mws

The correct answer (unfortunately) is NOT drive. When you apply the brakes, the piston may move. It is more likely it is the other side that is sticking. If the piston has nothing to push against, it will be pushed right of its bore and you'll lose the fluid and all pressure to the rear brakes. And have a mess. OK, if it was me and I was in the middle of the Black Rock desert and this happened to me.... Remove the caliper, place something solid and uncrushable between the brake pads. A piece of steel, aluminum, masonite or other hard wood the same thickness as the rotor would be perfect. A bit thinner is OK. Wrap duct around the whole mess so the chunk of whatever cannot fall out. Wire or zip tie the caliper SECURELY to the axle, out of the way of damage. Drive very carefully.

Keep in mind that the length is only one thing to consider. The internal valving varies tremendously from one shock to another. A shock intended for the rear of a 6500 pound one ton truck will be ultra stiff. Put those on your pathy and it will drive like you have a rigid suspension - it will beat you to death. But if you find a long shock designed for a compact pick up of 1/2 ton or less rating, it may be close enough to be acceptable.

Heckethorn boy checking in here... As I've mentioned in countless threads, I am very impressed by the Heckethorn shocks sold by Rough Country as the RC8000.

True, dat. Thankfully, now you know better! Trust yourself. No one else.

If you warped the headers due to overtorquing them, be prepared to compensate Thorley appropriately. After all, they would be repairing the damage you induced, not fixing a design problem. And get a torque wrench before installing this time. I'm willing to bet you've been applying whole lot more torque than is needed and bending/warping the flanges. My experience is that 99% of inexperienced mechanics not using the proper tools overtorque everything. But check with a straight edge first. The Thorleys have a very beefy, thick flange. Maybe it was just bending and did not take a permanent set. And I'd also suggest replacing the studs while you're at it. If you did overtorque, you've stretched and weakened them, which puts them at higher risk of failing. It will be a lot easier to remove and replace now rather than after they snap off.

Doing what you did should not have caused this failure. I suspect the bolts had been over-torqued during installation at some time. That is the #1 cause for failure. Had that axle ever been replaced? If so, the mechanic who did it was more likely the root cause, not the design. Can you get in there with a Dremel and a cut off wheel? After letting them soak in PB blaster for at least a day, cut a slot across the top of each stud, fit in a regular screwdriver, give it a couple taps to dislodge any corrosion, and back them out. And when you put in the new bolts, make sure to torque to factory specs and not a lb-ft over.

Follow the wires until you find the cut, worn throught area, or pinch. A 15 amp fuse will not blow unless the circuit is drawing well over 200 watts. And if you are running (2) 55 watt bulbs (you are, aren't you?) then the only way the circuit will draw 200+ watts is if there is a short to ground somewhere.

Personally, I think the RS5000's are grossly overpriced for what they are (primitive technology) and with poorly selected damping rates - wayyy too much compression damping. I am using Heckethorns (RC 8000's) from Rough Country. Much, much better. As far as I know, I am the only one using them so far. I don't know if they have any extra long for the rear... But I absolutely recommend using the RC8000's in the front! Your teeth, kidneys, and wallet will thank you. You can get these AND the RC UCA's for less than the Cal-Mini UCA's.... Still using stock T-bars, which work great for anything but jumping. And spent wayyyyy under $1000 for tires and wheels. My point: Do some more research before throwing money. You can save at least 1/2 of what you are thinking. There are hundreds of posts here where we detail it out....

What are you torquing the nuts too? Maybe too much?

If you want to prevent body shift, do a little triangulation. Basically, a strap (1/8" x1.5" would probably do it, 3/16" definitely would) from the underside of a rearward lift block to the top of a front block. I think from the top of number two to the bottom of number 3 would do it. Yes, you would want to shave off the same thickness from the lift block. And do both sides. What that does is prevent the lift blocks from "racking". If you've done any house framing this should all make sense. The goal is to restrain the top of the lift blocks from moving forward relative to the bottoms.

The fact that it does it in two different gears gives me pause.... If only one gear, I think trans. But in two gears? I immediately start thinking something else. U joint? Differential? Tire or wheel issue? Humming can be tough as the vibration excites lots of components, and where the noise is heard may not be where the problem is. Need more symptoms. How is the noise in relationship to throttle position? I'd recommend moving this to the garage for more consideration.

It is the optimal size for the 31x10.5 tire. The tire manufacturer designed the tire to fit an 8" rim, so it will work "better" on it. By better, I mean as designed. If you put a larger tire on a narrow rim, the beads are pinched in a bit, and the carcass under the tread ends up being a little convex. Not enough to be dangerous, but it will tend to make the handling a little loose on pavement and the tire will have a tendency to wear down the middle. Most tire manufacturers say a 31x10.5 is OK to use on rims from 7" to 9" wide. If you had 7", it'd be OK to use them. But as long as you're ordering new wheels, you might as well get the ideal!

Ditto. And for the last 25 years, I have allowed myself to spend 1/2 of what I saved on TOOLS! And I like tools.... so that gives me lots of incentive to try and do it myself every time! I'm to the point I think the contents of my garage are worth at least 3x of the house contents (and that is a conservative estimate). And tools do not depreciate anything like house contents! I am now equipped (and skilled) enough to do just about everything. It's so nice to to get it done RIGHT the first time, and never being number 18 on the priority list!

Theoretically, you could. But I doubt it would be worth the effort. The stock amps are optimized (equalized) for the limitations of the stock speakers, and that usually means they are a very non-linear output and may (or may not) sound really bad with a different speaker.

And a lot of others on the board report they have run 4" backspace on 15x8's with no rubbing. So there you go! Anything from 4 to 4.75 has been tried and reported to work OK. With 4" you're more worried about the outer sidewalls rubbing the fenders. With 4.75", it is the inner side. Mine just kiss the lower control arm at full lock (which is adjustable). There are a lot of 15x8 wheels out there with the bolt pattern we need, but are made to fit Chevy's. They have quite a bit less backspacing (3 or 3.5?). Check out Slick's Mini Me photos to see how those fit - the tires will stick out more. http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showuser=837

Yes. I found the 4.75" to be near perfect on a 15x8 with 31X10.5. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5893 I purchased the Rock Crawlers at Summit Racing. 4.5" backspace should be OK as well. That will result in the exact same center line as a 15x7 with 4" backspace. A 15x8 with 4.75" backspace moves the tire inward by 1/4" as compared to a 15x7 with 4".

The Rough Country (and maybe others?) UCA's are also slightly longer, correcting the camber change that comes with lifting the front. Running them at stock height results in at least a couple degrees positive camber (looks like this \ / from the front. Cranking in 2-3 " lift brings them them back vertical. Your description of use is very similar to mine! Start out with just an inch or two of t-bar crank and a set of Jeep Grand Cherokee (HD 6 cyl or stripper V8 if no tire carrier, std V8 if with external carrier) coils in the rear. Stock shocks are OK. That's what I had in my '87 with 31's and it is great for exploring. I occaisonally would get a mild rub if turning sharp and dropping off things, but not severe enough to damage anything. Best part: that is doable for just the cost of a set of JY springs and a front end alignment! And it still handles very well and does not cause excess wear on CV's. If you're still dragging and scraping more than you care to, then look into the UCA's, low profile bump stops, and a bit more cranking up front, and then some longer shocks and maybe a spacer and HD V8 JGC springs for more rear lift. Also, consider a 15x8 wheel. That is the optimal size for a 31x10.5 tire.

4000 lbs? Yeah, load ratings are for those too timid to find the weak link! Front end kinda flighty? I do hope you're running LT tires and keep her under 80 mph.... The idea with the 2x4's is to distribute the load as much as possible and avoid cave ins. The stock racks on my '88 end up transferring the load to 4 points on the roof. Yours distributes along the length of the track - much mo' better!

In building my shed, I found some surprising capabilities of the Pathy. (what'd you think I meant by hauling wood?) On the roof: - I have the factory racks which are pretty flimsy. BUT, by 6 laying studs on the roof, I found hauling sheet stock to be easy. I laid 2 studs (stacked) just inside either roof rack. And then the last two stacked right down the middle. On top of that, I started stacking sheet stock. I had as much as: - (5) sheets of 3/4" ply and (6) 18' long 2x6 joists. -OR- - (9) sheets of 3/8" OSB siding A little bit of sheet metal flattening, but it popped right out when the load was removed. Inside: By folding the driver side rear seat down and fully reclining the front passenger seat, I could easily carry (30) 2x4 studs (96") inside. Just load diagonally. Can even carry a few 10' studs - again, diagonally but with the front end on top of the dash board. Just barely fits.

Even us old timers discover fresh kernels of wisdom around here, ehh?

Ooooo... you did it the hard way! I discovered Trailbosses method as well. If you remove the upper balljoint (remove the four bolts, not the stud) and turn the steering all the way to the opposite side, you can get just enought space to remove the axle without fussing with the tie rod (or alignment).

That says 13.1 liters per 100 km.... not mpg. If I am converting right, 13.1l/100 km = 18 mpg.

Around my town: Hacks can be had for $30 - $40/hr, but I've learned I can't afford them. Adequate (do less damage than they repair and return it in at least somewhat better condition) are common at $50. For someone who will care as much as I do and do it right the first time? $60 and up. And for someone who will care enough to do it better than me? $100/hr and up.

Don't you have a sliding glass door on the patio? Send the wife out for a night with the girls and just nose that baby in there. Only need to get her a couple feet into the house... A couple blankets to seal off the gaps.... Might want to put some plastic down first as well!