ascdesigns

Well, it does have a good amount of play, enough that I've mis-shifted into fourth instead of 2nd. I talked to Rob at Genuine Nissan Parts and he located a single bushing that should take care of the sloppiness. (Thanks Rob!). It's only minimal cost and looks pretty straightforward to install.

'97 Pathy's just done it's first semi-four wheel excursion. Gunsight Pass Road in Crested Butte, about 1/8 mile past the "vehicle not recommended" sign. The trail started getting really rough and sketchy since it's a big scree field with water erosion. Took the opportunely placed turnaround point and came back down... sigh. But I digress. The Pathy's running great for 170K miles. I'm wondering if there's a bushing or two that commonly causes a manual shift lever to feel a bit sloppy. I can run the gears just fine, but the lever has some lateral movement even when in gear and once or twice, I'd put it into 4th instead of 2nd. I did run a search but didn't come up with anything. Anyone else run into this? Any (relatively) easy fixes? Thanks, Al

Thanks! Just emailed him - we'll see if they're still around. - Al

Thanks! Time to start getting the other small stuff up to snuff!

Well, I got it! Woohoo! It's funny, it looks nearly exactly like my previous one: gold, blue-grey seats, except this one's a manual. I did find a couple of things to do right away: replaced the front brake pads (originals had about 1/4 left) and did an oil change for the sake of it. It does need tie-rod ends, I can feel the looseness and light clunking sounds from the front. I wiggled the tire side to side while jacked up and put my had on the outer tie-rod ball joint - definitely loose. Lower control arm ball joints are still good though - whew! devonianwalk - I don't think Colorado is a salt state. We use magnesium-chloride which yes, is a salt but it's used pretty sparingly here. It's the gravel they spray that kills everyone's windshields about once every year or two.

Thanks all. Oil and filter changes have been done consistently and receipts have been saved. I guess I was over zealous with my "no major leaks" statement; there really aren't any. I think I saw a little dried oil/dirt around the valve covers but nothing "wet" to indicate a flowing leak. It is 4WD, and as mentioned earlier all fluids have been changed recently. I'm going to look at it again tomorrow morning and if all goes well, I may pull the trigger. If there are any other opinions or suggestions, I'd really appreciate them. Al

Hey y'all, So I'm back... sort of... maybe. I'm debating the purchase of another R50 (my 1998 died about 2 years ago). I've found a 1997 in very, very good shape. Zero rust (especially none near the strut towers), two owners and all the major work has been done within the last 10-20K miles: timing belt, clutch, struts, lower rear control arms, tires, all fluids changed. No major leaks as far as I can see. CarFax is clean (and how I found out about it having only two owners). The only kicker is it has 170K miles. It's low for a 1997 but there's still a voice in the back of my head saying it's pretty high. Lastly, I can get it for about $2500. Thoughts? Is this a no-brainer? I know my question is probably like asking the pope if he should pray, but I'll throw it out there anyway... I'll be using this for car camping (100-1000 mile trips), ski days/weekends (150-200 mile trips), and runs to Home Depot. I've got a MINI Cooper for my local commuting, grocery runs and canyon twisties. Thanks (for your un/biased opinions)! - Al

Hate to resurrect an old thread, but I'm about to do this next weekend and could use some more "beta". Can I ask if you had to disconnect either the CV axles and/or front driveshaft to be able to replace these? Also, are the struts in the way at all? Thanks, Al

Well, I've found the issue or issues. I think I've been mistaking driveline vibrations for CV joint binding. With my Old Man Emu HD springs and the 9/16th spacer it seems my CV angles are high enough that the joint was binding when accelerating (front end lifts a bit), feeling like a vibration. For now, I've removed the 9/16th spacer to reduce the angle slightly. Reassembling was fine until... I saw that the passenger side diff/axle-to-chassis mount was wobbling. The bushings on this mount are shot. That meant that if the mount allowed upward play of the diff it would then create an even more extreme angle for the CV. Which brings me to my next (and hopefully final) question that I couldn't find an answer using "search": Does anyone know what this mount is called? And how much of a pain is it to remove/replace? I'll try to describe it. The mount sits perpendicular above the passenger side diff-axle and has two rubber bushings with metal-sleeves at each fore/aft mounting point to the chassis. It has four smaller bolts that connect to the top and rear flanges on the diff-axle. The FSM doesn't show this bracket in any exploded view. Thanks again!

Thanks 5523. As I mentioned earlier, I've checked that as other posts have suggested that may be an issue. Both my front wheel bearings are new and snug. No movement when grasping/rocking the wheel at 12-6 o'clock. Thanks, Al

Thanks again. I'll run your tests soon when it's safe. Denver's getting a small dump of snow right now!

Fleurys - good point/suggestion. I guess it's OK to run with just one CV axle? Do I need to be in 4-HI *before* I start moving or will the transfer case be able to sync with just one CV spinning? Thanks, Al

Well, this is frustrating. I just replaced my front u-joints and went for a ride. The vibration seems almost worse, again at 35 and 55 mph! When installing the new u-joints, I made very sure to mark the flange-to-flange and yoke-to-yoke interfaces with paint for when I reassembled everything. Also marked front and rear of the driveshaft. Back to my question in my first post: is it possible or has anyone heard of CV joints being out of balance? My wheel bearings are new and snug. What the heck else could it be? Thanks again for all your suggestions, Al

Thanks all. I have a bench mounted vise so I'm hoping that will work once the shaft is off the vehicle. I'll probably do the front's tonight and the rears in a couple weeks.

Thanks Fleurys. That sounds like my issue! So how much of a pain is it to replace u-joints? And also, how much did they run you? - Al

Hi - Looking for suggestions here. Search didn't turn up anything, or maybe I didn't search correctly - sorry if that's the case. I just replaced both of my front CV axles. The originals' boots were both torn on the outside joints. It was an easy job, thanks to the write ups on this forum. The problem is that now when I engage 4-HI, there's a vibration at 35mph and at 55mph. Not shaking like the truck is going to explode, but definitely noticeable. If I disengage the 4-HI and go back to 2-HI, the vibrations cease and all seems normal. Did I miss a marking of some sort on the flange mount to the front differential that's causing these vibes? The OEM axles never behaved this way. I know driveshafts are typically balanced and marked, but I didn't think the CV axles were. The CV axles are remanufactured units from NAPA. Here's some basic specs on my R50 in case they have any bearing on the vibrations: -OME HD springs up front, OEM regular springs in rear. So basically it has a 1.5" lift (I think?) so nothing to drastic for the CV axles. -Warn Manual Hubs - yes, the cir-clip is correctly mounted in the groove on the splined axle. -CV flange bolts were torqued according to spec in the FSM. -Lower control arm bushings and bolts are in good shape and properly torqued (respectively). -Wheels are balanced (it's only when in 4-HI that the vibes are there). Any suggestions what I should do with these axles, assuming it's the cause? Rotate each of them on the flange side? Is it possibly because the transfer-case-to-front-diff driveshaft may be a bit more worn and the CV axles are new and tight? Ignore it and just drive ;-) ? Thanks in advance, Al

Thanks all. BowTied - I actually have new struts so I don't that's the issue. Replaced them at 120K miles, now have 125K. The ride is great - just trying to level it out aesthetically. Every stock Pathy/QX4 in my area seems to have the nose-dive look. - Al

I've done a bit of reading in this forum, but most/all of the answers revolve around leveling *after* a lift kit's been installed. I have a stock '98 and my front end is about 1+" lower than the rear. I tried the Rocky Road steel spacers, but with a thickness of 5/16" it seemed to only lift it ...well, 5/16" or so. My first question is: Is the amount of lift you get from a spacer equivalent to the thickness of the spacer? There seems to be differing answers: some mfg's say that a 1/2" spacer lifts 1", others say a 1" lifts 1". What's the real deal? Second question: has anyone leveled a *stock* R50 using a 1" or 1.5" spacer? Thanks! Al

Thanks tmorgan4 and fukinitupagain. I just sent you both PM's. -Al

Thanks all. I do carry some heavier loads on highway speeds and notice that the truck leans a bit more than it should every now and then. I do have new bushings in all rear control arms, new shocks and struts, new lower balljoints on the front lower control arm and 30x9.5 BFG AT's in good shape. Every little bit can help a bit and a rear swaybar may just help that little bit. Not a racer, just looking for a bit more stability. - Al

I've posted this in the Parts-for-Sale, but I think that not everyone looks there very often so forgive me for posting it here as well. I'd like to get a rear swaybar setup for my 1998 R50 since almost 100% of my driving is on road and my 4-wheeling is very limited. Apparently when I bought this used (two previous owners), the rear sway was missing. There are mounting holes on the chassis for the links and the bushing mounts. Does anyone have their old rear swaybar, links and bushings available? If so, please PM me and let me know how much. My zip is 80211 (Denver). Thanks! Al

I'm waiting for my order of Flexy Flares to arrive tomorrow. Since I recently added some American Racing 767's (15x8), the 31x10.5's now stick out almost 3 inches past the sheet metal. I have a '98 XE. For any of you with experiece with these (or anything similar), is there a recommended way to install these? Do you just start from one end and go around the wheelwell? Or is it better to start in the center and move outwards? I'm sure it's easy, but I'm one of those 'measure twice cut once' kinda guys. Thanks! Al

Thanks all. I did flush my system tonight with a synthetic blend DexIII. Really easy to do, just a bit messy. It's amazing how quickly the PS pump pushes out the fluid. In case anyone's interested in how I did it, here's the basic steps: - Jack up front end and place on jackstands. You want to be able to turn the wheels easily. - Drain the reservoir as much as possible using a 'turkey baster'. - Pull the return hose and plug the nozzle on the reservoir. - Attach a male-to-male barbed fitting into the return hose. - Attach an extension to the other end of the barb fitting and place it into a milk jug. - Fill reservoir up the top with new ATF fluid. - Start car, wait two seconds and turn it off. Any longer and you'll be sucking air. - Fill reservoir again. - Start car, wait two seconds and turn it off. Again, any longer and you'll be sucking air. - Fill reservoir again. - Inside the cabin, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right. Hold for a few seconds, then do the same for the left. Repeat. This exercise pushes fluid through and out of the system. - Add more fluid to the reservoir. - Do the steering wheel exercise again, but this time leave the fluid level lower since you'll want to put the return hose back on without fluid gushing out of the reservoir. - Clean everything up, reconnect the return hose to the reservoir nozzle, lower the Pathy. - Top off the reservoir now that the return hose is back on. - Start the car, turn the wheels side to side. Check the levels again (I had to add a couple ounces before all was said and done.) - Get a beer. Cheers! Al

So this is slightly disturbing... When I went to check fluid levels, I noticed that the PS fluid is golden, not the translucent red tranny fluid. Has anyone ever had issues running PS instead of AT fluid? Should I flush the entire system asap? I also notice a few very, very fine metal filings in the filter 'cup' - almost looked like silver dust. FWIW, my steering has been working perfectly, no groaning, stiffness or otherwise arthritic symptoms. If I need to do a flush, how many quarts of ATF DexIII should I purchase? I anxiously await y'all's sage-like advice! Thanks! Al

I know I'm resurrecting an older thread, but this information is great! I replaced the 4 gauge cluster bulbs last night with the blue Autolumination 74's and it looks good! Question: how many bulbs do I need for the HVAC controls on a '98 Pathy? I'm referring to the area above the stereo with three knobs: Fan, Temp and Vent direction. The lighting there is really dull and while there's mention of the HVAC controls in this thread, I don't see any confirmation that they are a) #74 bulbs and how many replacement bulbs it would need. Can anyone help? Thanks! Al