PathyGig12

Tempting, but it will still be slower than having the shop do it with a press. And I’ll likely never use the compressor again On a different subject, some of my packages came in early so I’m going to try to wire up the camera and water sensor tomorrow so that I don’t have to worry about squeezing everything into one shop day. I’ll post up some pics when it’s done.

Fair enough, I guess I’ll play it safe and take it to pepboys once I have the old struts off My biggest worry with having someone else do it is that they wont align all of the notches or orient the thing properly. I suppose after it’s done I can always have them redo it if I notice that they’ve screwed up, but still that’s extra time

Ok I hear you. Ive also heard of people doing it with two sets of spring compressors, making 4 total. I’m pretty sure this will be the way I do it, as it seems much safer. Slower, of course, but safer

New guy here, been studying the forum for a couple months and finally have all of the pieces lined up for a 2 inch lift. The plan is to get everything done on Monday, I rented out a bay at a local shop that has a two post lift and an assortment of tools. My apartment garage is tiny and not heated, not to mention my only jack currently is the Nissan scissor jack from the truck, so needless to say, it would have taken a week to try and do everything at home. First things first, I’d like to list out the parts I have gathered and make sure that there is nothing I’m missing before tearing into the suspension. Please chime in if you notice anything that was overlooked/ or might be problematic. I am looking for 2” of lift all around with an emphasis on minimizing the possibility of CV damage due to binding, which is why I opted to forego the spacers. I also picked the tire size based on a desire to avoid using wheel spacers. I understand fender rub will likely still be a problem in the front, but I don’t mind doing a bit of cutting. Right now I have: -KYB Gr-2 struts left and right -OEM strut mounts and bearings -Two camber bolts for help with alignment -New set of boots and bumpstops for the struts -AC 2” lift front coils -Land Rover nrc9447 rear coils -Gabriel Ultra shocks for the rear (will upgrade to longer Bilsteins in the future when I can afford them) -235/85R16 M/Ts If all goes according to plan I should be able to post pics by Tuesday, and update this thread whenever future mods are done. I’m planning on installing manual hubs and a front LOKKA when I have the money for it, along with a coastal off-road bumper and winch. It would also be nice to do some seat covers and floor mats to spruce up the aging and worn interior. Rock sliders aren’t out of the question, but the price is a bit prohibitive when you think that the truck has over 260K in the clock and probably isn’t worth more than 2 grand. The engine is still solid as far as I can tell, but who knows how long till the tranny goes or the power valve screws work themselves loose? I do have a couple of questions before diving into this first phase of the build. I have searched and searched and can’t seem to figure out whether it’s possible to use a standard McPherson strut compressor to install the AC front coils on the new struts? Every post I have seen has either said it’s totally doable if you spread the compressor arms as far apart as possible, or that it’s impossible because they are too strong and too dangerous. Can someone who has done it please confirm that it’s possible? I need to know whether I should plan to visit a pep boys on Monday once I have the old struts removed. The goal is to be as fast as possible because Im only going to have about 8 hours in the shop. And the next day I need my truck to go to work. Also, speaking of the struts, I know that the mounts and bearings must be changed. But what about the top coil seats? Do I just reuse the old ones? I’ve already put on the shocks when I went to replace the panhard and lower trailing arms, so it’s just going to be a matter of getting the front done and slipping the rear coils on. Hopefully it’s doable within the timeframe but the more I can plan ahead, the less messing around I‘ll need to do when the day comes, so any tips and tricks would be helpful. I’m familiar with the process for the struts but I’ve heard varying reports on the difficulty of getting the old ones out because of the clearance issues, especially the driver side one. What needs to be removed to get at the bolts? Also, If I have a spare hour or two, I’ll probably try wiring up the undercarriage camera and dash mounted monitor I bought for visibility off-road. And possibly making a little dohicky that senses water submersion. Like a homemade flood sensor but for 5 dollars instead of 20, and wired to the cabin for instant alarm in the event that water is approaching the level of the airbox intake Let me know what you guys think. Any comments, advice, tips, etc would be appreciated. I’m really excited for this to get done.

I’ve been running KO2s for a couple years now and I always set them to 34-35. Haven’t noticed any uneven wear unless I forget to rotate them for 20K miles, which unfortunately I’ve managed to do more than once *hides face in shame* Im thinking of dropping them into the 32-33 range for better comfort but they’re pretty solid where they’re at, even off road they’ve performed great

I appreciate the input. Do you think mounting a small off-road light pointed in the same direction would be a possible solution? Either way, the camera is pretty cheap so I cant see a reason why I shouldn’t give it a shot.

This is the kit I would be getting https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07S8MH3Z3/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3W3PZOEXWEH19&psc=1

Very interesting point about keeping the lens clean, I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose it would have to be placed in a location that receives a relatively low amount of spray from the wheels, and just make sure to opt for the undercarriage option at the car wash? Maybe if I can recess it into a sleeve of some sort it would further minimize the dust and dirt exposure, but it would be a fine line because I wouldn’t want to limit the viewing angle too much. I’ll have to play around with mounting ideas once I actually have the monitor in hand and know exactly what I’m working with. But one question I had was whether the R50 dash had anything important within a few inches under the surface that would prevent me from recessing the monitor and flip up mechanism into the dash?

Hey guys, I’m new here but I was wondering what everyone thought about undercarriage visibility aids while wheeling on nasty terrain? I’m sure lots of other people have had this idea by now, but I just wanted to start a conversation and get some tips as to how to best implement it. It’s a project I’d like to work on after the lift is complete on my 01 LE. I found this kit that’s intended to be used as a backup camera (if you’re too lazy to look over your shoulder I guess?), but I was thinking I could repurpose it for use as an undercarriage camera on the rear axle pointing forward which would automatically switch on as soon as 4wd was activated. Now, the main issue is that these things are designed to be wired into your reverse lights so that they can only come on when you are actually backing up. How difficult would it be to wire it for activation when in 4wd? Off the top of my head, I’m imagining a way to tap into the hot wire for the dash light that indicates 4wd is engaged (R50 pathfinder), but I suppose it’s also possible to hook it up to the selector switch itself (2wd-AUTO-4wd-4LOW). Either way, I’m not experienced enough to know where this would have to be done, so I’m looking for ideas. If anyone has done anything remotely similar, I’d love to hear about it. Oh and this next part is a mostly a joke, by if you have any suggestions for making the monitor sit flush in top of the dash and flip up upon activation, mega bonus points to you! Because that would be awesome

Just swapped out the lower rear control arms, panhard rod (which was noticably bent in the middle), and shocks. I figure its best to do the maintenance bits before I dive into the lift. The new lower arms eliminated the death wobble I was getting on the freeway, so I figure the upper arms can wait to be changed until the horrible experience of removing the old lowers has faded from memory a bit...... shudder.... Land rover nrc9447 coils should be here this week, but they'll have to wait to go on until I can pick up some KYB struts and OME HD coils and do the whole job in one sitting. The most immediate upcoming project will be fabricating a "missing link" from some pipe in the next few days, as well as sealing a leaking hose. So many plans but so little time between work and the upcoming holidays and all. Not to mention we're in the middle of a four day snowstorm right now, so its a little difficult to find motivation for crawling under the truck in the cold detached garage.

You’re right I should have looked into it further. I typed “nrc9447” into google and got a bunch of nonsense results apart from that one site I shared. I’m glad there are other sources and I’ll definitely look into the one you posted. The condescending attitude is unnecessary though. I get it, everyone here has spent years learning about mods and trying everything under the sun before settling on something that works. The thing is, I’m fresh out of college and on a tight budget so I’m not really in a position to mess up countless times. Like I stated in my original post, I tried to research as much as I could and lurk on here for a few weeks before posting so that I wouldn’t waste your guys time, but I’m really trying to lock down the specifics as much as I can before making purchases so I decided to post and ask for clarification. There’s so much conflicting info even on this forum about what works and what doesn’t, so it’s hard to sort through sometimes. Anyway, I really appreciate your responses and hope to stick around and keep learning.

Ok I’m thinking you might be right about the Land Rover springs in the rear. In terms of sizing I think the 9447s should be appropriate for around a 2 inch lift height. When I do a google search, this is the only site that pops up. https://www.steveparkers.com/product/nrc-9447-defender-90-front-coil-spring-blue-yellow-stripe/ It says that they are FRONT coils though. Is this correct or will they fit the R50 rear? One issue that comes up with using the Land Rover coils is that I just bought a set of Gabriel ultra shocks for the rear because I only anticipated around an inch of height gained with the OME springs. Will the Land Rover springs offer too much lift to safely use in conjunction with the Gabriel ultras? I chose them because they have pretty much the longest extended length out of all of the factory spec replacement shocks and someone in another thread recommended them for use with a lift around 2 inches or less.

Hello, just joined the forum and I'm in the process of gathering the necessary items for a lift. I'm currently running a 2001 LE that's bone stock except for some cheapo brush guards front and rear, and a homemade roof rack with a light bar. Its in dire need of a suspension overhaul. The last suspension job was done by the previous owner over 5 years ago (at 189,000 miles). She's seen quite a few miles since I've gotten her, shes now got nearly 270K on the clock. My off-road experience is rather limited so far, but I've done several mild trails over the years and plenty of wheeling in the snow. Some of the trails I had no business being on......think middle of the Colorado winter going up the 4x4 path leading to Mt. Huron (14er)...... but the R50s are so damn good that she always seemed to get me out of the tight spots. This past year I started noticing terrible handling and excessive bottoming out, with major sag in the rear, so I went down the rabbit hole of suspension upgrades and this led me to the possibility of a lift, ultimately bringing me here, haha. I've been lurking for a few weeks now, trying to soak up as much as I could before signing up for an account. One question I had was regarding wheel spacers, and try as I might, I couldn't find any discussion on them using the search function. If I wanted to purchase 1.25 inch wheel spacers all around, which would be the best ones to go for? I'm trying to make room for 265/75 R16 BFG KO2s after installing OME MD springs front and rear (haven't done it yet). I may or may not go for additional 1" spacers for the struts and rear coils, depending on how much lift the coils end up giving me over the sagging OEMs, but regardless, I believe I will need lots of fender trimming and at least 1.25 inch wheel spacers to be able to fit the 32s. Plus I just really like the way pathys look with a wider stance. I understand that any spacers must be hub-centric for the R-50s, but are there any other specifics that I should look for, or would anything labelled 6x5.5 work fine? Also, does anyone know how to crack the bolts on the lower control arms? I'm getting death wobble but I cant seem to get the bolts off to swap them out no matter how much PB Blaster I use