shasdakota

hi guys, i'm hoping someone can help me with this. remember i have a Terrano, not a Pathy, so things may be different here, but i dont think so. I read the directions in my manual on the brake bleeding process, and i know what i'm doing here, my question is about the sequence. it says to start with the valves on the master cylinder, and if i dont have any valves on my master cylinder, to start at the valves on my load sensing valve. So I went to look at my master cylinder, and i'm not sure if i have valves on it or not. i dont have any valves on it that resemble the valves found at each wheel (with the plastic cap on them), but i do have 3 metal tubes running to my master cylinder with a nut on them. Are these the bleeder valves on my master cylinder? and if so, how am i supposed to attach a bleeder hose to them? I went to go look for my load sensing valve, but i dont appear to have one. my manual says it should be found on my right frame infront of the fuel tank. i looked everywhere and i dont see anything that resembles it. So, does anyone know what i'm talking about? Sorry i dont have a pic right now. If no one knows i can get a pic up. Are the bleeder valves on the master cylinder supposed to resemble the bleeder valves found at each wheel, with the rubber caps? or do they look different? If anyone can comment whether or not their '91 Terrano/Pathy has a load sensing valve or not i'd appreciate that also. Thanks, Josh

hey unccpathfinder, sorry its taken me so long to get these pics up. partly its because i been reallt busy, and partly its because the pics i have suck, but i'll post what i got. i think a simple explanation might help a lot with these pics for anyone who hasnt already done this. The Body Lift kit comes with 4 x flat metal brackets with 2 x holes drilled in each for use as front bumper re-location mounts. What you have to do is, attach one end of each metal bracket to the bumper brackets, and then attach the other end of the brackets to the original holes for the bumper brackets located on the frame. The re-location brackets should be straight perpendicular to the frame, not angled like you can see in my pics (it took me a minute to figure out how they're supposed to fit, and i took the pictures as i was figuring it out, not after it was done correctly, my bad, i just got carried away with my work and completely forgot to snap some pics of the completed work). All your doing is using the re-location brackets to raise the original bumper brackets up about 3". Here's my pics: this is the front, you can see the silver metal re-loctaion brackets. they shouldnt be angled like the pics shows, but straight up and down. And this pic shows the bumper bracket and re-location brackets from the tire side. again, the re-location brackets should be straight up/down, not angled like the pic. hope that helps! I've started writing out a "how-to" for the complete body lift install on a Terrano, but it will be awhile 'till i'm done yet. i have much better pics for the rest of the install, i only slacked at taking pics at the very end! Nige- i found some rubber, but its not as thick as i was hoping for, it should do the job though. i've looked everywhere for the type of rubber found on my truck in the wheel wells, etc, but i cant find it anywhere... as far as the t-case shifter goes, i will try and bend it to shape first, i just didnt think it would be enough from what i've read. but i also read that if you get a longer shifter from the Hardbody you will still have to notch the floor anyways, so i dont see any point in shelling out the cash for a longer t-case shifter. i intend to make a waterproof seal around the t-case shifter boot and the floor, and then again around the t-case shifter boot and the t-case shifter itself on top. i want it to be waterproof for water crossings when i add my snorkel, so it should also keep out any fumes i would think? or so i hope. we shall see when everything is done... Josh

kiwi pete & unccpathfinder- thanks for the material suggestions. i'll see what i can come up with... as far as my steering shaft goes, i have appeared to have fixed the problem by using a slightly smaller diameter bolt with 2 washers and lock tite to clamp my steering shaft around the steering box. it worked great, and its on there really good. i'm going to keep an eye on it, but i think this should work. now everything done for my body lift install except the notching the floor for my t-case shifter, and trying to fix my floor boards. i still cant get the carpet underneath the floor boards the way it originally was. the edges of my carpet have this plastic trim along them, and no matter how hard i try, i can not get them to stay put underneath my floorboards in the front seats. they want to push up the floorboards if i try squeezing the plastic trim underneath. i'll get some pictures up soon. and i want to try and raise my rear bumper... and i need to find a 31" spare... my old tires are not in the best shape, the treads are ok, but they have lots of cracks. hopefully i can get a few bucks for 'em on the lego Nissan rims though cause they're just taking up space now...

unccpathfinder- ok, i'll check about those a/c hoses, i dont think anything's rubbing on mine though. i already made sure of that, but i will re-confirm, thanks... and your rear bumper lined up perfect. looks great. so you chopped the brackets in half and flipped them upside down, correct? and i had a look at my steering shaft again. my bolt has some damaged threads, so i got a new one, but it wouldnt thread in from the factory side either, so i guess i have some threads ruined inside the steering shaft as well. but for some reason the bolts hold tight when i thread them from the other side. as far as safety goes with my steering shaft, i did some testing and found that even if my bolt somehow threads itself all the way out, the steering shaft still wont fall off the steering box, and i still have control without the bolt in. i did some testing in a parking lot at first, and then on a quite street with tons of speed bumps, so i could see if any kind of movement could dis-lodge it. when the bolt is in, its holding really tight, i cant pull it out no matter what i do, and i dont see how it could un-thread itself all the way out anyways, if i didnt think it was safe i wouldnt be driving it at all, but the fact that it didnt come this way originally from the factory just kinda bothers me. i could drill out the old threads and re-tap. i have the tools, but i dont have a lot of experience, and i'd hate to ruin the steering shaft even more so that i cant even get a bolt to stay in. a new steering shaft is $130. so before i do that, i think i will try using a slightly smaller diameter and longer length bolt with captive nut to try and squeeze the steering shaft around my steering box. this great tip was given to me by kiwi pete... and i picked up some waterproof vinyl type material to try and make a t-case shifter boot. again, a little tip from kiwi pete... i want to find some rubber. you know the kind of thin rubber on your engine bay or in your wheel wells to keep mud/dirt out from engine bay? does anyone know where i could find this? i tried a fabric upholstery warehouse, but no dice...

Nunya- yeah, i wouldnt be one bit surprised if AC just has a bunch of useless stuff thrown in the kit just to mess with us, hehehe... unccpathfinder- silliest thing. i had my camera out while i was installing my bumper re-location kit, and i snapped some pics, but honestly i had such a hard time figuring it out and trying to get it to fit, by the time i figured it all out i was just so happy to be finished. i'm not sure how many good pics i got, it totally slipped my mind once i got working on it... its really not very complicated, but for some reason it took me a minute to figure out. this is all new stuff to me. i've done more work on my truck in the last week than i have my whole life. it really was a great project for someone like me. maybe i'll gain enough experience to slide a D44 under my front end one day. i dont want to lift it really high, but i'd love to have the flex to keep my front tires on the ground... i wouldnt ever want to spend a fortune doing a SAS on my truck, but if i could pull a D44 for less than $500 and do the work myself, that is totally an option. steering and suspension upgrades are next... i think if AC included detailed written instructions, a couple pictures, and install directions in the proper order, it would make a total difference, and save a lot of time. i'll try and get this done eventually. i do believe anyone would benefit from looking at unccpathfinder's pics before they started, especially a beginner like me. i'll see if i can figure out how to link them. i've just been very busy lately.

thanks guys... got the trans cooler installed and bumper re-mounted today. still have to notch my floor for the t-case shifter, but i want to make a waterproof boot first. and fix my steering shaft... still have to put my floor boards back on also, and the weirdest thing, in the front they dont seem to want to fit back the same way. i cant get the carpet underneath without it pushing up the plastic floor boards. i dont see what could have changed, maybe i'm just tired... and i still have a handful of parts left from my body lift kit... i hate when that happens. but everythings done, and i cant think of what they could be for... i'll get a pic up, but from what i remember, i have 2 plats left that look similar to the bumper re-location mounts. come to think of it, i wonder if they're just different sized bumper re-location mounts? i had a heck of a time trying to fit my bumper back on, maybe i should have tried using the other plates?? and i have a handful of nuts, bolts, washers and hose clamps, maybe some are extra's, but i dont see why i have so many pieces left...

well, i put my Terrano back together yesterday and took her for a test drive. all was well, so i swapped the tires! I love it! I think my truck looks WAY better, especially with the mud tires, they really make a difference. and it feels like i'm driving in 4WD all the time cause the treads are so big! a little loud, but i dont mind. My steering shaft still kinda concerns me even though it seems to be holding tight. i just worry about loosing my steering at high speed. so i think i will drill out the threads and re-tap. maybe add a helicoil. and i still have to put my front bumper back on. here's some pics guys! thanks to everyone who has contributed, it is greatly appreciated!

thanks unccpathfinder... about the front bumper, are you reffering to the 4 locations on the brackets, or am i supposed to use the re-location brackets instead of the factory brackets? i hear they suck. they'll have to do until i get a steel bumper...

i think i will drill out the threads and retap my steering shaft. maybe get a helicoil....

just wasnt sure about the fan shroud. the few pics i saw of the shroud on a Pathy i never noticed this second piece. anyways, i had to trim my fan shroud more than that anyways, i didnt drop the rad. i'm going to monitor the water temp as is first. just wanted to get my truck back together and go for a test drive. got everything back together yesterday except for the bumper/front grille. i just have to top up the fluids i drained off, and take her for a test drive! i had a little trouble getting my steering shaft back in. weirdest thing, the bolt didnt want to start threading its way through the same direction it came out. i tried and tried, it seems like the threads may be ruined. so i put the bolt back in starting from the other side, and got everything tightened up, so i hope thats ok. i'll have to monitor it, and maybe get a new steering shaft eventually (bummer). i also had a bit of trouble lining up the original divet on the steering box splines caused by the bolt in the first place. i heard you want the steering shaft to line up exactly where it was on the steering box splines, or the steering is rough. thats what my neighbour thought, who has mechanical experience, and i also read it on-line, but my manual doesnt say anything about this. i could clearly see the original divet caused by the bolt, so i thought i would be able to line it up easily, but maybe because i had to thread the bolt in from the opposite end from usual it was giving me trouble? anyways, what would happen is, whenever the bolt started the squeeze together both parts of the steering shaft around the steering box splines, the steering shaft would want to push itself off of the steering box splines, and it was hard to keep the bolt in the divet on the steering box splines. i'm a couple mm off from where it was in its original position, so i hope this doesnt make to much difference. has anyone had this problem, or know what i'm talking about? is there a trick to getting the bolt to thread in from the same direction it came out? i tried squeezing the steering shaft together with a clamp, so the threads would be closer together between the 2 peices the bolt squeezes, but that didnt make a difference. the threads seem fine, cause i can thread the bolt in from the opposite direction, but i cant think of what else it could be. the bolt came out really easily, it wasnt rusted, and i dont see how i could have ruined any threads by removing it. pics will be coming soon. just want to get my new mud tires on! a pic wont do it justice right now! but i love the way it sits, way higher. my truck is way bigger than my neighbours suv, which used to be about the same height as mine. it grew to about the same height as my other neighbours mid-size ford truck. my feet cant touch the ground when i swing my legs out the door anymore either, but i also chopped my running boards off during this body lift install, so that could have made a difference i'm not used to feeling also. and i love how i have access to my oil filter now! this will make oil changes WAY easier! i think my truck looks WAY better without the running boards. i'm trying to decide if i want to remove my stock fender trims/mud flaps, but i also wonder how much those mud flaps help prevent getting mud, etc up in everything?? maybe i will just remove the fender trim... now to upgrade my steering so i can get a suspension lift and move everything up away from the ground a little bit. also thinking of getting the Calmini skid plates for $200, but i'm not sure if i need their cross members also to bolt on the skid plate, or if the skid plate will bolt onto my truck as is? their cross member/skid plate kit is $500. more than i wanted to spend. but i do want to get a skid plate to cover up my tranny and drive shaft. now that i think about it, i wonder if my stock front skid plate will bolt back on with the body lift installed? anyone know? i want to get a new front skid plate when i get a steel bumper anyways. and i'd like to get a rear differential skid plate. the only one i've found is at 4 crawler Off Road, and its a weld-on only model, not bolt on. i dont have a welder, so i would have to pay someone to weld it on, and they dont have them in stock either, nor do they sound like their getting anymore anytime soon. i do want to get a welding unit one day. i'm waiting for a unit at canadian tire to come on sale for 50-70% off. and i really want to get those rock sliders from 4 Crawler eventually also! the list never ends does it....

i notice most of you guys need to trim about 1" off the bottom of your fan shroud. does your guys' Pathfinder fan shrouds come in 2 peices like this? that small lower piece clips into the upper fan shroud on my truck. i'm thinking maybe if i just dont replace it, my fan shroud will fit just perfect? we'll see... just wondering how many little differences there are between the Pathy/Terrano, i'm curious... i know for a fact my steering shaft is slightly different. its a smaller diameter and it doesnt have the bolt i refer to as #2 in the very first picture of a Pathy i posted on this thread. and lots of other stuff....

so, i know this is off topic sort of, but i sort of brought it up before. maybe i should start a new topic? anyways, i'd like to hear from all you guys who live in Canada/northern States. has anyone ever had any ill effects while running a trans cooler in the winter? i know there's tons of threads on the subject of trans coolers, and i think i've read most/all of them, but there seems to be an un-decided consensus as to whether or not using a auxillary trans cooler in the winter in cold climates is bad or not. here in S.Ontario it really doesnt get that cold here during the winter (for canada). we get down to about 20*F/-7*C for the majority of the winter, with severe drops down to 0*F/-18*C at times, but this rarely lasts for more than 2 days at a time. i was thinking about maybe running the trans cooler in-line with the rad during the winter, or dis-connecting the trans cooler all together in the winter, but this sort of defeats the purpose of the trans cooler upgrade, if the stock Nissan system is flawed. so, what do you guys think? lets try and get a straight answer here. do people who live in cold climates have anything to worry about when using a auxillary trans cooler during the winter? thanks again guys, Josh

nunya- will do. pics will be up asap... unccpathfinder- your pictures are great! to bad i didnt have them before i started. they would be a great resource for anyone. i see you removed your bumper while it was on the brackets, definently the better way to do it. and i found out what those rectangular brackets are for from your pics also, to extend the bracket under the drive shaft! my directions dont even list these 2 parts on the parts list. i thought they were for the rad drop down kit. besides uploading each pic on photobucket and posting them seperately, i'm not sure how to link the winzip file Steevo sent to me with your pics so everyone else can see them. and yes, i will continue taking pics, and make sure i get the bumper install. i'm not even exactly sure how the bumper re-location brackets that come in the kit are supposed to work exactly, but i havent looked at it either. and i have a question regarding your rear bumper install. your directions: "Rear bumper Brits will slide straight up and cut the 2 stud plate in half to use it only uses 2 bolts on each side but the holes r in the bumper Brkts and frame and it lines up damn near perfect". i'll have to look at my rear bumper to get a better idea of what your talking about, but your method is different than just turning the brackets upside-down as nunya suggested, correct? your not talking about the same technique are you? thanks for your help.

great tip for the rear bumper, thanks nunya. yeah, i was laughing afterwards. i was just glad to have finally figured it out...

hope this works. this is unccpathfinder's Body Lift Manual: http://ruggedrocks.c...5-body-lift.zip EDIT- hmmm. doesnt work. i'll see if i can figure out how to link this....

about the steering shaft, i'm wondering now what would have happened if i hadnt of removed the bolt, would the steering shaft extend on its own when i jacked up the truck? i think thats would i try if i was to ever help someone else. i'd just keep an eye on things as i raised it up, if it started slipping off the steering box before extending i'd stop.

hi guys, thanks for all the help. i got my body lift installed today. i removed the bumper, but not the bumper brackets, and the body was running into the bumper brackets attached to the frame and starting to lift the whole truck after awhile, and i couldnt tell at first. to me a bumper does not include its brackets, should have been written more clear, the instructions are poor. and i got my steering shaft extended, i had to pull it to get it extended. so now i just have to put everything back together, and swap my tires! and i ended up getting unccpathfinder's body lift manual from steevo today. i havent looked at it yet, but i'll see if i cant get it posted up here for the rest of you guys... thanks all again, josh

ok, so i found this thread, http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29048 on the rad drop down kit. seems most of you guys dont think its necessary, and the thread here gave me some options to think about, but if anyone can still answer my original question of whether or not i need to drop the rad with a aftermarket trans cooler to keep maximum cooling effeciecy, i'd appreciate it. it gets pretty hot here in S.Ontario in the summer. 95-100*F with 100% humidity often for 2-3 months...

hey guys. yes, everything is un-bolted. bumper and fan shroud are off, power steering resovoir is dis-connected, and everything else like brake lines, etc has been disconnected from the firwall/fender wells. the body is lifting away from the frame, just not enough. my jack maxes out and there's still a 1.5" i have to lift it to get the spacer to slide in. i just dont understand why my jack worked for all the other spacers. i'm positive everything is dis-connected, and even if i forgot to dis-connect something, i doubt it would keep the body from lifting, if something was connected still it would just break when i lift it. ahardb0dy- yes, i agree, it should come with more peices. i think they should have included power steering resovoir hoses instead of asking you to remove and lower the whole thing. something to raise the rear bumper, and a better system to raise the front, i heard it sucks. i just bought extra hoses for the power steering resovoir. not sure what i will have to do about my steering shaft yet, or my rear bumper. my neighbour has been helping me yesterday, and he's a pretty handy guy on vehicles. he's driving me to pick up teh bigger jack today, so i'm sure he'll help me a bit today as well. unccpathfinder- i contected "steevo" for your manual. just waiting for a response.... if anyone is able to post up unccpathfinder's body lift manual, please be my guest, i know i will really appreciate it, and i'm sure others will also. I have another question about the rad drop down kit. i know i could just lengthen the upper rad hose, and trim the lower rad hose, but i'd like to keep maximum cooling effeciency, so i ordered the drop down kit for my rad. my question is, if i have aftermarket transmission cooler installed, do i need to even drop the to keep maximum cooling effeciency? i'm not exactly sure how my rad works. if i'm only using my rad for the cooling fluid, does it need to be lowered? and if i should still drop my rad, what are the 2 rectangular brackets with a hole in them for? I can get a pic up later... and i'll make sure to search the forums for an answer. i'm asking this rad question without searching first. so please forgive me if there's an answer somewhere, i'm usually pretty good about this. thanks again guys!! josh

well guys, i still coudnt get my front 2 spacers in. i'm short about 1.5", everywhere else i had more than enough room. just cant get enough lift on my front end no matter what i do. tomorrow i'm going to buy a 22" floor jack (4" taller than mine), and i should be able to return it at canadian tire with no questions asked, never had a problem returning anything before, even broken stuff. so i never got around to trying to extend my steeering shaft today. has anyone else had this problem? here i thought installing the spacers was supposed to be the easy part, hehehe, it always works this way doesnt it... to be continued...

well guys, i still havent gone back at it. i just been caught up doing chores around the house. dang priorities. anyways, i went down to my truck to give the steering shaft another shot of PB spray, and i had a look at it, and i definently dont have the bolt I reffered to as bolt #2 in the first picture. so the Terrano steering sjaft most be slightly different than the Pathy. and i think its smaller diameter also. its hard to say from the pictures, it could be the angle, and my picture was taken closer up, but it looks like my steering shaft is smaller diameter to me. anyways, i'm gonna go back at it soon here...

great, thanks KovemaN! i already have the bolt from the clamp near the steering box removed, and i think it came out of the steering box a little bit already. i was thinking if i tap it back onto the steering box maybe the upper steering shaft will extend from the lower shaft. does that make sense? we'll see...

adamzan- yeah, i'll see if my neighbour is around today to give me a hand... Cuong Nguyen- incase i have to remove my steering shaft like you did, i may as well ask now, do you mind explaining to me the process you used to remove the steering shaft? I have a manual, but i find that often someone who has actually done the job i'm trying to do gives me a better understanding of what i need to do. plus my manual is in my truck right now, and i'm to lazy to go grab it and have a look right now... just curious as to how you pulled your steering shaft, thank you very much for your time. Josh

hey guys, thanks for the tips! nunya- so i removed the correct bolt? the one i refer to as #1 in the first picture, correct? unccpathfinder- i will try and find this write-up you speak of, thanks for letting me know. if anyone else has any pointers, i'm open to suggestions. i will try going back at it today. keep you all posted... Thanks again, Josh

Hello everyone! I'm hoping you guys can lend me a hand here to finish up my AC 3" body lift kit install. I'm almost finished installing all the spacers, i have 8 of 10 in. I couldnt get enough lift for the front 2 spacers with my 18" floor jack and some pieces of wood, and it was a long day, so i called it a night. tomorrow i will cut a piece of 2x6 to help get me the lift i need to slide the front 2 spacers in. anyways, i havent experienced any real problems so far, but the only thing i've noticed so far is my upper steering shaft hasnt extended at all from the lower steering shaft, as in this picture from statikuz' body lift install thread: The directions say to remove a bolt at the end of the steering shaft going into the steering box. i dont see any bolt removed in statikuz' pic. maybe the pic was taken afterwards? I wrote him a PM to ask. anyways, here's a picture i took in my truck of the bolt with a socket and ratchet on top of the bolt i removed, what i refer to as bolt #1 in the picture above. at the time, it was the only bolt i could see, but after reviewing statikuz' pic, i see there is another bolt that fits the description in the directions. its the bolt i refer to as #2 in the picture above.(it's been a long few days. i'm 18hrs into this body lift install, and i didnt have any real problems. i give huge props to those who can do this in a night!) anyways, again, this is a pic of the bolt i removed. what i refer to as bolt #1 in the first picture by statikuz. and here's a picture of where the upper shaft should extend from the lower shaft. i marked the location in white so i could see any movement, but there wasnt any. i used PB spray, and i got inside the hole as pictured by statikuz' pic, i just had to get at it from below. and i tried hammering on the shaft to loosen it up as the directions suggest. but maybe i dont have the right bolt removed. I removed the bolt that i pictured above with the socket on top of it, and, after the lift, i think there was a bit of movement from the shaft leading out of the steering box. maybe if i remove bolt #2 and hammer the lower shaft back towards the steering box, the upper shaft will extend from the lower shaft, like in statikuz' pic? I just thought of that... i will try this tomorrow. Anyways, i was hoping to get some help as to how to get the upper steering shaft to extend from the lower steering shaft. and i just wanted to make sure i was removing the correct bolt. do i need to remove bolt #1 or bolt #2? the directions for this portion of the install are written very poorly. hopefully this all makes sense to you guys. And i just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has contributed body lift information on this forum, i did a ton of reading beforehand, and it helped a ton. i didnt run into any problems on the install (besides this part so far). 6 months ago i would have never thought i was capable of doing this. it was a great project, and i learned a lot about my truck. and i love how i have access to my oil filter now without removing the front left wheel! almost dont need a oil filter re-location kit anymore, and i just ordered a universal Derale model for my TD27T engine. oh well. I took a ton of pics, and i plan to do a real good detailed write-up with pics after i'm all finished for a 3" body lift in a '91 Terrano, for my first real contribution here, which will help Pathfinder owners also of course, but there were some things unique to the Terrano for this body lift install. i'll get to that when everything is complete. the directions that come with the kit are very poor, it should really come with better directions. and judging from all the questions regarding general body lift installs, a really detailed "how-to" with pics should be useful. Until then, here's a sneak peek of my new 3" body lift: Thanks for your time guys. any help is greatly appreciated. Josh EDIT- I just noticed how much bigger statikuz steering shaft looks in comparison to mine. does it look bigger to you guys? and i'm not sure i even have bolt #2? i'll have to check tomorrow.