Mr.510

I thought the front doors were shorter on four doors, they sure seem like it. My bad.

I prefer the two doors for several reasons, the first of which I've never seen mentioned: 1) Two doors are easier to get in and out of the FRONT seats as the doors are longer. My back is severely messed up and four doors are more difficult for me to swing my feet up into. 2) In a two door when you turn your head sideways you are not looking at the B pillar. 3) You won't smack your head on the shoulder belt anchor offroad in a two door unless you get *really* stupid. 4) Lighter. 5) Simpler. 6) Cool looks. It's the way the Pathy design was originally penned and just looks 'right' to me. 7) Pop-out triangle windows provide awesome ventilation with very little wind noise or drag at speed. All that said if I had kids or took more than one person with me offroad (neither will ever happen) I might want a four door. I'd also give up #5 for a '90 two door with MPFI as that would make the addition of a turbo easier.

I'm in shock at this terribly sad news. My condolences to his family. Jared was a heck of a nice guy, on this forum and in person. It is so very sad to lose someone so young and full of life. He died doing something that he loved, for that I am grateful. I think he'll like this: I hope we meet again my friend.

If Packie's the guide I'm bringin' my Unimog! :aok:

This really isn't a very difficult conversion. You need custom exhaust manifolds and a turbo drain fitting welded into your oil pan. I would put the turbo up top on the passenger's side front corner. Everything else required is in a Z31T donor car. You have to use the complete injection system, ECU, and harness from the donor car as a set. I'm not sure where you'd have to cross the exhaust under but my guess is that an SFD would make for TONS of room and lots of room for a downpipe as well. I'm going to guess that a bone stock VG33ET running 10psi and no intercooler will make 250hp and it will certainly live forever. You don't need anything aftermarket for 10psi so this could be done on the cheap. The exhaust manifolds are the difficult/expensive part though the wiring isn't going to be a whole lot of fun either! I wouldn't do this on an off-roader of course but check it out: Remote Mount Turbo Project I think he's got $390 into the whole thing. Yeah, it's ghetto but I was really surprised that it works, and apparently it works quite well.

I was hoping someone would say that, thanks! From Mapquest: I'll be right over... what's for dinner?

No further progress at the moment. I missed out on buying a complete, non-wrecked R50 for $650 by five minutes the day before yesterday. That would have made fitment of the SFD Kit, sliders, rear bumpers, roll cages, etc. *really* easy. I can borrow my sister's R50 but having one on-site all the time would lead to many things being developed. Maybe what I really need is a local R50 owner that wants some discounted stuff and/or installation who can be without their Pathy for a week at a time? Anybody in the Seattle area fit this description? Here's a question for you R50 gurus: Are all R50 unibody shells the same? If not what did they change and when?

I'm not sure that I understand this technique. For the benefit of everyone on NPORA maybe you could post an instructional video?

I was guessing a gallon or so would probably get most of the metal out. I've got lots of used hydraulic oil that's headed to a friends' waste oil furnace so I'll keep going until it's totally free of metal and then put another quart through it. Then flush that out with the proper fluid. I went searching for Magnefine last night after I posted that Wix filter and found that Napa sells them: 5/16" is Napa P/N ATP 18515 3/8" is Napa P/N ATP 18514 1/2" is Napa P/N ATP 11424 My pump didn't scream today but when I turned the wheel while stationary on tarmac it was louder than the idling engine... with two exhaust leaks!

Thanks for the suggestion on cleaning out the lines, I'll do that too. I just found this: Wix 58964 Filter "Universal inline 25 micron + magnetic automatic transmission/power steering filter." I just have to measure what size the return line is, see where I can plumb one in, and get it here before my pump goes completely T.U.

My power steering pump has been noisy for the last 100k miles or so. Today it got really loud and is starting to scream so I think failure is finally eminent. I've had a good used replacement for several years but this one still worked fine so why fix it? The fluid is heavily metallic - like '70s speedboat metallic paint! I'd like to flush as much of the metallic crap out of the steering box and lines before I install the new pump as possible. I did a search and didn't find anything about flushing the power steering system. Does anybody have any suggestions or a link to some information? I don't want to kill my new pump but I'm not going to pull the steering box and take it apart as my Nissan Tech friends suggest. I was thinking about disconnecting the return line so it drains into a bucket and then putting a bunch of 10 weight hydraulic oil through it while cycling the steering back and forth. I've got plenty of used hydraulic oil that I could filter and use for this. Any thoughts?

An off-the-shelf rear spring solution would be absolutely awesome! It would save everybody time and money and make a 4" lift much more do-able for many. I don't know how far you can let the rear droop before messing up or spitting out the drive shaft? I'm curious what people have gotten away with? If needed I could make brackets for a limit strap to attach between the pumpkin and body. That way you can use long travel shocks for massive articulation without letting the whole axle droop far enough to wreck havoc on the drive shaft. We do this on Unimogs so the torque tube doesn't run out of travel but we can still droop a wheel two feet further. Several people I've talked to that have 4" SFDs installed have no drive shaft vibration issues. Since we're spacing the subframe straight down both U-joints are still running at equal angles so they should remain smooth and happy. There is no doubt this will increase wear on the U-joints, as virtually any lift in any truck will. If I were street driving a lifted R50 I would put locking hubs on it to reduce wear and increase gas mileage.

I don't know about 'amazing', it's just fabricated parts! Bits and pieces is a great way to get expensive projects done. I have an impossible time trying to save up a pile of money to buy something 'all at once'. At this moment I don't want to predict a time to have kits in stock. I thought they'd be ready to go a month ago! Yes, I will provide instructions. Probably with pictures. It will also be virtually impossible to install the parts I build wrong as long as you don't forget to tighten the bolts! What I'm doing is 100% bolt-on, welding will not be needed or beneficial. I mostly build stuff for vintage unibody cars (Datsun 510s and Zs). Welding anything to a frame rail in a unibody chassis is guaranteed to rust out the frame rail as the welding heat burns the paint off the *inside* where you cannot rust proof it. The SFD I'm building won't have the 'walking' or loosening issues that some others have had. The front spacers in my kits will be welded to the ends of a tube so there will actually be a single front spacer assembly. This lateral tube will keep the blocks from being able to rock or twist the frame rails. The rear spacers will be longer than what others have done and will match the curve of the stock frame rail. They'll have a formed plate welded onto this curve so the load at the back edge of the block is carried by a very large, curved section of frame rail. With a typical SFD like I've seen if you smack the subframe hard enough the back edges of the rear blocks will kink the frame rails. I don't know how hard you'd have to hit something to do this to an R50 but I have seen this type of damage in other applications. I'll err on the side of 'extra beefy' on 4x4 parts!

I'm the guy Dave from OZ spoke of that's developing an SFD kit right now. Unfortunately it's not going as quickly as I had hoped as family stuff has been eating up way too much of my time the last couple of months. I received a bunch of help/advice from Andrew (Shift220) regarding what he did and how. (Thanks again!) My intent is to initially offer a 4" SFD kit that includes all the spacers and steering shaft piece. I will produce a new steering shaft with two U-joints that connects directly between the gearbox and the steering rack. It will be made entirely of new parts for safety and due to the potential liability of selling modified used parts for such a critical component. I am making a couple improvements to the basic design of the four subframe spacers that will greatly reduce the twisting forces on the frame rails as well as better spread the load should a front wheel or the subframe itself take a hard hit forcing it rearward. I have been a professional metalworker for more than 20 years and pride myself on the quality of my engineering & workmanship. All my SFD parts will be powder coated black. You can see some of the other parts I build at www.vg30.com to get an idea. I am not addressing the rear suspension at this time. I can't afford to have rear springs custom wound and I think that's really what you guys need. Spring spacers scare me from a safety/liability standpoint so I don't think I'll be going there. While I'd like to sell a 'Complete 4" Lift Kit' I just can't do it right now. I think I'll be able to keep the 4" SFD to about $700 but I'd love to come in at $600. It's tough when using new steering pieces as they are expensive! I have an R50 available for fitment and I have most of the materials on the floor to build about ten kits. My intent once these are in production is to keep them in stock, ready to ship like the rest of my products. If some of you guys are interested in a kit like I described above please let me know. I have a lot into this project already and I will bring this kit to market. I have to. My suggestion is that a group of you R50 guys pool some money and have rear springs and brake lines made. I can do a Panhard drop bracket, that's no big deal at all. Rear springs and brake lines are *huge money* for me to buy and put on a shelf hoping somebody buys them someday. If I make 10 SFD kits and they gather dust for five years I'm not out that much money, just a lot of time. Ten sets of custom springs and brake lines gathering dust would absolutely kill me!

That's my website. As far as I'm aware all the intakes I've done are in either Datsun 510s or early Zs. I've probably modified close to fifty intakes over the years. The biggest reason people use them is ultimate simplicity. There are a lot of vintage Datsun guys (myself included) that prefer 510s with as few components and as little electronics as possible. The Holley does make a little more power, but not enough to justify converting an already-injected vehicle. Plus carbs suck off road! I wheel my Pathy and prefer injection for its consistent off-angle operation.

My house in Belfair backs up to the Tahuya State Forest and the main ORV entrance is nine minutes of blacktop away. I'm not really going to do much 'wheeling Saturday, just hit a few of the big puddles and a couple mud holes to put some fresh color on the truck for GG. Sadly I probably won't be there half an hour. No time to 'wheel at the moment. packie88: You should come to GG even if your truck can't! silverton: Where is this little mud hole you speak of? I spend a lot of time during the week in South Park as that's where my fab shop is. (I have a house here too.)

I'll be getting dirty at Tahuya ORV on Saturday the 27th. I just hope it doesn't rain hard and wash off all the muddy goodness on the way to Seattle! I finally pulled off my busted up flares a couple days ago so it'll get dirty a little easier now. My Pathy hasn't really been washed since I put it on it's side two Winters ago so it always carries a pretty good 'base coat'. I just thought of something. GG usually wraps up pretty early, like between Noon and 2:00 depending on the weather. I'll plan to get there about 9:00am. If anybody wants too we could go grab some food and hang out somewhere in the area after the show. Zesto's isn't far and is a kickarse burger place... and last I recall the parking lot entry ramps were still pretty 'ricer-proof'. I know none of my 510s ever got into that place!

Trade random stuff you don't use that has little value to you for a bike for your girl so you can ride together? Sounds like a no brainer to me! I have a suggestion if you're worried about the sketchyness of the bike since it doesn't run right at the moment: Make the deal with all the details worked out on the condition that you supply the parts and labor and get the bike running right. Then after spending $50 and an afternoon if you don't like the way it runs you can walk away. You're only out $50 and some time. (Time your girl knows you're spending for her, even if the bike doesn't work out.) That way if, say, it's got a funky noise in the bottom end you couldn't hear 'cuz it ran like crap you don't end up stuck with it. Now I'm not saying anything bad about girls on bikes.... but a 500 Ninja that comes with extra body parts can be a really good starter bike for a chick!

Northwest Nissans is having their annual 'Show' at Golden Gardens on Sunday March 28th, 2010. I've been to it a few times and it's not really so much a show as a gathering or big meet-up. It's free. There's typically a lot of rice there but some cool vintage stuff and random weird Nissan hardware too. A friend and I took our Pathfinders last year and were the only ones there. I made sure my truck was thoroughly plastered with mud. That makes a nice contrast to all the shiny ricer crap... If anybody else wants to go I'll be there again with my Pathy. We could park a group together. This event is held in a huge parking lot of a city park that's open to the public so it is a bit disorganized. Golden Gardens is a nice park on the water and is a great place to bring the family. If I had kids I'd make a picnic day-at-the-park out of it. Anybody else want to go?

After reading the above I went poking around the web looking for G-Body springs and found this chart of springs that fit them: Moog G-Body Springs (There's some goofy load/height info in the chart that obviously doesn't apply to us.) Next I did a web search for the Moog #5604, the tallest of the .672 wire springs at 16.076 free length. Their rate is 346 pounds per inch and these are the softest listed for G-bodies. Rock Auto has them here Moog 5604 for $65.79 per pair. I didn't find a rate anywhere for the ever-popular JGC springs or the F100 ones for comparison but the Rancho springs that a lot of people seem to think are way too soft are 220 pounds per inch. 220 to 346 is a HUGE difference. That said, I've got a 33" tire & 5' Hi Lift on my tire carrier and rarely have less than 100 pounds of 'stuff' in the back of my Pathy so maybe they aren't off-the-chart stiff? why3zx: When you fully flex your truck will the compressed side hit the bump stop before the other tire comes off the ground?

I have an '01 Xterra automatic in my '88 Pathfinder and the TX10 bolted right up... the question is: Is mine this 'HD' version? Is the case marked as such? If so I'll confirm what it is so you'll know that it does fit. There were a couple of minor changes needed for install. Apparently the vent is different and the wiring harness had to be lengthened to reach. I did not do the install myself as my back was way too messed up at the time. My Nissan Tech friends that talked me into getting one of these transmissions rather than a rebuilt original Pathy transmission said, "They're absolutely bomb-proof, they do not fail like the old ones do!" They knew I was thinking about doing a VG30ET swap that could see 300hp and said this trans would hold up with no problem as long as I added a big cooler and a temp gauge. I must say it's by far the smoothest, quietest, and most solid-shifting auto I've driven in a WD21. My only regret is that I didn't switch it to synthetic before install as we could have gotten nearly all the fluid out of the converter at that time. My brother is a Nissan parts guy. I just sent him an email asking if there's a way to positively identify my transmission.

Here's my two cents worth: The trick to a clean save on ice in a RWD that's suddenly going sideways is to make the tire speed match the road speed until you get it straightened out. Many people will get spooked when the rear starts to slide and let off the gas suddenly. This sends you fishtailing all over the place as the tires will not regain lateral traction while their speed isn't matched to the speed of the road. If anything you should let up on the throttle very gently to get the tires' speed back down to where it matches ground speed. When you're suddenly sliding on ice at speed the engine usually revs as the drive tires break traction. Gently bring the revs back down to where they were and steer yourself out of it. The most important things are don't panic and whatever you do, do it smoothly. I grew up in a road racing family, learned from some of the best drivers in the region, and Pro Rallied for a few years. What I have to say next is very difficult advice to follow but it could save your life: No matter what the road surface, speed, or vehicle: If you are out of control spinning, can't save it, and you're truly just along for the ride hold the steering wheel in one position and push in the clutch if it's a manual. If it's an auto just take your foot off the gas and hold the wheel in whatever spot it happens to be in. If you're on dry tarmac drag the brakes just slightly. On any other surface don't use the brake! This technique will get you the 'best spin' possible and if you leave the road it will be at a lower speed than if you were flailing with the steering wheel and/or locking up the brakes. You'll also be more aware of where you're headed which brings me to the most important advice I can give: Just before you either: a.) Leave the road surface or b.) Slam into something; Pull your feet back to the front of the seat, cross your arms in an X on your chest, and grab your shirt or jacket with both hands. NEVER have your feet on the pedals or your hands on the steering wheel at the moment of impact! Do not brace for impact, this is the worst possible thing you can do. If you have the presence of mind to do it, exhale before you hit. The reason drunks walk away from horrendous wrecks is because they don't see it coming (or their reaction is slowed) and they do not tense up before impact.

Properly built single exhaust makes more power than dual regardless of application. Single exhaust has less pulsing so the flow is smoother and exhaust extraction is improved. IMHO, V6s sound horrible with dual exhaust. It sounds like two Chevy Sprints drag racing side by side...

366,214.7

Here's my There is no copyright issue, hundreds of companies make fiberglass body parts by simply taking a mold off of a factory part. They don't pay royalties. If there is a patent (I'll bet $100 there isn't) the patent number would have to be permanently molded into the part. Otherwise, the patent is null and void. If you are going to produce these the best material is probably ABS plastic sheet. It can be vacuum or compression formed. It's the most durable material I've seen for things like air dams that get whacked on the ground all the time. You could produce them much cheaper in limited quantity out of fiberglass or even carbon fiber as a mold can be pulled directly from the existing part and almost immediately used. 'Course fiberglass and cf won't hold up to things like tire, rock, and tree rub like ABS will! To do them out of ABS you'd have to machine the molds and that would be very expensive. Just reverse-engineering the flares into a CAD model would cost at least $1k per flare using a laser scanner. Of course you'd only have to scan one front and one rear, since the model could be mirrored for the opposite side. I don't know if it's perfected yet, but one other option might be to pull fiberglass molds off of the existing parts and then use a two-part material similar to spray in bedliner to make the actual part. One of my Mogger friends owned a Bull Hide bedliner franchise. He pulled molds off a set of 404 front fenders and made a couple sets of semi-flexible fenders out of Bull Hide about 1/4" thick! They did sag over time but were way more durable than the steel ones as far as bashability goes. Mog fenders are really big and flat and tend to get used (by idiots) as entry steps. A rounded part like a flare would probably hold it's shape well over time. Plus there are lots of two-part formulations out now. Might be worth a little research.