mws

Here's a link showing NATO cans: http://www.overland-solutions.com/shopping...ns/087-0000.htm These replaced the old US Jerry cans and have become the global standard military fuel carrier. They are designed for the armed forces and are arguably the most durable cans available. Designed to be tossed into the back of a truck and beaten half to death without leaking. The tops have a bail that locks down a flip up lid. And replacement gaskets are easily available (although I've never needed to replace one yet). No vents, absolutely positive seal. And unlike plastic jugs which let the fumes "leak" through the walls, these do not. The lid on one of my cans was all bent up - but a few minutes with hammers, pliers, and prybars and it fit good as new, and never leaked a drop - even while laying on it's side across the Black Rock and through High Rock canyon. Usually can be found at military surplus dealers for $20 or so. Once you see and use one, you will never go back.

Ahhh... gotcha! Can you hold it up and get all of the oil in the hoses to drain back into the pan? (after the filter is off, of course).

Are your slashes top down or front views? If front view, what V says. If top views (looking down: Some amount of this is designed into the suspension and steering geometry of all modern vehicles. Since the inside wheel must go around a smaller radius circle, it needs to turn sharper than the outer. For lack of a better way to describe it, let's call it "steering angle dependent variable toe in" (dam geeks jargon) Are you sure it has changed? Or is it just something you've never noticed before? There are a lot of interactions occuring in the front suspension and steering that affect caster, camber, toe, etc at different steering angles and suspension deflections. But I believe the primary influencer for the variable toe in is the deviation of the angle of the outer tie rod ends from perpindicular to the centerline of the vehicle, and compounded by the difference between the length of the outer tie rod ends (distance from end of CL to outer tie rod end centerline) and the suspension arm lengths (from inner pivot to ball joint). So, unless your outer tie rod ends have changed in length (is the pivot to pivot length of the CL exacly the same as stock? If no, that is most likely it) OR the CL location has moved fore or aft, I don't think the amount of steering angle dependent variable toe in would have changed... Ahhhh.... one other possibility: Are the two tie rod ends adjusted to about the same length? If one is notably shorter than the other, the two wheels will behave differently as one the shorter linked end will have more variable toe...

Yo Slick - any drool or dribble mess problems when removing it with it mounted at the angle? I'm debating between your idea and the inside the wheel well idea.

Beck Arnley kit from Rock Auto. I think it was $30 something dollars.... I have been pleased with the quality of the Beck Arnley parts I've used. I ran into lots of problems buying rebuild kits locally - they will only sell rebuilt assemblies. Fear of liability from clueless jerks rebuilding the cylinder improperly is the cited reason.

Front bounces 4 times? Yep, those would be toast... After a hard push down, the vehicle should at most bounce up past center once, then back down. Maybe down past center once and then up a tiny bit and stop. I REALLY like to use the adjustable RS9000x's in the rear on tow vehicles. 9000's in the front would be awesome, but not as hugely beneficial and easily cost justified as on the rear. So I usually use a "quality" non-adjustable there.

Mine did the same... Turned out the "professional mechanic" who worked on it for the previous owner kinda forgot to put the thermostat back in. They are a bear to install, but still... So in my case, the gauge was accurate - the engine was just not heating up properly. Quick check. With the engine cold, start the engine and hold onto the radiator hose for about 5 minutes. It may get a tiny bit warmer, but it should not get really warm.

DONE! Turned out to be a complete cakewalk. One of the easiest, most straightforward ever! Took about 30 minutes. Most time spent removing and installing. The actual parts replacement took about 2 minutes... And then 5 minutes bench bleeding it. My wife had the digital camera so no photos, but it was simple enough I can still do a verbal write up. And I was thrilled to find the bore in brake M/C was PERFECT - just like the clutch! No pits, no corrosion, no scratches, nothing. The previous owner must have changed fluid at least semiregularly. And the caps clearly seal very well.

AAC - is that what is commonly called the Idle Air Control? That is a prime suspect... On (most) fuel injected engines, the idle circuit is totally different than on carb'd vehicles. Instead of the throttle plate being held open a little bit, the FI system uses a valve that lets air in under the throttle plate. And that valve is the IAC. If it is not working properly, it will let in the wrong amount of air. The IAC is controlled by the ECU. At the same time, the ECU is adjusting how much fuel to squirt to match the air. And it adjusts both simultaneously to adjust RPM. So I would call the IAC a primary suspect for your symptoms. And as mentioned, any vacuum leaks will screw things up royally. The amount of air and fuel needed at idle is tiny - so things are quite critical to keep it all in balance. What happens when the MAF is disconnected? Any number of things, depending on the logic used by the ECU programmer. With the MAF disconected, it will send one of two signals to the ECU: A) That there is a HUGE amount of air going through, or there is NO air going through. Either way, it's sending a grossly bad input signal to the computer. How effectively the computer can use all the other signals to determine the MAF is giving it bad info and compensate depends on the logic. Most don't do well at all... The ECU just gets hopelessly confused and will revert to an open loop limp home mode.

One thing to keep in mind - What you really need to run anything with the engine off for an extended time is capacity (measured in Amp-Hours), not CCA. And unfortunately, the capacity is the only area where round AGM batteries like the Optimas are inferior to regular batteries. In fact, it is so bad the marketeers at Optima make it borderline impossible to find out what their capacity is! I was very interested in using Optimas in our trailer as they are ultra low maintenance, durable, and clean. But, after much research, I found they had less than half the capacity of a wet cell battery. So I would have needed 5 Optimas to have the same capacity as 2 wet cells... The hot ticket for running electrics for a long time with engine off? Two Trojan 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series! For comparison (number approximate based on my research a couple years ago) Two Trojan 6V in series: Over 110 amp hours. Two 12 volt deep cycles wired in parallel: Maybe 100 amp hours Two 12 volt Optimas in parallel: About 40 amp hours

I'm a use neutral and the brakes kind of person rather than use engine compression kind of person. I find it easier to modulate the brakes right at the point of lock up than to try to modulate the throttle. If you start sliding while on the brakes, ease up a bit. If you start sliding while using engine braking, you have to apply a bit of throttle. Which proved to be harder for me to do really precisely. And if you have ABS, it really ought to be a no brainer. ABS can't adjust for excess engine braking...

Why rebuild the clutch MC myself? Cause the bore in my cylinder was nearly perfect - it was just a worn seal. Never sure what you get with a "rebuild" from the parts store. In my case, I know exactly what I got - a non-hogged out bore with a top shelf Beck Arnley rebuild kit in it. And I trust my work over that performed by untrained 14 year old homeless children working 16 hour days in sweatshops... I actually saw an "alternator rebuilding" operation in Juarez once... They brought in alternators by the hundreds, disassembled them, tested the components, threw any blown parts into the trash bin (which was dumped into the ditch out back ) and the rest into a big box. The cases were dunked into a vat of scary looking acid to make them look new and then guts were randomly pulled back out of the same big box and slapped back together. Same old bearings, brushes, etc. Some were clearly worn and near failure... But if it went together, it was boxed up and shipped as "another quality remanufactured part". This may have been an extreme example... or was it? Who knows? Since then, I have never bought a "rebuild" unless I could verify it was done by a credible source, or until I could thoroughly inspect it. Wishing a part to be well made rarely makes it happen... I'll try to take pics! I finally got a digital camera. But I'm keeping my old analog SLR!

Oh, I went with NATO cans as I also carry them inside my van when dirt biking. No leaks, no vent, no SMELL! Just open verrrrry carefully. They seal quite tightly - and if the temp or altitude changes a bunch, opening the can can result in dramatic pressure equalization shows...

The NATO style cans are pretty easy to lock. And seal MUCH better than the old jerry cans. I have a couple swedish military surplus cans that are at least 20 years old and they still do not leak a drop - even when laid on their side on my roof rack. Check out most any army surplus place (except CA). Usually under $20 each.

Oh, and if you start to slide, you have two choices: 1) Reduce traction demands by braking, accelerating, or turning less. 2) Keep doing what you're doing and pray for good luck.

Another fundamental: Your traction is very limited. Use it wisely! I always liked the "pocket change" analogy. I think I first heard it from Keith Code with respect to motorcycles. Anyway, think about traction as pocket change. In dry conditions, you have a buck. In wet conditions, you have 50 cents. In dry snow, you have 25 cents. Slushy snow, less. On ice, you have 5 cents. Accelerating, slowing, or turning the vehicle costs traction. Full throttle costs you 75 cents. Coasting is 0 cents. Hard cornering can cost you well over a dollar. Gentle turns cost 10-20 cents. Hard braking can cost over a buck. Gentle braking costs much less. Now here's the key: If you do two things at the same time, you spend on both. IE, full throttle during a hard corner will cost you $1.75. Even in the dry, you overdraw the account and will skid. So when it's snowing, recognize your account is really sparse and spend your traction budget wisely. If you need to make an evasive turn, DO NOT try to accelerate or slow down at the same time. Stay OFF the brakes and the throttle. You want to use every last pennies worth of traction to turn the vehicle. And if you need to stop, do not try to turn - you will use up more than you have. Most crashes are caused by folks feeling the vehicle nearing the edge of the budget and then panicking and hitting the brakes. The account's already almost empty - touching the brakes overdraws the account and you're sliding.

Hmmm.... Maybe a "deluxe slider" version, B? With a custom bracket that mounts to the frame and provides new mount points further forward? My garage is still available, with torches and welders and grinders, oh my!

How about running back after the cat, and then making a u-bend in front of the diff to the passenger side and run through a muffler going forward and then another 135 degree bend to the right and back and on the right side a la NASCRAP? So the muffler ends up under the passenger seat - on the opposite side but alongside the cat. Or even better, use a muffler that has the entry and exit on the same end - I think they were used on some GM F-Bodies for a while? So the pipe makes the U-bend, goes forward into muffler on right side, and then back and out the side.

Gotta love 'em! I've gotten pretty good at innovative solutions to tough problems... do you have any other pictures I could look at to see what space you do have? Off the top of my head: With a stock VG30, you don't need more than a single 2.25" pipe after the cat - unless you run her over 5K rpm on a regular basis, in which case a single 2.5" is in order. With as much lift as you have, couldn't you squeeze something up above the pumpkin? Mounted transverse? Or maybe right behind it, right under the tank? Again, running crosswise with it exiting in the back right corner. A single glass pack would probably raise "excessive noise" flags But you might be able to get away with packs if you split into dual 2" pipes after the cat and snake them over the axle to dual 2" core glass packs, one on either side of the fuel tank with outlets pointing to either side. 2" core packs are MUCH quieter than a 2.25" or larger core, and having duals will give you the flow you need. And by having 2 outlets pointing in 2 different directions, the perceived noise is cut in half. So that setup would be perceived to be about 1/4 as loud as a single big boy. And 2" pipe is inexpensive and pretty easy to bend. You can even bend your own with one of the cheapo hydraulic benders at Harbor Freight...

I am about to rebuild the M/C on my '87 disc front, drum rear. Any advice/warnings/heads ups you can offer? I have rebuilt a few over the years, and the clutch m/c was very straightforward and easy. I expect the brake m/c to be the same - just with a few more parts due to the dual circuits.

Engineer steps in room.... What they said! But not what they heard! There are a lot of OWT's floating around about synthetics vs dino oils. And some people still believe them. Some passionately. Kinda like the old "can't store a battery on concrete" deal. NO problems switching back and forth. Usually not even a problem to mix them - but not advised. The old engine suddenly springing leaks is more a function of the higher quality additive packages in synthetics than any magical difference in the base oil. The additives include superior detergents and sludge fighters. They do what they're supposed to do - keep the engine clean. If an engine has been run on low quality oils for years, it may be sludged up. If it has worn seals, the sludge may be filling the gaps and minimizing leaks. If you clean the sludge out, the leak may get worse. Cheap oils before the 80's were horrible at preventing sludge, so engines used to get REALLY sludged up - this is the source of the stories. If you've been running a modern name brand oil, you should have no problems at all. Older engines required notable break in as the rings took a while to seat. Seating means they had to wear some to fit properly. Synthetics tended to lubricate so well the rings couldn't wear enought to properly seat - so it was a good idea to run poorer lubricants for a few hundred/thousand miles. Modern, well engineered and manufactured engines (like those from Germany and Japan) have incredibly better tolerances and materials, and the rings will seat within a couple hundred miles - so you can switch to synthetics at the first specified oil change as the engine is fully broken in. Bottom line: Follow the manual guidelines. If the manual does not have specific restrictions, go ahead and switch at the first recommended change - but not before.

I'd be willing to bet serious dosh that the Smart car does a better job of protecting the front seat occupants than all but the most recent year Pathfinders....

Ping! Just a reminder, B.... Hope to be able to buy a set from the first pre-production run!

The interlock on my '87 is a "single shot" deal. Turn key to on, push and release button, then turn the key and it will start (once) without pushing in the clutch. I believe the original purpose is to save your arse if you really get in trouble and stall the engine in a precarious, low traction spot. Instead of holding the brakes, pushing in clutch, starting, and then feathering the snot out of the clutch (aka, burning it up) while easing off brakes to try to get going again, the ritual is (works best in 4WD low, of course!): Forget about clutch - just leave it engaged. Put in 1st gear. Release brakes as much as possible (engine braking should hold), and then turn key to the start position. The starter motor will turn the engine over slowly, which will turn the wheels verrrrrrry slowly to get you going. Obviously, you can't do this for extended periods - more than a few seconds will get the poor starter motor very hot. Once you get up a bit of speed, the engine will fire and you can gently feather the throttle to maintain progress. Try it sometime (in the dirt) to see how gently it gets you going. Really helps avoid burning up or dumping clutch too fast and digging in.

ALL meant in good humor, please! Oh my, oh my. The younger generation is just getting too spoiled... My '87 Pathfinder has probably been one of easiest cars I've dealt with... I think the only ones easier were the 240SX and our BMW. If you want some real fun, play with VW Eurovans. Or anything from the 70's. Of course, anything from the 60's or earlier will be much simpler, but then things fail at least 10X as often.... So the repairs are simple but so frequent it eventually makes you nuts! I kept a '65 Ford Fairlane running for over 300K miles.... Don't EVEN ask how many sets of points I installed. Or how many front suspension repairs. Or brake jobs. So if it makes it any better (and I know it won't), trust me, it could be a lot worse!