tmorgan4

What am I thinking???

I can't seem to remember where the stock breathers hook up to. Here's what I did awhile back on the rear but I shouldn't be one to give advice on how to go through deep water!!!

I really don't want to step on Steven's toes here since I know he was trying to make these links available for the public. He has been a huge help with my project. I obviously would do things a little differently on my own. I'm just curious if they will ever be produced (and I mean that in the best way possible!). They are actually a little less expensive than the OEM parts last time I checked but people are hesitant to order them since it hasn't been done yet. I think once a few sets get out everyone will realize these are the way to go.

The biggest issue you'll run into, which really isn't issue at all (you just have to pay for it!) is the metric vs. imperial sizing. Almost nobody makes metric parts unless you go into the really high end suspension joints. If you're serious about getting a set made I'll call around and find a shop that will make some metric high-misalignments. I already tried drilling out a 1/2" misaligment to accept a 14mm bolt but you're left with hardly any material left. I ended up doing a single TIG pass all the way around each high misalignment in the thin area to build material back up but it's extremely difficult to not heat up the stainless misalignment to the point where you can't drill it anymore. People with other makes of cars often switch out the 14mm bolts (.551" decimal) for a 9/16" bolt (.5625"). Obviously the holes in the bracket are slightly oversized to allow you to slide a bolt through and line things up easily but I'd be suprised if a 9/16 bolt fit without modifications. I (for some reason!) prefer other designs of joints over the Johnny Joints. They work great for a lot of people but I just feel like there are better options out there. The good part about the Johnny joints it they are cheap, burly, and they make them with the correct bolt hole size and mounting width. If it were me and money wasn't a huge concern, I'd go with poly bushings at the frame end and probably a quality heim at the axle. The cheaper heims are cheap up front but they wear out way faster so you still get what you pay for. I love the design of the ballistic flex joints but the mounting width on them is too wide until they release a narrow one.

They could be made with cheap heims for somewhere around $300. It really just depends on how much you feel like spending and how bombproof you want the links. Just keep in mind that the more expensive the joint, the longer it should last (not always the case, but it's true for heims). Are you worried about vibration on the road or do you just have all out performance in mind?

I finally did what I've been wanting to do for the past year and brought my Pathfinder to my house. I don't have to go across town to work on it so I should start getting a lot more done. It was interesting getting it towed to my house without a rear axle but with the help of a few pallets, spare tires, ratchet straps, car dollies, and a tow truck it's now sitting in my garage. I spent almost an entire day scraping the glue out of every seam in the engine bay. I got about half the engine by seam welded before one of my roommates asked me why I was even bothering with keeping the front clip. Not sure why I didn't think of this earlier!!! Oh well..just a wasted day of work. The entire engine bay is stripped since I was going to seam weld everything and re-paint the engine bay. Instead I'm just going to cut a lot of it out and build a tube front clip but keep the Pathfinder body panels. I'm going to change my 3-link to a 4-link and finally get rid of the track bar that never quite fit right. I wish I'd have thought of this before I cut up the truss but it can be repaired. I stripped all of factory brake, clutch, and fuel lines while I was at it. I didn't intend on replacing them but after looking at the factory brake plumbing it was ridiculously complicated! Mainly because of the load-sensing valve so I'm starting over there.

Thanks to your advice AA is sending me a new plate that is countersunk. Less work for me is always a good thing!! Can't wait to get the Atlas in. Gotta finish the engine and front end and then start with the rest of the drivetrain. It's a good conversation piece for the living room, though!

Well...the front WAS figured out. Until I got the brilliant idea that I'll post up about here in a minute. In all the pictures so far I've got my Swayaway coilovers mounted without springs. They're actually holding up the front end of the car on the coilovers with no springs. I'm trying to keep it as low as I can but it's not proving to be easy.

There is a lot more to an EGR system than most people realize. The engineers who designed it didn't put it in for no reason.... I agree that is has its downsides. The inside of your intake gets caked with carbon especially around the cylinders where the EGR valve sits. The plumbing can be simplified a ton without it. From what I've read, a good figure is that the EGR system supplies about 10% of your air volume when the valve is open. This air that it supplies has already been combusted and depleted of oxygen so it basically takes up space. The MAF readings will be lower because you're actually drawing in ~10% less fresh air. Less oxygen means less fuel which means less emissions and better fuel mileage. Keep in mind that this valve only opens while cruising at constant speed. As soon as you hit the throttle the valve closes. There is a lot more to it than this and I'm not claiming to understand it completely. There is another guy on the NICO board that could explain it far better than I can.

Thanks everybody. The fitting on the back of the head was actually a worthwhile upgrade. The stock hoses come straight out the back and have to make a sharp turn. My engine is so close to the firewall that these hoses eventually cracked and fortunately not while it was running!! The other ugly tube next to this one got a weld on AN bung and the same type of fitting. Here's stock configuration.

This is exactly what I did to get rid of about 30 vacuum lines on my engine swap. It cleans up a lot of stuff in the engine bay. Just keep in mind that your EGR system actually gives you a little gain in highway mileage.

Thanks for bumping this back up. Sometimes I don't always remember to update every site this is on and I haven't posted much about anything new. I ended up pulling the engine out a couple weekends ago because I'm going back and re-doing everything I wasn't 100% happy with. I've learned a lot since I started this project and a few things needed to be fixed. I'm SICK of leaks and I'm doing everything I can to ensure that I don't leak 1 drop of fluid once this is back together. I re-installed the valve covers with studs, and I'm replacing lots of the hose connections with AN fittings. All of the crappy flexible rubber coolant hoses are being replaced with silicone couplers and stainless hard lines. I'm replacing the rear main seal again (couldn't tell if it was leaking) as well as the two seals on the front of the transmission. The kevlar friction surface on my brand new clutch was soaked in oil but fortunately South Bend is awesome enough to replace the friction material for a lot less than a new clutch. I got an Atlas 4 speed transfer case and the adapter to bolt it up to our transmission. I've got ARBs and gears for the front and rear axles that I need to install. In fact I've got just about every part I need to build a 14 bolt rear but I don't have an axle yet. Basically I've got a lot of parts sitting in my living room so it's about time to start getting some work done. Here's a boring random pictures from the past few weeks. I hope to have some better updates here in the next couple weeks. Appreciate the interest.

I can't quite tell if both those quotes are directed at me since you left off the usernames. Realistically though, it might not be that much more expensive once you factor in all the other weak points of the WD. The R50s don't need upgraded steering for running bigger than stock tires which is pretty much a necessity on WDs. I agree with you that you can fit as big of tires as you'd like if you're willing to trim the fenders. I fit 35s on my R50 with $500 in parts...you just have to do the work yourself.

And that is exactly the problem! Too many people read and repeat the "R50s are waiting to fall apart" argument without anything to back it up.

What does having the frame and body permanently connected have to do with anything? People talk about R50 frames like they're going to break in half if you aren't careful. My fender is dented from having a 35" swamper rub up against it but my frame is in great shape. The only way your shock mounts are going to "come through the floor" is if you try to fit 16" travel shocks on a stock Pathfinder and try jumping it without bumpstops. My tires hit my fender before my 12" travel shocks bottomed out so I don't see this being an issue.

No he didn't. It just takes a little more work to make them fit. It's going to be difficult to keep the fender flares with 35s. I tried this a while back since I liked the look much better with flares but the tires ended up ripping them off. It can be done but you're going to need a good amount of lift to do it.

I forgot the whole "travel" part of my speech. On my old rear setup with custom coil springs (that were a lot longer than stock) I was able to use all 12" of a cheap Rancho 5000 shock. The model is 5254. 18.12" compressed. 30.75" extended. Once you see the pictures of my rear link bushings (OEM rubber bushings) you'll see why I was able to get so much suspension droop out of them. The rubber was ripped to shreds and the metal sleeve was hardly even attached anymore. I'd be hesitant to recommend this long of a shock to someone running less than 33-35" tires since the shock is much longer in it's compressed state than the stock shocks. Fortunately my tires hit my fenders before the shocks bottomed out but it was close.

I guess I should have been a little more clear before I said "Pro comps suck, go with Fox." The MX-6s are probably a step up from what most people run on this board. Compared to your worn out stock shocks, or even some of the KYB and Rancho shocks these would probably a huge improvement. These would probably be a great shock for someone looking for some adjustability in their suspension and a mid-level shock without spending a ton of money. The Bilstein 7100 shocks (in my opinion, once again) are a big step up from the MX-6s. They're completely rebuildable and you can actually valve them to perform on YOUR rig. If you feel like going "all out" something like a Fox or Swayaway 2.0 smooth body would be the ticket. To get the most performance out of something like this you're going to want the upgraded control arms that Steevo is trying to get going. If that doesn't go through I'll do a run of them for R50s. Once people start putting these upgraded links on you'll realize just how poor your ripped factory OEM link bushings make your car handle. I'm sure the reason that Fox told you that they don't have a shock is because they haven't done the research to see what fits. Most of the Fox and SAW shocks mount with 1/2" bolts on each side, so your factory 14mm bolts are just a touch big. This is perfect though since the misalignments they come with can be enlarged from 1/2" to 14mm for a perfect fit. The bottom of the shock mount would have to be re-done but this would take 15 minutes for someone with a welder. I haven't looked at the mounting width to see if it would be a problem. The 4th, and best option (and most $$$) is coilovers for the back. I'm sure you probably all saw that coming from me but with the lack of aftermarket coil springs for the back, coilovers let you dial in your rear end for the exact amount of lift (and spring rate) that you want. I've been looking at a few ways to mount coilovers in the back and I've got a few good ideas for a bolt on hoop setup.

Pro-Comps suck....do yourself a favor and get some real shocks like Bilstein or Fox.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-pa...-4700_4701.html

Well.....The main underbody skid that would protect the transmission I've got drawn up IS the AC skid. You could add whatever reinforcements you want to make it stronger since it's basically just a huge flat plate with nothing to keep it from folding in half. I drew it up when I was planning on making a modified skid to fit with the drop bracket kit but never went through with it. The front skid came from some plans I got from a guy in Australia. Again...I modified the dimensions to fit with the lower subframe, but I think I've still got the original and modified versions.

I've got drawings of all the skid plates but I bet it's not going to be any cheaper than AC to have them made and shipped to Canada.

I am trying to sell them! They've been sitting around since this Summer and I've been trying to liquidate some parts so I can continue on with my project. I just figured since he was local and worried that the HD springs might be too stiff that it could be a "try before you buy" and see if he liked them. I could ship them but they aren't going to be light!

I have an almost new set of assembled OME HD and KYB GR2 struts in Fort Collins.

Do you have the OME HD fronts too?