01Pathmaker

I'd be very surprised if the slight difference in tire wear is making that much of an issue.

Although that method might sound like a good idea, there are 2 issues I'd like to point out that may not help in your quest. 1) your front suspension will be completely unloaded (at full droop in fact), as apposed to having the normal "road force" load, therefore it may not replicate the problem as well, or at all. 2) even at idle speeds this could prove to be EXTREMELY dangerous, especially if it does start to replicate any heavy vibration or wobble. I've personally seen the aftermath of several failed attempts, similar to this scenario, once at a home garage (where the unfortunate guy got pinned under his running car while trying to diagnose a "strange noise", and 3 incidents at 3 different repair shops (2x's cars fell off a lift during "drivetrain diagnostic" and once the tech was using a floor jack, the car torqued when he tapped the gas pedal, came off the jack and crashed into the building). Luckily, in these particular instances, there were no life threatening injuries, but it does happen. There's a reason dyno shops use a 4 point tiedown system. Just food for thought.

Wow! Glad nobody was hurt, and congrats on the cat-like reflexes! I think the problem was, he couldn't see you cause your truck is camo! Lol

Not today, but Thursday morning. Finally figuring out posting pics again since photosuckit got cocky.

I've recently found my new source for tires, www.tirebuyer.com great prices, on many great tires, ships to a local installer for free, guaranteed installer pricing and great reviews. Looking great, btw

I believe only the 3.5 has it

I don't want to give away a well kept secret, but anyone looking for black steel 15x8 with 3.75bs, these really can't be be beat. You can get a set of 4 for under $160 or 5 under $200, with free shipping! http://www.trailmastersuspension.com/Wheels/Trail-Master-TM5-15x8-Wheel-with-6-on-5-5-Bolt-Pattern-Gloss-Black-TM5-5883.aspx?t_c=11&t_s=535&t_pt=101508&t_pn=T/MTM5-5883 Now go easy fellas, I haven't ordered mine just yet, they better not be out of stock or backordered next month! Edit: interesting that these and the procomp have similar part #...

I vaguely remember someone doing this with their rear trailing arm bushings and claimed good results. I'd be far more inclined to try the method on something like the diff mounts or sway bars, as opposed to a much more loaded (and important) area like the trailing arms.

The Chilton & Haynes are good, but designed to help the shadetree mechanic, whereas the FSM is much more thorough, designed to walk professional techs through every diagnostic and repair procedure on the vehicle.

It's not all that hard, pretty self explanatory once you give it a good look, pick up a new gasket before you remove it otherwise you'll likely end up with a vacuum leak afterward.

How's the inside of the throttle body look? If whatever's being done doesn't work, probably would be a good idea to pull the throttle body and give it a good soak (leave it submerged for at least a few hours, overnight ideally), this will clean up any deposits inside all the linkage pivot points also.

Wow! Which Sylvania bulbs were they? I've been running Silver Star Ultra since they first came out, the shortest they've lasted me was just over 18 months, but they usually last me over 2 years, longest was 39 months. I've tried all of the competition, except Hella because they're hella expensive and have terrible reviews, in my opinion, nothing compares to the output, clarity and color of the SSU's. I always wear clean nitrile gloves, never touch the glass and a little dielectric grease on the connection, all key to halogen bulb performance.

Not sure about a relay in the system, sorry I can't help you there, but wouldn't it be easier to track when you need gas by using the trip odometer, instead of carrying extra gas around?

Pre-95 = WD21 96-04 = R50 - comparable size, no 3rd row 05-12 = R51 - a little larger, 3rd row, still a midsize 13-present = R52 - 3rd row, midsize crossover Being the active, hands-on Dad of 2 girls (currently 3 & 5), my R50 can definitely be tight at times, but I can't pry myself away from it. Thought briefly about a year ago about "upgrading" to an R51, but in all honesty, for me anyway, if I move on from my R50 it would only be for the right Armada. After I sold my 96 I got myself a 99 Suburban, was awesome in terms of space and utility, but turned out to be a money pit, so I sold that, got my wife a 17 Rogue and took my 01 back. In retrospect, I should have kept my 06 Titan, just bought a bed cap for it, but live & learn...

No worries, sorry to hear about all that mess, we're currently bracing for a "potentially life threatening" nor'easter here, heavy rain turning to snow & 40-50mph winds gusting to 70! Thanks for the info! Stay safe and best wishes in the recovery.

Sucks, but might not be as bad as it seems. I think you said it was crossthreaded with an impact, still not the end of the world. Get the bracket out of the way, carefully apply some heat to the surrounding area (aluminium heats and cools quicker than the steel bolt), even a small propane plumbing torch might work (I have a little map/oxy torch for small jobs like this to give pinpoint heat in tight places), get a good bite with vice grips and back that sucker out. Remember, lefty loosey! Lol. Then I'd find a tight fitting drill bit to GENTLY ream the hole clean and rethread it. A little bit of well-placed heat can go a long way.

Seems some engines like certain flavors of oil. I know the 5.6 in my Titan made a ton of noise unless I used Mobil conventional 5w30. The 3.0 in my D21 was never quiet, but was best with Pennzoil 10w30, my various 3.3's seemed pretty quiet no matter what I used, but my 3.5 seems to be best with Valvoline conventional 5w30.

Thank you! I almost just spit beer out my nose! So funny, I'm sure, because I can relate! Aside from the smod wiping out the trans, it sounds quite possible that they weren't exactly the "maintenance is a priority" type of people. I've seen some relatively new and fairly low mileage vehicles of many kinds, in surprisingly poor shape. I've never been able to understand how some people neglect a substantial and important investment, but then again, back when I ran a lawn care business, I had a customer complain that her lawn was turning brown in the middle of a heat wave, when I told her she wasn't watering enough, her response was "for what I paid for you to install this sod lawn, I shouldn't have to water"...

Congrats guys! This is an awesome idea, Steve! I'll be ordering up some more goodies from you within the next few weeks, then I'll have to send in some nice oceanfront beach pics. Cheers, my friend!

If you live in an area where codes will not effect your inspection, pull the bulb! Lol It took me almost 2 years and a bunch of parts to finally correct the issue on mine. Once I finally found someone with the knowledge to properly use a smoke machine, it ended up being the o-ring gasket on the top of the fuel tank...

Sweet! 285/75's I assume? Were the 2" wheel spacers necessary, or could they clear with 1" or 1.5"? Any rubbing? What lift did you go with? Sorry for all the questions, but I've just retired my 01 from DD duty and it's due for a suspension overhaul. Mine is the same color combo and wheels, so I'm very inspired now! Lol

3 clean, rust free R50's AND you have a self serve yard 20 miles away?! You're killing me!! Lol.

Nice work! I am however, thoroughly disgusted by the lack of rust, on a frickin 96!! My 96 looked nothing like that and my 01 is starting to show quite a bit... So jealous

Food for thought at least. I do remember the last time I did rear brakes on mine, I adjusted them, with a brake spoon, through the hole, just as I have always done with every set of drum brakes I've ever done. The result was a nice firm pedal, good, even braking, but the first time I went to apply the hand brake, it wouldn't come up more than a click or 2, backed the adjustment down slightly and ended up with the softer, slightly less responsive pedal.

I remember CDNS4(sp?) built a custom one as well, but his truck was green, in a well-kept garage. It was somewhere in his million page build thread. Lol. That's a sweet find though, Patrick!