stioc

Oh and a ride into the mountains

BTW, I've been holding out for an ARB locker but I keep asking myself do I really want to spend another $1500 in mods? Sure it'll make things less dramatic when off roading but since I usually travel with others I can always get them to yank me up- why I've been telling 'thexbrit' here to get his ARB locker already

Just for the sake of a more complete discussion I'll throw in a couple of things based on what I've learned over the years: 1. Get a rear ARB locker and be done with it - yes they're pricey but they work and hence you only cry once. 2. If money is an issue you can get a $400 Lokka front locker WITH manual hubs. They work OK but frankly locking a front diff first isn't very effective due to the weight transfer. Since you typically need the lockers going up hill the rear locker has the advantage (why you see factory lockers usually in the rear first). Now see point 1 above. 3. In some situations you can use your e-brakes as a cheap locker, this may help send the power from "the wheel that slips to the wheel that grips- it's the power of Subaru AWD". They even sell dual lever hand brakes to control left/right e-brakes. But in the end you'll want...you guessed it, a rear ARB locker. 4. In theory welded diffs work but as Rick13 said above they only really work under certain conditions, anytime you have traction the wheels wouldn't want to turn and can be downright dangerous in ice. The only purpose of a differential (as the name says) is to allow one wheel to turn at a different speed than the other...that's how a car turns. You weld them solid they'll bind and fight and possibly break stuff. Just my 2cents.

I buy stuff all year round so I didn't get it anything for xmas in particular but my gf got me the ARB tire repair kit and the tire deflator. xplorx4, you need to post a pic of your truck man!

The cheapest Koyo I can find is $170 shipped. The cheapest Spectra I can find is $112 shipped. Here's the text from Spectra: Innovative engineering, manufacturing technology and quality control ensure that Spectra Premium Radiators meet or exceed the performance of the original equipment they replace. That extends to all components, including engine and transmission oil coolers. OE design to ensure exact fit, form and function for an easy drop-in installation Built with high density multi-louvered fins for maximum cooling efficiency Every radiators are subjected to an aging and endurance test in order to validate its performance under extreme weather conditions Engineered to stringent tolerances designed by our in house engineering team who have in-dept knowledge of the OE part it’s designed to replace Gasket and orings are thermal shocked to ensure durability in extreme cold weather Installation guidelines provided in the box Premium OE hardware and fittings included in every box ISO 9001 certified manufacturing plants Note: This radiator has been designed to accommodate both automatic and manual transmission vehicles. There is no need to make modifications to your vehicle if it does not use the oil cooler. The oil cooler is a sealed unit and there is no direct contact with the radiator coolant, therefore no leaks will occur if left unplugged. Also, what pressure cap should I get? stick with an OE cap? I may get the other cooling components at the same time: t-stat, hoses, waterpump, fan-clutch depending on the budget.

OK I measured it, 15.75" on the drivers side and almost 16" on the passenger side. Also, just for the heck of it I measured my tires and they're barely 30", more like 29.75" - I should've gone with the 235/85/16 with 1" wheel spacers

OK I tried them in the rear tonight (OME springs) but the gaps in the coil are too large for it to fit snug all the way around. At first I jacked up the truck, undid the sway bar links, undid the shocks and lowered the axle as far as it would go without ripping the soft fluid lines out but the OME springs by themselves were pretty snug in there already. There was no way for me to wedge the spacers at the very bottom or the top of the sping perch so I chose the bottom coil and buttoned everything back up. After lowering it and jumping on the rear hitch they're (actually less) half snug, the other half is loose even when sitting on the ground. I'm sure with more weight in the trunk they'll help but as it sits they didn't really make any difference that I can tell. In fact at full droop I wouldn't be surprised if I lose them at some point in the future. To do it right they really should go on the spring perches but without compressing the springs that won't be possible, with the OME springs anyways.

Thanks for measuring. My tire size is 245/75/16 so it's actually 30.4" not a true 31" - but close enough!

Wow, I didn't realize just about any 6 lug tire from a Japanese truck would work. Thanks guys!

Thanks man! I'll try Autozone near me and see if they have them in stock.

I'm looking to pick up a cheap 16" spare with 245/75/16 on craigslist or something. I'm wondering what other trucks wheels would fit.

Well, I still have to measure the height from the ground to the pinch weld seam and if it's still 16" that I remember from when I initially installed the springs then I do have 1.75" over Karmann's truck (14.25"). So we'll see. It does look like it's settled down a bit since the install but I was thinking maybe 1/4" to .5" - no worries though hopefully a coil spacer will do the truck. The real ground clearance though, under the diff, only changes when you put bigger tires on, a spring or spacer doesn't make a difference. You're on ExPo, cool, what screename?

Do you know which part# fits the back coils? 1287 or 1285? Did you stuff it in between the coils or did you put it at the very top/bottom? Thanks for the info! To answer your original question I'm pretty sure you'll have to disassemble the strut to let the springs decompress, stuff the spacer in, and then reassemble the strut assembly.

Hmm, even though I have OME springs all around I could use a slight (.5") lift in the back. Do you have any pics of your truck? How long have you had them?

I have the sliders (80lbs) and the OEM hitch over his. Round two: He measured the clearance from the ground to the edge of the pinch-weld seam (under the B pillar to be exact) and it his sits at 14.25". I remember measuring it at around 16" right after the install but I'll have to verify what it is now. The space under the rear diff to the ground is approx 8.8" - which should be the same for everyone with the same size tires fully inflated. In other news, I don't understand how a 1st gen Toyota Tundra lists its GC 10.4" with 265/70/16 tires (and the 3rd gen 4Runner lists it at 9" also with the same tires).

Yeah I too am surprised at the amount of lift. I compared it with another member here (karmann) who has the same size tires on his 2002 but no lift. He measures 33" all around from the ground to the edge of the fender (through the center of the wheel). I have trim packers (3/8" plates) in the front and I measure 34" front and 33.5" rear.

1) OME2923 Front, OME2922 Rear (MD?) 2) KYB Excel G all around 3) I got around 2" inches initially but after 2k miles I think it's only 1" front and .5" rear (anyone else experience this?) 4) No pop at all. 5) Handles fine 6) Wish I'd gone with HD in the rear since I carry most of the load in the back and I don't like the squatted look, not to mention dragging the rear hitch when offroading 7) Stock wheels with 245/75/16 Duratracs with no rubbing

Here you go: http://forums.nicocl...-a-t549378.html and see this: http://forums.nicoclub.com/code-p1145-x-2-headache-t108741.html

Here's from the guy I mentioned earlier: "I did have some very minor rubbing when I first put them on, but after having someone sit in the driver's seat and turn the wheel lock-to-lock I was able to see that it was the very tip of the bumper and the interior splash guard which made contact. I pushed and screwed the splash guard back, and trimmed just the very tip of the bumper. Here's the little bit of trimming I had to do to make the tires rub-free. Again, I pushed the splash-guard back an inch or two and used the factory self-tapping screws to permanently lock in its location. Then I trimmed just a little bit of the plastic bumper, to avoid the bumper chatter I initially had. Anyway, hopefully this picture illustrates it clearly enough." Hmm I can't upload the pic but I can PM it if you want.

They will fit no problem! I know of a 2002 R50 with the same exact tires, he had to do a *very* miniscule trimming of the front bumper which is not even noticeable. You'll like the tires and the slight height gain.

A big vise may work but as I suggested a bottle jack under something strong is probably better. The reason being anytime you stretch or shrink metal you create metal fatigue which weakens it and a sledge pounding on it is going to create quite a bit of it. I had to do a couple of practice presses to dial in the correct method i.e. I sandwiched it between two 1/4" steel plates set at 1.8" from the edge. This produced a more symmetric and cleaner press but I'm anal like that

Yes. When I measured the OD with the calipers it was 0.9" and it worked out perfectly because after crushing it the flatter part slid perfectly in the control arm mount, 1" should work too but any wider and it probably wouldn't. I didn't measure the wall thickness of the conduit but eyeballing it it was around 1/16 of an inch.

Thanks rocky2. I was going to fab up a strut bar at one point but since I have the leveling plates the strut mount studs don't have any room left for the base of the bar. I may have to drill another part of the tower and reinforce it but that sounded a bit more time consuming so I've tackled it yet.

Sweet! thanks man! I like the last pic

Hey devonianwalk do you have any other pics of your's? You're the only one I know with a white Pathy and I'm trying to see how it looks on it. Thanks!