Mr. Pickles

"What kind of sound" isn't really an adequate question unless you're in person. One can say "it sounds great" or "it rumbles" but that's about it. You're gonna need to find someone with a similar exhaust or another way to answer, or you're gonna have to trust it and jump in. As for the Crimson Tide, sorry, I don't venture too much into college ball aside from the Huskies and Pac 10.

A glass pack is pretty much a straight pipe with a little sound deadener. Flowmaster is a little closer to a traditional muffler, but high flowing and tuned for a nice sound. I've heard a glasspack on a Pathy (Jim) and it was pretty burly, mostly mid ranged sound and loud. I've got a Flowmaster 40 and its medium-low in sound output like its trying to be a mini-Mustang at low RPM's(although way louder than stock). It has a nice low rumble at idle and low RPM's and is pretty loud up high. I'd probably go with the Flowmaster just to be a bit civilized around town, but the glasspack would be just fine as well.

Not at all do I condone it or promote it, but I've done this too on a decently maintained forest service road. Granted, it was really smooth and flat with few gradual turns, and was the main road for the area so it was several lanes wide. It was great fun, but was totally in control with room for error. That said, there was nobody around. That's pretty nuts to think of racing somebody, and especially doing it anywhere that a cliff type of drop off could *sneak up* on you. I'm thinking you should probably leave this type of stuff to the WRC guys next time.

Ditto what SC88Pathy said about the shocks. I've got them with a suspension lift using the Rough County UCA's (as well as aftermarket SwayAway torsion bars). They're a good length, and give a firmer and nicer ride than the stock ones. As for the Rough Country UCA's, I'd highly recommend them. They appear to be of quite good quality, were a straight forward direct replacement, and were super cheap considering the options. **Word to the wise when you're ordering. Call, like has been said, and tell them you want only the UCA's AND THE BUSHINGS. I asked for the UCA's stating that I didn't need the rear part of the kit, and I received exactly that. Only the UCA's. I made the dumb assumption that they would send the bushings too. But another call was made, and they were helpful, and sent me the bushings for $10 out the door with shipping. $130 for the UCA's from near the east coast (Tennesse, I think) to WA, and another $10 for the bushings = not bad at all.

Pics! Sounds like a serious pucker factor.

I love that, never gets old. :secret:

A solid 3" suspension lift cost me (without new UCA's or shocks, which I later purchased) the following: SwayAway torsion bars: $200 or so plus shipping, like $240 Jeep Grand Cherokee junkyard front coils for the rear: $40 Then there are the worn out parts for not listening to people.. Upper ball joints, bought with lower bj's and all tie rod ends in a kit for $100 on eBay= PRICELESS Rough Country (Superlift clones?) UCA's: $140 with bushings Anyways, the point to this is that there are some options and a guy could piece it together with some patience. Its not cheap of course, but if you exercise some patience you can score some deals.

The problem with that is that they've been pretty much user-run items, as opposed to a centralized "Official NPORA" body that has produced them. Instead, it has been motivated members who have taken it upon themselves to coordinate and manage the creation (with group input) and distribution. Kudos to them. But in my mind, if there were to be a profitable system, there seems to be the need for a leap to a standardized and centralized "official" body running those operations in order for any sort of sell-for-profit system could really take off. Let the flaming begin...

Ditto the eye protection and gloves. I tough guy-ed it for too long with the eyes before getting wiser. I'm partial to Mechanix gloves. They're thin so you have feeling, flexibility, and can handle tiny stuff, but are tough. I slipped and hit my left index finger with a cut off wheel on a 4" angle grinder about a month ago. Without the gloves, I'd have a severe cut or lost a finger. With the gloves, it didn't even get through, just a slice/gouge. As for Craftsman, yes, you can't go wrong with good tools, or even mid-grade stuff for the average guy. The ones I've broken have been the $10 college years specials I still had kicking around. Ok, enough mini-whoring from me. The point being, take your time, use your brain before brawn, and be careful.

I didn't have to replace my rears till about 125K miles if I remember right, and I'm pretty sure they were original. The fronts are another story. And ditto that the fronts do the majority of the work, so the rears should wear much less.

Ditto the heat shields as the source, especially since its an easy and free fix (if you adjust or remove it). Try ducking down to listen underneath while a friend revs the engine to the right RPM's. Try having them slowly rev up and hold it if you hear the noise so you can try to pinpoint it. Or at least, that might eliminate the shields so you can move on.

I did mine over the summer and bolted the ball joints to the UCA's first, then installed the whole thing. Easy as pie. Plus its probably easier to line up one hole (the bottom of the ball joint) than 4 holes (the ball joint to UCA) when you're mounting it up.

I quadruple the "don't do it." Especially if you're feeling doubt or regret. In my book, I see myself as ahead if I'm spending $$$ on mods (or even repairs) vs. car payments. That "its paid for" feeling is great.

Check out your local You-Wash type of car wash, with the vaccuum and air freshener stations. There are several around here with carpet shampoo machines available. They pump the shampoo and have brush heads to scrub, then you go back over with a wet back to pull back the moisture and crud. I've used these to remove everthing from leaking containers of orange juice and tequila that bounced around under a sweatshirt in 90 degree temps for a week or too after a camping trip (=rotten OJ and super strong tequila smell), to regular mud and even grease. Its worked like a charm every time, cleaning up the mess and pulling out the smell, and it only costs a couple bucks in quarters.

Obviously that works incredibly well, since so many people are using it. Ummmmmm... B, the rambling searchy-linky-posty idea thing was just that, rambling and messy. I was just trying to kinda think it through out loud. The same things essentially could be accomplished if attention was brought to several existing features. I'm just throwing out ideas basically, cause the repeated efforts of "try the search" or posting the same thing 20 times don't work in the long run, and end up having people run around in circles. I'm not talking about or trying to reinvent the wheel, only hoping ot come up with better or more efficient ways of using it.

I'm playing the newbie, man. You're lucky I searched. But on Filty's note and mine, some hints and instructions could be helpful in the SEARCH battle.

As an amusing/annoying example, I just searched "L&P center link" and received 15889 results that were "100%" relevant. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. Just like many of our posts are on topic 100% of the time.

I throw up the 42nd use of PB Blaster and a breaker bar or ratchet and cheater (pipe over the handle). A breaker can be bought stupidly cheap at Harbor Freight if you have one nearby. I got a 24" one for like $7. Be advised, if you go the route of a cheater bar, use an old ratchet you don't care about. I've broken 2 cheap ones this way, which is why you can now refer to option #1 of buying a breaker bar. But bottom line is: penetrating lube + heat if you have it or a hammer + and leverage.

Even with the "crappy Nissan IFS?!" Say it ain't so!!! Sorry buddy, I just had to.

I'd agree there, and I think that should be Item #1 stuck at the top of the newbie board if possible. Of course it helps to search using key words you'd think would come up, but those are not always very obvious, especially for a newbie or anyone else for that matter. As for the Product Review area, I think we should try use it more as a tool. Or there could be a similar sort of section, maybe even within the specific model year area, or maybe there could be year sections in the Product Reviews, but either way a place where specific models, parts, etc. could be addressed. If we could try to limit it to specifically parts, brands, etc. that would be ideal. Say some people that have done a write up on UCA's or 88's famous JGC spring infomercials could have a topic there along with links to the how-to's. Same for the person looking for what locker options they have for their rig, or suspension lift recommendations. This wouldn't even necessarily be something a mod or the person that did the project would have to tackle, as anybody really could set it up. That way, it could be another tool along with SEARCH to guide people to their answer. If it actually came to be, it could be explained up-front along with SEARCH for that matter. I personally find myself ignoring stickies in forums most of the time because often then seem like random place stickies that people may never look at. Just my 2cents. Upon reading this back over, it may be a bit to convoluted of an idea(s) to deal with, but rather than deleting it, I'm submitting you to my torture.

I'd have to agree with going in the direction of a voluntary donation aspect or a fee for a "premium" membership where there are special features. If we go the premium route, long as its a reasonable fee, I'll sign up and I'm sure many many more. A few bucks from even a fraction of the large population would go a long way. A general fee is an undesirable option as far as I see it. For many people out there who only post occassionally, or for newbies just coming in, they likely will be turned off and turned away with the idea of a fee for something they may rarely use. Part of the thing that made the forum what it is was that anybody that had a question or just bought a Pathy could jump on and get friendly advice and answers quick, and those same people often end up sticking around for the long run. I think that a great aspect of this forum is the continual growth and blood, so things don't get all stagnant. Its nice to have fresh input all the time, even if the oldtimers find themself typing "use the search" often. So that should hopefully be a key part of however things move forward.

Ahhhh... the love. I had an 85 720 that was a tank. My grandfather drove it from new till the mid 90's, then my brother had it for a year or so, and when he got a new ride, I picked up the truck. I drove it from about 180K miles till I sold her at 255K running like a top for $2500 cash in 1 day sitting on the side of the road. That thing NEVER broke, I'm talking in all those miles it had a clutch and grandpa had the tranny rebuilt while they were in there, brakes, a starter and alternator. And it had been hit/done the hitting 3 times I believe. I loved that truck, but after going to 31's I was getting 200 miles per tank max on the highway, worse around town, and that was killing me right after college. Plus while I had a king cab, half of it was filled with 2 12's and amps, so the 3rd passenger had the option of the little jump seat or the back (luckily I had a shell and carpet). I had checked out a couple Pathy's cause I'd alway liked them and they were similar to the 720 with more space and power. But I just couldn't really justify it at the time as I was living in the middle of the city in Seattle. Sooo... I went rice for a couple years with a 91 Prelude SI. It was fun, looked really sharp (all white with blacked windows and chrome wheels), pretty fast, lowered, and handled like a go-kart. But it was also a money pit and not reliable. After a broken timing belt with 10K miles on it at 5mph in first gear, which took the head with it, then a blown bottom end 6 months later due to related issues, I fixed it till it would drive and traded it. Enter the Pathy, a 1994 in 2001 with 100K miles and I got her for $3000 under local book value at $7500. Granted I've put way more than that into her, its been all in all a fun ride. I found Mr. Jim's old site right after I got the rig, and went with him and some guys with a NW off road club, with the Pathy fully stock other than MT tires. It drove just like the 720 off road, slow and not overly powerful, but very durable and unstoppable. So I was hooked and here I am. And I think I've got the longest winded post yet.

200lbs?!? Um, no. That thing is heavy, but not THAT heavy.

Maybe some simple and cheap air shocks?

***I'm trying not to post-whore here, so if a mod sees fit or there is discussion, maybe this will move to the Off Topic page or wherever is approapriate. But for now, this seemed the place. Just trying to Push an awareness*** On Pezzy's thought, maybe we should go back to the idea of a fee or at least maybe donations to the Save the NPORA fund. Something to take the burden off of Jim. I'm sure at least half the people that have posted here have had a question answered or problem solved that in turn saved them a couple (hundred) bucks. Ideally, I'd say everybody could contribute 50 cents or a buck a month and all would be well in the world. Thats like the cost of a newspaper and less than half the cost of a Starbucks drink. But I imagine anything would help. Since a mandatory fee obviously might discourage new members, maybe a donation approach would be the way to go. Even if random people threw up a few bucks from time to time (probably nobody searching this kind of forum is rich) we'd make a dent for sure.