bushnut

She is a 4 year old Tibetan Mastiff named Durga (look up the Indian goddess), 36in at the shoulder and around 90lbs. Mostly friendly but do not come into the yard uninvited, unless she knows you. She's very good with children (supervised of course) and small pets. Not so good at the "come" command especially if there is something out there more interesting than me. But sit, stay and "get em" are very useful commands. She is a great bush dog as she never strays from camp, stays up at night to watch over us and will escort anyone going for a walk. She not much of a long distance runner but will pull a 100lbs sled full of camping gear in the winter for miles and she doesn't step on the back of my snowshoes. Her greatest claim to fame is that a couple of winters ago she caught a deer in a wooded area not far from my home. Grabbed by the throat and pulled it down. A pure Nature documentary moment. It did get away after I got between them but not before it attacked me and I B*^tch slapped it. I'm kicking myself for getting her fixed because i'll never find another dog like her.

I really like my storage system. It allows me to keep all my truck stuff separated from everything else.

that 04 is a great colour and the last year of production for the R50. Seeing as I paid $3800 for a 2000, when its time for a new ride I might have to head down to Texas.

they may have damaged the ABS sensor wire.

nice fleet. as for mods for the R50 you just have to make it up as you go along. check out this site to get some ideas.

thats a lot of cancer. Is the R50 rugged? I'd say yes in a refined sort of way. on road it's a joy to drive, highway miles just float by. as for off road I've yet to run into trouble but then again I don't go looking for it. there are plenty of Youtube videos documenting the capability of the R50 off road. the only issue is aftermarket accessories, in that department the Xterra is a better choice.

we've all got to die of something.......how 'bout an R50? same ruggedness more comfort and power. you'd be keeping it in the family at least.

why is it that they can send a rover to mars but not build a cell phone that doesn't sound like your talking underwater or just drops the call altogether? btw...I don't own one nor will I ever. if I'm not at home or at work I can talk to you later...leave a message.

I know your pain brother, First time I did this I put the spacers between the top hat and upper strut mount. then I F**#'d up the threads on the strut shaft pulling it apart to set things right. so first time I installed new struts I did everything twice. now 2 years later I did all again. I think I could do it in my sleep now. and yes all with hand tools. before you button things up you'd better make sure that the CV is still together other wise it will rip itself apart. with the front on jackstands try spinning the wheel by hand, if the CV boot twists itself up you'll have to pull it apart and re-connect the two parts of the joint.

how is air flow to the radiator? does it run hot?

yup, thats a CV. this has happened to me every time I've replaced my struts. twice now. you'll have to remove the whole thing. Unbolt it from the front diff. Its a 12 or 13mm. then you'll need to clamp it in a vice, in the middle. take this opportunity to put new boots on. clean, inspect and re-lube the joint. check the snap ring on the end of the inner shaft. make sure it's still intact, line up the splined push down and give the end a sharp wack with a plastic dead blow hammer. it should make a slight click as the inner snap ring engages. re-clap the boot and reinstall the shaft. don't forget to torque the bolts on the diff. Have fun, take your time, try not to swear to much and have a cold beer. there are a couple of vids on YouTube where some Aussie mechanic goes through all these steps.

looks like you'll be needing some camber bolts to get that alignment done.....

sounds like you need to find a small owner/operator type shop. someone you can get to know and trust to do the work right. ask around to friends and family, co-workers and the like. word of mouth is always the best advertising. somebody's cousin or son in law will usually be "the guy" to go to. best of luck.

no point in using the FAT unless you've got a ***, Frame Alignment Guage. and remember it only works on steel frames. in reality the DAG is really the only useful one.

give the old girl a make over. all that regular required maintenance will go a long way to bring back that 20hp. maybe some new wheel bearings while your at it. all that and regular oil changes should get you another 145k miles.

I'm pretty happy with my 31's and they do rub at full lock (even with 1.25 spacers) with 2" of strut spacers and lift springs. remember the bigger the tires the harder the engine works, and fuel consumption goes through the roof.

they pull the strut out to put the plate in. anytime you remove a strut you use new nuts.

I used a "pickle fork"..it wil damage the old ball joint but it is dead anyway. the new one fit right in. just remember to use your torque wrench when putting it all back together.

+1 on that. if it is pulling like mad to one side, it seems logical that power is not being evenly distributed to all 4 wheels. so I'd look at the hubs first. even just pulling the hubs apart and servicing them might do some good, and only your time was spent. but manual hubs are a good thing for the future anyway. If that doesn't fix it, sounds like it'll be time to pull the front differential.

if you spend some time at Walmart you'll realize that they are already here, we just arn't allowed to shoot them.

once you get it back, I'd take the time to crawl around underneath and spray everything with a rust inhibitor. there are a bunch on the market. I figure they are all about the same. from now on I plan on doing this twice a year. spraying up into the unibody frame rails and such. hopefully it'll keep my truck alive for a few more years.

a second fuel tank in place of the spare is something I'd love to do.

do it...we know you wanna. nothing like a little peer pressure to get the ball rolling.

thanks for the link, finally another suspension maker for our rigs. seems like the only North American dealer is a small shop in Durango....Overland specialties...no web site. anybody ever heard or delt with them?

tough dog? whats this? suspension products we can't get in North America?