Risks Of lift

[KiwiTerrano]

Yes, to me it makes no sense why Nissan never put a link there. From looking at the design of the suspension the rear of the crossmember is under huge stress. 

 

A missing link should make no difference to your CVs.

[TowndawgR50]

I lifted my rig in stages-

- 2" spacers up front, new KYB struts on stock springs, Warn manual hubs, rear OME MD springs with HPDE spacers, Airlift spring helpers and Bilstein monotube shocks

- 4" lift via SFD with a full front end suspension rebuild, front OME HD springs and a missing link

-6" lift with new polyurethane bushings on all components front and rear, adjustable upper and lower control arms and LR rear springs paired with bilstein 5160 rear shocks

 

At each point, based on having drove it from the stock condition to its current 6" setup, the ride quality has consistently improved with my current setup driving better than it ever has. Not at all rough and bouncy nor sloppy on the road. The truck flexes well off road with fully intact extended sway bar links front and rear, helping it handle high speed turns on and off-road without any lean or instability. Its luxurious and very comfortable yet purpose built to handle some very demanding driving. Love it.

 

The only issue I've encountered was at the first stage with a 2" spacer lift on stock springs- I was breaking CV's when I had full extension of the front suspension under load. The CV showed no sign of binding when up in the air on jack stands but with the load of the driveline in 4 Low in an off-road scenario the axles would detonate in that same full droop position. I was using, and still am, the brand new lifetime warranty imported CV axles from O'Reilly's.

 

Without that warranty I would have been on the hook for 3 extra CV's. 2 lost from off road over-extension and 1 to a tear in the boot. 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by TowndawgR50

[adamzan]

If you put manual hubs on, the wear to the CV shafts is limited to off roading only.

 

It may devalue the truck, but it's 15 years old, how much is it really worth anyway? In my experience it does wear parts out quicker, but only marginally, and if you buy oem or good quality parts it isn't an issue. So no 20 dollar autozone ball joints or whatever lol.

 

I've never broken a CV ever. I've had a defective one break but that's it. Don't get super throttle happy on climbs and you won't have any problems with them.

[colinnwn]

Yes, to me it makes no sense why Nissan never put a link there. From looking at the design of the suspension the rear of the crossmember is under huge stress. 
 
A missing link should make no difference to your CVs.

It's almost certainly because in a front end collision the engine is designed to drop down and slide under the vehicle instead of being pushed into the cabin. A missing link prevents that from happening.

Having said that I went ahead and installed one because in many other accidents it would probably help or have no impact.

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[KiwiTerrano]

42 minutes ago, colinnwn said:

It's almost certainly because in a front end collision the engine is designed to drop down and slide under the vehicle instead of being pushed into the cabin. A missing link prevents that from happening.

Having said that I went ahead and installed one because in many other accidents it would probably help or have no impact.

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Surely in a high speed collision however, the force of the impact would be sufficient to shear one or both bolts holding the link in place? 

[QuasarDecimari]

Surely in a high speed collision however, the force of the impact would be sufficient to shear one or both bolts holding the link in place? 

And such a force would likely crumble the little link anyway. It does fantastic for helping maintain flex and separation in the subframe but I wouldn’t even try and lift the vehicle with the link.

[colinnwn]

I don't think there is any way to be convinced that would happen without an engineering review if it concerns you.

Just looking at it, by the time the engine block contacted the link hard enough to shear it I think the block would be greatly intruding into the footwell and firewall.

Basically the engine depends on the strength of the firewall and floor panel to push it down and underneath. Now you've got a bar with connectors much stronger than sheet metal pinning it back up, and I think it will wedge between the two right into the passenger compartment.

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[colinnwn]

My link is from the guy selling them on here. I'm sure I could jack my truck up with it. It is a fairly thick gauge box steel member.

Maybe using the squashed sheet metal pole for a missing link would be a little safer, but I wouldn't count my life on it if it really concerns you.

All in all, R50 Pathfinders had pretty poor frontal collision crash ratings anyway. They crumpled at the door pillar and the front passenger compartment partially collapsed while transmitting significant loads to the occupants.

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[RainGoat]

I expect you are correct on all accounts.

[deltaR50]

If U do the lift right way. U should have any issues. Only challenge you gonna run into is the normal wear and tear which is ok depends on how you used your rig. Ive been lifted almost 3 yrs and months after i got my rig. Ive run into repairs and such because the truck has been use as built and intended to. But i was ok with it. Ive done most of my repairs and work.

 

 

Check my build thread timeline. You will see how much time spent my truck being used off road.