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Karmann

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Everything posted by Karmann

  1. Good to hear, congrats on the success!
  2. Ah that's right. I agree with the above.
  3. In that case I'd suggest replacing the old bumpstops, I think that ought to cure the problem. You might be able to upgrade to some heavier duty bump stops that are more progressive, but I haven't looked into it personally. Check to make sure the Monroe shocks aren't blown, because maybe they just have a defect and could be replaced under warranty. Have you installed a larger spare tire? Perhaps it or the larger shocks are hitting the panhard bar at more flex? I'm just shooting up ideas, maybe you'll find something you didn't expect.
  4. I think with your experience you may want to go for some uprated springs and shocks, though as others have said it might be your upper trailing arm bushings being worn out. It's worth crawling under there because even if it's not them directly, with 225kms they may be due anyway. At worst, they're fine and won't cost you any money. As far as the Monroe shocks go, I believe Rebelord on here runs them, and hasn't reported an issue. Being brand new, even if they're on the softer side of damping they should be ok for just having people in the back. When I first bought my pathy I went with Bilstein 4600s in the rear at stock height, and being loaded down with people and gear for a 1600 mile trip to Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming with some off roading, I didn't notice any bottoming out. The rear 245/75r16 tires were definitely tucked into the fender well a bit, but to no ill effect. So it might just be the shock choice, even though the stock springs are well known for being quite soft. Off road and over rough surfaces, they (and the rest of the stock suspension system) have the tendency to have axle hop and try to huck the truck sideways, so I think they're a bit under rated, but usually don't bottom out. Right now I have OME MD springs and 2" longer Bilstein 5100 shocks (Part numbers in my build). Having a highly loaded pathfinder for an 8000 mile trip to the South last summer, I had zero bottoming out, a soft highway ride, and minimal sag even while I retained the stock-length 4600s. So if you're willing to replace the shocks, I suggest going this route. The 5100s are even better at absorbing bumps, and give my pathfinder killer handling IMO.
  5. Hopefully you figured out the situation, I wish I'd have seen this sooner as I could have suggested a couple places. But best of luck, and I hope she likes the new job.
  6. Rear Main Seal, Valve Covers, Oil Pan, and Oil Cooler can all leak commonly. That's listed in "Paying For Your Mechanic's New Boat" to "Buying Your Kids Xmas Presents" order.
  7. Looks clean, if I didn't have my double-DIN stereo, I'd have mounted my CB the exact same way. Nice work
  8. Haha, I think you've got it backwards, they have free maintenance, meaning their warranty covers everything including tires for three years. Not that they go three years before maintenance. I like the idea but after that, and the regular power train warranty is up, you're up a creek. I have several buddies with newer BMWs, they're all maintenance pigs. The 80s-early 90s ones, pretty much any pre-VANOS/Bangle can be pretty reliable minus the bespoke M cars. In general BMWs and Mercedes won't leave you stranded very often, but the 8,000,000 other sensors, servos, and clips to make all the "luxury" features work break consistently. I think people tend not to realize that sure you can pick up a nice used Mercedes for $6,000, which is about $40,000 cheaper than new. But it's assumed by the automaker that the owner will always be able to afford a $45,000 car, and the maintenance and parts cost reflects that. That and a lot of components are needlessly complex, and the engineers don't think about shade tree mechanics, only their dealers who can charge whatever they want for service. That applies to a lot of the industry right now.
  9. Cool mods as usual! Please take lots of pics on the bumper, I'm really interested, as I haven't seen the XJ bumper on a facelift model yet. In my area, there's always a lot of XJ bumpers on Craigslist.
  10. I personally prefer hydraulic power steering and brakes in my own cars, but like I said for point A to B people not interested in cars I'm fine with electric versions. I believe the electric brakes are just to make the bridge between current lane departure control setups, auto collision braking, and autonomous driving cars, not so much the fuel savings as it's not like properly setup hydraulic brakes are supposed to drag or something. If I was designing my own car, or one that I would buy at least, I'd rather strive to make it so light that it doesn't need power steering at all. Then you get the ultimate fuel savings of no system, minimal weight, with better feel. But a car designed like that (minus the new Alfa 4C) is about as likely to make it to mass production as a unicorn powered 3/4 ton truck, considering the current climate of automakers. That said, I definitely appreciate power steering when making a u-turn or parallel parking, which is why I like variable systems- easy turning at low speeds, better communication and less boost at high. Systems like that have been out for decades.
  11. Just get the aluminum one Fleury's makes, or make your own out of HDPE. I've waited to see it done, seems interesting.
  12. Big fan here too, I'm not as big on Dirt Every Day, but Roadkill is my favorite show, web or otherwise. I get my off roading fix via reading Overland blogs, as I'm bigger on camping, exploration, and expeditions than just going out and rock crawling or desert running. So I spend time on Expedition Portal, this forum, and watch the aforementioned YouTube shows plus the non-off road car shows. I'm addicted to TheSmokingTire/Drive and Jay Leno's Garage, and typically shoot the off-road and car sh** whenever I'm with my buddies. That keeps me sustained somewhat. That and constantly replacing parts on the Pathy for off road or trip purposes helps me spend time and money I don't have.
  13. While I'm against electric power steering in performance cars, because it kills feel, I have no problem with it in more "normal" cars because of the fuel economy and parasitic loss benefits. Obviously I prefer ones that are tuned well and actually provide feedback, such as in the new 911, which I've driven and was fairly satisfied with. The tech is so new that I also have no issue with a mechanical backup system, definitely better safe than sorry when it comes to brakes. Car hacking may become an epidemic once cars' ECUs are connected to a cloud, but I feel it's on the manufacturers to do the encryption, and right now most cars are encrypted and their vital components aren't cloud based, yet. On star and similar systems feature remote shut downs which are supposed to be used in the event the car is stolen, but it might have the ability to be compromised. Again, I think that falls on the manufacturer to offer protection. I don't like location or any ongoing remote monitoring capability in my personal cars because I know a dealer would just love to void a warranty claim because of speed/location/High tide. I like systems like OnStar gen 1 though, where in a crash, they automatically dial 911 and give the location to emergency services. A highly protected form of this, which would only be triggered by airbag deployment would be idea for me. As it stands though, I see no issue with modifying any current or future car.
  14. Unbelievable. It's almost as if the automakers assume they make perfect cars. How many safety recalls, lawsuits (legitimate ones that is), and deaths do we need to see before we figure out that they aren't making perfect transportation pods. The idea that modifiers are all creating inherently dangerous situations is a bunch of bull, sure the extreme minority does shotty and unsafe work, but they pay for it with crashes etc. Not to mention most states already have safety inspections, as well as those involving smog, and those checks in theory should be enough. I definitely agree, this is a corporation just trying to shove more money down its throat, and have complete control over a market, while simultaneously acting as though their own customers are complete idiots under the guise of the CYA mantra. Truly terrible. They're really shooting themselves in the foot, as modifiers are perhaps the most loyal and outspoken customer's an automaker can have.
  15. I was a detailer for several years, and continue to detail my own and family's cars. I can tell you, regular waxing will sadly not always prevent clearcoat failure. Clearcoats were in their infancy in the 90s, and especially if a vehicle sits outside, no matter how many times you wax it in a sun-intense area, it could fail. I live on the coast where the temperatures are more moderate, but with high sun exposure and see failing clearcoats all the time. The further inland you go, the more common it becomes. As to the OP's question, depending where you are, I would try and search for a well rated body shop to do it, and tell them your situation. They can easily blend the hood and roof to the rest of the car. Otherwise, if you'd like to try painting it yourself, I've had good luck with http://www.automotivetouchup.com/. Much better than Duplicolor "Color Match" which doesn't match at all.
  16. Yup I ended up using the boots, problem's been solved for a while now. Thanks again everyone.
  17. Sway bar links largely solved that problem for me, just do a quick inspection of the boots and bolts, they might not be tight enough. Otherwise it could be the strut mount being dead, untightened, or broken, among the other things listed above.
  18. Or you could always put on the Kouki fender flares and cut off the mudflap then smooth the rearmost flare that attaches to the bumper. I did that a while ago and it looks 100x better IMO if you already have the front flaps off. I did it mainly for clearance, I didn't want to have them get ripped off in a steep wash incline, but the appearance is really nice too.
  19. Huh, I actually like the kouki flares on a zenkei. If they're color matched to the body it looks really clean, I didn't know they were that much wider, or at least look wider.
  20. I can't help with the pics but when removing, unscrew the screws that are exposed along the wheel well, and remove the fender liners. If you reach up in there it should let you squeeze or force out the clips from the backside, making it fairly easy. Then just count and replace the clips for the install, trust me they'll be brittle.
  21. Change all the fluids, do the spark plugs, clean the MAF, air up your tires, and see if that helps. That should establish a motor health baseline, and manual hubs will only help it more. Welcome by the way.
  22. The one wheel peel really made for a great ending.
  23. I have about the same mileage on my pathy as you, so far I've replaced from wear: front struts at 70k then again at 122k, this time with mount, bearing, boot etc. Bilstein 4600s at 70k then with 5100s at 122k Front sway bar end links Lower control arms Tie rod ends Brake pads/shoes and rotors/drums front and rear, fronts are now slotted Upper trailing arms AC blower motor Oil cooler O-ring Driver's side precat O2 sensor Spark plugs with Platinums Belt And of course fluids So far, there haven't been any major mechanical malfunctions, and never left me stranded while driving ~25k miles a year. It's usually small things that annoy mostly, or are corrosion related, and replacing them makes a big difference overall.
  24. This. Again, sorry about the damage. Hopefully you can find something that works for you in the junkyard. You can always strip it down inside and out, and have it color matched to have a more professional look.
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