hawairish

@fleurysI pulled a bleeder screw off my old 04 drums with OE Akebono cylinders; Nissan says it uses the same bleeder. I measure it as M7x1.0mm x 30mm (total length, 10mm of thread), 8mm hex head. If that's all true, Dorman 12708 (32mm, 2-pack) or 484-149.1 (34mm, 1-pack) seems to be the answer.

Not regularly, no. Personal projects have been consuming most of our time, but we've been talking about making a few more soon to clear out inventory. No, we've not discussed that approach. I've read of others doing it, but not interested in going that route, either.

The OME springs are very popular and are a great spring that yields 2”. Ran them for several years, zero complaints. Same is true for the front springs. The ride is superb when paired with their struts and shocks, but they’re on the pricey side. The LRs are a great solution for more lift and load handling, but the OMEs are perfect otherwise.

Some people think the UK version of The Office was better than the US version, but I think they both sucked. My only complaint about what I saw: it was neither funny nor serious, and just wasn't entertaining. I love a good roast and tangent/witty thoughts to hammer a point, but this was only drab monologue. Some people only get a first impression.

Typical overdue update. We definitely appreciate all the interest we've had over PMs, and appreciate your patience both in replies and actually producing parts. If we've missed a reply, let us know. Had some slight delays over the last month due to our personal schedules, but production is still underway. I think Jake and I both wish we had a lot more time to jam on this stuff than our day jobs. Unfortunately, we're stuck doing work after/before work or on weekends, and in my case, it's generally loud work which means limited hours to avoid pissing off my neighbors. But again, thanks for everyone's patience. Current focus is getting a few of the strut spacers done since we've had a few guys asking for just these instead of kits. Hoping to have those ready within 2-3 weeks, with kits soon after. For those who don't know, Jake and I live 1400 miles apart, so we deal with shipping stuff pretty often, which also causes some delays. The fun part is where we shove 30-50lbs of steel into USPS flat rate boxes and padded envelopes not designed for 30-50lbs of steel (max weight is 70 lbs, ha!) to capitalize on the great flat rate prices USPS offers. Some recent packages were basically 30lbs of solid steel about the size of a half-loaf of bread. I used to worry about them getting damaged in shipment, but then I realized we're the guys putting bowling balls in the postal system. If it fits, it ships - USPS In other news, we had a little setback on our supply of end links that we use for making the extended links. We've reached out to a few guys, but we're still looking into suitable replacements. Stay tuned on those. We also spent some time rethinking some procedural items for installation, and one particular focus was the steering links. A new approach we're taking is to include threadlocker and bits for securing the link, plus a basic hand tool for tightening them. Since this is such a critical component, it's a simple way to make sure everyone has what's needed for the install, and it just ends up being a nice touch to the kit.

I can get past whatever opinion he has, but if this is the theme of his car reviews, I hope to never see them again either. I stopped watching long before it ended, but had mentally stepped out of whatever church/hell he was fantasizing about. He may as well been comparing Corvettes to Tercels.

I think the often-used phrase for the VG33 is "thirst of a V8, power of an I4". But, the 3.3L I've driven/ridden have been peppy enough (at least in Frontiers/Xterras of the same era), and the engines are deemed bulletproof. I've only personally owned the VQ35 and I've had no complaints. It seems like a far more complicated engine, it seems to drink motor oil (I find myself topping off regularly before planned trips), but has been reasonably responsive IMO. 2000-02 3.5L, it should be fully inspected, and in most cases, the intake plenum removed and the butterfly valve screws re-installed with threadlocker due to numerous known failures when they've loosened and been ingested by the engine. If buying in that model year, you may want to confirm if that work was done, or determine if the engine was replaced at some point. @RainGoat is our resident victim/ambassador on the topic. 03-04 engines were drive-by-wire, where priors were cable driven. The DBW system further complicates things, and makes the throttle bodies non-repairable and much more expensive. Beyond engines, they trucks are identical minus cosmetic changes.

Awesome, glad to hear!

@TowndawgR50 and I have started Batch 2! Steel and hardware is on hand now, and we'll begin cutting some pieces later this week. The current plan is to produce 8 kits (5x 4" and 3x 3"). A good amount of people have reached out to us since our initial post, so we'll be following up in PMs to those who have already expressed interest. Kit pricing on this batch will be $849 for 3" kits and $899 for 4". Despite a significant spike in steel and hardware costs across the board, we've decided to keep the same pricing we did for Batch 1. Batch 3 may be a different story, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. We've also been asked about selling components separately, and we plan to do so this time around. A la carte parts will include strut spacers and PHB brackets initially, but we can surely accommodate other requests at this point. We also plan to offer rear extended sway bar links. Pricing TBD on those items. Batch 2 parts will see a few parts changes that help us improve our fabrication processes and the product. Notable changes include gusseting on the subframe spacers for that extra ounce of strength, and redesign to the PHB drops to allow for 2 positions on the short drop (vs. 1) and 4 on the long drop (vs. 3). Lastly, we've been discussing making missing links and motor mounts. The ML we considered a core component, so it makes sense to offer it. Motor mounts are something we've explored in the past, but put on the backburner. But, as more SFDs start making it out there, it's the perfect time to inspect and/or replace the OE-style ones.

This is mine (pardon the underbelly mess): It's just a rigid link between the inner two bolts that hold the rear LCA bushing brackets. They also make it convenient to attach a skid plate.

Only one set left now, folks.

Yes. Notable only to 2WD R50s, they used a different pinion flange (6-point star) so you can only use the 3rd if you swap the flange (4-point square).

I've never heard of boot-saving as a selling point for hubs. And hearing it now, I'd never consider it one. It's not what manual hubs are for. If you want to make the case that manual hubs on an all-mode truck with AC springs will still break boots, you may. I'll still consider incorrect and misleading, which is why R50JR was calling it misinformation. No one said it would prevent boot failure. Any form of lift—AC spring or not, all-mode or part-time, SFD or not, spacers or not, manual hubs or not, rotating or not—will cause boot wear. A boot being constantly stretch, whether rotating or not, will still lead to premature failure. The boots are plastic, and plastic degrades. YMMV. I'm sure the Rockford boots will be a major improvement if you're willing to pay the premium, but being a thicker material and still being stretched, my expectation is that they'll eventually just pull out from the band. There's no difference between a torn boot, and an unseated booted, in terms of grease retention. Again, the issue is the spring. If pulling the driveshaft is the only alternative for you, so be it.

I don't get this conversation at all. There's nothing to do if you just buy the cover without cutouts.

The spring is also supposed to be wider at the bottom than the top. That one looks to have a uniform diameter, not including the pig tail. If it helps, I think I have set of OE springs around.

I think it’s just a mis-box. I see it a couple times a year on random parts, most recently a few u-joints. Bought 5, 3 were correct, two incorrect...those two had a label on them that matched what I ordered, but the info they covered was correct for what was in the box. I also don’t rule out the possibility someone’s done a little switcharoo and returned the wrong part.

99 Frontiers are the ones to avoid because of the likelihood they are 31-spline HG46, not 33-spline. Any discussions about using the full axle are moot. And yes, the 3rd members will swap over.

What's there to be pissed about? The point of hubs is to prevent the front drivetrain from creating load via the front wheels. The driveshaft spinning from residual drag from the t-case? The ATX uses clutches that don't fully disengage...it seems expected to me and is probably negligible overall. Keeping the driveshaft removed seems asinine to me because it's not the problem. Your boots are splitting because your AC springs are maxing out the suspension and causing the boots to always be stretched. This is also bad for the CV because of a significantly higher amount of oscillations than if it were flatter. Guys that have less/no lift or an SFD will always see less boot wear because their boots aren't constantly stretching out. The problem is the AC springs and nothing else.

The part number appears right, but that's not the right spring and it's not going to work. R50 springs don't have pigtails, front or rear.

You guys are killing me. The notch for the prop rod is on the top edge, about 40% over from the left. It’s present on EVERY cover. The cutouts are for the other tire carrier. If you don’t have the rear mounted tire carrier, don’t buy this cover with cutouts. Buy the one without cutouts.

Still not seeing what you’re talking about. All the bumper covers have notches for the tire hoist rod...the undermount spare tire carrier. The cut outs you’re talking about are for trucks that had the rear spare tire carrier. You don’t need the cover with the cutouts.

Got any examples/links? I'd be surprised if any lacked a cutout for the rod, and scanning ebay and RockAuto, I'm not seeing any that do. They come with and without holes for the rear-mounted tire carrier, though.

@Rockclymr Seen any other info about them? Nothing at the website, and only saw a pic of gears, but no mention about them. Waiting on a reply from them.

No sweat. It's a good topic to bring up and clarify, especially here. Every modification (or even repair, to some degree) is opportunity/risk to either improve or worsen the vehicle's capabilities, and in nearly every scenario—SFD or otherwise—upgrading one part usually means some other part is inherently "downgraded"...i.e., there's always a new weak link. An SFD is like any other lift in that it raises the center of gravity of the vehicle, which increases rollover risks. The fact that it moves the subframe away from the chassis also means some degree of flex is introduced, especially laterally in this case. If the install is done correctly, the truck can perform safely, but it's never without other risks. Something to also clarify, which was discussed in another thread and PM, is the introduction of driveline vibration and/or noise. Lowering the subframe does change the angle of the front driveshaft, but to date, we've not heard of any complaints related to that. However, the new angle can amplify vibrations if the bushings on the front axle support brackets are fatigued. For most of us who run manual hubs, this can be mitigated. In most cases, it's not a problem. As for the rear driveshaft, keep in mind the SFD has no impact on the rear suspension. If you exceed a certain amount of rear lift (let's say 5"), the driveshaft will be at a higher operating angle and may cause noise. On my truck, I run 6" of rear lift (9448s + 2" spacers) and I have an occasional buzz when I feather on or off the throttle due to a brief load-loss between the driveshaft and pinion at the u-joint. When load is applied between the two (99% of the time), I don't have any noise or vibration. But again, this is not a result of being SFD'd...it's a result of too much rear lift. Notably, we include a PHB Drop Bracket in our kits because it's presumed that if you need an SFD, you'll have an appreciable amount of rear lift that would benefit from a bracket (of course, this is something we can delete from the kit for those who already have a PHB bracket).

I've been running a SFD on my truck in some shape or form for over 6 yrs, and I've wheeled it hard. Plenty of guys have had their own homebrew or even Krypton Fab kits for longer I'm sure. But, I'm not sure what long term assessment will help answer your question, though. SFDs have been around for well over a decade, and in a form that we've felt is inferior due to use of simple 4"x2" tube with high-radius edges. I'm not aware of any failure with a missing link installed. The failure I'm aware of was on a buddy's truck and it was without a missing link. I installed the SFD on it in 2015, and the truck was in excellent shape; SoCal, rust-free truck. The failure occurred in 2017. We (my buddy and I) believe the failure was directly due to a hard curb bump on the passenger tire, which caused the sheet metal layers on the chassis to flex a little or possibly a compromise of the weld on the subframe. Over time, it fatigued until failure. The missing link in this instance would have absolutely resisted that force initially and would have likely caused the LCA to buckle instead. Regardless, the ML is deemed required, and anyone running an ML would also greatly benefit from a skid plate, which also helps square up the frame further. To some extent, I'd say a mid-skid is required if running a missing link to ensure the link itself does not snag anything while wheeling. These are general things that become more and more important to have to best utilize the truck.