NovaPath

Can you tell me the overall truck height to the top of the roof??

Thanks guys, I had to redo one of them today as I realized I stupidly put the top hat on the wrong way. Once the spring tension was loosened I was able to move the top no issues. I ant believe the bearing on these are basically two pieces of plastic with grease between them...I have no idea how they actually work for longer than a mile!

I agree that I don't think over tightening is the issue, and near as I can tell the strut shaft actually turns(or rather the strut body turns around ) everytime you turn. This is much different than the strut setups I'm used to where the nut is tightened down onto the bearing. My concern is that I missed something somewhere which is causing binding.

I just got done assembling all new strut assemblies, kyb excel G struts, AC 2" springs, new spring seats, mounts, bearing, and isolators. What has me nervous is I cannot rotate the strut top by hand. I looked at the manual, and have everything assembled the only way I could figure out to assemble it. The bearing is sandwiched between the upper spring mount and the mounting bracket. Is this just due to the force of the spring on the bearing or did I mess something up? Thanks!

So what is this noise I'm reading about having to drop the power steering rack and remove the alternator? I'm going to have to do this here shortly as i'm getting the tell tale click of the solenoid without the motor spinning once every few days now. I figure i'll do it at the same time as the lift kit install and this way my wife just thinks its one project Thanks!

You are doing pretty much the exact same thing as me. I went with the general grabber at2 in a 245/75/16 size, they fit the stock ride height and should look good still once my lift is on. I will be installing the Ac kit along with new struts, shocks, and ball joints later this month. Take a look at my mini build thread at the top of this forum for more information/ideas and directions you can go. The only reason I went wth the Ac kit was because I found it used for 200+45 shipping.

Went ahead and ordered two new KYB struts today off of amazon. Also placed the order for the OEM transfer case skid plate that fits, I'm officially over budget at this point so the center skid is going to have to wait, along with the mile marker hubs. I took the springs out of the box to look at, am I correct in assuming that the front springs have a slight taper to them along with the last coil sanded flat on one side? I was slightly surprised because for one reason or another I assumed the rear springs would be longer, but the tapered ones with the flat side are longer than the others. Thanks!

Just finished this up about 10 minutes ago. I really appreciated your how to, although I deviated slightly and did not remove the throttle body. For anyone about to do this, have some extra vacuum line on hand as a couple of mine broke upon trying to remove. I'm sure the act it is 24 degrees out didn't help, though. For what it's worth all of mine were tight and most likely would never have come out on their own, but a decent amount of red lock tite on each screw will now make sure of that. Got it all done in about 3 hours, including spark plug change while I was at it. This was doing the work behind my townhouse on the side of the street in freezing temps too, so I don't want to hear anyone's excuses!

Go to the courtesy Nissan parts page, look up the diagram. You need virtually everything there that looks like it goes to the strut, and it costs about 300.00. I just went down this road and am opting to remove the struts and take them to a repair shop to have new springs and struts mounted using the existing components except for the strut top and bearing, those will be new. Off the top of my head you will need: strut top, bearing, upper seat,lower seat, bump stop, dust boot, another seat of some sort, and quite a few nuts. It adds up faster than expected.

Parts have started to arrive! So far I've got my new MOOG ball joints(so odd to me that I have to attach the boot myself...), new moog stabilizer bars, my used AC 2" lift springs, and the used KYB GR-2 Struts. The Bilstein 5100's are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and Fleury is going to send me a front skid as soon as he gets one manufactured. Unfortunately, one of the struts is stripped out where the main bolt attaches, so now i'm stuck trying to decide if I want to only buy one new strut or just get two new ones. I know in my head that I should replace them both, but I'm already over my projected budget and I haven't even bought the center skidplate, or manual hubs yet! The seller tossed them in I only paid for shipping so i'm not mad about it, although it would have been nice not to pay the 35.00 shipping if I end up getting two new ones. I'm also hugely torn on whether or not to install this myself in my parking space or pay someone, if I had a garage it'd be a no brainer but working in the cold outside plain sucks. Lastly, I've made myself paranoid about these power valve screws now so I may be tackling those along with new plugs Sunday before the game if it doesn't snow.

Thanks pathmaker. I am going to go ahead and put the order in for the milemarker ones tomorrow. Ordered so far: moog balljoints, AC 2" lift and kyb struts, moog stabilizer links. This leaves: Front skid plate, center skid plate, and rear skid plate, rear bilstein shocks, mile marker hubs, and figuring out what on earth to order so I can pre assemble my struts(see other thread in this forum...) I've got a "drop dead" date of 3/12 to get this all installed and working well before I take the the on a trip to PA to drop the family in York and then spend a day at Rausch Creek, so wish me luck!

I'm in the process of ordering all of my build components(see other thread about prioritizing mini build), and when I calculated all of the parts for the OEM strut mount assemblies online it totaled almost 200.00. This can't be right..can someone point me in the direction of a complete strut mount assembly that includes everything? I know the KYB are garbage... My goal is to be able to have two new struts with the AC lift coils ready to install prior to taking out the existing struts/mounts. This way I can ensure minimal down time... Thanks In Advance, NovaPath

Can anyone with an 01+(the VQ35 engine) tell me if the mile marker hubs listed for the 96-01 will work? The sites typically say with the 3.0-3.3 engine, however as we all know the 01 is the 3.5 engine. I just want to be sure! Thanks,

Well the build has taken a slightly different direction. I was able to source an A.C. lift kit and kyb front struts used, so that has freed up the budget considerably. I thought I'd have to back off but now it seems like it is going to be in full force. 2" lift, bilstein rear shocks, undercarriage armor, and new ball joints and sway links up front. The only thing i'm on the fence about now is if I should go with some mile marker manual hubs, my gas is paid for from my work for 95% of my driving so fuel economy isn't really an issue, and I also really like being able to put it into 4wd at any time I like without getting out of the truck. The only reason I'd do it is to save wear and tear on the front cv joints, what are NPORA's thoughts on this? Unrelated: I got to try out the tires today in some sticky mud(I know, they aren't a mud tire...), and even with the tires sunk in soft mud all the way to the rim, I was still able to get out. I know for a fact I would have been SOL with the old all seasons.... Thanks for the input!

Just got the pathfinder back after having the 245/75/16 grabber at2s put on, and was also hit with some unexpected repair costs which have slightly derailed my budget and plans. That being said, I think I have a budget friendly work around that I'm curious to hear feedback on. I would replace the rear springs which are sagging with the 30.00 pair from moog, replace the rear shocks with the bilstein 5100 series, and install a 2" spacer lift kit all around. What is the down side to this? It is certainly much cheaper and less labor intensive for me to diy than the full emu kit. As an added plus it leaves enough room in the budget still for skid plates, front ball joints, and front stabilizer links. Thoughts??

Hawairish: thanks for the detailed reply. One question though, why do I need to re torque the wheel bearing? I don't see where I'm removing the rotor?

Great info thanks guys. This seems very doable in my parking lot provided I have the new struts ready to slide in. For the new struts I will need the strut of course, spring, bump stop, and strut top/bearing. Am I forgetting anything? Rubber pad seats etc?

I think I'm going with the ome hd fronts with the md rear. Planning on kyb front struts, not sure on rear shocks yet. I originally was going to reuse the strut tops but if I can build the new struts at my leisure and reduce the chance of not completing this in time to use my truck to get to work, it seems silly not to replace them(plus then they are new!)

Ok great. If the assembly of the strut is the hardest part I will just take my time and build the replacement strut before even touching the actual truck. I gather I will need the strut, spring, and bearing. Any rubber pads or stops needed?

Thanks bushnut. Looking at the ome spring kit with new struts as well. Anything stopping me from assembling the new strut, spring, and strut top/bearing combo before taking the truck apart?

Also, I understand the hardest part to be installing the spring in the strut, but if I'm replacing the strut and bearing couldn't I remove the old strut and spring together, and install the new strut/spring bearing combo that I had assembled prior? This seems to easy....

I have a basic question for those who have installed their own lift kits on these trucks, what would you rank the level of difficulty as? I have done my fair share of wrenching but am at a logistical disadvantage this go around as the townhouse i'm living at does not have a garage. Is this something that a basic jack and tool set can accomplish in a parking lot or am I better off dropping it off and having it done? I consider myself to be shade tree mechanic without the tree... Thanks!

I am going with the general grabber at2's, truck developed a nasty exhaust rattle, belt or pulley noise, and is due for an oil change. I'm putting it in the shop for the week I'm going out of town to get those items done, we will see what kind of funds are left at the end! Going with 245/75/16 so there may be some rubbing to Sort initially...

I just found a great deal online for the Toyo Open Country At II's, if I decide to go with those it will free up the budget some. My hesitation with simply using spacers is that the rear springs are sagging slightly already, and the struts and shocks already have 137k on them and I'm sure are not in that great of shape. Once I replace the shocks, struts, rear springs, and add on the spacers, we are splitting hairs between the cost for that and the full lift kit. I may just have to come off my wallet slightly, we will see. We had our first snowstorm of the year here in the mid-atlantic today, and my current tires performed horribly (worn michelin latitude X's), so this project's timeline may have just gotten bumped up. Do you really think I can get away with not replacing the rear trailing arms? I suppose I can replace them when they do go bad, but do people get much more life out of these than what I've already got? Are strut tops a necessity or do they hold up pretty well on these trucks? Thanks !

I like the look of those treadwrights but I don't think they make them in the size I'm after 245/75/16