bushnut

I went to a custom shop that came highly recommended by a few car enthusiasts I know. they did everything from the cats back welded and painted new muffler, resonator and tip for $600. they followed the stock routing but upped the pipe to 2 1/4. the sound at idle is quiet , the note on acceleration from a light is very good and at highway speed no more drone, again nice and quiet. all in all I very pleased as my L/km have increased a point or two and it feels like i've got more pick up. I would only go to a custom shop for this type of work from now on, considering Midas quoted me over $1200 for the same work.

it looks like a cat getting ready to pounce.

I had that problem too for awhile after the tail pipe fell off just before my honey moon last year. the whole section from the muffler over the rear axle to the end. fixed it with a section of exhaust pipe some clamps and a tonne of muffler tape. It got me there and back home but I ended up with the tip pointing into the rear bumper (it looked very stealth). It was far enough away that it only deformed the plastic a little but I drove it that way until last month when I had a whole new system installed.

read my OH Crap! thread....

I think Nunya was on to something with the PT Cruizer. people will collet that but not the Neon. As for hipsters I think they'll be into ironically driving mini vans but still not getting any joy out of them. Super cars will always be collectable, what I what to see are the sleepers, the things that real people today can afford that will one day be a show room piece. kinda like the 510 or 1st gen Mini. my votes are with the current civic, as well as the Fiat 500, also a couple of the Mitsubishi line (the names escape me) have a design that will look good for years to come. On a side note...one that will not make it is the convertible Murano that I saw today...It looked like a hot tub on wheels.

I had a good conversation the other day with a buddy....what newer car would you pick to become a Classic in 25+ years time? I'd love to here your thoughts. these days everything looks the same to me. but I guess thats the price you pay for wind tunnel design. so time line criteria......vehicles built 2010 and newer...anything goes...brand or model pictures if possible. If you'd like to defend you pick please give a reason why. my picks are R51as well as the Xterra and the Toyota 4runner, (maybe FJ) as the last of the true off road capable utility (not luxury) SUVs.

just had my strut tower patches done and still only have minimal rust in the surrounding areas......just saying...every vehicle is different. I know rust never sleeps, but if you keep an eye on it and deal with it..the sooner the better .. for myself, I'm prepared to weld in patches if I have to... It just comes down to how long you are prepared to keep your vehicle. for me thats as long as possible...I own it therefore I WILL keep it. the truth is, when you live in a winter climate, keeping a vehicle is a battle. You have to ask yourself "how much work am I prepared to do?" I've replaced both front fenders (JY and Kijiji....the Canadian CL), and dealt with under body rust with a die grinder and a wire wheel then spray on rust inhibitor along with bed liner. not to mention spraying the inside of the Unibody rails and seams with rust inhibitor. I understand the truck won't last forever but I'll do my part to see that it lasts as long as possible. It sounds to me like JKD had the recall fix preformed to late...and the dealer probably should have bought him out rather than patch it. As for me now that I'm done with all my "mods" it's all maintenance from now on, or until I find a newer Pathy to transfer stuff to. but that will hopefully be sometime in the future.

that looks hilarious. kinda like a tractor pull rig. I dare you to drive around town like that.....and if you do we want picks. can't wait till its finished.

It's a manual linkage...If you crawl underneath and look up at the transfer case you can see the linkage coming through the floor. mine was all gummed up and the linkage connectors were dry as the PO never used the 4x4 system. after lubing it up and changing the fluid in the T-case it works fine now. try spraying a little brake free or penetrating lube on the linkages to get them moving.

if the struts or shocks are cooked then that would give you a bouncy feeling. I replaced my struts 2 yrs ago as well and now my right one is dead. front end bounces over small stutter bumps. I'll be replacing it tomorrow.

I've replaced 3 boots so far. 2 outer and 1 inner.....best advice I got was from a Youtube vid from an Aussie 4x4 show....I'm sure you'll be able to find it. the worst part was pulling the half shaft. you'll need 4 hands and a way to support the drive flange.(hub). but once you get it out it's not that hard to figure out how to pull things apart, clean, and re-grease and re-install

arbcanada.com...ouipack

there is a company in quebec can't remember the name....but they are not good at returning emails......still waiting on a quote for two OME struts.. as for spacers and lift springs it can be done...even Steve is running AC coils with his own spacers. though I think he just broke a rear spring....need to see pics of that. I've got one dead strut as well...I talked to my Old Man this morning who was a VW mechanic for 50years. he said it shouldn't matter about just replacing just one.. though mine are only 2 years old....if yours are older than that I'd probably replace both. If I don't hear back about the OME struts I'll be ordering KYB from autopartsway.ca...they want about $112.00ea and free shipping over $100. remember you have 2 struts up front and 2 shocks out back...they differ by the fact that struts also support the coil spring..shocks don't. you can run different brands front to rear. I'm running KYB up front an Bilstien 5150s out back as far as damping units go and Iron Man springs all around. when I get my new shoes I'll be adding Fleury's 1in spacer to the NX4 spacer up front that I already have. just to get rid of the rake.

so after only 2 years my right strut has died...with only mild off roading. the search now continues to find a better replacement. in my research I've discovered that KYB makes 2 different struts for the R50. One for pre September 2000 and one for after, dimensions are the same. my thought is that the damping will be different for the model years with the bigger engine. I'm wondering if using the probably stiffer ones on my 3.3 with lift springs will negatively affect my ride? suspension tuner guy...I'm looking at you bud. as a side not I've looked into OME, but the canadian distributor has not gotten back to me yet on price and a US retailer wanted over $200 each. Not gonna touch Munroe. and Ultimate Suspensions in the land down under has yet to send me a price either. looks like Rancho doesn't make a strut for us anymore. unless someone has new/old stock in a warehouse somewhere.

check out stioc's build or mine for a low profile way of using Thule bars. and I suppose it could be adapted to Yakima as well.

shouldn't be a problem....I'm going to be installing another 1 inch spacer (4x4desingns) on top of the one I have (nx4)up front to level things out as the front Iron Man springs have settled more than the rear. I'll post pics when I'm done...though it might not be for a while yet.

have you checked the ignition relays and or fuses yet? how about the coil?

so technically its sorta both..by pushing the suspension down, you lift the truck. you gain a little ground clearance at the front diff, and approach/break over and departure angles get better. however down travel of wheels suffers a little. As for longer shocks...Yes! if you did 2in in the rear than at least a 2in longer travel rear shock is required. I didn't do it at first and found that my cornering and rear flex suffered as my shocks were always pushed to their limit of travel. Down travel is as important as up travel. you want the wheel to be stuck to the ground. unfortunately we are screwed with the front strut system. no one makes a longer travel strut that fits out truck. I'd recommend searching the dreaded top out thread. My KYBs have been holding up with spacers and stiffer springs, but if I had to replace them tomorrow I'd use OME as they are designed to deal with a stiffer spring. I've also found an Australian company called Ultimate suspension that makes custom struts but they are spendy.... and yes get an alignment but don't bother until you get your new wheels and tires as you'll just have to do it again.

+1 I've had no issues with my el cheepo princess auto code reader. just make sure you turn the ignition on when you plug it in.

yes! heavy duty...nothing else is relevant.

replaced both sensors....no more light! both were very dirty when I pulled them out. like scudge all over the magnet bit.

Yay! replaced the end links today with NAPA life time warranty ones.. $50.00 each.no more rattle! right side was Crap! driver side marginal....I'll keep that one as a spare.

I've got a rattle in my front end that is driving me mad. whenever I drive over small stutter type cracks or bumps I can hear and feel (through my right foot) something rattling away. getting some bump steer on these cracks and holes. On big bumps (speed humps) or dips no issues or sound. when I grab the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock and push/pull I can feel a slight movement. 12 and 9 no issues...tie rod ends? so far strut bearing changed last year along with strut, LCA bushings seem to be good. there is some play in my sway bar end links.( these are next on the list for replacement.) New ball joints last week. everything is torqued any ideas?

have you ever watched the "cheep truck challenge" on Youtube. they make a 'burbon FLY!

Old Man Emu, or IronMan