hawairish

My ears were burning, so I came to the thread to see all those mentions for me, lol. Yeah, the 9448s are great. Excellent support, excellent ride. I think the only issue I’m having is too much lift between those and the 2” spacers, I may take .5” off them. We may have to explore that option this weekend, too, again since he’s got an indentical suspension setup (sans shocks... I’m too poor for Bilsteins.) @RainGoat He’s actually coming in from Anaheim. Dude’s built like a tank and going to BYU next year to play football. Hoping we’ll sync up for some UT wheeling and maybe even get up there to watch him play.

Same with the SuperPro bushings I bought from them. Just came in plastic bags. Agreed, I've been pleased with their durability, even after the years of use. My take offs are still in the garage for a rainy day, I guess. AFAIK, the $167 price for any OME springs is pretty normal. The other thing is that OME marketed them for 15mm (0.59") of lift, but many have noted more...closer to 1.5"-2", and it totally depends on what all you're loaded up with. Straight from OME catalogs:

You stumbled across them on your other reply; basically, AC masks brand names. They sell OMEs (OME sets the retail price at around $167) for less than their house brand (I think they're the $180-something option), but you can't tell the difference, again, because of the brand name masking. I'm not a fan of it.

These are the OME springs, not AC springs. Those are the light-duty ones. Pass on those. Look at the SKU. SPOME921 = SPring OME 921 (aka p/n 2921)...923 (2923) is the MD spring, 928 (2928) is the HD spring. AC has always masked the brands for some dumb reason.

I’d pick OME over AC springs any day. Better ride, having used both MD and HD (current) options. They’re also cheaper than the AC springs, which have been reported and being too stiff and causing top-out. AC sells both (the ~$167 options are the OME), but in general you’d also be better off finding them elsewhere for the same price and free shipping.

As an FYI, part 2, I can also tell you almost anything you need to know about Duke90’s truck. I did all the suspension and SFD work on it, among other things. I don’t think he’s updated his EP thread recently, but I also know he doesn’t own the truck anymore...his brother @Jax99 does. The truck will actually be in my garage this weekend for OBA and LR 9448 installs. He’s got the same front setup as me (3” SFD and OME HD).

Well, we're coming up on 2 years of having done this project. Glad to say everything has been holding up really well, despite not putting many miles on the truck annually. Odometer now reads 185,100, so I've only seen about 7,800 miles on them so far. At last check, pads and rotors were holding up just fine. Funny thing is that I took the truck to the nearby Nissan dealership earlier this year for the airbag recall, and their maintenance report said they were wearing low...jackasses probably had no clue what they were looking at. Still haven't looked into my ABS light, again noting that it came on several months after doing the swap. I deem them unrelated. In other news, the torch has been passed to @TowndawgR50 to also do the swap! I had been sitting on a spare set of discs for a long while now, and just shipped them up to him last week. Looking forward to seeing his take on the project and expanding this thread in the coming months.

Yep, an oldie but goodie. They held up as well as expected. The mid skid, with its own share of scuffs and dings, is still alive and well on another truck.

No offense taken. We don't always know each other's experience level, so sometimes you'll get replies that are just meant to confirm you've done some basics. We just don't have enough information to know, and doing something multiple times doesn't imply knowledge of how to do it properly (not to say you're not doing it right). I have teams of people that I work with that are experts at that. So do you think the issue was introduced by the installation, or just coincidental? If you think it's a trailing arm bushing, shine a light up into the upper mount and check if the arm is centered in all directions around the inner sleeve of the bushing. Check for any marks on the steel where contact might occur. Push/pull the arms excessively to gauge any play.

I suppose you'd be able to reach the filter, but the there's just not much space to do anything with it...as mentioned earlier, the plate has to come off otherwise the oil will just pour onto the backside of the plate. The mid skid had a similar port, but I learned the hard way to not use it...its placement wasn't designed for the VQ. It looked like it was close, but it was way off.

No problem. I should make it clear that this deflection shouldn't be considered a defect by any means, and it's definitely not from a single event: Needless to say, I wheel my truck. Damage is expected. This took a beating and absolutely served its purpose.

This thing? I'm not sure it came on 01+ trucks, though I'm certain it fits. Nissan calls it an Engine Cradle Stay (54465-0W000, $15). When I got my truck, it only had fleurys' front and mid skids on it (the original style with the access ports), so it's possible the previous owner removed it if it came with the truck. Though, that brace is thin-walled tube and probably adds very little structurally, but I guess better than not having it.

By "just the bottom" you mean the primary surface? Adding sides bends would greatly improve structural integrity near the bend—the closer to 90° bends, the better—but any other flat parts of the plate are still prone to deflection. Here's what that deflection looks like on 1/4" aluminum: I went to 3/16" steel, but I really wish I had the means to bend things. In lieu of bends, the backside of my plate is ribbed with additional plate strips.

The owner seemingly built it with his specific hitch in mind, but it'd undoubtedly be adaptable to any Class 3+ hitch. The weakest link on that swing arm might be the pivot shaft, which appears to be a 50mm rod turned down to 35mm or the teflon bushings he's using...and I wouldn't consider either of those weak for this application. I doubt it'd flinch at 350 lbs. In all honesty, this is probably one of the finest designs you'll find for something like this. The level of detail by the owner is amazing; there's almost nothing I would second guess on it.

The mounting surfaces only support about 24” width. The body can go a bit wider, but judging by the pic I’d say it’s 24” uniform. That’s the width on mine, too. Just another instance of the R50 bastard syndrome...no support. When I used to take my truck to get oil changes, the guys never removed anything...they just bent the plastic to down. For the longest time, I just thought it was a poor design for the plastic skid plate, always seeing it sagging down, then I realized it was laziness. I started doing my own changes when I discovered that one of the jackasses ripped a nearby wire. Though, coming up with an access solution that doesn’t require any parts to be removed is pretty tough...need stuff like hinges, captive screws, latches, etc. Costs add up, and at least for skids of the nature discussed here, features like that become weak spots.

I like the idea of access holes, too, but I agree with fleurys that additional costs can be a tough sell. There’s a minor difference between the VG and VQ in terms of oil filter and drain plug locations, which means you’ve got to integrate larger openings to accommodate both engines, which means more labor and material to reinforce the openings. And because of where the oil filter is, you practically need the front skid off to work on it. Replace your drain plug with a Fujimoto valve and about 10” of tubing and you don’t even need to remove the mid skid, if so equipped.

The arms are welded directly to the side plates of his hitch.

@Slartibartfast The fuel tank skid rides a bit close to the tank, and while not terrible low, is susceptible to damage. I've got some scrapes on mine at least. However, I like the idea of some other open space, but I think our under-seat space is cluttered with all sorts of heat shields and other junk, like a massive muffler. Still, I was think that maybe some barb on the side of the tank might be a decent way to have something gravity-feed into the tank. Still, getting a filler in there is the pain. On LandCruisers that had factory aux tanks, there was a single filler that had a knob-activated splitter just below the neck: If only we had something like that... As for the water heater...I think the trick (at least for my application) is to have low water flow (maybe 1 GPM?) and make the pipe where the element is as narrow as reasonable. I like the heat exchangers, but the cost is too high. I like the portable propane tank ones, too, but I don't really need shower-quality water and I no longer bring a large propane tank with me. Coleman used to have a good one, but it's been replaced by a poor-review unit. Sometimes I think I just need to get a 1000W inverter and bring her Keurig...wife gets her coffee, kids get hot chocolate, I get hot water.

After mentioning it, I think I will make a basket that will hold two jerry cans where the spare was, and will use the OE hoist to raise and lower it. Yeah, water is life. I'm pretty frugal about its usage, too, and I usually end up bringing a lot home (case in point, I still had maybe 5 gallons of the 7 I took for the 3-day trip). Of course, it's supplemented by other drinks. I have an idea for on-demand hot water using a 12v water pump and 12v/300w heater element, but at that current draw, I may still need the engine running. Going back to the aux fuel discussion for a moment, I remembered another possible option, but it requires having a spare tire carrier and possibly some modification. AEV and Titan have spare tire carriers for Jeeps that mount between the carrier and the tire. AEVs are meant specifically for their aftermarket carriers, but the Titan are meant for stock Wrangler carriers. I don't think it'd be to bad to adapt one of those...but at $500 for 10gal, I'd pass. If I'm gonna pay that much for something, it probably won't be made of plastic. Titan also makes a fuel cell for full-sized trucks that mounts where the undermount spare is...$1700 for 30 gal, but it's also a complete kit (filler door, neck, pump, lines, etc.). Very cool product, but I think I'd sooner just strap an OE fuel tank to the roof.

Great insight, but bummer on the damage! As soon as you had mentioned the distribution strap, that's exactly what came to my mind...the lower support buckling. You absolutely had the right idea to distribute the load, but the problem is that so many spots on unibodies are simply made from thinner steel that is layered or laminated and not fully boxed/welded, and it's function is to be rigid, but also to collapse upon impact. The few spots that must bear excessive loads constantly (like the subframe, strut towers, and spring perches) use thicker gauge stamped steel. Be sure to post up some pics of that XROX bar if you get it. I think they're great looking bumpers, wish we had them here.

My MPG was pretty shoddy before the bumpers, and I don't think they've worsened the numbers much. I think the gearing change lowered the numbers some, but part of me thinks it's really boiled down to a clogged PCV valve and O2 sensors, which I've been dragging my feet on the repairs. One got replaced a few months ago, and I've had another O2 code that I've just kept clearing because I swear the code has programmatic instructions to just dump fuel in the cylinders. On the highway stretches to and from the trails last weekend, I ran some fuel system treatment through two tanks and haven't seen the code since. Funny you mention the split fuel/water tank(s) where the undermount spare was. I was just telling TownDawg that's the real direction I'd want to go the other day. I don't need or want that much reserve fuel, just enough (5-10gal) to get out of a pinch. I do want water storage, too. I also want some other storage there (I'd love to make a larger storage tub where the existing one is, if I could reasonably replace the crossmember there). The problem with using that location for fuel, though, is provisions for filling...transferring is probably less of a problem, but a problem nonetheless. The thought of just having an undermount tray/rack for carrying two jerry/Scepter cans on their side has also crossed my mind. In the end, I may just modify my tire carrier a little to hold a can and be done with it.

Ha! His old front ARB locker, which is now in my truck. I bought it off a different guy years ago who hadn’t installed it in his truck.

An aftermarket or custom bumper can distribute load across both recovery point areas somewhat. To be more effective, though, they also need to increase the number of attachment points and the overall contact area. I don't recall if I had a good picture of the nut-strip I'm using for my bumper brackets, but it slips into the chassis tube and sandwiches the tube wall using 1/2" bolts. The problem with putting a bolt all the way through the tube, even with a sleeve, is that it greatly increases pressure at the attachment point and under-utilizes part of your bracket; it's not distributing pressure enough. Your pipe sleeve would have to be a fat round spacer to the exact width of the tube to be the most effective (but a difficult task since the tube opening is smaller and not uniform). Two analogies to hammer the point: Imagine two magnets on a piece of steel. One is 1" diameter, and the other 3" diameter. Which is easier to slide around? The 3" magnet has about 9x more surface area, and consequently harder to move. This scenario represents area distribution. Imagine holding a piece of paper flat between your palms and someone trying to pull the paper out. You can hold it pretty tight. Instead of palms, try just between all 5 fingertips fanned out (er, 4-6 fingers for some folks out there); still a decent grip, but you've eliminated contact area from the palms. Now do a palm and just one finger. The paper flops over and can be pulled from your grip very easily. Your palm adds very little to clamping strength, literally reduced to the contact area of your fingertip, and basically the equivalent of holding it with just two finger tips. This scenario represents a bolt-through scenario. Notably, many of the surfaces on the truck are irregular as you expand across multiple attachment points, so you can only gain so much actual contact area. I'd guesstimate my brackets have added about 1/2 sq ft in contact area, and are currently using 9 attachment points per bracket (I can increase these further if I were to weld my brackets to the OE recovery hooks).

Just curious, but what do the rear hook points look like? I don’t think I’ve seen them before. Are they removed when a hitch is installed?

You can pull the codes yourself pretty easily. You just ground a pin on the OBD port and the ABS light will flash the code. See BR-41 here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/2003_Pathfinder/br.pdf. The code chart is on BR-54. Just be mindful of where pin #9 is. I can't remember if it's my Pathfinder or Frontier, but the OBD port is oriented upside down relative to the diagram in the FSM. The other other "pin 9" will pop a fuse somewhere. Generally speaking, it might help to pull the ABS sensors and clean off any metal shavings or grease that has accumulated on them. While I've never had problems pulling mine (knock on wood), I've heard of some horror stories. Proceed with caution as to not damage them. Others have noted that rust on the sensor mounting face can alter the air gap between sensor and tone ring. Lastly, confirm that all your tires are of the same size and are wearing evenly; variations between tires may be sensed as a slip condition.