Digger

What is it that you don't like about the Hoohaa CL? Seems to be quite a few guys on here using them and not many compaints. Have you had a bad experience with them, or just not crazy about garage industry stuff?

If one moderate trail will kill the thing, then that's not the way I want to go. I'm pretty new to the off-roading scene and I'm not hard-core like some of the guys on here, but this thing will definitely be seeing some dirt & mud. Just not much in the way of big boulders and super crazy stuff - all the broken parts can empty out a bank account in a big hurry. In addition, this thing is a daily driver for my job with a railway, which involves a lot of driving around on VERY rough access trails. In fact, some of these "roads" are worse than some of the trails I've been on up around McLean Creek. In short, I want this to stand up. Maybe bigger tires are the way to go? My buddy has been doing this for a while and he seemed to think I would be OK with the 31"s, but is bigger necessarily better? How big can I go without putting in a lift, and I would imagine the bigger tires will only increase wear on the steering components. Hoohaa's "remanufactured" CLs look interesting - I like the idea of getting rid of the ball joints.

The time has come to replace the Pathy's front steering and I'm interested in some feedback on the available options. I see that many of you have gone with rebuilt or aftermarket centerlinks like the ones Hoohaa is making, while others are opting for the Calmini kit. I'm curious to hear some of the pros and cons of both options. Seems like going with a new CL is about half the price of the Calmini kit, but it doesn't address some of the weaknesses in the Pathy design. (i.e. bump oversteer, loose feeling) The Calmini kit apparently improves some of those things but I have heard stories about them wearing out very quickly. Is there a "better" option? I'm really not crazy about any kind of loose feeling in the front end. My Pathy is a 95 XE 4X4, still completely stock. I'm currently running 235 75R15s as I don't really do that much serious off-roading.....yet. The plan is to upgrade to 31'"s when these babies wear out, hopefully with new cragar wheels. The truck is still on the sacked-out factory shocks (166,000 Kms on them and they're getting pretty bouncy) but will be getting Ranchos at the same time I do the steering. Suggestions?

Here's a couple.... First order of things will be to get rid of the goofy teal pinstriping and 4x4 decals. Why do people do this? I mean, anyone interested enough to look at the thing already knows it's a 4x4, right? Next will be new tires, possible rims, and probably the Calmini steering kit. (front end seems to have a bad case of wanderlust) Already took care of the other major component - the Stereo!

Just got my first Pathy - '95 XE that's going to be a project truck. Looks like this forum will be a great source of info - I love my Pathy so far!