88pathoffroad

Oops, my bad. I was thinking of the new V8 platform, wasn't it R51? I forget. Nevermind. Pezzy: That's the "Screwdriver Mechanic"...anyone can pick up a screwdriver and undo screws, right? Well, anyway.

Just so everyone knows, a generic GM/Chevy #PH3600 (WIX/NAPA #51516) oil filter fits perfectly fine on the VG30 block and is slightly larger than the stock-size filter. I'm using one on mine right now. The stock filter is about 3.5" long, the new one is 5.25" long. That's quite a substantial increase in internal filtering surface area, actually. That's some cheap, good insurance against dirty oil and a small increase in oil capacity! I put 4 quarts in when I refilled my oil and the dipstick was still showing a little high, but not enough to worry about.

I updated the custom profile fields in the "My Controls" panel to reflect mechanical skills possessed by anyone. It will be a required field to select when registering on the forum from now on. I'd like to ask everyone to go to your "My Controls" page, click on "Edit Profile Info" and select your own mechanical skill level from the five choices I've entered (1 being least skilled and 5 being most skilled): 1. Screwdriver Mechanic 2. Wrench And Socket Set Mechanic 3. Standalone Tool Chest Mechanic 4. Skilled/Experienced Semi-Pro Mechanic 5. I Own A Shop Or Work As A Professional Mechanic I've also edited the "What Do You Drive" and "What Do You Consider Yourself" choices, so be sure to check that for exact vehicle choice and off-road orientation.

The heater element died and shorted out. You can unplug it and just tape up the wiring for the time being. You sure don't want to try replacing the fuse to try and fix it, unless you want an intake fire...heh. Emissions should be fine with it out.

snake: that's a push bar, not a bull bar. Pictorial differences: Push bar (from Westin's site, http://www.westinautomotive.com/pages/west...sh%20guard.html ) Bull bar (from ARB's site, http://www.arbusa.com/navara_pathfinder.htm ) A push bar/grilleguard bolts on over the stock bumper. A bull bar replaces the entire front bumper.

It's not that bad for the exhaust, but you're putting additional stress on the rest of the exhaust tubing after the first hanger by letting the back end bounce around. It could possibly crack at a weak seam or weld joint. *shrug* A muffler hanger's a muffler hanger. Go to a shop and have them tack a new hanger on for you. Shouldn't cost more than $20 if they don't try to sell you a generic pre-made OEM-specific part or something.

The PTC heater is the fuel mixture heater under your TBI unit. It helps reduce emissions when the engine is cold. If you can, take off your TBI, take out the heater, clip off the wires, then break out the center heater grid. Reinstall and you might gain as much as 3-5 HP.

Overdrive gear only engages in third at highway speeds at part-throttle.

It's been done before. Same thing, same fit. It works just fine on both vehicles.

Especially with the aforementioned oxy/ace fire...

Yep, the front shocks should stay the same as stock, but the rears you can go up to at least 26.5" extended, 16.5" compressed. That's what I have in the garage for long-travel rears. They're nitrogen-charged rear shocks from a Chevy 2500 4x4. I switched to the RS9000's for the adjustability feature.

*snicker*

He probably posted it thinking it'd sell right away for $15,000, then got mad and pulled it four days later when it didn't have any bids. Genius, pure genius.

Dowser and GrimGreg: Made 'em myself out of 3/4" thick rubber flooring mat. I got it from a buddy who had it in the floor of his bucket on a bucket truck. Use a coffee can for the initial disc shape and fine-tune the center hole right before install so you can test-fit 'em on the upper spring seat. Have extra razor blades ready for your utility knife, the sharper the blade the easier it cuts and they wear out fairly quickly FWIW.

You miss the point. They're for the front of the vehicle, that's why they HAVE two beam choices in the first place. I concede the point about the light reflector, I don't have one in my hand to inspect, so I generalized under the impression of seeing how other similar lights were designed. My bad.

That's why they epoxy the windings so heavily, eh? I'd say either his alternator has internal problems, the belt's slipping when it gets wet (??) or his wiring connector has some sort of problem that causes it to not properly conduct a current through it when it gets wet. Relocating the alternator may be your best bet in this case. When you have to have the repeated dunkings it would very much pay off to have the alternator mounted higher up.

Try it and see. I could be just in a rut, heh.

ExcessCustoms: All the things you're asking about have been pretty thoroughly covered recently. Try using the forum "Search" function and you'll find everything you just asked for, right down to the shock number for a 3" lifted rear end. Clicking the "Advanced Usage Help" link on the Search page can make it easier to find what you need.

Those spacers go on top of a Jeep spring, where the coil measures 3" ID in stock form...I wouldn't try using those on a 4" ID coil. They'd look funny rattling around inside the spring. By the way, unless your rear end becomes both airborne AND loses both shock absorbers at the same time, there's no way on God's green earth those coils are coming out of the seats on their own free will. For the record, I have 3/4" spacers top and bottom on mine and they work fine.

If there is a plug-in attached to a box on the lower radiator hose, it's just a heater, not a pump. AFAIK, there's no such thing, it's unnecessary. The coolant will circulate via convection currents, ie, hot water rises, cold water sinks. Simple and effective to a degree.

Pull your mass airflow sensor. It takes a Philips screwdriver. Make sure the element and sensor wires are still intact, if so clean them with a q-tip and alcohol. If a wire is broken or almost-but-not-quite making contact with the base, you found your problem. Check the MAFS wiring connector for looseness or corroded contacts. Common problem, though I've never heard of a 2000 RPM cut-off so specifically. The ECU is designed to run in a "Safe Mode" under MAF or TPS failure, which limits RPM's to 2800, but not 2000.

1988 FSM says GL-4 gear oil only. Mix-and-match at your own peril. I don't think they changed transfer case design until the R50 platform, though.

People have had the rear frame come apart due to rust in the past...even to the point of having the rear axle fall out from under the frame.

You can't pull the "insert"...it's a plated reflector sealed to the lens. Those would be MUCH better suited to your front end than the rear. Complete waste of a good set of dual-beam lights if you ask me.

KISS... Do you have fuel pressure AFTER the filter?