Mr. Pickles

Accessories would work, but I've found its better to relay them off the parking light or headlight circuit like the stock fog lights. That way, they're only on when your other lights are, so you don't accidentally drive around town on a 90 degree sunny summer day with your with your lights on like a dork.

Who knows, but its a helluva lot quieter so if I gained nothing in mileage I still come out ahead in my book. I don't imagine that will be a problem. Although its hard to see, there are several inches clearance, as I left plenty of room to take off those huge Pro Comp solid plastic covers. But hey, if it gets broken, melted, whatever, live and learn. Its just goofing around really, so I'd just use thicker plexi next time. I need projects to keep me out of trouble.

I'd agree that she's getting a B.S. quote. I had a Flowmaster 40 installed on the Pathy for $100, and a complete cat-back done on my old Prelude, minus turbo muffler I supplied, for $100. On top of that, in my experience, Midas is run by a bunch of thieves and their warranty is absolute crap. They've screwed me not once, but twice, and never again.

That sure looks like a good way to give the Pathy a drink of H20. Better look elsewhere if you plan on getting yours very wet.

And another. The clips holding it on were just some with rubber padding for 1/2" electrical conduit, which is what most of the rack is anyways.

Here's a close up with some reflections to hopefully make the plexi pop out. Its just your basic stuff, can't think of the thickness, but not very. It was $14 for a 2'x4' sheet, of which I used less than half. But who knows if I'll ever be able to break it, and if it does, it will still save the life of the lights which is what I'd prefer anyways. It is mounted in 8 spots and rests agains the upper and lower bars all the way across, so it feels quite sturdy. Thanks

Here is pretty much the finished product. I'm still working on the wiring inbetween a many other projects. The proportions of the rack aren't ideal (front bar crossing in front of the top of the lights), but I didn't want to start from scratch. Plus that will provide some protection from stray branches. You can barely make out the sheet of plexiglas/Lexan across the front as a wind deflector. That actually made a ton of difference, as the wind noise is way quieter now going down the highway.

Its super super slow tonight, really bad. What's up?! At least its just NPORA, I was starting to think it was my PC for a sec. Grrrrrr :confused:

Dude, you are the last person that should be asking "where is the love." I'm not trying to kill a post here, just hoping maybe you spark an idea you'd like to try. Apparently I'm an a$$ for pointing things out.

AFIK, Duralast red top batteries are just a regular Auto Zone battery, but I could be wrong. That said, they're pretty stout. I've got one, and on more than one occassion I've been a moron and left a door open or an interior light on over night after working on the truck or unloading, and came out in the morning to fire the beast up with no problems.

Yeah, $500 each is absolutely ridiculous. I bet most shops would do it for $200-300 each at most. Sounds like you're not up to doing it yourself, so shop around, ask friends about a mechanic, etc. I did a split boot replacement myself probably 6 months ago, and so far its fine. No leaking, stretching, etc. But I doubted its strength and durability up front and ran a thick bead of silicone RTV down the seam before I was done. So far I've gone through mud, fresh and salt water, sand, snow, etc. So far, so good, but I doubt this is a long-term solution. I was under the buck at the time, and figured I'd just see how long it would last. The replacement split boots ran about $25-30ea I think, I bought one from AC (4x4parts.com). But that said, the boot was actually kinda challenging to install. Nothing at all major or requiring special tools or skill, just frustrating as hell. You have to line the rubber boot up, then there are tiny nuts and bolts you thread through each peak and valley in the boot to hold it together while it flexes. Much cussing was involved here, hence my desire to go back over it with a heavy bead of silicone. Either way, good luck!

Seriously man, please make a decision on your own, any decision. Pick a light you like, buy it, post with results/opinion. I highly doubt that most people here, if any, have any experience with www.blinglights.com. The name alone would be enough for me to take my biz elsewhere. Sorry if I'm too harsh, I'm not trying to be a jerk. But a bazillion posts about every aspect of your build asking people specifically what you should buy each step of the way gets a little tiring. Part of the point of the forum is to innovate, search, and try something new on your own, and then post up with your results.

We'll see at this point. I cleaned it pretty meticulously, along with the wiring, and put it back in (man, that was actually super easy with it all clean). Fired up first time. I let it warm up, then started and stopped repeatedly till I'd almost killed the battery (which is only 6mo old), and still all is fine. Wish me luck. I'll be parking on hills for a while, just in case.

Yeah, the top bolt was a PITA, but once I got it off, it wasn't a big deal. A little wiggling and turning. But now... Just went to Auto Zone and had them hook it up on their tester. Not only did it snap to attention and work, all tests came back fine. So I'm going back at it tonight to clean and inspect connections (all 2 of them!). I've already given it a pretty good cleaning, now I'll finish the job. Weirdness. Has anybody else had theirs appear to be dead, only to have it check out? I mean, if it really is fine, I'm not gonna complain. But it would fire after tapping with a hammer. Maybe something was just loose.

I'm searching the NAPA website now, and the closest I've found is "Oil pressure light switch" but the part looks like it at a glance. Is this the beast? Oil pressure light switch

So I jump in the Pathy yesterday after work, turn the key: nada. Ok, fine, I'm on a hill and bump-start it. Then this morning nada, but it fired with a couple taps from a hammer. Same at lunch, and here I am after pulling it. Gonna take it in tomorrow to see if it can be tested, and probably end up with a new/reman unit. I'd like to take a moment here to give a shot out to the fabulous Nissan engineers. Yes, they've been recognized before for their logic. What a brilliant location for this @*&%$# thing, thanks guys! :furious: Its not hard, just not pleasant to sqeeze in and play in gobs of greasey mess. Ok, on to the point of the post. What is this stubby plug to the left of the oil filter? I unplugged it when pulling the starter, and it looks like somebody- previous owner, oil change guys, ?- beat the snot out of it. Looks like it will still be functional, but we'll see.

Thanks, and... Exactamundo. Paid about $65 for all 4 brand new in the box. Found a guy on eBay who happens to live about a mile from home. They go for about $25-30 each (plus shipping), and from my experience with them would still be a good price on some pretty sweet lights.

Diameter. 3 or 4 big ones, and 6-7 small ones or so per side. I'd say it depends on the replacement material you use, as stiffer stuff won't allow you to bend and hit all of them. Its pretty straight forward though, especially if you have at least one of each intact. You should be able to find a close match most anywhere.

And yes, I fully realize that the top bar crosses in front. a ) I don't think the trees will mind maybe a tad less light going up b ) You could probably signal Mars with those things anyways c ) I was too lazy to completely rebuild the rack to an obcene height d ) I like the extra protection offered e ) All of the above

Be sure to keep up to date for what will most likely be the inevitable Villager alternator swap after I melt my stock one due to around 600 watts of total forward lighting (including PIAA's and headlights).

Here's a quick low-down. Started a few years ago with a loosely based home-built version of the quick rack posted by Mookie. That did ok, then the next year I tore it apart partially to throw some PIAA 40's up there, but nothing major. This year, I've torn the thing apart pretty much. Tossed the mickey-mouse BS, re-thought a few things, and put my sorta new welder to use. The welder first fabbed the mounts I made to mount my chrome Land Rover Disco grill guard, which was where the PIAA's landed. Then it welded the bumper to the frame after I broke the old welds playing. Welding was necessary due to the P.O.S. bracketry of the PA body lift kit. Its pretty solid now, though. sly On to the roof, I've shaved a couple inches off the top of the front of the basket to give a little more wind friendly rake (not much though). I'm going to finish that with a fairing along the lines of an Xterra, but using clear plexiglass so the lights shine through. The bracing has been revised, as has the lighting. I'm now sporting 4 Pro Comp 100 watt driving lights. Holy @$%*#$ are they bright. Yeah, they're overkill, but tell that to the guy rolling chrome 24's on his Corolla. At least my isht is sorta functional. This whole thing sits pretty far back, due to the sunroof. Sooo, here are some quick pics. This is about 3/4 done.

Ok, that sheds some light on your mileage concern. Sheesh.

AC sells them, but I think somebody along the way said they don't fit. Can't verify, but its worth a look. I was thinking about it after a minor wreck a few years ago.

I've got that CB too, it should be good for you. I get ridiculous range.

Totally LMAO! By the way, what's with zip-tie madness? You can buy replacements for those little plastic plugs that used to hold the things on for a few bucks a pack at many/most auto part stores. Yeah, you might need a few packs of 2 sizes, but its a bit cleaner. Or you could try pulling them from a junkyard truck. A lot of the ones I've seen around still had them intact, as the rubber gap guard things would just tear away and leave them behind.