herm

1997 w/ sliderz: www.purplelizard.com

http://members.cox.net/mainpages/ here is a full write up on 01 brake job.

I don't think anyone (on the R50 boards) has tried the Emu struts yet. They just appeared as a line-item. I haven't seen specs, but if it's anything like the Emu shocks, I'd expect them to be very serious-duty dimensions... which would be a good thing! try some Aussie boards? Try emailing this guy for any down-under info: http://www.thrsolutions.com.au/Pathy/pathfindermods.html m.

Apologies for simultaneously cross posting and post-jacking: but..... Looking at new CB set up for the pathy. Some of these shops offer a service to "tune" the radio, to improve reception... is this crap? Such as: <<To drastically simplify it, the true tune is a realignment of the transmitter section of the radio. The mega tune involves completely aligning all sections of the radio.>> I prefer a portable system to swap between vehicles, or on occasion to use on foot for short distances. This is what I'm thinking of - Midland 75-822 Handheld CB Radio FS-4, Four Foot Firestik Antenna Tri-Magnetic Mount Pad Just wondering if this 'extra tuning' work really does anything on such a relatively simple radio?

An alternative to the wheels is using teflon cutting board material (like kitchen cutting boards) to help slide. A few competition trucks have been incorporating that as a liner on the belly skids. I think there is an older thread that mentions some manufacturer leads.

Dean - did you come up with the idea for those wheels and have someone build them? How are the side arms attached - did you weld off the hitch arms or bolt-on? m.

DEAN! That video is awesome!

Mr Game - the clearcoat is pretty good on Nissans. A detail shop will be able to buff out most of the scratches, assuming they are from light branches and didn't actually go thru clearcoat and paint and primer to steel. For a few years, when it was newer, I had my pathy detailed every fall to help protect it during winter, and they buffed out all but the deepest scratches. But, the last couple of years added scratches, dents, scrapes... it is officially a well used trail rig now, and no longer worthy of a detail shop.... it has character! As for the slope discussion - as Dean well knows, most are gross exagerations. Most 4wd vehicles cannot climb a slope greater than 45 degrees, even if traction is not an issue. The standard for 4wds is the Humvee - the military model, not the bling-bling glorified Yukon. see http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m998.htm: they state: The vehicles can climb 60% slopes and traverse a side slope of up to 40% fully loaded. To navigate 80 degree slopes you need to move up to one of these: http://www.army-technology.com/projects/al_fahd/ and i suppose above 80 degrees we are discussing airplanes and rockets, not trucks. See the guy giving the finger in FLApathy's shot? That finger is at about 80 degrees! m.

You are correct - with the Fram plug (your suggestion) I don't have to loosen the rear bolts.

<<You don't have to loosen any bolts on the Rear plate just let it hang there.>> Not on mine - you built a stout skidplate! When I drop the front bolts the rear skid only droops about 1/4 inch. The rear brace with those beefy bolts holds the whole thing pretty tight. I loosen the rear bolts a few turns to get some wiggle room under the drain plug. m.

You don't have to replace the shocks, but since everything else is 'new' most folks do them at the same time. Any shock will work. I like Emu's, they are pretty stout. I really don't know how much lift I have now that the Emu's are about 3 years old. The rear does sit higher than the front, but levels out when I'm loaded for a trip. It certainly does seem like the rear, empty, gets closer to 2 inches of 'lift' than the 1 inch Emu states. Up front I'd say 1 inch is realistic. Mine may be lower from the TJM bumper, or maybe the coils have fatigued more up front since they are always under load (engine weight). The spacers that Rocky Road sells are NOT 9/16, as advertised - they are 1/4 inch, steel, cut to fit the top of the strut tower. Not the greatest workmanship, but at $30/pr delivered it was way easier than trying to fab a set of one-off's. I haven't put them on, and probably won't until I get the winch. The extra weight of the winch is when I think I may want the extra 1/4 inch up front. With R50's, if an odd aftermarket part comes out I usually buy it figuring they may not have the demand for a continued production run. I can post a picture, but they aren't much - just a steel spacer painted black with 3 holes drilled in it. m.

I have the Black Panther skids. Pulling the front skid isn't any harder than pulling the splash guard, other than weight. I'll look again at the idea of pulling the filter with the plate in place - I didn't think that was possible. I never tried to have an oil-monkey touch them - I'm surprised a quick-shop will even do that once they see a full set of steel skids. I have 2 bolts stripped and tapped to 1/4 inch, so I figure that makes the process far too confusing to ask the oil-monkey to put it back together! The rear plate doesn't have to be dropped: just loosen the rear bolts and it will drop a few inches in the front (which are unbolted anyway to drop the front skid). A wide, shallow funnel can be positioned in the existing hole to drain at the plug. I replaced the Nissan drain plug with a Fram quick-release, which means you don't need the funnel because the hose adaptor is your drain. It makes it a little easier. I used to change oil on a lift at my friends shop, but with the skids it's easier to do it on the ground. I use a block of wood to hold up the skids close to the frame to get the threads started. I've thought about enlarging the hole, but don't want to give up any protection... mine are first gen. skids, I think the new ones have a larger hole? Dean Thayer has suggested using plastic grocery bags to unscrew and contain the messy filter change, and that works well - just be aware most cheap grocery bags have holes, so triple bag 'em.

Seems to me if an existing spacer was scanned at actual size, 300dpi tiff - that should serve as an excellent template. You could scan a machinist ruler with it. Ultimately you'd want the CNC programmed to cut them in various widths - but you'd only have to change one variable in the program. or you could buy them from Rocky Road if 9/16 tall is OK. I suppose you could stack them, but they might creak. http://www.rocky-road.com/pathfinder.html

the Emu package does tend to set up a higher rear-end than front, but so do the AC coils, methinks. My thing is overland expedition travel, mutli-day (or week) being self-contained, so I prefer that to work well when I'm fully loaded. I think all R50s with Emu's packages set up that way. The 'look' of the higher rear doesn't bother me. The strut spacers should help level it out, but I haven't installed them yet. Some on this list have, so they can chime in. You need longer bolts for the strut, I haven't looked into the specs yet, but measure the spacers and add that to the stock bolts. It doesn't have to be exact - they can be long because you have a lot of room under the hood where they stick up. m.

The coils all cost about the same, regardless of lift. I don't know of anyone running the Emu struts - that is new. Most go with the KYBs - Emu struts are way expensive. I did go with Emu shocks, a little pricey but they are beefy, no complaints. I like the KYB struts, so I'm not sure what the Emu's do differently. Strut failure is rare. I bought the trim packers from Rocky Road but haven't installed them. What's up with the term 'trim-packers'??? It's a freakin' strut spacer! I figured since someone made them, I'd get 'em now while they are available. For $30 a pair that was a lot easier than making my own. Whenever I put a winch up front I'll put them on to counter the extra weight. m.

the Emu set up doesn't require anything special from your mechanic - it installs identical to the original suspension. Since you aren't building for ultimate off-road clearance there is no reason to go with the 2 inch, and there are known drawbacks to that set-up, mainly the topping out issues. Even with serious off-roading in mind, there are very few instances where an Emu-equipped Pathy couldn't follow a 2 inch-lift equipped pathy. Put your money into rock sliderz and skid plates as you progress towards more difficult trails, and enjoy the benefits of the Emu suspension the other 99% of your miles. Honestly, it's a whole new driving experience on Emu's.

are you sure it isn't the metal loop that engages the rear hatch? It's the part mounted on the floor of the rear area. When the plastic coating wears off it rattles. m.

vengeful - your pathy looks great on that snowy trail! I had those hella 500s for a few years, pretty good light. One took a rock in Canada this summer so I stepped up to the Hella 4000s, and those are some wicked bright lights! You need a flat bumper to mount them, like a TJM (oops, sorry to rub it in) but the 500s did work really well on the factory bumper. Whats with the orange safety flags? Is that a park rule? Or is it hunting season m.

I ordered the strut spacers from Rocky Road on-line; today (dec 6) so I'll let you know when they arrive. Price was $32. shipped to Maine, spacers alone are $19. E-mail didn't say specifically if they were in stock or not, but I'm not in a hurry. I won't install them for quite a while - whenever I get a winch, probably in spring. I'm always stoked when a company starts to make stuff for R50s, and it appears Rocky Road may pursue other product categories. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll do a rear bumper for us!

I think all he means is the T-case is damn heavy and it makes the job complicated, compared to a 2wd. It's the CAS that gets everyone - if you're aware of it you at least have half a chance of not busting it, but it is in a miserable location. m.

merlinx, my 97 did something just like that at the post office one day - it was the ground wire on the battery. It seems tight when you grab it, but on closer inspection the bolt was bottomed out and there wasn't a solid ground. Drove me crazy for about 2 hours! Put a new ground strap on it and you'll be set. m.

Nick, You can't trust the guage in terms of 1/8 of a tank left at 200 miles, etc. - the only way to calculate mileage is by miles driven and gallons used. Then you need to adjust based on your increased tire size - which affects both speedo and odo readings. I factor in 10% to my 31 BFGs, so if I ran 200 miles on 20 gallons, that is 10 mpg, adjusted to 12 mpg, because I actually ran 220 miles (just chose that for the easy math). You have 33s, so you're actually covering more distance than the odometer states, and thus your mpg is a bit better than you may think. Toys on the roof will cost you 1-2 mpg, in my experience (boats, bikes, spare tires, jerry cans, even an empty, but large, roof basket). I take my roof rack off when I'm not in expedition mode. Speed (rpms) is the big factor. I get 18-19 mpg if I drive at 60mph in 5th gear. I get over 20 mpg in a cross-country off-road situation, in 4wd, at 45 mph. But I'll get as low as 10 -12 mpg if I'm running 80+ mph on the interstate, or in hill country, always pushing 4000+ rpm. Pressure on right foot is directly linked to drop in mpg. The sticker says 14-19, and that's pretty accurate.

It isn't really protection, but I used to have my pathy detailed by a shop which effectively buffed out the scratches in the clear coat. That greatly helped for a few years... but now it has far too many deep scratches, and few good sized dents, so I hardly even washed it this season except to get rid of excessive mud. But when they are young! you can usually buff alot of the branch scratches out. And I'll second the Black Panther skids - they have served me well. m.

Pezzy - I replied on the AC forum, but that was before I saw this link. The Rocky Road sliders are nice and clean - they tuck in really close to the body. But, that can also work against you. I like the extra few inches of "breathing room" the Sliderz provides. In an extreme situation, maybe the width could be a problem, but I don't use my pathy quite that extreme. The width is exactly the same as my tires, so overall it works well. Plus, I like being able to stand on them to get stuff on the roof. I wasn't aware this style existed, I bought my Emu suspension from Rocky Road years ago and it looks like they are starting to get into more R50 aftermarket - which is great news! m. http://www.rocky-road.com/pathfinderrockrail.html

Vengeful - another approach would be to find about 6 people who would pay for a bumper designed by a small fabricator. Dean Thayer dabbled with this idea a while ago with limited success - he was looking for a rear bumper. The right fab shop may be interested in developing a front and rear bumper for R50s. We all want a beefy rear bumper that will allow a swing-away spare and maybe a jerry can/hi-lift mount. Honestly, the TJM is an OK choice, but I have some criticisms of mine. Two issues: the way the side panel closest to the front tire is designed makes it vulnerable for the tire to grab it under flex, and then rip it off, and/or destroy the tire too. This isn't a concern with 31s, but will be as we find ways to run 33s or larger in the future. Another complaint is no tow points - I prefer the way ARB adds shackle points to their bumper. My 2 cents anyway.... m.