turned out to be bad/loose wheel bearings, sounds like this could be your problem too.

Ah my bad. My memory isn't great (one too many head injuries) musta got something confused.

265/75/16's which measure ~31" OD on the vehicle.

Yes It was my understanding the AC springs were just rebadged OME HD springs, although I can't remember where I read that now. I got my OME's on eBay for $180 shipped, 4x4parts.com is a ripoff!

Yep no bind! They may wear out faster being a little beyond their intended range but this is a price I am willing to pay. I posted a pic of how my truck sits now I'm the LR spring install thread. I had no problems running the the 1.5" spacers/stock springs even though they bound terribly at full droop, but then again I don't drive like an idiot (more detailed account also in LR spring thread). Although apparently I don't actually wheel and am not experienced enough...?

Lots of horror stories and warning's about spacers but this is my experience. I ran 1.5" spacers for a year and wheeled pretty hard with them. The cv's would bind badily at full droop but this was never a problem practically as the only time this would occur was with the suspension fully unloaded, like going over whoops or hitting a steep incline at speed. Both situations easily avoided with mindful driving. Flex or wheel lift is not an issue as the sway bar limits movement to prevent full droop as long as one wheel is loaded. I also carry a spare axle on difficult or remote trails but would do this regardless of what lift I have. None of this appears to be a problem running a small spacer (as there's no bind). The cv's may wear faster but this is true with any lift that causes them to sit at more angle than they normally would (Another good reason for manual hubs). Just my 2 cents, do whatever makes you happy! ??

I feel ya, I had way too much rake previously with the 9447's and a 1.5" spacer and stock springs in front. Here's my truck now with the 9447's and ome hd's with a 1/2" spacer. The springs settled quite a bit over the first few days and I have a little rake again but it looks so much better than before. Without the spacer I think it would be too raked out for me. Ymmv

My 9447's barely sag when fully loaded for a week of camping, I think they'd be fine for you. You will probably still have some rake with them vs the ome's but a small strut spacer takes care of that.

1/2" spacers should give ~0.7" of lift due to the suspension geometry. I was running saggy stock springs with 1.5" spacers previously and had bad cv bind at full droop and significant rake with the lr9447's in back. I'll try and post some pictures later today.

Posted this on FB but keep forgetting to post it here. Got good and stuck a few weeks ago. Ending up calling my buddy with a winch after several failed attempts from passerby's. Had 8" of water in the cab at one point but managed to drive home 11 hours later, after getting the 5+ gallons of water out of the fuel ?. Hardly any body damage, just a tiny dent and scratch!

Thought I'd share this idea in case it helps anyone else. I recently installed OME HD springs in front and added a 1/2" homemade HDPE spacer. I forgot to take pics but the process was pretty simple. -get a 12"x12" sheet of hdpe in your desired thickness off Amazon (1/2" was ~$12) -clamp backing plates, with bolts/studs removed, to the hdpe (I used my old spacers as a template but the backing plate should work fine too) -mark the outer edge and drill the holes -flip the backing plate over, clamp in the same spot and trace the bulge where the center hole will be -starting cutting with a jig saw, keep enlarging the center hole until it fits flush to the strut mount. A sanding wheel on a dremel works well for this -test fit and install with longer bolts Easy and cheap to do and now I have more lift in the front and no cv bind! I can scan my old spacers to use a template if anyone wants to try this, but using just the backing plate should work fine.

If you have lift springs in back you really want longer shocks to match or you'll have no articulation and lift a wheel very easily. I ran gas-a-just's with 2" lift spacers in back for like a week and swapped them for bilsteins the first time I off-roaded due to the lack of articulation and rough ride. The Bilsteins are well worth it imo and were ~$75 each on Amazon.

They were there when I got it, maybe a bull bar from the previous owner? Not sure. Going to put modified a jeep bumper on there eventually though. Here's a pic from some dune action last week, I think she's almost ready for a bath .

I'm really impressed with my new cheap all terrains ($100 each!) and how well they do in mud!