XPLORx4

I was wondering the same thing. 300zxtt, were you intoxicated?

Do you have the service manual?

OR, does anyone have a VSS and gauge cluster that they would like to send to them for a few weeks, so that they can take the necessary measurements and modify the SpeedoDRD to work?

I tried to install the SpeedoDRD to correct my speedometer, but it doesn't work for me because the VSS is an inductive coil type rather than a hall effect sensor. I contacted 12o'clock Labs and they were willing to modify my SpeedoDRD to work, but they need my gauge cluster and VSS, and I haven't had a chance to do that. I am not sure if the newer Pathfinder models with the digital odometer have the same type of circuitry, but if someone with a Pathfinder with a digital odometer can provide me with the factory service manual electrical section "EL.pdf" I can check to see if whatever modification is done for me will also work on other R50's.

Here's one way to think about how the 2 ways a strut-based IFS lift can be achieved (other than completely dropping ALL of the front suspension components with a subframe drop): 1. Replace the stock coil spring with a stiffer coil spring that is harder to compress Let's say the strut has an 8" range of travel from fully extended to fully compressed, and on level ground, you lift the vehicle (using a jack or hydraulic lift) until the tires are off the ground. At this point, the strut is fully extended, having 8" of compression available, but 0" of extension. Now, let's also assume that before you started jacking up the vehicle, you measured the distance between the tire and fender, and came up with 5". And after the tires were in the air, you measured and came up with 9". (9-5=4) This means that, if your strut has a range of 8", the stock springs provide for 4" of extension and 4" of compression, on level ground. Next, you remove the struts and replace the stock springs with ones that are harder to compress. After you put the strut back on the vehicle, you measure the distance between the tire and fender, and find that it's still 9"! Well, that's because you only changed the spring, you didn't change how far the strut extends. However, when you remove the vehicle from the hydraulic lift, you now discover that the tire is now 7" from the fender (instead of 5"). There's your 2" of lift! (9-7=2) This means that your 8" long strut can now compress 6" but only extend 2" on level ground. One of the problems with having only 2" of available extension is that there's not enough range to allow the strut to compensate for most paved road surfaces, and it "tops out" (reaches maximum extension) more frequently. 2. Insert a spacer between the top of the strut and the body. With this approach, you still haven't changed the travel range of the strut, and you haven't changed the spring rate, either. So, you still have 4" of compression and 4" of extension. However, since you have relocated the top mount of the strut, you've pushed the tire further from the body. Instead of the 9" of distance between the tire and fender (when the tires are off the ground), you add to this measurement the thickness of the spacer. The problem with doing this is that the suspension is allowed to drop potentially too far for other components (tie rods, brake lines, ABS wires, axles, etc.) to safely handle. For example, if you wanted a 6" lift, why not just insert a 6" spacer above the strut? Well, the answer should be obvious. Your CV axles would be making near right-angles at both the inner and outer joints. CV joints aren't designed to operate well at very extreme angles. Fortunately, the brake lines, tie rods, and other stuff attached to the knuckle aren't as sensitive to dropping the suspension as the CV joints are. So, the question is: What is the thickest spacer I could insert between the top of the strut and body, and still not exceed the safest operating angle of the CV axle? I personally do not know. As I mentioned earlier, some people haven't had any problems with a 1" spacer, but others have. I do know that about 10 years ago, when lifting an R50 was an alien concept, one R50 owner made his own 2" spacers and grenaded both CV axles on his first off-road trip with them.

Hmmm. Next time you've got both your front wheels in the air (such as during some kind of maintenance), lock your hubs (don't shift to 4WD), crank the steering wheel full left or right, and spin a tire by hand. I would be interested to see how smoothly the CV joints operate at that angle. Post a video of this on youtube.

I have heard of someone on this forum who installed 1" strut spacers (between the top of the strut and the body) who blew out his CV joints at least twice while off-roading. This occurs when one or both front wheels are completely unloaded, and the suspension is at full droop. Due to the "topping out" issue, you really don't want to put coil springs in the strut which lift beyond about 2". Due to this, the 4" subframe drop lift is a better solution for lifting more than 2".

Stay away from throttle body spacers. Those don't help at all with direct port injection engines. Instead, get an open-element intake such as a Jim Wolf Technologies Pop Charger (or similar) and a high-flow muffler such as a Flowmaster, with 2.25" tubing from the muffler to the tailpipe. You will notice an improvement in accleration.

To avoid overstretching the rear brake line while the rear shocks are disconnected so you can install the rear springs, you can unbolt the rear brake distribution block from the axle to give it a little more slack.

I'm currently running 265/75R16 BFG MT KM2's on 16x8 wheels with 4.875" BS. I have previously run 32x11.50R15 tires on 15x8 wheels with both 4" and 3.75" BS. The only real difference between the wheels with less backspacing is that the tires extended further out from the body, which also had the effect of preventing the tires from rubbing the strut. My Pathy has over 175000 miles on it, and I've yet to observe any real effect on wheel bearings due to the increased offset. Here' a chart that correlates wheel offset and backspacing:

Let's be clear about nomenclature, here: Manual hubs = hubs engage and disengage with manual intervention, where manual means you have to physically operate them with your hands to disconnect the front wheels from the front driveline Auto hubs = hubs engage and disengage automatically without manual intervention, based on a torque differential between the driveshaft and wheel. If driveshaft torque > wheel torque then hub engages. If wheel torque > driveshaft torque, hub disengages. Drive flanges = hubs are permanently engaged to axles, so the front driveline always rotates with the front wheels A stock R50 Pathfinder has drive flanges. There are no auto hubs that fit the R50, so unless you physically rotate a knob on the manual hub to engage/disengage them, your hubs are always "locked".

The Ingalls Camber Bolts are made using stronger material than the stock bolts, which compensates for their smaller diameter. Surprisingly, I found that I do not need them to correct camber on my Pathy. I would begin by not installing the bolts, rather than automatically assuming you need them, and visually assess the alignment. If your camber is too positive, replace the top bolts with the camber bolts, with the cam facing inboard (towards the body). If it's still not corrected, replace the bottom bolts with the camber bolts, with the cam facing outboard (towards the wheel).

When brake and battery lights go on simultaneously, it's a sign that the alternator is failing or has failed. On a A/T equipped Pathy, the "AT TEMP" light also glows.

Some of the issues described by the OP aren't the fault of 4x4parts, they're based on using the wrong tools, incorrect expectations about the product, and lack of understanding about the IFS design of the R50. Many of you still forget that the strut's travel range is what defines the maximum extension of the front suspension. A longer strut will allow the front suspension to drop lower, which will result in exceeding the operating range of the CV joints, and break them. I bet a bunch of you would have gotten really upset if you'd been sold a lift kit that included longer struts, only to find out that when they exceed the safe operating range of the CV, you end up grenading your CV axles and start filing complaints against the vendor for selling you parts that break your truck. As for the springs, yeah they're a pain to install. My first attempt at installing them with cheap-o spring compressors didn't go so well. Since I don't have a lot of confidence in those cheap spring compressors, I ended up purchasing a used wall-mount strut compressor on ebay for about $300. I've used it several times already for both my own struts and a couple of friends' vehicles.

The last photo (finger pointing to an empty space above the accelerator) is an incorrect indication of the location of the ECM. The drawings in the preceding post show the correct location of the ECM.

Sounds like it's time for a new alternator.

Those rubber pieces aren't necessary. I'm not even sure of their exact function, but if I had to guess, I would say they're probably there to prevent creaks or squeaks or to assist in keeping the spring stationary during assembly. I haven't had those pieces on my springs for 10 years and over 130K miles, and haven't had any issues.

This is all very interesting for sure. Probably the reason why nobody has done it is because of the cost. How much would you pay for a bolt-on coilover strut for your Pathy? $1500 (minimum) per pair? That's what it would probably start at for a custom Fox coilover. I don't know of any R50 owners who would be willing to fork over $1500 for coilovers and still be limited by the IFS. Remember that you can't make the strut extended length too much longer than stock or you'll blow out your CV axles when the suspension droops.

Yes, it can be done. It's just a matter of affordability. 10 years ago, Calmini (purenissan.com) built an R50 with custom, one-off front and rear bumpers and a prototype lift using Fox (or maybe King) coilover shocks and special mounts, and showed the truck at SEMA. At the time, Calmini was looking to sell at least 10 lift kits per month. Unfortunately, the R50 market for their stuff was too small (and still is) for them to justify putting the parts into production. I have photos of their prototype somewhere...

I've slept in the Pathy before, and with the rear seats removed, it's a comfortable place to sleep on an air mattress. The downsides to using the Pathy as your tent are: • have to store everything you're not using for sleeping outside (vulnerable to theft, wildlife, weather) • not a very convenient place to change clothes • awkward to get in and out. Since rear hatch doesn't have an interior release, you have to use rear passenger doors • requires a level parking area

Do you participate in goneMOAB? You should go out there and represent, dude! The last time I went to Moab was in 2003! and with just a 2" lift, rear locker, sliders, 32" tires. I ran Fins N Things (+ Kenny's Climb), Hells Revenge (+ Tip Over Challenge), 7Mile Rim (+ Wipeout Hill), Poison Spider-Golden Spike-Gold Bar Rim, Elephant Hill... I think my R50 was the first to cross the Golden Crack unassisted. I'm not crazy enough to try Hell's Gate, though. Gotta get back there again... next year!

Lookin' good! What's the purpose of the emergency lights in your grille?

Nice speakers, BTW.

Yes, valving is something you should care about. The size of the valve determines how much damping force the shock applies. Valving can control both compression and rebound separately. The 255/70 rating of certain Bilstein shocks refers to the compression damping force and the rebound damping force. Check these links out: http://www.my4by.com/bilstein-valve-ratings.html http://www.ehow.com/how_7457510_read-bilstein-shock-numbers.html

So that's YES, you can run your stock wheels, and YES, it will look funny.