XPLORx4

I know the guy selling the locker. He's a good guy. He posted on XOC 'cause that's the most active Nissan 4-wheeling club in Northern Cal, and gets more traffic than other norcal Nissan forums. If I had not already bought and installed my front locker, I'd have snatched it up. If it makes you happier, I could buy it from him, then sell it to you for $100 more!

This is a bargain! I paid $750 at AC two months ago! Click here for more info!

The now-discontinued RS9000's are 5-way adjustable. The new RS-9000X's are 9-way adjustable, but I think have the same range as the older 5-way: RS9000 positions{1 2 3 4 5} = RS900X positions{1 3 5 7 9}

Unfortunately, removing the lower BJ on a 4WD requires the CV shaft to be partially slid out, since (as you observed) it's in the way of the BJ. To remove the BJ from the knuckle, remove the nut, then just whack the side of the knuckle with a hammer (such as a 2-lb sledge). The impact on the metal will pop the BJ loose. Alternatively, if you don't care about the BJ, you can whack the bottom of it, but the threads will get all buggered up.

FWIW, I installed a set of $198 Magnecor KV85 "race" wires on my VG33 (part number #65155) at 78,000 miles in November 2001, and they're still performing great today (nearly 5 years and 69,000 miles later). They're just as pliable as the day I bought them. How long are "normal" plug wires supposed to last?

Honestly, it's not my cup of tea. I guess since I'm lucky enough to already have a TJM, I can afford to be picky. On the other hand, it is relatively inexpensive compared to what I paid for the TJM (which in 1999, was about $800). If I had to have a winch, and this was all there was available (which is the situation for the R50 as of right now), I suppose I would get one. But if I never intended to install a winch, then I'd probably pass. Here are my comments: 1) I'm not a big fan of those rounded turn signals. 2) Don't bump your knee into those D-ring shackle mounts! Yikes! :oops: 3) The bumper sticks out too far in front of the grille, which puts a lot of extra weight FORWARD of the front tires, and has the effect of making the 140-lb. bumper feel even heavier to your front springs. With the weight of a winch sitting in that bumper, you'll find it very difficult to control front-end bouncing with even KYB GR2 struts. (My stock struts bounced miserably with my Warn winch loaded in the TJM bumper.) 4) Don't try winching from a substantial side-angle. The lack of horizonal gusseting on the mounts where it attaches to the frame seem very prone to bending side-to-side. Compare the KMA photo of the 3-bolts-per-side steel plate with this TJM bracket: (Note: The photo doesn't show it well, but the top edge of the bracket is folded over to form a lip about 1" deep. Also, the TJM bracket is completely bolt-on. No grinding off pieces of the frame.) I would have opted for getting the upper tubes, but without knowing their size, or bend radii, and ultimately how it would look all together, it'd be tough to say for sure.

Yes, the locker is installed, although I have not had the opportunity to test it out yet. Over the weekend, I replaced my ARB compressor with a Superflow MV-50 ($75 at 4wheelparts). I still have to finish the wiring on it and attach some final air fittings before I test it, but it has way better specs than the ARB. I'm hoping it will be much faster to air up my tires.

Or maybe Max can be the guinea pig. It seems like if something happens to his rig, he won't lose much sleep over it. I will not install such a risky mod on my rig, only to have it cause irreparable damage. I want my Pathy to last until our fossil fuel supplies have become exhausted. This is one place where I am not interested in being the "pioneer".

Yeah, I've been waiting for him to work out the bugs and to find out if the unibody is strong enough without the support of the subframe to flex an SAS.

Not done yet. Insufficent funds. I've been quoted $9000 for SAS. Other technical issues to work out: steering, unibody strength without the subframe attached, loss of ABS, to name a few.

I just went back and looked at the original CBI bumper and compared it with the one being built for my truck. The CBI bumper looks like it uses 1.5" tubing. Mine uses 1.75" tubing, so it will be stronger. Unfortunately, this also means it's heavier and will cost more. Final pricing (and options) won't be determined until my prototype is finished. Fortunately, the shop owner is a perfectionist, and he wants to make sure it's done right. He wants to be just as pleased with the finished product as I do. Perhaps if there's enough interest, I can convince him to build front bumpers as well using my truck as the template. Right now, it seems the only R50 front bumper available is the "wincher" bumper from Kennesaw Mtn. Accessories.

Yes. They have already recorded the measurements, angles, etc. to build more when mine, the prototype, is done. The first one is always the toughest to design and build, especially since I'm very picky, and I want it to look awesome and work flawlessly.

It will be at least as strong, probably stronger. In addition to the current brackets you see, there will be an additional brace between the receiver and the unibody where the spare tire chain-lift mechanism attaches, sort of like this: Basically, when the bumper is fully mounted, it will be attached to the unibody with 14 bolts: 5 bolts on each side (where a standard Class III hitch mounts), and 4 bolts where the spare tire used to attach. This will make it exceptionally strong, able to withstand pretty hard hits. It's probably more likely that in a rear-end collision, the unibody attachments may bend before the bumper will. I would guess that the bumper so far weighs about 70 lbs.

Latest update: The bumper is 95% done, but the process will be stalled until early November, since the shop owner has a business trip next week, and I'll be taking a roadtrip to Death Valley in the Pathy the following week. The tire carrier has not been started, and I can't put the bumper on yet because I'll have no place to mount my spare tire for the trip. Here's a pic: Receiver hitch reinforcing brackets, D-ring mounts, and the sheetmetal covers have not yet been completed, either.

Well, it's not $24, but you can get the valve for $88 http://www.nissanparts.cc/cart/?pn=14935-54U04 or everything nissan (enter part number 14935-54U04)

After you replace the bad parts, just reset the light with your code reader again, and the light should stay off. The reason why it comes back after a few days is due to the logic in the ECU. It won't set a CEL until it detects multiple occurrences of a particular fault under certain driving conditions. In your case, that happened to be a couple of days.

Why is that dumb? So far, you're the only H233B differential owner I've ever heard of who wants a spool, so it's no wonder nobody makes one.

If you want a less agressive tread, just change the tread design to something that's more designed for highway-only use. Don't get smaller tires. It'll screw up your speedometer, since your SE is geared for 265 tires (not 235's). Try to keep near the same size: 265/75R15, 265/70R15, or 255/75R15.

No, but you could just weld it. You thinkin' about making your rig a trailer queen?

$104 for a strut mount? Where are you shopping? Click this link for much cheaper pricing.

Great minds think alike!

If your current struts still have life in them (i.e. you don't have that many miles on your ride), then they will work just fine with the new coil springs. The main reason why it's recommended to replace the struts and coils simultaneously is to save on labor. (Strut replacement or springs replacement is basically the same amount of work.) The one extra part that you should replace, even if you keep your struts are OK, is the strut bearing, one on each side. Failure to replace worn strut bearings will result in popping/clunking sounds while turning.

Tyler- That amount of flex is doable with the front swaybar removed.

This looks like some pretty serious flex (for IFS) to me: Note: those are 32" BFG ATs. 32" MT/Rs have bigger shoulder lugs, so they rub more.

My 32x11.50R15 Goodyear MTRs rub worse than that! I'll try to post photos my fender condition to show how severely they rub.