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So I'm about to pickup my new 17x9 rims and I'll be wrapping them in new rubber the following week. I've got front & back OME HD 922 coils and I'm wondering if I'll get a little more lift by switching to the AC coils. I've also got 1" coil spacers in the rear and strut spacers up front. My goal is to get 33's on. Can someone please advise? Thanks!

Magnet Old Filter 4 Bolts that hold the filter in place Without Filter New Filter Filler Tube located on the passenger side of the engine

New Filter o-ring Drain Plug

Here's a "How To:" I put up on NICOClub.com for replacing your trans fluid, filter and gasket. So here's a quick "How To:" for changing out the transmission fluid, filter and pan gasket for an 01 2WD auto. Tools: 19mm Socket 10mm Socket Ratchet Torque Wrench Rags Pan for Catching Oil Mechanic's Dolly Pneumatic Ratchet(for quick disassembly but not necessary) Parts: 7+ Quarts of Trans Oil, I used Royal Purple Max ATF Filter Pan Gasket Self Sealing Pan Bolts Step 1: Remove drain Plug and let the majority of the oil drain into pan. Step 2: Remove the 2 10mm middle front bolts that are secured 2 lines to the pan. Step 3: Remove all other bolts except for the one in the opposite corner of the drain plug. Loosen that last one so the pan will tilt towards the drain plug and the last of the oil will be flow out. Step 4: Remove that last bolt and drop the Pan Step 5: Clean the pan of all remaining oil and any traces of the old gasket, I used brake cleaner to cut the oil Step 6: Reinstall the drain plus with 22-25ftlbs of torque Step 7: Remove the magnet from the pan and clean off any metal shrapnel. Mine was shrapnel free :naughty Step 8: Remove the 4 bolts holding up the old filter Step 9: Install the new filter(not sure on torque specs) and make sure it's got the o-ring Step 10: Install the newly cleaned pan with the new gasket with the new pan gasket self sealing bolts Step 11: Add the same amount of oil that was drained, this is done through the tube that the dipstick slides into Step 12: Start the vehicle, set the parking brake and rev it to a high idle(do not race) for a short time Step 13: With the parking brake applied, shift through all of the gears and rev around 2000-2500RPM Step 14: Set trans back into park and let it sit at a normal idle for a few minutes Step 15: Check fluid level and add if needed. Step 16: Check over the next few days for leaks around the pan and fluid level. After doing this I noticed a massive improvement in the smoothness of shifting. I highly recommend using a set of ramps. I bought some used ones off of ebay and just sanded them down and painted them. These made life much easier. I also used TransTune by SeaFoam as a trans treatment before performing this. I'm not sure if it helped but it sure didn't hurt. If I've forgotten something please let me know and I'll adjust. New Filter and Pan Gasket

Sounds good Matt! How easy or hard is it to do this? Did you do any trouble shooting to narrow it down to the coil pack? Thanks! Billy

Ohh yeah and those tail light guards are totally the wrong size. Billy

Brush guard from a 99- on my 01. It's tight around the bottom of the bumper but fits. Billy

As long as it's the same thread and all the hardware is stainless steel then you should be fine. Billy

Hey guys thanks for the great info and updates. How does it act when you're getting a misfire? I was thrown a P1320 and P0305 a while back. When Idling I notice a momentary shaking, I'm guessing it's a misfire but not sure. When I'm in park and rev it to about 1500rpm's the tach bounces consistently and I can't figure out why. I'll try to post a video this week. Do you guys have pics on how to access the coil pack? Billu

UPDATE Well I got the new hardware in. New stainless security bolts and nylon lock nuts, new powdercoated wider aluminum plates with 2 additional hole for more mounting options and new brackets for mounting the plates to the safari basket. I've got some extras for sale if anyone is interested. Here's some pics of the old Surco Hardware and of my new stuff. New Stuff Surco Stuff

That sucks, did you have t drill them out? Billy

Well I got the lights today and DAMN! Unfortunately those locks won't work because the mounting surface is a bolt through design. I'm going with these stainless security bolts with stainless nylon locknut washers and lots loctite 277. If someone tries to remove them with a wrench or socket they'll just spin in place and wont be able to grab the bolt's head because they'll be countersunk into the plates/brackets. This type of loctite requires heat to break the seal so unless they've got the security tool bit, a torch and a wrench set there's no way these are coming off. I also just sent off the stock Surco mounting plates to have some new ones made that are wider that fit the 3 bolt pattern on the lights and have some new steel(aluminum is what surco uses) c-brackets made which secure the mounting plate to the safari basket. The bottom pics is of the stock ones. So does this sound like a good plan? In theory it makes sense! I'm having a bunch of extra ones fabbed so if anyone is interested they'll be for sale. They'll be stronger and wider and cheaper then the stock brackets.

Sounds like your buddy's got a sweet deal, it's just a shame he's stuck with a hummer. Well I just pulled the brackets off with an adjustable wrench and socket so it looks like I'll have to think of something for those too. I'm guessing I'll have to weld the brackets to the safari basket as well. I think I'll send them out to my fabicator to have a few more made. They sell them for $50/ea I can probably have them made for $10. Thanks for the input guys and sorry Fueler but I gotta turn down your offer. Are these basically the craziest aux lights out there? As far as price goes they're some of the most expensive I've seen. Billy

So a week ago I went to an Off-Road Expo. I walked past a small booth for Clean Dezert which had an attractive chick selling raffle tickets. The deal was $1 per ticket and tickets scores you a t-shirt. My buddy told me I'm wasting my money and I told him I wanted a $20 t-shirt. Well I ended up winning 2 of the lights pictured below which retail for about $450/ea! All of the other prizes maxed out at about $200 The whole reason I went to the show was to see what kind of lights to buy and HiD's were way out of my budget so I'm beyond stoked. Well I was hanging out with a buddy who is very well versed with jeeps and he asked me how I'm going to safeguard them from theft. Does anyone know how I can accomplish this? He was thinking of welding cages on to the safari basket. Does anyone have any other ideas? Sorry for the long story.

That would be awesome! Billy

Anyone?

So are there specific part numbers that anyone has? Thanks, Billy

This is another reason that solidified my purchase. I've heard from a few sources that 32's wont fit under but I'd rather drop the extra cash and have a full sized spare. Thanks for reaffirming my purchase, if my wife yells at me I'm blaming you! Billy

Well since I didn't get a ton of feedback from this post, which seems to be the case with most posts, I bought it anyway. I actually just finished mounted the rack and the spare. Mounting the tire was a lot easier then I though it's also a 16x9 rim with a much smaller tire then I will be mounting in about a month. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be but I'm sure once I get my 17x9 wheels and 32's that will change quickly. Thanks for the feedback though. Billy

Here's what the safari rack looks like

Is $430 a good deal on a 45"x 60" Surco Safari Basket with mounting hardware for 2 lights, spare tire hardware and all mounting hardware necessary? Thanks! Billy

Yay! One less thing I have to replace. Am I the only one with a 2WD on this forum? Billy

Hey Ron your thread is helping me piece together what needs to be replaced in my 01 QX4, thanks! How difficult was it to replace the front CV's? Can you break down the steps? Thanks! Billy

That would be appreciated. It would great if I could pick them up on my way to Baja some time. Billy

I'm definitely gonna go for A/T's I think the M/T's would wear out too quickly, unless I could get a set for 17's for that $450 tag. It would be worth it to buy 2 sets of them. Got any links? Billy