arctic_mark

OK, been a while since my initial post but . . . I followed your instructions 5523, and got no malfunction code from the ABS unit at all. Looks like the ABS is working fine. So to give a bit more info:- When I turn right, the parking brake warning light comes on first, follwed shortly (a second or so) by the ABS warning light. I have to distinctly turn left to get the lights to go out. And now in this really cold weather in Alberta (-32C this AM) not even turning sharply right resets the lights every time. Given that tehhe ABS is not giving me an error code, I figure its a problem with the parking brake that's causing the ABS to engage. The parking brake works OK in as much as it'll hold the vehicle on a hill or stop it moving forward when in Drive. Any more suggestions??? Thanks Mark

Hey nice write-up. I'm going to have to fix my central lock system too. I've left it go too long and as a result of fighting that "bouncing" of the actuator, my driver's side door lock is now totally shagged. I put the key in the barrel and it goes round and round and round without doing anything! The lock stem on the inside still locks the door fine (apart from the actuator problems). Is the lock barrel completely written off or is this an easy fix? Thanks Mark

I've just been told by a friend that body lifts are to be outlawed in the province of Alberta and that drivers running such modifications will be subjected to a fine by the RCMP if caught. This would be retroactive and applied to vehicles modified before the law came into effect as well as after. Does anyone know if this is for real!!!! :confused: I've e-mailed Alberta Transport for clarrification and will post their reply once I get it. Are there any other jurisdictions where bodylifts are banned! Thanks Mark

Well, 9 months of running my Calmini lift and I'm pretty pleased over all. Yes, the front bushings do squeak to hell, and there were initial alignment issues that were beyond my local tire shop but that the Nissan dealership solved. Only complaint is that after 8 months of mostly on-road use with a few weekend's hard wheeling, the loop on the front shock absorber broke off, faulty weld I guess, but they sent me a new shock free of charge.

So, I checked the brake fluid level. Checks out A-OK So doesn't look like a catastrophic leak in the brake system. The ABS and parking brake warning lights only appear to come on for a brief couple of seconds or so after braking and turning sharply right (ie. when slowing down and turning right into a side street). :confused: This first started happening after I got into a major stuck a couple of weekends ago where I broke thru the frozen crust of a swamp and required some brutal winching (lost all 4 mud flaps and front fender flares) to get me out. Any more suggestions? Mark

Thanks guys, I'll check her out. No problems actually braking tho.

I'm seeing the ABS and parking brake warning lights coming on after driving for a minute or two, especially if my '94 Pathy has been parked for a few hours. A quick tap of the brake pedal or a light touch of the parking brake puts them out again. Any ideas what's up? Dirt in the ABS ring? Worn parking brake pads (I got rear disc brakes)? Thanks Mark

Yeah, thanks for the advice guys. Looks like a trip to my nearest Sprawl-Mart is called for. Was thinking of the driver-over and lighter fluid/WD40 method, having watched the "instructional icelandic videos" on You Tube ( and Vid 2). But as I doubt my wife would want to be any where near me to video that, I think the WalMart option is a better one!

no doubt! Just thinking of saving some cash, that's all!

Got some nice nearly brandnew MTs on crappy old rims and want to swap these over on to my nice Nissan lego rims. Is this something that is easy and/or worth while to do by myself and save on the $$$ at Kal-Tire (guess they'd still need to balance 'em tho)? Any hints on how to do it with minimal kit?

If only they did grow on trees, I could go and pick me some spares from the neighbour's orchard!

Having only ever wheeled Landrovers in the UK before moving to Canada and getting my Pathy I am mightily impressed. Been wheeling her for over two years now, from bone stock to mild mods (3" Calmini SL with rear swaybar discos on 31" MTs) and she more than holds her own against other rigs in my local 4x4 club. In fact, they never cease to be impressed at what my little ol' grocery wagon can do! With the swaybar discos and bigger shocks and coils at the back the amount of rear flex is phenominal. Getting sinilar flex out of the front end IFS is a little more problematic though specially as I don't want to permenantly rip out the front sway bar (anyone know of front swaybar discos?). And as a daily driver she's car-like enough inside to be more than comfortable on my 45min commute to work. Body lift, 33s, winch bumper, winch, sliders, armour, lockers etc etc to follow when I get a "real" job!!! So yeah, keep your Pathy for sure!!! As for the rusty frame issue, watch out for rust in the frame above your rear wheels. Mud and sand and all builds up inside there and rots the frame to hell. Had to have the rot cut out and plates welded on. Works a treat now.

someone should draw up a Nissan truck family tree!

Yeah Had the same experience in the same Edmonton snow. In 4hi it was almost as if the front end would compress down a little, pull to the right slightly, then rebound a bit and pull back to the left. Kind of sea-sick making! This was most pronounced doing about 60-80kmph, In 2hi it was fine. I know it aint a steering link problem as I've replaced thw hole assembly, new BJs, Calmini UCAs etc. AND had the whole thing checked out and aligned at Westend Nissan. May be worn out bearings??? Or just the usual traction issues on half bald Rough Rider ATs from Crappy Tire!! 'Nother problem I get is that at around 80kmph in 4hi I get a quiet but distinct howl/whine/whistle from the front dif. Is this normal!!?? Sounds good and propper above and below 80kmph and had no probs when punishing it off road. Mark

If you're somewhere cold, add a couple of candles, certainly the blanket, a ligter/matches and maybe some old warm clothes. And if she's a girl/clean-freak, some work gloves and even those disposable tyvek overalls. The candles will be enough to heat teh inside of the rig as you don't want the engine idling especially when you're stuck in snow as it could well pump the cab full of carbon monoxide, let alone making a situation even worse by running out of gas! I know this is getting bulky, but if she gets stuck in the snow and has to wait a couple of hours or has to walk to the nearest house/farm for help she'd be thankful. Also I'm glad I packed hi-viz vest for changing the driver's side tire at night on a busy road! And a warning triangle doesn't hurt either

Sorry I haven't posted a how-to yet. Been fighting the flu over the last week or so. Soon as I'm OK again I'll get on to it!! As for providing a level platform for sleeping and "other things" , well that was one reason I put the draw unit in. I'm working on some inserts that fill in the space when the rear seats are down to bring it up to level and provide additional storage space. They're going to bolt with wing nuts onto the back of the draw unit. Having tried sleeping in theback of my Pathy, I found it too short to be comfortable. With the front seats pulled forward it was long enough but with a massive great hole where you want your head to be! With the permenant draw unit and temporary inserts, it should be completely flat. As for cost of the unit so far, at a guess, I'd say under $100 Canadian. Mark

Here in Edmoton we got a war on our hands with the Provincial Government who want to shut all our trails down. Doesn't help when one of the minsters in charge of back country access said that if he sees a muddy 4x4 he knows that they've been somewhere they shouldn't have! To counter this, we gotta wash our rigs as soon as possible after a run, especially if they're daily drivers. Muddy rigs look good, but they don't win the war for hearts and minds. Mark

Has this forum ever suffered hacking problems? My local 4x4 club (Northern Alberta 4WD Assoc.) forum is also powered by Invasion Power Board and has recently been hacked by some basement-living jerk calling him self "Hacker-Nitition". :furious: Seems he targets Invasion Power Board forums, taking over the moderators names, posting pictures, and re-naming all the topic headings to "Hacked by Hacker-Nitition". The actual content and posts don't seem to be lost though. pssd Just wondered if NPORA had been hacked by this dink and if you had found ways to proof the system. If not, this is a heads-up as he does attack Invasion Power Board systems. Mark

Pretty much all of the materials came from the Home Depot including the plywood for the base, lid and draw bottoms, and the timber for the verticle sections. The top is covered with that ribbed vynol floor matting that comes by the foot in Home Depot and Canadian Tire etc, attached with contact cement and black carpet tacks. Because the top covers the wheel arches, there was a bit of dead space on either side of the draw so I have hinged lids here so I have extra storage space. This includes relocating the holder for the stock bottle jack as well. The runners, though, were not from Home Depot. These are high load full extension runners that lock closed. I got these from Lee Valley Tools in Canada but you'd probably get them in any good hardwear store. I've since addedd extra catches to lock the draw in place as I found when clibing steep hills they tended to open and bang against the rear door. Anyway, I'll get a full write-up together over the weekend with some plans and post it here soon. Thanks Mark

Thanks for the positive feed-back! Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Took a bit of work as it was a trial and error job, but I certainly can get back in there and measure things up and draw some plans up and a "how to" write up and post them here. As for the Pathfinder decals on the side, they where on there when I got the rig two years ago, so I don't know if they were stock or not. She looks a bit different now, 3" SL, mudders on, and big old-school Nissan decals on front doors (to cover the nasty scratches I got in the bush!). Oh yeah, the dented rear quarter is another new addition!

Thought I'd take the opportunity to brag a bit in public 'cos I'm really pleased with the way it turned out! Built my own custom draws in a box in my trunk, took a while but looks great and works fantastic. Most of my offroad kit can fit in there and still leave the back free. Mark

OK, there's a lot of info and debate about wheel rim sizes etc, but I can't seem to find out what I want to know!!! Perhaps I'm just being a bit "chalanged" :confused: Anyways. . . for my '94 SE V6 Pathy:- If I have a 3" suspension lift and 3" body lift giving a combined 6" what size rims should I be running for 33" tires wothout getting any fender rub? (something tells me this is a very common question!) I want to run 33s on 15" rims but not sure what the best rim width and tire width would be and what the best back spacing would be. But I'd like something wider than the 31x10.50 tires / 15"x7" rims that I'm running now:- maybe 31x12.50R15s on 15'x10' rims? I'm willing to do a bit of trimming but don't want to get too crazy with the Sawzall. I'm a little afraid of f***ing the whole thing up if I do that so would rather go for an option with limited or no rub at all. If all this is posted somewhere else them I prostrate myself before you in abject appology :bow: Thanks Mark

Yeah, looks like a little trimming may be in order. But the left hand side was running lower than the right, so a tweak on the T-bar seems to have levelled it up and given enough room to stop the rubbing. Didn't help that one of the rear swaybar discos had come adrift from the swaybar!! That's what happens I guess when you go away for 3 weeks and let your "friends" baby-sit your truck!!

Yeah, that may be the case. But the suspension does seem stiffer on the front left than on the right. Will have to maybe test it on an improvised RTI ramp! Perhaps my perception that it's getting worse and that the left is looser is a case of Vehicular Hypochondria, but there's no denying that it is rubbing on the corner of the fender panel and plastic trim where that metal valance below the bumper wraps round.

OK, so I’ve had a lot of bugs to iron out since I put in my 3” suspension lift (Calmini): nasty squeaks, alignment screw-ups etc. But after replacing the entire steering linkage and the tension/compression rods all was well I managed to sort it all out. Then went and got her properly aligned by Nissan. Then the latest bug has come to light! When braking hard and turning right, like off a main road into a parking lot, the front left tire rubs on the wheel arch trim. Compression of the front suspension during braking and transfer of weight onto left tire when turning. It never used to happen before the lift went in and the final alignment was done. In fact it didn’t happen after all the mods and steering overhaul was completed, only after the final alignment. I’m still running the stock 31s on there which never used to rub. Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems to be getting worse. Is this simply because that with the new lift I’ve got more travel in the shocks so the tire can ride up and rub, or do I have a problem!? If this isn’t unexpected then I guess all I can do is trim and add the body lift I want. It doesn’t appear to happen on the right hand side when turning left, but then I guess when turning left you’re turning across traffic so are normally going slower. Anyway, gonna check that the ride height is level all the way round and tweak the torsion bars as needed tonight, but just from a quick visual inspection left and right / front and back seem pretty close and level. Any suggestions? Mark