Dowser

Evening all. Haven't been on for a while as I dropped my Computer down a flight of staris during a move. Mashed into several pieces and the mother board was laying face down in about a foot of snow so needless to say, things aren't working right now. Just happen to be near a computer for the moment so I'll get you all up to speed. -Found a Big crack in the Cat Converter after all my preaching of Emissions. -O2 Senser is shot cause I'm getting a hell of a lot of White smoke now. Ran the codes and it says I'm running lean of course. Don't think I'll be able to get either before this move to Alberta as it's already going to cost the Girl and I over 5 Grand for the move. Think I'll be Ok driving it that long if it's Burning Lean? -Finally Bought my Steel Wheels. YAY. 15 X 8's with 3.75 backspacing. Added 33x12.5 tires which took like over 7 ounces of weight on each tire to balance and now I got a hell of a lot more issues. For one, Wheel Rub. Only the Drivers side when I turn Left. I took off the fender flares in hopes for a tiny bit more clearance but it's not lookin good. I've got the Calmini UCA's in and I jacked the front up a bit. I'm about 1/2" - 1" from the bump stops so i can go more, but my Passenger side Upper BJ isn't sitting straight like the Drivers side. It's angled quite a bit more then I'd like to see it and doesn't look too strong in my opinion. -With a Loosy Goosy, Nissan Steering system and the high quality :oops: STOCK centerlink I have I'll never get this thing aligned. Or so I'm told from the Alignment specialists at goodyear. hahaha. -My Tires are freaking messed up and are doing the same thing as JJ's. Turning all funky with this sort of thing. l/ -My vehicle died on me yesterday while I was taking the fenderflares off of it. I had it Idling so i could turn the wheels using the Power Steering and before long it started farting like it was about to die. I ran to the gas pedal to giver a bit of juice and it just got sick on me, spuddered and died. After that, seemed like not enough gas was getting to the ignition as it didn't want to stay alive. Now its just the starter talking to me. No firing. I can hear the Pump click on for the 2 seconds it does when you turn the key, I checked the sending unit and it's got the 12 volts. I haven't checked Pump pressure yet but if thats good What do you think. Plugs and wires maybe? Also, I would like to make another Quick anouncement of Calmini's UCA's and how they are not very compatable with Rancho Shocks. The Calmini UCA's as everyone knows are beefy. So beefy in fact that the opening for the shock is not reasonabley wide enough for Rancho's Thick 9000x design. my shocks are taking a beating rubbing against the UCA's. All and all, I looking at a Very HEAFTY repair bill Im thinking. I'm also thinking my Boy is near pooched. Just when I bought a block heater too for those nice -40 mornings too. 6 days all.... 6 DAYS!... I need to get this thing operational PRONTO. Any help is appreciated. You know... I could have sworn i was Upgraging this thing, not deteriorating it. What the F@#k.... Dowser and the Beaten Battle Worn Lean Machine

You can also look at Smitty's stuff. Maybe something you like there. Not many options for the Olser Nissan's though as you can see. http://www.smittybiltinc.com/ Dowser

Well. They can order it for you but there is one major Problem with this. This is not something that most stores usually stock on their shelves and to order that Directly from Penzoil they are forced to order a 12 Pack. Yep. thats right. A 12 pack at $14.00 CAN a Litre for that Synthetic goodness. Most stores don't want it sitting on thier shelves for the next Nissan Pathfinder Owner to stumble through the door so they'll most likely tell you that you need to buy the whole lot. And for you Canadian suckers like me out there. You can't order the Redline MT-90 very easy from any of the US companies like Summit and so on due to a Hazmat Warning. Not allowed to @!*% Gear Oil over the border and to make matters worse, Even if you have an American Mailbox you can send it to, the sale will not go through due to you having a Canadian Credit Card. It's a built in system for some companies. I'm personally going to have to get an american friend of mine to Buy the bloody stuff, Pay him, and go get it myself over the border to smuggle back to Canada. If I end up in prison, you'll know it was for the love of my Rig. Well, If you go to any parts store the guy behind the counter will tell you that its ok to use the Oil that can handle a wide variety of GL applications. (GL-3, GL-4, GL-5) BUT, Like VW's, Some Nissan's require specific Recommendations. There is a reason for this. From what I've been able to understand from the original post is that there are Bronze components inside the Tranny that get damaged due to some addative found in the GL-5 Oil composite. On a molecular basis, it adds significant wear and tear on the life of the tranny. So on that note, If it's not GL-4 Specific, I wouldn't trust it. Dowser

Man I hear that Luker. My Boy's not liking this cold we've been hit with the last few days either. When I had some trouble the other day I tried a slightly different method myself though. I cranked it, heard nothing, Asked outloud "Well now what the F@*K is wrong with this Piece of Sh!t?", Popped the hood, Looked at the engine and waited approximately 3 minutes for the Vehicle to produce a pop up window that would clearly point out the problem, After recieving no such information I proceeded to spit on the engine, Call it every Obscenity I could think of, Slammed the hood shut , and kicked the wheel in frustration. I then went back in to the Cab and Threatened the rig that it's very existance was at stake if it did not start. Sure enough, VROOOOOOM!!! Sooooo In final, you could do what Luker did and spend an hour or whatever, or take the 6 minutes it took me. Oh and if that technique does not seem to work for you then your not doing a good enough job convincing your Vehicle that your serious. If that happens, then proceed with Luker's step by step approach. Dowser

Man I hear that Luker. My Boy's not liking this cold we've been hit with the last few days either. When I had some trouble the other day I tried a slightly different method myself though. I cranked it, heard nothing, Asked outloud "Well now what the F@*K is wrong with this Piece of Sh!t?", Popped the hood, Looked at the engine and waited approximately 3 minutes for the Vehicle to produce a pop up window that would clearly point out the problem, After recieving no such information I proceeded to spit on the engine, Call it every Obscenity I could think of, Slammed the hood shut , and kicked the wheel in frustration. I then went back in to the Cab and Threatened the rig that it's very existance was at stake if it did not start. Sure enough, VROOOOOOM!!! Sooooo In final, you could do what Luker did and spend an hour or whatever, or take the 6 minutes it took me. Oh and if that technique does not seem to work for you then your not doing a good enough job convincing your Vehicle that your serious. If that happens, then proceed with Luker's step by step approach. Dowser

Vsick... I never "Tire" :X :oops: of your style. Up front in your face is just the way I like to read it... Have to say, I'm likely going to stick with Nissan's recommendation to not use 4wd in non 4wd Scenarios. The factory stock components for these vehicles are sh!t at best and I have no faith in them what so ever. Now if "I" were to be the Manufacturer of Nissan Gears and Drive Shafts, you could do just about anything you'd want to them cause they would be Illegal M-80 explosives proof, 5th Storey Window Drop Tested, Smashed with a Big F@wking Hammer (for no less then 15 minutes), and Could Obliterate a Fully Functional Rail Road Tie. All that without so much as leaving a scratch or chipping a tooth. But hey, thats just me though. Dowser

Your Right Precise. I was going to mention that, but figured naturally if he was going to start a business he would have that kind of Warranty. Now that I see that he may want a lot of extra cost for this.. Hmmm Well I'll have to think it over. Perhaps you could make them out of a Titanium alloy Forged in the Heart of the Mount Doom. That would be a bit more reasuring. My Standards have definitely not slipped. If anything they are getting more Serious ever since I got hung up on a Rail Road Tie. Thinking of adding that the said product has to be able to split a Rail Road Tie in 2. I'll have to see. Dowser

Just sifting through this months issue of Petersen's 4Wheel & Offroad and came across this Badass. :eek: New 3 Speed Transfer Case available... :oops: YIKES! I want one. Who's gonna put it on first? I nominate "myself" so long as someone else is paying. Great Read in the issue if anyone is wondering. This is his homepage. http://www.stak4x4.com/ Enjoy. Dowser

Well I just finished roaming around all the different shops in my area searching for a Synthetic GL-4 75W90 Gear Oil for my Manual Transmission Case and have discovered a few options other then Redline MT-90. Redline is really not common in Canada and very few people have even heard of it let alone carry it. Redline is still available in Canada at select dealers according to Redlines Website, But I contacted Canadian Tire as what was mentioned, and found they don't carry it so really not to sure how accurate or outdated it may be. What follows are a few options with their respective Part numbers. Quaker State GL-4 75W90 (NOT Synthetic) Only available in a 19 Litre Pail Quaker States Part #51125 Just Added Quaker State Synthetic GL-4 75W90 Available in 1 Litre Bottles Quaker States Part #56125 Around $12.91 CAN a bottle. WOO HOO Castrol GL-4 75W90 (NOT Synthetic) Only available in a 60 Litre Barrel Castrol Part # 0686-11 Penzoil Synthetic GL-4 75W90 Sold in 1 Litre Bottles Penzoil Part # 56076 Remember these are only for Manual Transmission Fluids. Both 2wd and 4wd. Those were all I could find. Prices will Vary depending on where you buy them. If anyone else has some other Canadian Options that I missed Please feel free to add them. Good Luck and enjoy. Dowser

Nice Luker. Very Nice. I'm Jealous as usual you Rat Bastard. You have All the toys. :bow: The longer I own mine it seems the more stuff is breaking, not being added on. :oops: I was thinking of adding the new Break-O-Meter I invented a little while ago. It's like the Trip Button function but it counts Down. It's pretty decent cause when it hits ZERO you get Stranded and thats the Exciting part of course cause you know that means.... Time for an Upgrade. :eek: :idea: :contract: Except I can't seem to make them count longer then 999 kms. I'll make you one up special with a NEON Rim around the Dial and some Techno Dance Music that starts to play on the last 10 km count down. Free of charge man. Dowser

Driver's Side door.... :oops: :oops: :oops: BUSTED!!! :oops: :oops: :oops: Put me on the list Animal when you get your factory of "Nissan Door Parts Designed Specifically Not To Wear Or Break For The Duration Of Approximately One Lifetime" up and running. Dowser

If you Wheel Once a month, I dont think it would be in your Best interest to get a Full Time Locker. Unless your into Tire Wear. Think about your Rear Wheels turning corners always locked in the same position. -thnkboutit- The ARB might be more expensive, but it gives you the option with the flick of a switch whether you'd like it locked or not. :bow: Worth the price in my books if your daily driving it with Bigger Tires and only wheeling once a month. Perhaps someone far more intelligent then I can chime in a better response but thats what I was thinking. Dowser -alcohol- :oops: No emoticons were harmed in the making of this post.

Thanks guys. I think I'm getting the hang of this. Will do some more research on my own. Appreciate the responses.

LMAO Luker... You make me laugh man... Nice catch.

Since we're on the subject of Gear Ratio's, I have a question. Now as you probably have figured out by now I know next to nothing about the mechanics of a vehicle. I'm learning as fast as I can but of course its a slow learning curve. Did some research on my own on Understanding Automotive Gear Ratio's and I obviously understand the physics involved and so forth. But I am a little stumped on a something you guys were just talking about. You just finished mentioning that the Axle you picked up had a gear ratio similar to the one from your Pathy so you were pleased. Curious. Does the Front and Rear axles have to have the same or Very close Gear ratio's or can one be significantly different then the other. This may be a Stupid Question to those a little more Mechanically sound then I but I really have no Idea. And Further, I mentioned once before in a thread I posted about SAS options on the Idea of a Rockwell axle going in and someone mentioned that the Gear Ratio started at like 6:1. If I am understanding things properly Wouldn't you want a Gear Ratio or 6:1 for Crawling? If one could find 2 axles with a gear ratio around 6:1 would it not be advisable to use those? Is it aPower thing or a Gear thing.... *looks around* perhaps I'm just a little Slow. Dowser.

Oh goodie... a question I can answer with some degree of confidence. I just recently took a look at my timing belt with the help of Simon to make sure my Pathy's had been done recently. Since I had no way of knowing what buddy did before me, I also figured I'd tackle the waterpump at the same time. To get at your T belt and Waterpump theres a few things your going to want to have handy before you start. Of course you'll need the replacement parts. Here in Ontario Canada, I paid full Nissan Price for my Waterpump which cost me $100.00 CAN and the Timing belt was $58.00 CAN Dollars. Pick up a bottle of Rad Fluid as well to replace the Fluid your draining Cause you'll be taking your rad out to have access to everything. Step 1) Take off Clutch Fan Shroud and Disconnect and drain Rad, Remove Rad and hoses. Nows your chance to clean out that rad of serious Mud and Gunk that otherwise can't be cleaned off. Step 2) Remove the Clutch Fan via 4 bolts holding it in Place. These are a bit of a pain sometimes to put back on later. Step 3) Take the Belts off. Don't forget to losen everything needed. Example Alty Adjuster screw etc. Step 4) To get access to the Timing Belt Cover your going to need to take off the an Engine Oil Hose on the Left Side To gain access to one of the screws for the Cover. I think theres a few screws holding that Oil hose firm as well. Once you get the Cover off and you can see the Timing belt, This is the BIG part that in my opinion is the most important. You need to get the Harmonic Balancer off and this is no small business. I would not suggest even starting this job unless you have access to a Harmonic Pulley Puller cause mine didn't want to budge for anything. We tried many things including a prybar that eventually just ended up bending my Pully a bit. Was not easy to bend back and now it has a noticable wobble. Hopefully I'm not trashing Sh!t more myself haha. The Harmonic Pulley Puller itself cost's around $180.00 CAN Dollars according to Canadian Tire. Not worth buying in my opinion. Step 5) Sigh.... Can no longer help you as I was not able to get my Harmonic Pulley off and had to put everything back together. :furious: :oops: Just thought you might want to hear some insight of what to expect when starting out. Hope it works out for you. Dowser

Here ya Go. Whole Kit, Rancho shock and mounting kit from Summit Racing. Not a bad price either. http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?...RS97268&FROM=MG Enjoy. Dowser

Evening all. As I've looked into the IFS system over the past couple months and spent a good share of money on a bunch of suspension parts, I'm starting to realize the limits of the IFS... Not saying it's terrible in case your a Pro IFS fan but as far as I can see, there just seems to be a hell of a lot of things that can go wrong with these setups. As far as an SAS goes. What kind of options can be done here. Are there limited varieties available to fit WD21 Pathy? I've noticed you can use Dana series, but what about things like an old 2 and Half Ton Rockwell? That being said, are there also things that one might want to limit themselves to for Power reasons? We all know the Pathy are pretty gutless unless you do some real engine overhaul stuff. Just want to hear some info on what's a good all round option and hear your Pro's and Con's for Big Burly Ones. Dowser

LMFAO JJ.... that was EXACTLY what my life is like... To a TEE man. The Cell Phone thing especially. I swear man It was like I was wrote it myself. I can't tell you how much that made me laugh. I never realized just how funny it was to hear from this point of view before since I'm always the one telling the story to a room full of laughing friends. :furious: I'm with Precise on this one. I need a new spleen. When I read ANYTHING automotive related that says Estimated Job Time, I multiply it by 5 to give me the Real Time Allowance. At any rate, that was a really good read man. Very Descriptive and Perfect for visual reinactment. Lets hear how it turns out. Dowser

Since I bought my Rig already lifted, I'm really not sure if the guy before me had done anything with the steering box area. But if he didn't then you can get away with not having to many problems with the steering box itself with a 3" lift as mine never had a problem. But if you do both the BL and the SL then you most likely going to have a few issues in that area. The Calmini UCA's I purchaced from Calmini Directly for a grand total of $378.45 US shipped to a US a Buffalo Address. They are REAL beefy UCA's and I'm impressed with the UCA's themselves, But they come with Upper Ball Joints that are throwaways as soon as you open the package. No grease fittings, no Cotter Pin even. Ditch those crappy things and get yourself some MOOGs. I Ordered the Sway Away Torsion Bars from www.4wheelparts.com for a grand total of $170.99 shipped to a Buffalo Address. They seem to be pretty good, but since I lack experience with T-Bars I can't offer you too much help with how they compare. I Ordered the RANCHO 9000x's (9way adjustable shocks) from www.truckaddons.com for a grand total of $371.00 shipped to a Buffalo Address. These Shocks are wicked. A lot of versatility. Your going to want to buy a Steering Stabilizer as well. Which I believe I saw a link somewhere on here for Summit racing that offers a RANCHO 5000 Sterring Stabilizer Kit for $78.00 USD. You'll need to buy the full kit cause it has the Mounts for it as well. To help your steering out you should upgrade the Centerlink, Pittman arm, Idler Arm, Tire Rod Ends and pick up an Idler Arm Brace. Many Different Companies make these. L&P Preformance come highly recommended but long wait times as it's a part time job for them. Calmini also makes some good products from what I've been able to read on them. MOOG carries their own as well and of course MOOG is a reputable company so I would imagine the product is decent. After ALL that, Calmini Offers a FULL suspension upgrage option which includes the Shocks, UCA's, Rear Springs, Torsion Bars, Panhard Rod Extension. Perhaps if you purchase a big purchace order like that, they'd consider throwing you a deal on the Steering components. Hope this helps. Dowser

Just edited my Original Post. And Simon, I dont think I did download the full service manual. The only thing I have is the Chiltons and the ECR Read outs. Thanks Luker for the Link. I'll look into it a bit. If theres anything else anyone can think of let me know. Dowser

Hey all. As the topic states, Just after installing my 3”Suspension Lift I have a Leaky Steering Box. Yuck. Now I figured something like this was going to happen sooner or later so I’m really not surprised. I’ve looked in the Chiltons to get an Idea of what may have been the problem but there is very limited information on this section. All they show is the Gear Box as a whole, attached to the system that makes up your Steering, But does not go into any detail at all about the inner working of the Power Steering Gear Box. I have a few questions and perhaps if anyone has any information concerning this topic I may be able to solve my issues. 1) Does anyone have any Pictures or Diagrams of what the inner workings of the box are and what they look like? 2) Is it usually the same component that blows in the Box for everyone with the SL and BL or could it be virtually any component inside the box? 3) What exactly is necessary to be upgraded to the steering as a whole to put less strain on the Box? 4) Are there any aftermarket products available for either the Steering Box or the Parts necessary to relieve stress to the box? 5) From what I’ve read at the SOXC forum it appears a Lot of people have had this Power Steering Gear Box problem and it has obviously been either Overlooked by Nissan or they couldn’t be bothered to come out with a better more fitting design. Someone there mentioned that a better Design from a Toyota could be successfully transferred to an Xterra. With that in mind, perhaps the Xterra’s use the same Steering boxes as the later model Pathy’s. Is there even a difference in Steering Boxes between the Older and Newer Pathy’s? At any rate, you can see where I’m going with this question. Are there any possibilities to use a better design from any other Car manufacturer to replace a the crappy one Nissan has? (If indeed Nissan’s is indeed crappy at all. Just saying that cause it seems to be a common issue.) 6) And Finally, there has been mention that you can get the Trailmaster 4” lift in conjunction with a regular 3” lift from companies like Calmini, Superlift, etc. to give a total of 7” of Suspension Lift. Consider I may want to do something like that in Future, what would be the likely problems associated with the steering at that point and what other steps would be needed to correct it. I would like to solve this problem Permanently. I have also included a picture of the Steering Box I am requesting Further internal details about. Any help is appreciated and thank you for your responses. Dowser.

SC88PATHY is absolutely Right. I didn't have to do my own Body Lift as I purchased my Vehicle with it already installed. With that said, I never looked into how involved the Body Lift actually was. I have since looked into some threads on installing them and see that there are some other complications. It is still more economically feesible to do the Body Lift as opposed to the Suspension Lift all matters considered. Dowser

I Also Agree With Vsickpathy as I have Just finished the Main Part of the Suspension Lift. I have a Body Lift as well. What everyone has got to remember also is that when you buy a Body lift, Thats it... Your Done. 3" Body Lift, Throw Bigger tires and Wheel away. Now With a Suspension Lift there are a whole SLEW of complications to go along with it. And Complications Cost MONEY. Adding 1993-97 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 Front Coil Springs is of course an easy and cheap solution for the back, but that is JUST the Back. The Real money comes in the Front. Now, if you buy no aftermarket preformance UCA's, T-bars, and Shocks, then sure you can get away with wheeling a bit, But.. as VSICK said, you put all this strain on other Components, like Ball Joints, Centerlink, Idler Arm, Pittman Arm, Tie Rods, Steering Box. ETC. I started with a Body Lift, Replaced my Torsion bars, UCA's, Shocks, and Ball Joints. Now that those are Done you'd think I'd be able to Wheel it BUT NO... Wait... Theres more. I now have noticed that my Centerlink is super Sloppy and my Steering Box is leaking Fluid. All in all, When you Do a Suspension Lift, your getting yourself into a BIG can of worms. Although Fun, it is also Costly, Time consuming and Continual Mantainance. Heres a Run Down of suspension and suspension Related parts you will have to buy at one point or another with a Suspension Lift with some relative costs. There are other Companies out there for these parts but these are just what I used so know from experience. 1- Torsion Bars Sway away $170.00 + shipping 2- Upper Control Arms (UCA's) Calmini $370.00 (they add Upper Ball Joints but they are CRAP and better Upper Ball Joints are recommended.) 3- Ball Joints Uppers and Lowers. MOOG $100-200.00 4- Shocks Rancho 9000x 9way adjustable $380.00 5- CenterLink L&P Preformance (not sure on Cost) 6- Idler Arm L&P Preformance (not sure on Cost) 7- Pittman Arm L&P Preformance (not sure on Cost) 8- Tire Rod Ends Haven't looked yet but I know Calmini Carries some. 9- Steering Stabilizer Rancho 5000 and mounting Kit. $80.00 from Summit Racing now consider all that for the Cost of the Body Lift. The Larger Tires you'd be Putting on with Either of the Lifts so thats additional as well. And don't be fooled that you can just throw a couple of Suspension Parts on here and there. Once you get started, Things start to snowball pretty quick so make sure you have the Financial resourses before starting. Dowser

Also, For anyone wondering about Wheel Sizes and how to find out the Size of your rim, It's stamped on the actual Rim. For most Stock Rims at any rate. Dowser