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My new 2001 LE 4x4


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In an attempt to utilize the limited time we have until blast off i started installing the Warn hubs this evening and the 1 of the original studs snapped off on the drivers side with the rest refusing to pull out. Had to call it a night. Too hot in the garage, too grumpy and I had to make an emergency repair out at a refinery in 100+ heat so im done for the day. I'll have to try using a pen torch tomorrow to pull the bastards. If all fails I'll bring the hub assembly into work and drill them out.

 

Was hoping to install hubs and new brake pads tonight, loctite power valves tomorrow before work and fluid change thursday. there goes that plan

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Yes, my original studs were long enough, but compromised. Changed them all out. Scary how easily I snapped a few of them. They were all very soft. succeeded in getting the hubs installed though. HUGE difference in how light the front end feels. It's a different beast on the road. Last day of work before the trip to WA. Just need to install the oil cooler, loctite, new brakes and brake controller....

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Im on the home stretch!!! The next two days are critical for the truck. I need to install the cooler, brake pads, brake controller and loctite the valves... :wacko:

 

The first time loading up the trailer was pretty cool. The tongue weight is clearly more than i thought but the OME springs are taking it well. They are just on the verge of barely needing the AirLift bags but not quite there. still a little wiggle room but not much.

 

Going down the road with the trailer now feels MUCH better. The trailer tracks better and the truck doesnt seem to want to jerk around as much. Only thing Ive noticed that might be problematic is the negative camber in front now. With the weight on the rear the front end is lifting slightly...

 

Crunch time

 

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IMG_4930_zpsua0bvry9.jpg

 

IMG_4933_zpsdxqrqmcn.jpg

 

IMG_4934_zps5xgd413i.jpg

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Well I'm happy to report that after the first 400 + miles of driving the OME's settled and required the airlift bags, which totally nailed it. With a touch of air the rear end raised back to a level height and the ride quality did not suffer. I estimate we were close to 4500lbs loaded.

Almost 900 miles and 2 days later the truck performed like a BOSS. Holy crap, I love this thing. The sweet spot was 60mph. We were getting around 220-240 miles on a tank, about 170 at the My Shasta area with many steep grades, and making good time with leisurely stops throughout to eat, water the dawgs and stretch/rest.

 

The trailer on the other hand needs new tires. Went through one, and the other is soon to follow. They aren't rated for load we had and the extreme heat during the drive didn't help. 7ply heavy duty rubber for the next round....

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Right on, man. Glad the trip went well!

 

I just noticed in your pic of the full air bag...the black puck looking thing is the cut foam you were talking about? The top of that piece doesn't look like the OE bumpstop at all. Maybe that's why we had the apple-orange discussion on the other thread? The OE piece has a steel base whose diameter is slightly larger than the rubber connected to it. Yours looks rounded up top, no? (Not that it's relevant, of course.)

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The black piece is the metal "cup" that the orange foam/rubber bumpstop sits in.

 

1400 Miles through California, Oregon and much of Washington with the Pathfinder and its performed great. Really love this truck. Have another 1000 miles back to California to round off part 1 of this journey...

 

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Downtown Portland Oregon with the trailer and we found parking!!!

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Elwa River Dam, Olympic National Park Washington

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Loaded up on the ferry to cross into the peninsula

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Mt Rainier

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Result of trailer tires not holding up to the extra weight. Upgraded to 8 ply heavy duty tires

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This drought is serious business...shasta is supposed to look like the postcard...

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The black piece is the metal "cup" that the orange foam/rubber bumpstop sits in.

 

Me thinks your previous owner put in OE Jeep bumpstops, which would actually be really smart (tons of replacement options). They're a 2-piece design with a removable yellow or orange rubber piece that looks like expanded foam. I had a Jeep and had to remove them once.

 

Was it like this?

 

HPIM0550.JPG

 

Great pics, too! That tire...whoa.

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Yup. That's the style. They look like they've been there for quite some time. They had me fooled. Lol.

What do the OE units look like?

 

I think that's a pretty good find. Though did the metal twist in, or was it bolted in? Wondering if he re-tapped the hole, or just cut of the stud and drilled a hole in the metal cap. The latter would be far easier.

 

The OE look like this (shown upside-down):

$_1.JPG

 

Bottom is a flat metal disc adhered to the rubber; disc has a hole in it for bolting to the chassis.

 

you can see them pretty clearly in previous posts during the rear lift installation

 

Ah yes, that mangled thing. Ha, I think I knew it looked odd but didn't give it another thought until today.

 

Of course, not that any of this is really important now. But, for those guys with chewed up bump stops (mine were also gnarly before replacement), this may be a cheaper replacement option.

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Well for 2400 miles towing roughly 4500lbs most of the time this truck KICKED ASS. Only issues on the trip were the trailer tires failing prematurely due to exceeding their weight rating and the brake light switch failed ( most likely caused by the brake controller for the trailer). This caused the shift lock release and brake lights to not function but we made it back by using the shift lock override button just below the console.

 

While short distance driving doesnt really show the MPG increase with the manual hubs it DEFINITELY adds up after 2400 miles. The savings was huge, even towing the trailer. Only time we really sucked up the fuel was in the northern California/Oregon mountain pass area. At the steepest climbs we pulled back and kept it to 40-50 mph with the OD off. Stopped in Mt. Shasta city to take a break, fill up on water at the headwaters park and let the truck chill.

 

One thing i noticed is these trucks would benefit a ton from hood vents to allow more cooling. Our temp never flinched even in 90-100 degree heat ( with the AC on!!) but when we stopped after the climbs i could feel tons of heat venting between the fender and the hood. I popped the hood while we parked to aid in cooling.

 

Drafting behind semi trucks and other auto drawn trailers was the key to keeping the RPMS low and fuel consumption down. The wind drag is really noticeable when you leave the draft of another rig. I was able to keep the speed at 60mph with the OD on at 2100rpm using this method. The truck seemed happy and wasnt straining at all. Without a draft cruise control would not let the truck shift into the final OD gear, keeping revs at 2500-2500rpm.

 

So for the next and hopefully final round of driving the things I need/want to do are:

-Hood Vents

-Modified or independent brake light switch for trailer brakes

-Vented brake rotors

-trans oil temp gauge

-motor/tranny oil change

-buy and mount air pump for tires and airlift system

-install SFD to fix CV angle( Thanks Hawairish!!!)

 

Time is a scarce and I dont think i'll get to everything. We'll see...

 

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Hrm, well i was trying to skimp on gas costs by running shell/safeway 87 or 91 when i had a gas accumulated a discount through safeway for a while but opted to run premium 91 and 92 when available for this trip and it hasnt pinged since. Could just be crappy off brand i safeway gas. Thats what i get for being cheap i guess.

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Brake light issue ended up just being the fuse behind the storage bin on the left of the steering wheel.

Hey 96Pathfinder4x4- What "T" connection did you use? For now i ended up running a U-Haul kit which is not the best but got the job done. Do you run a brake controller too?

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