Mr. Pickles

Just a shot in the dark here, but I'd second the double-check on all the bolts, etc. of the front suspension to make sure, including those listed in the garage section as being notorious for the creaking in the front end. I'd also look over the front drive shafts for torn boots and tweaked parts, particularly if you've gone into 4wd lately, and for sure the mounting points for the new UCA's as well as the ball joints. I'm not too well versed on the latter, but 88 and some others are. My understanding is that you should use a pickle fork or possibly a prybar to check for looseness in these spots. Maybe somebody just forgot to properly lube some newly installed parts. Just trying to give some common sense spots to check.

You should be able to just shoot some more grease in the fitting on top which may squish some of the old stuff out. Not sure about the tear, if its bad and goes into the part, maybe you should replace the it. They're pretty cheap, and 88 and others will tell you weather or not to replace it.

Did you supply the muffler? I aimed on the average price, local shops can work deals for cheaper probably. I can almost guaruntee you that if you walk in and say "hey, this is what I want. I want XXX muffler (or supply your own- say, a Flowmaster 40 series) and XXX diameter exhaust (say 2 1/4, there are guys on this forum with the ideal size)," they'll work with you on a good price. Its people that walk in with no clue and say "hey, what can you put some cool exhaust on my truck" that they love, and they'll take you for a ride if they think you don't know what you're talking about. Just do a bit of researching on what you want, then go in to buy informed.

I must ask, how did you continue to drive through all this destruction of the heads?!?! Well, at least you'll have a hot perfoming sonuvagun when you're done! You mention wanting to do the "chip." There isn't a chip to do, but rather you have to pull the ECU and send it in to be reprogrammed at Jim Wolf. Have you looked into if this is going to present any issues regarding fuel and timing, etc. with your cam replacement? Just wondering if this is something that can be accounted for by Jim Wolf. Unfortunately, I'm in increasingly smog Nazi western WA where we can't get away with such things. But please keep us posted on your progress.

Of course they say its bigger and more powerful. Why not harness the technology of the 21st century and leave the drivetrain alone while swapping out some of the heft from the truck in favor of composites or something, in an effort to make a same-sized but lighter and therefore more powerful rig? We already have enough pigs in the form of Hummers and such roaming the locals malls and school parking lots.

Awww, tears over bandwitdth.

You should be able to get a Flowmaster or equiv. installed with new pipes by your local shop for maybe $250 or so, maybe a tad more. Figure $50-75 for the muffler depending on location, plus labor and parts.

Like Statikuz says, you should probably go with a "build-your-own" set of wires like MSD, Accel, etc. I know you can get a decent set of Accel wires (for a generic V8) at the local shops for around $35. If you go for a replacement OEM set, you're looking closer to $75. As for the exhaust, your local shop should be able to hook you up. Look for a smaller independent shop rather than a chain like Midas. I did this on my old Prelude cause nobody made a bolt on kit at the time (it was a 91 model). I supplied the muffler, and it was under $100 out the door for a full cat back, aluminized exhaust that sounded and worked sweet. $22 for an O2 sensor is crazy cheap if its new, as they're usually way more than that. I don't think you're gonna find an aftermarket supplier of a distributor, or at least if you do, they're gonna price it like its solid gold. Is that what you're trying to find, or do you just mean a "tune up kit" such as cap & rotor? If you're really itching for strong spark, you may want to look into a MSD or equiv coil. I've seen some on eBay for really cheap compared to new. Ok, back to beer. Happy holidays, and happy hunting.

Is there something wrong with your normal gauges? -thnkboutit- Sounds like one more item to soak up money and eventually break, if you could somehow rig one up to work in the first place.

$200-250 seems to be about the going rate around here (Seattle area). I don't think it necessarily matters much how dark you go, although they'll do everything with 5% for a little cash on the side if you want to risk it. My brother did that on his 5.0 Mustang.

I use IE cause I guess its always just "been there" and I haven't had many issues. Probably just laziness I suppose.

There's a pic near the bottom of the page with mine installed. Painted them red to match the Tbars. Nothing to exciting to look at, very simple. My Cardomain

Do it yourself if you can. I had my fronts done (full job, calipers, rotors, pads, supposedly everything including lines, but they screwed me) at Midas for well over $700. Lasted just over 1 year, then back I went when the front driver's caliper froze while on the freeway but close to their branch shop. Of course, the bastards wouldn't cover a thing. Another $500 cause they lied and didn't replace the lines or anything I supposedly paid for other than the major parts, which apparently caused the 2nd failure. Apparently they've abandoned the concept of standing behind their work and brand loyalty. Moral of the story: do it yourself for cheap if you have the skills, or go to a trusted mechanic. The stealer and the major chains will just rip you off. By the way, you stated "3 of the 4." Are you sure you have 4 wheel discs? I'm not sure of the model years and such, but I thought most older Pathy's had discs in front and drums in back like my 94.

What are they? Brand? "Official" size? If they're around 32's, I bet you could squeeze by for a short while with no mods, even if they rub, as long as you don't wheel offroad or crank over the steering until you get your lift.

Good job, its easy as pie, huh.

Don't quote me on this, but my thoughts are as follows. A suspension lift shouldn't affect your exhaust in any way since the body and frame aren't moving, just the suspension. With the body lift, I think you're still fine if the exhaust on the Pathy is mounted to the frame rather than the body. Mind you, I haven't paid particular attention yet to how the exhaust is mounted, but if its to the frame (as is the motor obviously) then there shouldn't be a problem since they stay in the same alignment to each other. Somebody please jump in and elaborate. Just checked and yes, the exhaust mounts to the frame.

Yep, try disconnecting the battery to reset, about 5-10 min. should do it for sure. The O2 sensor screws into the exhuast below the driver's door/driver's seat.

Yep, nothing like eating some ultra-fat cancer fries while shopping for cheap stuff. I go there for household stuff, but only on like a Tuesday night when the place is at least tolerable. Most of the time its like shopping at a demolition derby/circus.

I wouldn't call it a work around at all. Its about as simple and common sense as can be had. The axle drops a certian amount before lines are stretched, which is all that help my install back. So I just freed up the guides for the lines and gained a bunch more extension, which made the install pretty much brain dead work.

Its a sad state of affairs when people start calling Walmart a "normal" store. More like a venom sucking giant or pariah according to the local west coast folks. That or a communal post for middle America to unite. I'm not overly knocking, as I shop there as well for household things and such. But a comparison of Walmart shopping as "normal" is like calling McDonalds dining a culinary treat. Guess its a midwest thing though.

I haven't removed the dash yet. I'd start with the panels that cover the A pillar, and the surfaces where they meet with the dash. Mine speaks at the point where they meet in particular, but I've calmed it down a ton. Much easier to start with the small stuff. But the weather stripping solution works for tons of spots, like door panels, side panels, license plates, speaker grills, etc. etc. etc. Anywhere where 2 pieces may meet and greet, as well as sections of body panels that may tend to buzz and vibrate at full volume. Get creative (and cheap).

I expect that you'll have more to post on these. I'm hoping to have some sort of headers in the months to follow after the holidays, and wouldn't mind a bit of commentary Hank Hill style. -alcohol-

LOL! I just picked my tree up on my lunch break, and its sitting on my roof rack outside just like that. Unfortunately, I'm minus the snow, the SAS, etc. etc. Very nice truck.

Yeah, I didn't need spring compressors at all. BTW, I took the bolts out for guides for the brake lines during the install which freed up a tad more distance that I could drop the axle in order to get the springs in. No problem at all.

About a year+ ago I pulled that panel that the belt feed through, and shaved the opening slot for the belt with a razor knife so the belt feeds through more freely. This helped it go from almost not retracting except by hand, to probably 80% of what it would be new, with only an occasional bit of help needed. Free couple minute fix! The mechanism is pretty simple, but I didn't really see if you could tighten it up. That free Nissan replacement would be nice.