The_Magicians_Eye

Slim pickings this month. Ouch

thank you

Ok I need to replace all my door windows seals, scrapers (not sure what they are call), and whatever else I need to keep my windows from rattling around and letting wind whistle through the cracks. Where do I find them? Is there a website or is this strictly just something I have to hope the dealers can find?

Yellow top Optima in my ride. I bought it about a year and a half ago. I went with the yellow top for all the reasons westslope listed. I also went that rout because what killed my last battery was a complete drain of it's power due to me not having my flood lights wired properly. I wanted to make sure if something like that happened again it would still work. As most of you know Deep-cycle batteries are the only ones designed to handle that abuse. As far as Optima being crap now days... They still carry their 36 months free replacement warranty so I have no worries at all in that department. Plus mine works just fine even cold starting in -18 weather.

I replaced them with DOT LED turn signals. I was using those LED strips that the local parts store sells. If you look in the photo section you can see where I had them mounted and what I replaced them with.

I myself wasn't ready for those safety inspections. We don't have them in AZ. It's up the to cops to ticket you if you're driving something unsafe or illegal. I had to replace both head lights and a corner light. Oh and they didn't like my LED turn signals so I had to go buy DOT approved turn signals. I also had to adjust my parking brake too before I could pass.

I don't know what PA looks for but NY looks for: Windshield. Brakes (including your e-brake). All lights have to work and be DOT approved (No cracks or chips in any lenses). The visually check for the cat, o2 sensor, pvc valve, they visually check your intake boot and your vacuum lines. They check your belts and hoses. They check for any suspension, steering issues, and drive line issues. Check your fuel and brake lines for any old brittle hoses. They check to make sure your wipers are good and work. They check your horn and seat belts. They check your tires and lug nuts. Any issues with any of these things and you fail. Sure you might find every shop is different on what they my be picky about. None the less if they pass you and they shouldn't they will loose their license to do safety inspections and have to pay a 10 or 20 thousand dollar fine. Again this is NY in a non smog testing city. PA will have different laws but given that they still have rust issues in that state I'd assume they check the suspension and steering really well.

A cat won't start any fires if you're ride is running properly. The only way it will start a fire is if that thing is glowing red hot from running rich. If it's doing that it's going to be junk in no time anyway. I'm on my 2nd year with mine and have had no issues at all. I've had these on an old Malibu I owned that was running rich and sure enough they lasted about 2 days before the insides started to come apart. However once I got it running properly even with the cats damaged inside I still passed smog and they never glowed like that again. I'd be willing to bet 99% of people that claim they cause fires have never seen this happen. I'd love to see one that isn't glowing red hot cause a fire anymore than your cross over pipe would. Oh and by the way if you plan on moving to PA you better make sure they don't have Safety inspection like they do here in NY. If they do you'll won't be driving your truck in it's current condition without spending a pretty penny to pass inspection.

If you want your truck to rumble without loosing power and not wasting a ton of money. Order the following parts from Advanced Auto Parts or anywhere else and have someone install them. MagnaFlow Universal Catalytic Converter Part No 53004 Thrush Welded Muffler Part No 17655

Just replace the whole axle. By the time you get the boots replaced you'll have understood why replacing the whole axle was a better option.

Ok so I still haven't smoked the engine for vacuum leaks (I will soon enough) but I did fix some of the problems. While driving it the other day I started to hear a whining noise when the engine RPM went up. Started to really worry that things were taking a turn for the worse with my 235,000 mile engine. Got home and started pulling belts hoping it was something simple. It was. It ended out being ether the AC pump or the brand new idler pulley. Ether way I no longer live in AZ so I don't need that crap anyway. While I was working on it I decided to check the timing just to insure it was right before I sent it off to be smoked. The timing was off, quite a bit actually. Have no idea how it got that way. I set it correctly about 6 months ago. Oh well ether way it's correct now and really changed the way it was running dramatically. The engine runs really smooth now. I no longer have high idle issues and it's not missing/stumbling anymore. However there is still some smoke. Not as much but there is some. hmmm.... Anyway I'm just updating everyone on the progress. Don't want to leave another "I have a problem" thread without a solution or a conclusion. I need to ether start building a fuel injected 350 and matching drive train to stuff in her or find another VG30 to start rebuilding while I get every last little bit of use out of the engine I currently have. Wish I didn't have to sell my supercharged GM V6 before I left. Ether way I need to find something to start building to replace this engine once it's ready to go. I'd like a little more power and much better fuel mileage.

The first thing I'd do it sell it and buy a real Pathfinder Just giving you @!*% buddy.

I 2nd the shifter boot on the transfer case shifter. Been in that boat before. Given that you live in Seattle might want to leave it that way until next summer lol. Honestly though this is an easy fix if you can find the boot. I got mine from ABC Nissan in Arizona. They do ship if no one local has one for you.

The vinyl is an upgrade. Start like you're ordering carpet and then you will see the vinyl upgrade.

To answer your question yes I like cages on a daily driver. Wouldn't be the first time I've been in that boat. And yes I would like to see your next build. Don't care if anyone else wants to see it or not. I'm a fan of any type of fab work so long as it's good work.

No cage work first?

Well I was going to ask why you went with leaf springs in the rear but then I saw how damn tall you plan on having this thing sit. What size of tires are those? You're going to have to run those ugly ass trucker mud flaps now! Unless Oregon changed their laws? Last time I checked your tires couldn't stick out past the fenders and mud flaps are a must if your truck was lifted.

Ok if I remember my back spacing correctly I also have a 3.5" back spacing. I'm also running 31s. I eventually trimmed quite a bit of my fenders but at first I only trimmed the fender flares and a small amount of metal. I was still having issues with the tires rubbing when pulling into a driveway where the wheel is turned and the suspension compresses. Eventually after smashing up my driver fender twice during very had landings I did some major trimming. The tires stick out to much and caught the fender lip and smashed the fender. If you look closely at the picture below you'll see how much I cut off the door side of the fender. You can also see how much I cut off the front. I basically used the fender flares as a template. I cut the fenders on the top edge of the fender flares and then lopped the corners off. The down fall of doing this is that you have to remove the plastic inner fender well. If you live in a rust prone area like I do now this will be a problem. It exposes your door hinges and door stop. You'll have to keep them clean and well oiled to avoid issues. You'll also need to protect the inside of the fender with something. Spraying it with undercoat should do the trick. I haven't rubbed a tire since this last trim.

ummmm... not sure I should ask this... But............... What are those stains on the picture from? lmao

You might want to address that Axle Boot. If you got crap in the CV joint that could be leading to the binding you're getting. So why did you go with a longer shock? Unless I'm mistaken your mods didn't change the amount of travel the shock goes though. I think I'd be worried about bottoming out the shock at full compression. Smack something hard enough and the bumps stops can and will compress allowing the suspension to compress a little more too. If it works, it works and there is nothing to worry about. If I was you I'd make 100% sure they can't bottom out.

Offroad racers use to mount lights here. If you notice on many of them they had some sort of glare shield in place too. I for one wouldn't many any lights there for a few reasons. #1 possible glare #2 you create blind spot during the day and really bad at night due to the intense amount of light shining out of them. Nothing like having the bright lights spots in your eyes while trying to drive at night. #3 You're going to create a really wicked shadow at the front of your truck unless you have some lights shining down there to correct the problem. #4 I don't think it looks good. However it's your ride and I'm sure I've done stuff to mine that others think looks like @!*%. Just giving you my opinion just in case you cared to know what other's thought of the idea.

The timing is set to factory specs. I forget the number but unless my repair manual is wrong it's correct. I checked that about 6 months ago.

When I punch it and the smoke comes out it runs just fine. It kicks down and takes off as it should. Not hesitation that I'm noticing. I know what you're talking about I've experienced this in my old carbureted hot rods that I owned in the past. As for the ECU. I have two of them. This was going on with the factory one and when I switched it nothing changed. I changed it for a completely different reason but I can safely say it was going on before with the other ECU. The temp switch is a little over a year old. Sure that doesn't mean it's not bad. Maybe after I get it smoke tested and fix any vacuum leaks it may have I'll address the switch again if the problem is still there. Won't hurt to have a spare and they are that expensive. Oh and one more thing. Our trucks are meant to have a high idle when cold. Sometimes after driving for sometime it's still doing that. When I go to stop at the light I can feel it, like I'm still hitting the gas while trying to brake. This will eventually stop too. But keep in mind the smoke happened cold or hot.

This guy that put a IRS front clip on my uncle's 50 Plymouth did the same thing. Measured, measured, and measured again. Thought everything was spot on and welded the whole clip onto the frame. After dropping the car on the ground he realized something was wrong. The front end seemed about two or 3 inched to far forward. He just wrote it off as maybe it was like that to begin with. Me and my uncle showed up to take a look and I knew instantly something was wrong. When I said something he said it all measured out the same. Told me it was the exact same wheel base as it was before. I stopped and thought about it for a min and then realized what he did. I asked him one simple question. Did you make your first measurements when the car was resting on the ground? The hamster in his head started turning and he said yes. Then I told him, "you realize when you lift the car the read end swings forward and will though off your measurements?". That's when the palm hit the face and he realized he fskced up in a really big way lmao. He was damn near 100% finished with everything!!! The moral of the story is that it happens to the best of us. This guy has done front clips on many cars before this and they turned out great.