hawairish

The u-joint is labelled as "journal" in that picture. The journal bearings and snap rings are also part of the u-joint assembly to replace. The u-joints are not adjustable. The grease point is for the small (very small) movements the propeller shaft tube's yoke will make within the rear of the tube while driving. Since the front diff is in a near-static position, it doesn't see nearly as much movement as your rear driveshaft does. But because both the diff and tranny/t-case are on rubber bushings and mounts, it has to allow for some play. I'd definitely give Fleurys suggestion a try. It takes about 5 mins to pull the driveshaft. 14mm wrench should do it.

Excellent idea.

Thanks. Guess I never gave it much thought. Still curious to hear Bruce's description of the sound. Would a bad u-joint make an unbearable noise? I'd expect vibration more than anything, maybe a hum (the u-joint basically oscillates on the bearings, so I'd expect an oscillating noise). The type of noise really matters here; I'm a little skeptical that it's a u-joint without getting more info.

Can't just replace the front shaft's u-joint (assuming that's the problem)? It's an inexpensive, off-the-shelf part here in the US. Doubt it's different in Taiwan. Does the front shaft even spin while not in 4wd or during auto mode (depending on how your truck is equipped)? Sure it's not the rear driveshaft u-joint or a wheel bearing? How would you describe the noise: hum, screech, scrape, grind, other? Whatever the noise is, you should probably crawl around and start shaking or inspecting things. Noises are bad. Something rotating at speed and making louder noise is really bad. If it's a u-joint, and it grenades while driving, you may end up buying a new driveshaft anyway.

And now, for the real stuff. I finished up the skid plate spacer tonight: I It bolts to the radiator support crossmember using 4 unused M12 holes. I tapped the spacer for the M10 bolts, but I'll probably go with blind nuts instead. The enlarged holes on the bottom allow for a 17mm socket (dia. <1"), and are then covered by skid plate, but I need to cut a groove through each hole or something to allow water to drain. I probably won't seal up the ends, but I do need to pull it down to give it some paint. Might even put a few more holes through the face to save some weight. And here are just a bunch of other pictures of the finished work! (Finally!) Passenger front spacer: Passenger rear spacer; if you go with a 5.75" long spacer, you don't need the beveled cut to avoid the brake line shield or subframe gusset. Everything cleaned up. New brake lines are 3" longer overall, but only 1.25" longer where it matters (between strut tab and fender mount), which is still plenty. The brake lines weren't necessary, but noticed my original lines from strut tab to caliper seemed stressed. Installed new shock boots instead of the normal strut boot...almost $20 cheaper and just need little trimming. 1.5" strut spacer stacked on a NX4 1" spacers that the previous owner had milled down to .5" for whatever reason; so 2" of spacers. Under-chassis clearance. The LCAs are basically flat, so that ball joint is angled exactly how it should be. Clearance was reduced to about 9.25" at the skid plates, as expected. But, no binding, and full range of movement. That's what an SFD is for. You'd think I'd post an 'after' picture here, but not gonna (yet). After driving it around, it's leveled to about exactly 2" of lift, which is expected. No more rubbing on the wheel well liners. The camber isn't bad, almost not even noticeable, but a set of camber bolts will probably help anyway. I could probably go up to 2.5"-3" of strut spacers and be in good shape. If you want any other specific pics, let me know.

Ok, some pics, finally. The red line is where the passenger mount is cut. The passenger spacer is 2" deep (yellow line) The drivers spacer is 3" deep (orange line). The green lines are the angled parts that will oppose each other. The driver's green line is 2.5" long (the piece started as a 2.5" cubic piece); the passenger green line is a little over 1.25". The blue lines are parallel when installed. The blue line to spacer edge facing motor is .5" The foot print of the passenger spacer fits within a 3"x2" rectangle Passenger mount: (By the way, these cuts turned out razor sharp. That little scruff you see inside the spacer is the interior weld when the tube was formed. HF miter saw, HF router speed controller, and a metal-cutting blade.) This is the design I went away from (ignore all the lines for now): .120" simple tube was where I started. Not enough clearance as-is unless I rotated it a little; that was the original plan anyway. So, I just cut it in half; these are what were replaced. I'm sure this approach would be fine with .188" or .250". Going forward, I'll probably just cut .188" tube at 22.5° so that it it makes a parallelogram that fits within a 3"x2" footprint, as sketched on the last pic.

I think the thinner C-shaped spacers would be fine for supporting, just not if the faces are facing each other, which is how I had them. I'd think they'd could waffle over like \ \ or / /. If they were turned 90-deg, though, the only way they'd collapse is if the engine moved significantly to the front or rear of the vehicle, and this is where the tranny mount would actually help. The best approach would be for the faces (and by faces, the cups of the C shape) to both face towards the center of the vehicle some where. The resists shifting/collapsing in all directions. But again, it's that shorter passenger subframe pad that screws things up. But yes, I think .188" or thicker would be best if the spacer is to be cut like any C-shape. In the pic, the old ones; and not sure I follow about long edge. The angle is like this (from top/bottom perspective): New: --Front--- /-motor-\ Old: --Front-- |-motor-|

The short answers: Tooling space. The difference between a 4"-tall and 2.5"-tall spacer is huge when it's the difference between being able to use sockets, wobbles, and extensions to tighten things up, versus only being able to use a wrench. The subframe pad's side supports, and the gap between the studs of the mount and the heads of the lower bolts, made it impossible for me to use anything other than a wrench, without buying other tools (like a good set of ratcheting wrenches!). Tubing size. If I could find 3"x 2.5" tubing, that would have been golden. Otherwise, I'd need to butcher and weld pieces together, which is what I wanted to avoid because I don't weld, and it's a lot more work. Tubing direction. If the opening of the tube opened to the front/rear, I couldn't get a wrench up on at least one of the nuts on the motor mount. If turned 90 (opened to engine/wheels), not enough interior width to get a wrench on the nuts. A slight rotation opens up the width (i.e., the length of a side vs the length of the hypotenuse.) The passenger side subframe pad is not nearly as deep as the driver's side. The max depth from hole-centers is 1.5", whereas on the driver's side, I didn't even need to measure. I needed to make another cut on the just the passenger side if it was going to be rotated. The angle cuts are so that I had some structure of the spacers opposing each other to deal with the torque from the engine. Tube spacers would've been fine if it weren't for the mess above. The 2nd attempt (the ones I removed), ended up cutting the spacer into two C shapes, but because the walls ran parallel to each other when installed, there was nothing to prevent the motor from shifting, or even collapsing. I don't have a good way to judge forces here, but took the safer-than-sorry approach because I don't trust the transmission mount to be any saving grace (it's designed to support the transmission vertically, not control torquing from the engine). I could've upped to .188" steel, but I just didn't like the approach. The angle cuts all allow for tool access. Again, things are really confined up there. The spacers need to open towards the engine...my 14mm offset wrench barely worked on the passenger side to clear some tubing and the bottom of the engine. The real goal, aside from preventing the motor from being somewhere it shouldn't be, is that if I'm to kit anything up, I need a simple solution. Going forward, the solution is simpler than I made it (I went with the Super Beef edition for peace of mind, but I also didn't have enough material to do it this time around). If I cut a 2.5" tube at angles, that will give me tool access, a 3" x 2.5" dimensions, and opposing forces. I know, this is one of the truly worthless posts without pictures. I'll probably just sketch something up. I also need a better way to host pictures. Google is pissing me off. The bottom line is that there are far more constraints for a 2.5" spacer than a 4" spacer. A 2" SFD amplifies the problem, and a 3" SFD is pushes the need for angled strut spacers (which I don't want to produce)...2.5" is the middle of the road.

So, I know that the OP got the issue sorted out, but I realized tonight that my understanding of the strut mount hardware for an R50 is incorrect (largely based on reading other threads, and some experience on other struts). The only cause of the high positive-camber result is putting the angled strut spacers on the wrong sides of the truck. The tubing on them should be vertical. (This is specific to KRFabs kit.) I disassembled my OME struts to install longer upper bolts for an additional strut spacer. All of the upper mounting brackets, insulators, seat springs--everything--is identical from side to side. The only side-specific part is the strut. Nissan parts diagrams confirm this. Also, my truck doesn't have camber bolts either, which I was certain it did. In fact, the FSM says camber and caster are not adjustable. (Is this normal for MacPherson struts systems? Guess I've never noticed before.) The only adjustable component is toe, unless you get camber bolts. Anyway, sorry for the misinformation.

Welp, it's done finally. I'll try to post up some pictures tomorrow or over the weekend, though I'd rather wait until the rear is complete for the full effect. The sad part is that I haven't even touched the rear yet, and won't be home for the next 3 weekends and a week in between...so it's another week of working after work all next week if I want to get it done this month. All told, what a PITA. And because I wanted different motor mount spacers, I basically had to undo and redo everything. So, by my count, including the fact that I also fit a 1.5" SFD, I've installed an SFD at least twice as many times as pretty much anyone else. The most satisfying feeling was just before the end: needing to jack the truck up a few inches just to put the tires back on. I had it on stands since Saturday morning...but no, the install itself didn't take that long. In fact, I'd say I probably spent about 8-10 hours doing everything that would be necessary assuming all the parts were ready to go (which they weren't). The rest of the time was fabbing up parts; repairing my missing link and skid plate brackets (they were causing the bolts to cross thread); installing longer brake lines; installing poly bushings on the LCAs; and all sorts of just cleaning things up. The only thing remaining up front is to fab up the front skid plate spacer, and install the camber bolts once they arrive. So, about the SFD install. Overall, a lot of work. The tough part is that once the subframe is down, you lose a few inches of face clearance to work under (fortunately, you gain some work space overhead and can reach places you couldn't reach previously). Removing and installing the axle is time consuming...I had to work it down with a floor jack and pair of jack stands...twice (wife helped with some jack work one of the times). I had flashbacks of the time I pulled down my transmission from my Frontier without help. With everything back together, I have zero CV binding at full droop (pre-install, I had some on the passenger side). Floor to fender flare increased exactly 2.5" on both sides, which matches the subframe spacers perfectly, but I'm certain it'll settle more since I only added 1.5" of strut spacers. I ended up using the .188"-wall spacers instead...if I was going to go through all the hassle of reinstalling everything, then no point of letting those sit. Unfortunately, I haven't even taken it around the block yet, let alone even out of the garage. The good news is that I have no left-over hardware beyond what was being replaced. Stay tuned for the next steps...

I'd try replacing the battery and cleaning the contact pads on the circuit board and the back of the rubber button pads with some isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips first.

2004 SE w/o passenger cylinder

Revised MMs: Beef Supreme: Beef Supreme installed, rack slightly rotated: PS line bracket with perfectly bad camera flash: Edit: editing this because I can. Hopefully the pictures are there. If not, then you can safely assume that none of this is really happening.

I see that now, and I know why. Why can't I edit my posts? Edit: Why can I edit this post but not any of my others?

So the spacers are in, but I'm going to pull the axle back down and put in these motor mount spacers instead: I was originally worried about the MM spacers simply because of the size of tubing (2.5"x 2.5") and possibly not having the clearance I'd need. I ended up cutting a .120"-wall piece in half (like "[" and "]") and installed those, but didn't feel comfortable with it...a high-torque situation would probably bend them and cause a world of other issues. The above design is better, though I may need to trim them to get the length and width down. I ended up using .188"-wall instead, and with these angled cuts, the pieces will be working against each other under high-torque situations, leaving the motor mounts to do their job. (The top of the picture represents the front of the truck.) This also helps with tool clearance...there isn't much on the passenger side to begin with. The steering system was a little more time consuming than I had liked. My measurements were pretty good, though. I did rotate the rack just a little to be on the safe side, but in doing so, it shortened the overall shaft length required. I'll need to get the shaft machined down, though it's probably cheaper to buy a new one. It'll work as-is for the time being. Didn't have any issues with the hoses/lines, though a longer low-pressure/return hose from the PS reservoir will give enough slack to return a bracket to it's original mounting point on the subframe (you can see a lonely bolt on the top of the subframe two pictures down). The high-pressure line got a small bracket that keeps everything in comfortable. A shortcoming on my part was thinking that I'd be able to remove the upper strut mount bolts from the mounting plate without having to disassemble the entire strut. Since my strut bellows are pretty tattered and not doing anything useful, I'm waiting for their replacements to come in before I add in my spacers. I'll also tackle the brake lines at that time, since I still need to confirm those even fit. I've also been tackling a few other tasks. The LCAs have been installed with SuperPro bushings (it is not necessary to remove them for the SFD install). I also spent a couple hours re-doing my skid plate mounting bracket and 'missing link' because the bolts kept cross threading--the steel plate was damaging bolts because it had no tolerance for a slightly off-center welded nylock. I was able to bore out the plate and re-tap some nylocks, but had to cut the welds on a couple of them. The axle even got a good wash while it was down. That's it for now. Still have a lot to do (beyond the SFD); hopefully I'll have it wrapped up before the weekend.

Ha. Yeah, that one. I've found this one to be the most useful: I'll be posting up my own install instructions soon. Not necessarily for the KRFabs one, but an SFD in general.

Yes. And annoyingly, it's the only reason to remove the diff.

It goes. Couldn't start yesterday unfortunately. Couple little snags, like a near-stripped subframe nut (not to mention it was super-torqued down), and a steering link u-joint that didn't have enough tolerance for the steering rack's splined stud. Both just about killed the project, but I got past them luckily. Test-fit the 1.5", and now have the front 2.5" spacers in place, just not tightened down. Need to finish up the rear and motor mount spacers, then button everything up. Also pulled the LCAs and got the rubber bushings off...about as time-consuming and crappy as I expected. Tomorrow I'll wrap up the drop portion, re-install the LCAs with poly, add strut spacers, install brake lines, and put the front back together. Hopefully I can tackle the rear of the truck tomorrow, but doubtful.

Gotcha. Probably not much different here, but can't say I've ever paid attention to it. Headlights on the other hand...pretty important, I hear.

Probably comparing apples to oranges here; I30 vs Pathfinder, headlights vs DRL, etc. It's been about a decade since I did that re-work, so some of the details are lost in years of beers. But lighting modules aren't very complex. Normally a wiring diagram (FSM) and multi-meter is all that's necessary to troubleshoot. But I think in your case, some of the older modules (if one) might be non-servicable and fully-sealed. The one I worked on came apart easily; I just don't remember if I had to remove if from the vehicle, but I think I did. If you're talking about headlights, I wouldn't think there'd be a lighting module unless the vehicle has projection/gas bulbs, or auto-headlights (which may include the DRL logic). It's usually just power to the headlight switch/stalk, fed to the relays, and to the headlights. I'm certain it varies by year and model, though. I've not looked up anything specifically for a Pathfinder, but I can if you'd like. I'll be crawling around the truck (mine's a 2004) so I'll see what exists since the OP has the same year. Yours is a 1990?

I think your friend's suggestion is a little extreme towards the tail end of that logic, but the idea is there. Though, I doubt your springs will rust apart any time soon unless you really neglect them. For the parts you've listed there, you should be able to eyeball or feel those parts while on the truck. If you see/feel frays or cuts on the rubber, its likely they need replacing. Since they're rubber, a couple good jerks or twists on the spring will also reveal any excess sponginess...if you hear metal-metal contact, well, something is probably worn or altogether missing. I'd imagine everything is probably re-usable. The OEM bearings and mounts in your original post should suffice (as long as it also includes the strut mount isolators) for things to replace while you're at it. Worse case scenario, you could by 1-2 of either piece and replace the worst ones; if anything, I'd guess the lower ones would need replacement over the upper ones. Though, I doubt there's a major difference between the A and B pieces, except maybe their length. Beyond that, reads like you've got your bases covered.

Might not be your problem here, but worth looking at...a long while ago, I disassembled a headlight control module for an Infiniti I30 only to discover that a couple solder points had broken from the circuit board. It was also causing an intermittent issue. Had it fixed in about 5 minutes with some fresh solder work on all the contact points.

No longer available, or not in stock? I'd be certain Nissan wouldn't obsolete brake lines. I got the part number from Nissan, and my normal online dealerships appear wiling to take money for it. No mention of NLA. This particular part (superseded by 46310-0W00A, btw) fits R50s up to 2004, so I'd be certain of its availability. Probably not in stock locally, but for sure on a dusty shelf in one of two Nissan warehouses in CA (where all my random out-of-stock parts come from). Granted, it's probably more convenient for the OP to do the work manually as you guys have described if waiting for the part to arrive is not an option. Personally, if I was going to go through the hassle (and couldn't wait to get them online), I'd also buy enough tubing and fittings to do both sides. And, a 10mmX1.0 machine screw will plug the sides of the distribution tee. Just hand tighten it. There's an internal flare you don't want to damage.

Is the part not available from your local dealership? Appears to be a $7 part at courtesyparts.com, surely a few bucks more locally for a part that's certain to fit. I show the part as 46310-0W000 for a 96 4wd w/ABS...MSRP $8.55.

Right on, glad you got it sorted. I thought I had seen a pic of the pieces with writing on them, but yeah, it would've helped. You may also want to give it a day or so to let the coils settle.