JamesRich

I picked up a set of these. $72 at the pick a part for all 4! Looks to have at least 80% tread left. Cleaned them up and checked them out. No leaks, plugs, or patches. Should make a good set of summer tires once I find another set of legos. Anyone running these can shed a little light on what they think of them? James

No plan right now just don't want to pass up an axle I might need down the road. Just $180 at pick a part. I can wrap it up in a tarp and leave it under my work bench for now. So this should be a good axle for an SAS? Around the same width as a pathy rear? The wheel bolt pattern is the same too so I should be able to use all the same hubs and brakes. I found the locking hubs too. Someone took them off and left them under the hood in the battery compartment. Maybe they had trouble rolling it and figured they were hanging up. I went back and grabbed the tires that were on it, a set of yokohama geolanders A/Ts that look to have at least 80% tread left. Should make some good summer tires once I find another set of legos. I didn't have time to pull the axle today but I don't think people are lining up to grab it, I should have time. When I'm ready to SAS I'll hit up one of our members that has a plasma table for some brackets, I hear he does excellent work! Or maybe I'll drive up there and just leave everything in your driveway. Lol! James

I found another one! This time it's 81 wagoneer. No vacuum disco and it looks like it had locking hubs but someone already robbed them. I think I will grab this one as soon as I get some time. James

I got y'all all topped! I had a 1980 thunderbird with the useless 255 V8. Got the same fuel mileage as a 302 but had less power. James

B is right my bumper is from KMA now TAG. The only problem I had with them was their delivery time. I was warned before so it didn’t bother me. They told me 6 to 7 weeks and it took 10 but I got a really nice and solid bumper that I'm happy with so it's all good. I made a video dragging the truck with the wheels locked and the bumper didn't even flex, it's very strong. MY1PATH had problems with a rear bumper he got from them a long time ago; he basically had to rebuild it to use it. This one IIRC cost me $765. They are cheaper than an ARB but not a whole lot cheaper. James

I've seen it done before, not that I would. You put the right size cotter pin in the oil hole on the crank journal and turn the crank in the correct direction and it will roll the bearing out. Cotter pins are soft enough to not mar the crank. I'm sure it will put a nick in the new bearing but I guess its better than a worn out bearing. My thinking is that if the bearings are worn out the crank needs to be measured to make sure it's not worn out too but if you just need to limp it along for a little while longer. James

Welding shops usually sell welding lead cable by the foot. It is fine strand cable too and doesn't have the transparent neon colored insulation on it! Don't want to make it look kiddy under the hood. Lol! James

Same vehicle, and yes it goes to the relay box then the battery. My point was that the 4 gauge cable has a 90 degree tab on it where it bolts to the back of the alternator so the cable doesn't come out the side where it would flex up and down every time the motor moved. With it going straight back behind the alternator to where ever, the only movement it will get is a slight twisting so it's not pulling on the post on the alternator. The main point I'm trying to stress is if you bolt a big stiff cable to the charging post of the alternator with a straight eye terminal on it the movement of the motor on the rubber motor mounts will continually loosen the nut on the charging post or break it off. James

My 01 quest has both ford and Nissan stamped right next to each other on most of the body panels so it wouldn't surprise me if it is the same rack on the Xploder. I just hope it was Nissan making the parts for ford, not the other way around! James

I pulled an alternator from a 2000 quest (125 amp). It had a 4 gauge wire from the post on the alternator following along the fan shroud and connected to the relay accessory box. Then from there it connected to the battery. If you start your truck with a run down battery it may over heat the factory wire. I was planning on running a 4 gauge cable when I later install the quest alternator but just adding a 6 or 8 gauge to the factory wire should be enough. If you do go 4 gauge get some of that fine strand flexible audio cable so it doesn't pull too much on the post on the alternator. On the quest the cable goes straight back from the alternator to the battery so the only load the cable gets on it is a rotational twisting when the motor torques. James

I bet he goes through a lot of tires! Looks like a fun ride, I want to go next! Where do I buy my ticket? James

It's the external fan that is the difference. The pulley on the external fan comes apart in two halves and sits on a spacer. The pulley from the alternator with the internal fan is one piece and the spacer is made onto it. James

http://www.pepboys.c.../9357343/00709/ I got one of these for now but their web site specifically says not for tank use. It will air up a tire in a hurry though! You could always use it to refill the tank once it's empty but not have it connected to the air supply. Viair compressors are made for tank use. http://www.viaircorp...Road/index.html James

Just make sure it can handle being connected to a tank. Some high volume compressors can't handle starting under a load. James

Time for a new excuse! Let us know what you come up with! James

R12 was better at cooling. I replaced the evaporator, orifice tube and dryer on an 86 Lincoln town car once. Parked in the shop with the fan on low and recirculate I got 17F out the vents. Of course that's not how you properly test the system we just wanted to see how cold it would blow. When charging a system you should always have the blower on max and fresh air not recirculate. Some times I even leave a window open. If it gets too cold in the car while charging the system you will get false reading and end up over filling. Unless you’re using one of tungsten’s idiot proof "machines" that has a scale so you know exactly how much refrigerant left the supply bottle. Yes I have used one of those before and they are more trouble than they are worth. With the orifice tube systems it's a fixed size port that lowers the pressure so when the blower is on recirculate the air keeps getting colder and the pressure keeps dropping until the compressor starts cycling. The expansion valve system that most imports and our pathfinders use is adjustable with temperature. When it reaches a preset temp the orifice starts to open and lower the pressure differential keeping it from getting too cold. The orifice tube systems will blow colder under the right conditions but the expansion valve systems usually blow cold faster and adjust to a wider range of conditions. I enjoyed A/C work; it’s really a simple system once you learn it. Once you know how the system works it’s the same on any system even your house. Yes tungsten read correctly you can use butane but who wants to ride around with a time bomb on their vehicle. The cooling from the system wouldn’t over ride the sweating from waiting for it to explode! James

Well you can purchase a vacuum pump to work with your gauges. Every shop I worked at had one. If you cleaned and repaired your system correctly and know what you’re doing with your gauges it should work years later. For those that don't know there is a machine. James

So how is the "machine" going to correct the pressure between the high and low lines? If there is a problem with your system and the pressures are off the only way to remedy that is by repairing the problem with the system. What kind of "machine" do you keep talking about? The only "machine" I have ever used on an A/C system was a recovery machine. That only recovers and cleans your refrigerant. When recharging the system there is no machine involved, only a set of gauges. These gauges will tell you if the system has a problem. James

I've used them before and they do work if your leak isn't too bad. The compressor front seal was leaking on my pathy when I got it and this stuff stopped it. The system had probably been empty for years and the seal was dried up. If you ever charged an A/C system before you would know you don't need a "machine" just a good set of gauges and the high pressure gauge is just there to monitor the high pressure. If nothing is wrong with your system other than it being a little low you don't need the high pressure gauge at all. The problem with these cans is that they have a couple of ounces of oil in them too. If you use a couple over time you will have too much oil in your system and that will stop it from cooling as well even if you have enough refrigerant. Most A/C system use a total of around 8 ounces of oil. And you know most guys think, "If one worked that well two will work better!" James

I'll have to agree with Nunya. I pulled the starter from my 87 5 speed in maybe 5 minutes when I was dropping the transmission. Today I pulled the starter from my parts truck, a 94 auto. It took longer to get the oil filter off and the bolts loosened than pulling the starter out the front. I had to jack it up and pull the tire though because it was sitting on 3 flats. Putting it back would be hard without taking at least the tire off though. James

Damn you Nunya! That is my favorite style hood. I had one on my old chevy. I just put a black hood from a 94 D21 on my pathy. My hood was an after market piece of crap and I really like the no vents look. It fit perfect other than the driver corner near the hinge is a hair high from being level with the fender but everything else lines up perfect. I'm going to post a picture in my ride thread and ask how to lower that corner. I would really like a cowl induction hood though! In the link that you posted, Not that I don't enjoy looking at a model in a bikini but she needs to get her butt out of the way so we can see the hood! James

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/1298/project-pathfinder-part-10-how-to-build-the-nissan-vg30e.aspx This article explains putting VG30 heads on a VG33 block but it shows you how to check the passages with the head gaskets. James

What he said! Unless you truck didn't come with a/c, I converted mine when I got it. The imports use an expansion valve that adjust for the different refrigerant so when converted they usually work just as good as a factory 134 system. James

I knew they wouldn't be cheap. That would be the perfect connector you need. Get one with a few extra terminals so your set if you add things later. I'm book marking this link for later. James

That DVD player looks like it was made for that spot! James