Jump to content

88pathoffroad

Members
  • Posts

    9,527
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Everything posted by 88pathoffroad

  1. It might also depend on which stock stereo setup your vehicle has. On some SE's, they have an amplifier that runs the rear speakers. If you take out the stock stereo that feeds the rear amp power and the proper amount of input signal, then your rear speakers won't work with an aftermarket CD player, becaus ethe CD player isn't equipped to send both power and signal back to that amplifier. I think the easiest option is just to run new speaker wires into the back and splice them into the original speaker wiring AFTER the amplifier, if so equipped. It's not too hard to do, you just have to remove some interior panels.
  2. This is an addendum to the main NPORA FAQ section. I did add quite a few things from my personal experience though. Please note: I simply reposted most of this from another BBS. I cannot provide information on all the covered items in this article, so please don't email me about it, simply post questions in this thread. Sorry for any inconvenience. I thought I'd post some hints and tips here for the first generation(WD21) Pathfinders that people might find useful and/or fairly easy to do. This should be helpful for people browsing the Internet for minor problems/work on their Pathfinder. Updated 1/8/07, added rust details, tension rod problem and edited several inaccuracies. Fuel/Temp Gauges Not Working, or Sporadically Working Another common cause for gauge fluctuations is a failing alternator. A simple fix for this problem is to find an 8VDC three-pin TO220 type voltage regulator and solder new wires onto it, then use that instead of the original Nissan part. Here is a link that shows exactly what you need and where you can buy one for less than at the dealership. Solution2 - Restored 9/14 thanks to noezran ------------------- Additional information on the voltage regulator replacement can be found here. Dead Fuel and temp gauges -NPORA Mod Team ------------------- Headlights working strangely, not at all or singly(only one) The headlight switch inside the turn signal lever is prone to malfunction after a while. Taking the turn signal lever apart, pulling the switch apart and cleaning the contacts as well as re-bending them into proper position will fix this problem. Some people report using contact cleaner spray on the switch from the outside (or after minor disassembly), but the effects don't last and re-cleaning is necessary. Exhaust Manifold Stud Breakage and Associated "Ticking" Noise WD21 Pathfinders with the VG30i and VG30E engines were built with weak exhaust manifold studs that are prone to breaking because the exhaust manifolds tend to expand unevenly when warming up and cooling down. This causes the infamous "ticking" noise often heard from the front of Pathfinders which quiets down after the manifolds have heated up sufficiently. This applies to all Pathfinders from 1987 through 1995. Installing revised manifold studs are the best solution to this problem. Extracting broken studs from your V6 heads is a BIG pain in the ass. One person recommends striking the ends of broken off studs several times with an impact tool or hammer to loosen the studs a bit before trying to remove them with either a stud extractor or vice grips. Soaking the studs and nuts overnight (at least) in PB Blaster or WD-40 is a must. If you choose to drill a broken stud to remove it, be very VERY careful, because the water jacket of the engine comes very close to the exhaust stud holes. It's entirely possible to drill a hole accidentally into your water jacket, which would be a Bad Thing To Do. The revised manifold stud Nissan part number is: 14065-V5004 Revised Exhaust Manifold Stud. The cost on those is around $2 per stud. They're essentially 300ZX twin turbo studs, and they're made of a different type of steel with a more similar coefficient of expansion that doesn't tend to break like the standard ones. Tension rod bushings - slight frame damage can result Every WD21 Pathfinder has two tension rods (or compression rod, same thing) in the front suspension. They are located directly to the rear of the lower control arm and connects to both the lower control arm at the bottom and to the frame in it's own hole. If the tension rod bushings wear out and allow excessive movement of the rod, the frame-side mounting hole may become elongated or rust away to a significant degree. This is fairly easily fixed by welding on two new bushing cups or just plain flat washers over the top of the old ones. There is no easy way to positively test for looseness of that part aside from taking it off entirely, but you can still do a visual inspection. Have someone bounce the front end of the vehicle while you watch the frame side of the tension rod. If there is slop in the bushings or a noticeable gap at either side of the bushings while the suspension is in movement, you should consider buying new bushings. Polyurethane bushings go for about $25 a set, OEM rubber ones are probably close to the same price. Front End Alignment - frequently done improperly The torsion bars have a slow memory. If the vehicle has been on a hoist prior to an alignment, the front end alignment will be incorrect because the front end will be sitting higher than normal. One place went so far as to explain that it could not be aligned because the rear axle was crooked. The only place we've been able to get the front end alignment done correctly is by a Nissan dealer. The size of the upper control arm spindle bolts is 14mm x 1.5 x 50mm. A 60mm length bolt should be sufficiently long enough to allow for proper alignment if a large number of alignment shims are needed for camber adjustment. Front End Clunking/Squealing Noise When Turned To Lock Steering stops keep the front wheels from being turned past a certain point. The steering stops are built with plastic caps, which can fall off or wear out. When they do disappear you have metal-to-metal contact between moving parts. The result is when going over bumps, with the steering turned to lock, such as when turning across curbs, you get a nasty sounding and feeling squealing/clunking. The solution is to grease the stops and contact areas, or to replace the plastic caps. There are four of them, two in front of your front wheels and two behind your front wheels. They are easy to find and grease without raising the vehicle. Another source of front end squeals or noises are the front differential crossmember bolts. Over time, the bolts can loosen, allowing the crossmember to shift slightly every now and then, causing noise from the front end...sometimes alarmingly nasty sounding. The fix is to re-torque the crossmember bolts. There are four bolts to re-torque, two on each side of the front crossmember. They are easily accessible from the front of the vehicle without jacking it up. I don't have the exact torque figures on hand, but simply cranking the bolts tight with a 1/2" drive ratchet worked for me. Power Door Lock Actuator We found one of ours was defective when manufactured. I suppose I could have tried to get a free repair or replacement, but it was less hassle to fix it myself. It involved reseating a piece of circuit board, and repairing the traces on the board that had been worn through. Many people report success fixing this problem by simply removing the switch and cleaning the contacts inside. Power Door Locks locking or unlocking on their own Sometimes during cold weather, hot weather, or just for no reason at all, the power door locks will either pop back up after locking or stay locked without letting the lock cylinder turn and unlock the door. The mechanical assembly connecting the lock cylinder itself to the inner door lock and armatures are mated by the use of small plastic parts that wear out and then break over time. Power Window Motors Now and then, operate all the power windows. This keeps the mechanisms exercised and less likely to seize. Once in a while, lubricate the glass channels with spray silicone lubricant, to reduce the strain on the window motors. It is also beneficial to occasionally grease the center window channels inside the doors and inspect everything for problems just in case. Roof Rack Noise If you have the factory sun roof and roof rack, Nissan advises to move the front bar of the rack rearward to reduce wind noise inside the car. If you have no reason to keep them on, the crosspieces that protect the roof can also be removed. That makes washing/waxing easier. Spare Tire Carrier - bushings and rattling The hinges for the spare tire carrier tend to become tighter as the lubricant dries out. The carrier becomes more difficult to swing and sometimes puts enough stress on the body seams to crack them open and expose them to rust. The pivot pins in the hinges are replaceable with some effort, but are not EASILY replaceable. Rust Areas & undercoating CHECK YOUR FRAME FOR RUST! The rear frame on many Pathfinders is notorious for generating rust, especially right above the wheels inside the wheelwells. If left unchecked the rust will rot out the entire rear half of the frame above and forward of the back wheels. If you live in an area with frequently salted roads or on the coast with salt air, always wash out your frame seasonally and do a manual inspection for rust. Bang on the frame with a small hammer to listen for weak spots. If any are found, pick at them with a screwdriver or awl to find how much rust there is. Rusted frame areas should be cut out and have new steel welded back in before it gets worse. People have had the rear axle fall out from underneath while driving from rust because they NEVER LOOKED UNDERNEATH. This is not a Nissan problem per se, it is a maintenance issue that should be taken care of by the owner. The owner's manual details washing out the frame as part of regular maintenance, that's why there are holes in it to begin with. After washing out the frame, injecting oil inside as rust-proofing is a fairly good way to prevent further rust. Pathfinders also tend to rust under the back seat. This is caused by an poorly sealed seam on the underbody which is exposed to water/salt and does not dry out quickly. Frequently check under the back seat for tell-tale rust bulges. Another rust problem is on the 4-door models, between the rear wheel opening and the bottom rear corner of the back door opening. One solution is to have anti-rust oil compound sprayed inside the back ends of the rocker panels. Another common area prone to rust is directly under the driver's floor near the gas pedal where the exhaust pipes join. If the exhaust leaks it will spray fumes against the floor and quickly accelerate any slight rust problems into a gaping hole in your floor which may cause a fire if the exhaust heats up the carpeting. Keeping up on visual inspections and taking care of those annoying leaks can be very beneficial! Wheel Balance - dirt on chromed wheels The chrome steel wheels have a pronounced lip where the weights mount. In dirty conditions, these lips quickly collect lots of sand\mud etc. As they do, they cancel out the effect of balancing weights, and the wheels go out of balance. This can be remedied by carefully cleaning the wheel lips. This is also applicable on any other wheel...make sure they are clean inside and out if you have vibrations before troubleshooting further! High Levels of Road Noise By today's standards, the first generation Pathfinders are pretty noisy. This can be reduced by installing sound deadener in the doors, and especially up against the firewall. More ambitious people can remove the seats and console and line the floor with another layer. It's easy to do under the back seat, more difficult to do in the cargo area. Another trick is to use self-stick automotive weatherstripping and add a second line of rubber around all the door openings. For some reason, these trucks seem prone for having the upper door frames bent out away from the body. Even if you can't see it, the resulting wind noise is quite loud. You can check in the dark by lowering the windows and shining a light around the outside seams, or closing the door against a strip of paper and seeing if you can move the paper. Parking Brake Cable - seized The early symptom of this is that the parking brake lever rattles on rough roads. Eventually it won't release all the way. Replacing the cable requires removing the console, which is not terribly difficult. The biggest problem is that the cable has a housing that bolts to the floor, under the carpets, and behind the console. Since the carpet is so laborious to remove, I cut some slits in the carpet to access the bolt heads. The slits are pretty well invisible, and are covered by the floor mats anyway. The e-brake cable is only available from the dealership or a junkyard. Front Door Hinge Pins If the doors have begun to sag, the hinge pins can be replaced. This is better left to the pros, since it's so difficult I'd never do it again. Look at the hinges and see those circlips, and think it's an easy matter of supporting the door, popping off the clips, replacing the pins and the clips, and you're done. No such luck. The pins are press fits, through two brass bushings which are also press fits. The pin and the bushings have to be replaced. It is very difficult to get the bushings out. I basically destroyed them by drilling and mangling them out. Getting the stuff back together without damaging the paint or bodywork was interesting. A whole evening to do two hinges. (Note: other people have had better luck without problems replacing theirs, this is just one person's experience.) Radio buttons falling off The radio buttons are prone to falling off, since for some functions, you have to pull on them. (Good thinking!) Replacements are ridiculously expensive. You can prevent this annoyance by gluing them on. Rear Bumper Protection - trailer hitch The rear bumper has a brittle plastic insert around the license plate, which itself hangs below the bumper. All this can be damaged when running out of rear end clearance offroad. A simple solution is to mount a cheap trailer hitch which will protect the fragile bits. Rear Seat Hinges - space for sleeping You can drill out the hinge pins securing the rear seat bottoms, and replace them with bolts and wingnuts. Although it's a bit fiddly, you then can remove the rear seat bottoms, leaving either space for more cargo, or for sleeping. The seat bottoms can be arranged to fill the remaining gaps. Trouble Spots Regarding R50 Pathfinder 1996-present Check Engine Light on Due to Gas Cap Malfunction: 96-up gas caps have a reputation for not sealing properly and causing the ECU to think the fuel system is leaking vapors from the cap, thereby causing the Check Engine light to come on. Sometimes re-tightening the cap will cure the problem, other times a new cap is the only cure. Airbags: Airbag-indicator light may flash, indicating a failure. Dealer will replace the SRS (supplemental restraint system) sensor under warranty. (1996) Audio system: The radio may loose its presets and the clock its time due to voltage spikes. A replacement radio, less susceptible to this problem, is available. (1996) Brake noise: A high-pitched squeal or whistle from the area of the front brakes is eliminated by replacing the baffle plate on both sides. (1996-98) Suspension noise: The front suspension squeaks on rough roads due to a problem between the strut rod and rubber bumper. (1996) Vehicle shake: Vibrations at 30-40 mph are often the result of the front driveshaft being installed out of phase. (1996-97) Wheels: The black anodized lug nuts' surfaces corrode (looking light white dust spots). Nissan will replace them with chrome lug nuts. (1996) Exhaust system: in areas with a high amount of wintertime ice or snowfall, the exhaust system is prone to rusting out due to salt or chemical corrosion. Vehicle wobble or shake in the rear at highway speeds or after driving over a bump: This usually indicates worn rear control arm bushings. Replacement of the bushings is a fairly involved task requiring use of a press. New bushings will solve this problem. There are two upper control arms and two lower control arms, with 16 bushings total to be replaced. Hope this helps. -88pathoffroad Edit: revised 3/24/04 Edit: revised 5/04/04 Edit: revised 5/24/04 Edit: revised 6/05/04 Edit: revised 12/16/04
  3. stevew1: Oh, the GF at the time. Long gone, and I don't really miss her, except for her...cravings...shall we say?
  4. Exactly. A cheap spring compressor would have made it a lot easier for me. I hate having to make do with prybars when another tool could make the job easier, but I was in the middle of the project! I wasn't about to quit! hehe
  5. Your Ford beast? I thought this was a Nissan Pathfinder forum! stevew1: Sly dog indeed! She was pulling me into the back while there was a party going on outside! Good thing I have tinted windows.
  6. How to pull ECU error codes for 87-95 Pathfinders and hardbody pickups: The ECU is under your passenger's side seat. You can gain access to it by simply sliding the seat all the way forward and removing the plastic cover from the ECU. You can also remove the seat if you want, it makes access a little easier. The VG30i ECU's have a tiny toggle switch on the side of the ECU with a small snap-in switch cover that must be utilized to select the diagnostic mode of the ECU. The 4-cylinder ECU and the VG30E ECU has a slotted switch that turns 1/4 or 1/2 turn clockwise and counterclockwise to do the same task. Some early 4-cyl HB ECU's have the switch as well. In any case it will have one or the other. Pictures: This is the ECU from my very dirty (and wrecked) 89 VG30i Pathfinder. VG30E ECU's have a slotted round switch in the same place as the toggle switch. Seat removed; ECU in place on the floor with cover. The cover has ONE screw holding it down. Remove that and the cover will pull off. Diagnostic selector switch with cover installed Diagnostic selector switch with switch cover removed and set on top of the ECU. This is where the LED lights are visible on top of the ECU. For 4-cylinder: 1. Turn the ignition switch on, but do not start the engine. All of the lights in the dash should be on. 2. Turn the 'diagnostic mode selector' screw on the ECU fully clockwise. The check engine light will go out. Wait 5 seconds, then turn the screw fully counter clockwise. 3. The check engine light will then begin to flash the trouble code. (number of long flashes is the 1st digit, number of short flashes is the 2nd digit) 4. To clear all stored codes and turn the check engine light off, turn the screw fully clockwise while it is in diagnostic mode. Wait 5 seconds, then turn the screw fully counter clockwise. 5. To keep the codes stored, simply turn the key off as the check engine light is flashing and the ECU will keep all stored codes and the check engine light will remain on. For V6: 1. Turn the ignition switch on, but do not start the engine. All of the lights in the dash should be on. 2. For VG30i: There is a little plastic tab you pull off of the side of the ECU(facing the door). A small toggle switch is behind it with 2 positions, "ON" and "DIAGNOSTICS". Using a small screwdriver or tool, move it to the diagnostics position. The red and green LED's on top of the ECU will blink simultaneously. One time, pause, then 2 times, three times, pause...so on for each mode, 1 through 5. Mode 3 is the most commonly used mode and will yield the ECU trouble codes you need to figure out what's going on with your engine. For VG30E with slotted switch: Turn the 'diagnostic mode selector' screw on the ECU fully clockwise. The check engine light will go out. Wait 5 seconds, then turn the screw fully counter clockwise. 3. After it blinks both LED's 3 times move the toggle switch back to the on position. After about five seconds it will start to output out the diagnostic codes as with the 4-cylinder ECU. Note each code as it is displayed, the red LED flashing once for 10's, and the green LED flashing once for 1's. Meaning: One red flash and two green flashes means code 12. 4. To clear the ECU of any trouble codes, move the switch to the "DIAGNOSTICS" position then back to the "ON" position and turn off the key. 1986.5-1995 Nissan ECU Flash Codes(all engines) 11 Crank Angle Sensor/Camshaft Position Sensor. 12 Air Flow Meter/Mass Air Flow Sensor. 13 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. 14 Vehicle Speed Sensor. 21 Ignition Signal. 22 Fuel Pump. 23 Idle Switch. 24 Throttle Valve Switch. 25 Idle Speed Control Valve. 28 Cooling Fan Circuit. 31 ECM. 32 EGR Function. 33 Heated Oxygen Sensor. 34 Knock Sensor. 35 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor. 36 EGR Control-Back Pressure Transducer. 37 Knock Sensor. 38 Right hand bank Closed Loop (B2). 41 Intake Air Temperature Sensor. 42 Fuel Temperature Sensor. 43 Throttle Position Sensor. 44 ECCS Normal Operation. 45 Injector Leak. 47 Crankshaft Position Sensor. 51 Injector Circuit. 53 Oxygen Sensor. 54 A/T Control. 55 No Malfunction. 63 No. 6 Cylinder Misfire. 64 No. 5 Cylinder Misfire. 65 No. 4 Cylinder Misfire. 66 No. 3 Cylinder Misfire. 67 No. 2 Cylinder Misfire. 68 No. 1 Cylinder Misfire. 71 Random Misfire. 72 TWC Function right hand bank. 73 TWC Function right hand bank. 76 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank. 77 Rear Heated Oxygen Sensor Circuit. 82 Crankshaft Position Sensor. 84 A/T Diagnosis Communication Line. 85 VTC Solenoid Valve Circuit. 86 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank. 87 Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit. 91 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank. 94 TCC Solenoid Valve. 95 Crankshaft Position Sensor. 98 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. 101 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank. 103 Park/Neutral Position Switch Circuit. 105 EGR and EGR Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit. 108 Canister Purge Control Valve Circuit ECU Diagnostic Mode Procedures Mode I - Exhaust Oxygen Sensor Monitor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Mode I to determine if the Oxygen Sensor is functioning properly. Warm the engine to normal temperature. Run the engine above 2000 RPM under no load while looking at the ECU. Make sure the GREEN LED goes on and off more than five times during ten seconds at 2000 RPM. If the number of flashes are not more than five, replace the oxygen sensor. If the LED does not flash, check the sensor's circuit. Mode II - Mixture Ratio Control Monitor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Mode II to determine if the air/fuel mixture is cycling correctly. Warm the engine to normal operating temperature. Turn the dial on the ECU fully clockwise (or if you have a switch, turn it on). After the LED flashes twice, turn the dial fully counter clockwise (or turn the switch off). Run the engine above 2000 RPM under no load while looking at the ECU. If the RED LED blinks simultaneously with the GREEN LED, the air/fuel mixture is cycling properly. If the RED LED stays off, the mixture is more than 5% rich. If the RED LED stays on, the mixture is more than 5% lean. If the RED LED stays on or off above 2000 RPM, complete the diagnostics before beginning repairs. Mode III - Stored Fault Code Reporting ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Mode III to retrive all stored trouble codes in memory. Use the above posted procedures. Mode IV - Switch Operation Monitor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Mode IV to determine if the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS), Starter circuit and/or Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) are in proper working order. Turn the ignition switch on, but do not start the engine. Turn the dial on the ECU fully clockwise. After the LED flashes 4 times, turn the dial fully counter clockwise. Make sure the RED LED is turned off. Make sure the RED LED turns on when depressing the gas pedal. If not, check or replace the Throttle Position Sensor. Make sure the RED LED turns on when turning the ignition key the START position. If not, check or replace the starter. Drive the vehicle with the ECU unbolted and within view. Make sure the GREEN LED turns on when speed is 12 MPH or more. If not, check or replace the Vehicle Speed Sensor. Mode V - Real Time Diagnostic Function ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Mode V to determine if the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS), Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAFS) and/or Ignition signal are working properly. Start engine. Turn the dial on the ECU fully clockwise. After the LED flashes 5 times, turn the dial fully counter clockwise. Make sure LEDs do not flash for 5 minutes when racing or idling the engine. If it flashes, count the number of flashes, turn engine off, and see the following 3 paragraphs. Perform real-time diagnosis insepction and repair or replace malfunctioning part if present. if LEDs do not flash for 5 minutes, turn engine off. If the RED LED flashes 3 times for 1.5 seconds, check the Crankshaft Position Sensor. Check the harness continuity at CPS when the engine is stopped. Inspect the harness for dust and clean if necessary. Check the pin terminal at ECU for bends and remove them as necessary. Reconnect harness and recheck continuity. During real-time diagnosis, tap the harness connector or component and check if trouble code is displayed. If so, replace terminal. If the GREEN LED flashes twice-3 times for 0.5 seconds, check Mass Air Flow Sensor. Check the harness continuity at MAFS when the engine is stopped. Inspect the harness for dust and clean if necessary. Check the pin terminal at ECU for bends and remove them as necessary. Reconnect harness and recheck continuity. During real-time diagnosis, tap the harness connector or component and check if trouble code is displayed. If so, replace terminal. If the GREEN LED flashes 4 times for 0.2 seconds 3 times, check the ignition signal. Check the harness continuity when the engine is stopped. Inspect the harness for dust and clean if necessary. Check the pin terminal at ECU for bends and remove them as necessary. Reconnect harness and recheck continuity. During real-time diagnosis, tap the harness connector or component and check if trouble code is displayed. If so, replace terminal. Hope this helps...
  7. Whoa, Steve...your sig pic is a bit big, man. 137 K!! That'll take more than 5 seconds to load on dial-up for JUST YOUR PIC on every forum page that your sig pic is on. If you posted more than once on a page, your pic has to be loaded for every post you made. Want help resizing/reformatting it so it's smaller in filesize? That being said...2-doors kick arse, but the 4-doors have more interior room, I think. Hehe. This is coming from someone that has "rocked the Pathfinder" from the inside and knows. ;D
  8. 88pathoffroad

    New Engine

    The crankshaft on the 300Z engines are LONGER - which means that you will have to get a new harmonic balancer, all the accesory mounts (so that the belts will match up), and the oil pan will have to be swapped out due to differences in crossmember height and oil pump pickup specs. The intake and top end are different as well. You'll need a new oil pan, intake, airflow meter and computer at a minimum. This being said. you might be better off finding a junkyard VG30 engine somewhere close by, just cleaning that up and putting it in.
  9. This is a discussion regarding replacement rear springs that can be used to lift your Pathfinder without you having to spend $100 on new springs. You can use either Jeep Grand Cherokee front coil springs(I6 or V8, AWD, from 1992-1997) or Ford pickup coil springs(from 1970-1978, 2WD, V8), depending on what's more readily available to you and/or what you personally prefer. I bought my JGC coils for $10 each at a local junkyard which seems to be a fairly cheap price after hearing from a lot of other people, but that's what they asked. Other people have used actual lift springs for a Ford truck and have had to cut down the springs to get them to fit properly, so this is not an end-all post regarding which springs you can use, it's simply a post that includes the easiest to find, modify and install springs for lifting Pathfinders. Further updates and some clarification on coil spring rate and usages: Thanks a million guys, working together we can help everybody stay on the same page and not have any problems with finding the RIGHT springs! -88 Here is my install and review report on the JGC coil springs. A NEWLY UPDATED review of the Ford coil spring/Jeep coil spring installation with before and after pictures can be found here: http://www.damagedreality.com/fordcoil.html =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= These springs will yield: 2 1/2" to 3" of lift over stock Pathy coils, longer than Ford coils, higher rate than stock Pathfinder coils, cheap($10 each), and fairly easy to find. There were at least ten wrecked JGC's in the junkyard when I got mine. Coils have been installed and driven around on. Prognosis: Awesome fit. Same amount of lift I had with the Ford coils, almost the same stiffness-wise. I'd highly reccommend a set of JGC front coils for lifting over the Ford coils. PICS: A stock Pathfinder spring, a JGC spring(before cutting), and the old Ford spring(with the pigtail coil cut off). You can see how much burlier the Ford coils are, spring wire diameter-wise. This is how much of the JGC coil I cut off. I used a $20 angle grinder from Harbor Freight Tools. Then I beveled the inside edge of the cut and deburred the edges of the ground-off coil end to clean it up. Installed coil springs...nice shiny black powder coat from the Jeep factory. Passenger's side spring, this is the one that droops the most on the trail because the panhard rod on the other side of the axle limits droop a bit more over on the driver's side. Note that there is no looseness! I've been having some nasty problems with the Ford coil dropping out of it's socket on the passenger's side on the trail. FIXED! The only thing I would like to mention otherwise was that the stock spring isolator/seat that goes on top of each stock coil spring wouldn't fit back in after installing the JGC springs. They're a tight fit, which is a good thing. I used four rubber donuts cut out of an old mud flap in it's place on both sides(two top, two bottom). I had to jack up the driver's side with TWO jacks and unbolt the lower shock mount & panhard rod to get the axle to droop low enough to get that darn coil in there(with the aid of a prybar and some heavy twisting). Then I had to pull downwards on the coil with one hand while shuffling the rubber donuts in under the end of the coil on top. I don't believe I'll have any problems with that, I just wanted to mention it. The passenger's side coil is easier to get in there, because that side of the axle droops more with the shock unbolted. To remove the JGC coils from a donor vehicle: 12, 13, and 14 MM sockets and ratchet will be needed, some pliers or a small crescent wrench, and the JGC will need to be jacked up/supported so that the front suspension is at full droop. There is a brake line bracket that needs to be removed(two bolts), then the lower coil retainer strap(one bolt), then the shocks will need to be unbolted(one nut on top of the shock), and the front swaybar's upper endlink bolts(BOTH sides) will need to be removed for the rest of the suspension to droop all the way and let the coil be taken out. I had to use a bit of an improvised prybar to get the spring to come off it's seat in the vehicle I got my springs off of. You simply need to pry it off the lower seat to get it to slide out to the front. Stepping on the hub with my foot also helped drop the suspension a bit lower. On the DS spring, I had to "unscrew" the spring until it dropped low enough to clear the steering components. Nothing special needed, just some basic tools and some elbow grease. It has come to my attention that due to the differences in weight ratios and setups on different year and model Pathfinders, some people may not get as much lift out of the JGC coils as I did. My Pathy is a 2-door with no rear tire carrier. Four door Pathfinders with the rear tire carrier have a LOT more rear end weight and will only get about 1.5" of lift from the JGC coils. A set of poly or rubber spacers along with the new coils may be a good answer for a cheap lift on a four door. Edit by 88: updated with fresh information and know-how, 10/9/06.
  10. The studs should be changed out regardless and upgraded to the 300ZX revised manifold studs instead of using the OEM Pathfinder studs. The Nissan dealership should know all about this. I've heard that a good procedure when trying to remove old studs is to tap the tip of the stud a few times with a hammer and punch. This loosens the rust in the threads and makes it easier to remove the stud, thereby reducing the chances of the stud breaking off inside the head. I don't know where you've been looking, burnevans94xe, but with a single Google search, I got about 25 hits on "Nissan Pathfinder headers". Lots of places sell them, http://www.4x4parts.com being one place to get performance and replacement Nissan parts.
×
×
  • Create New...