GrandpaX

Why is there not a kit.... Sorry fellas... but we are the few and the proud. There is enough interest.. however.. not enough money. When I go wheeling in Colorado, the trails are owned by Jeeps. It is unbelievable how many 65 year old men dump a chunk of their nest-egg into this childhood fantasy. Not that it is wrong in any way, but they all dream of Jeeps! Someone would be hard pressed to find an retired guy with a burning desire to dump 20K worth of modifications into an 87 Pathfinder. It is just not there! Do these guys bicker over shipping on a $99 part? No, they can't wait to bolt it on to their prize. So manufactures like these folks. Calmini. ya they tried to help us out... however we required a lot more customer support than a Jeep dude with the same parts his whole club has installed. As far as I know they have lost interest in Nissan... basically living out the life of the few parts they still manufacture. Who knows... hopefully I am wrong! But nothing indicates anything new coming out there door anytime soon. (Fingers crossed I am wrong!) Future SAS setups... I know Steevo is working on a few ideas. It is not a small task making a setup that the normal Joe can understand and install. If/when he does produce something! We need to be a big part of his customer support system. Producing, supporting, selling, this stuff takes a ton of time! Unlike me, this is his only income! I do need to say this!!! I like this thread so far! We need to be constructive in nature. Sometimes forums get caught up with "Who is right" not "What is right". If we keep our heads pointed at common goal, we could possibly make this experience better for the next guy. We will be and have been there.. all of us!

OK... so we have a few pics of busted up oem parts... It is obvious some folks have problems with these parts. Probably the best setup for a fella wanting to modify the ifs setup is to leave the suspension alone. Throw on a 2 or 3 inch body lift and run 32's or small 33's. This keeps the steering system at the angles it was designed to handle and allows the suspension to have a nice amount of up and down travel. Cranking the torsion bars increases the up travel but takes away from the down travel. It also increases the angle on the CV axle/boots causing some havoc there. However cranking the tbars is a cheap and easy way to get a little lift. If an owner is wanting to fit one size bigger meats and has a couple hours on the weekend to crank it up and get it aligned... hey I can't say it is wrong in any way. Ok... something we have not brought up yet is wear and tear... How much can someone drop into replacing the worn out IFS. To really do it correctly new Tbars, joints, steering, bushings, etc... Here is the strut rod off my blue pathfinder... anything alarming????? The rod was hammered and the hole in the frame-side mount looked like an egg. YIKES! The point here being... the cost of fixing this stuff is not cheap. This money could go towards a big chunk of an SaS conversion.

I grew up in the Midwest... D44's on the old farm trucks were fine. Never enough traction to hurt anything. Can you say MUD! In snow I have found the VG30 to work awesome! They never overheat (like the V8's) and they can be wound up all day long... Put it to the floor and leave it there..

This thread is open to whoever... the more info the better! More damaged IFS pics are welcome.... Bring it on!

Does someone have a pic of their IFS bent and wheels pointed in or tires worn out on the inside edge..

Reasons to convert your rig to solid axle. To be cool? Need more than 2.5 inches of suspension lift.. Tired of fixing the factory steering setup.. Have a burning desire to be champ of the RTI ramp... This list could go on and on and on! Thinking back to what drove me into this madness this biggest factor was probably the OEM steering setup. This system holds up fairly well until the front control arms get changed from the factory angles. Then all hell breaks loose! There are a ton of "patches" for this system to be purchased. However they don't fix the problem as much as make the system hold up for a little longer. --------------------------------------------------------- Another problem is the ball joint on the upper control arm wears prematurely. Our Xterra is IFS lifted with the 3 inch arms (honestly about 2 1/2 inches of lift) so I still have to deal with this. It ends up scrubbing the inside edge of the front tires. Being nice tires are not cheap to replace, I end up changing these upper joints out about once every six months with daily use. --------------------------------------------------------- I need to collect some pics... work on this more later.

This will be a thread in progress.

OK... I guess there needs to be a why SAS thread?

The engine/tranny/tcase adapter are behind my house under a tarp.... It is going in my buggy project down the road.. I have done the same thing with a couple rigs throughout the years. Ya get about half way done and realize what you learned and what you want to change because of the learning process... it is easier to just start over. This is thinking like a fabricator... not a person who just wants to go wheel. A fabricator wheels to see if his contraption works well... then rips it apart again to make it better. Like said before.. it gets to a point where it is easier to just start over. This is also why, for me, I say "buggy project"... This time all the parts will be here (at least 20-30K worth) before it gets started. There will not be any "good enough for now"...parts on the rig. Then it gets built correctly the first time... no half (_i_)..

Ya.. she doesn't fall for that anymore... LOL!

I liked the old single swing bench seat that came in this rig... However 29 bucks for newer rear seats and carpet was hard to say no to! Guess the kids like them... Also ordered Molded Vinyl for the front floor area.. it normally takes for few weeks to deliver.. however at least someone has it for us.

Hmmmm.... Getting used to this new cutter... does purdy good with one inch thick stuff...

I didn't realize that the old system worked so well with the 134a. Was always told the seals in the newer systems were designed for the smaller molecules of the new refrigerant. My problem is the relocated radiator and the inter-cooler placement. Dammit... more fab work! Hmm... A newer mo betta bumper in the works... who knows. I also like the newer Dash style and how the heater-A/C ducts are routed under the front seats for the back seats. For a short time they made the newer dash in blue... Not that I like blue.. however it would be kinda unique..

Ya, the kids are the major players with the interior of this rig. Obviously it is getting modified to have the amenities of a newer vehicle. Somehow I need to get a 134a A/C system in it. There will most likely be a sacrificial Pathy (94/95) coming along in the near future. Newer Dash, A/C, double din, lights on the rear view mirror... etc

Fidanza makes a Al unit.

Did these awhile back... License Plate light... simple simple Just for the kids... Dim enough that it doesn't bother me driving, bright enough for looking. Controlled by the blue lit switch on the plate.

I own a 2000 Xterra... it has the same problems with IFS steering that the WD21's did. It is funny... I didn't think I would miss the open-able rear window that much until it wasn't there. The glass in the Xterra doesn't open... boo! So get ready to grab the groceries or gear before it spills all over the driveway. In my mind the 4 door WD21 is king! Has everything the R50 and WD22 has with a nice price tag. Finding one in good shape is not what it once was.. however they are out there. The R50's really don't trip my trigger.. Not saying an sased early 3.5L with a 5 speed wouldn't be sweet!

As long as my nine year old thinks that... I am good! Thanks Bro! However.... Just mounted a flip down DVD player yesterday. May make a cubby hole under the rear seat for the inferred headphones that go with. Watching craigslist for a cheap 94-95 to grab the newer dash/ front interior from. Boulder Nissan is checking for new Pathfinder stickers for the outside. May give it a new shot of color down the road... I am having too much fun tinkering with this rig. Good chance it will get A/C again with the new dash and be more of a daily driver than expected. If it ends up going down the DD path, the twin turbo setup may be ditched for a simple single turbo. It will be tuned for gas mileage rather than crazy power. There is an 86 300z ecu Nistuned... and there is a M30 ecu in that pile somewhere too. So a nice economy tune is highly possible. Who knows, a neat pathy on 35's that gets 25mpg and has 280 horse... it rings a bell right now with me.

Fitting little sub under seat...

They started out as that... then we got to laughing how they looked more link Jelly Fish..

Rock Ring are something I may make down the road. They are round and take a huge chunk of steel to make. On my list of tools to buy is the nesting software which automatically jams as many parts as possible in a givin area. It would work ok with this big round rings and a bunch of square smaller parts. Thus recovering what steel I can around the big leftover holes... So to speak. With this said what design would you have in mind? And how many of you guys would be interested... I could justify buying the software now if enough folks like the idea. Here is an idea what they cost. I am not sure they would be a big seller... However if there was a custom ring set you guys were dieing to have, I could probably come up with a price before you had to commit.

So the nine year old daughter was helping me with this project. She came up with angry jelly fish skulls. "You, Mini-Man, takin' on the jellies. You've got serious thrill issues, dude. Awesome"

One must first ask why? Is it going to be a dd? Is the wife/gal going to drive it? For a daily rig that other folks can drive.. links are the only way to go. If you just want a tall bitch for yourself.. leaf springs are ok. There have been many leaf spring rigs that end up coil spring after a short period of time. Obviously everyone is going to give you their two cents. However, you must figure out what you want. A rig built for your needs is how you should think. I have built quite a few different styles of SASed rigs. My "Beat to Hell" wheelin rig has leaf springs. It can be somewhat sketchy on the highway.. however I built it to be beat! So why invest the big bucks into fancy links etc. Now I also have a DD in the works that will be radius arm with coils and shocks. These tend to ride nice, sway a bit, and be predictable when hitting a bump while going around a corner. A radius arm setup can be built to require a minimum amount of exhaust work. Three link setups are nice too.. however they can totally be out of wack by not using a 3 link calculator. Lifting a 3 link rig, after it was built for a lower height, can also jack with the setup. Non the matter if you like working with steel you win. So have fun, post up some pics for the window lickers to enjoy, and make sure you reasearch what you want before you buy something you don't need.

63's are probably the best bang for the buck out there. The link stuff can get pricy and complicated... With that said... links rule! They just cut into the budget a bit.