pathmaker1

got Rough Country UCA's, Sway-A-Way tbars and just trimmed my front fenders... before: after: since those pics i have flatened out the pinch welds. i have not installed the BJ spacers and dont think im going to. they are only 1/2" spacers anyhow. i have heard loads of mixed feelings about the spacers and dont really wanna risk it on a trail but i am undecide right now. i have come to the realization that i will be replacing ball joints every couple trail runs and TRE's probably every year. After i ware out these tires i will be SAS'in her....figure about a year. My pathy is 95% trail truck so i dont mall crawl often....got the work truck for that i still have to trim the rear fenders and ill post up how they look. at about 75% flex i was catchin the rear of the rear fender pretty bad but the front fender wasnt too bad at all.....before trimming. i was rubbin on the frame in the rear but i got 1/4" wheel spacers and that seemed to take care of it. i flexed it out again, after front fender trimming, about 75% and im not even close to grabbing the front fender. im a little more than 1/2" from the bump stops up front too. i got 10psi in my tires when i was flexin the 2nd time. like i said though im thinkin about a 1" BL. my body mounts are pretty much shot and i figure 1" will bring me back to "normal" but wont be too noticeable. oh and im hurculining the sides of my pathy this week from the pin stripe down. all i need now is my CL from hoohaa and my calmini IAB and im ready to see how the pathmaker does on the trail. its a fun learning experience!!! oh and how i love my 4.6 gears.....

34 x 10.5 on stock 15" leggo rims. i have about 5" of suspension lift in the rear and a little less up front but hope to fix that today by adjusting the tbars AGAIN and the 1/2" ball joint spacers. i have no body lift as of now but was thinkin about a 1" BL. need a 1/4" wheel spacer in the rear due to very minimal frame rubbing at full flex. also need to do some fender trimming and hurculine the sides today as well. the sawzall is my friend and most say you cant do 33's let alone 34's without a body lift?!?! i prefer fender modification/aerodynamic adjustments over body lifts :tonguefinger:

SEARCH!!! but basically remove, reposition the hangers and reinstall. "clock your tbar hangers"

well i got about 5" from NEW JGC coils with 1" coil spacers....looks real good to me. enought clearance from my SL only to run 34's on the stock lego rims......and they just arrived today so ill have pics up in a couple days.

yes the CL(cenerlink) is the "bone" looking rod that basically connects your steering wheel to your wheels via ball joints connected to your tie rods. it has 4 ball joints in it that are very easy to break. basically hoohaa removes the 4 ball joints(2 on each end, one on the tie rod and one to the pitman/idler arm) and replaces them by pressing in a bearing and using heavy duty bolts as well as upgrading the ends for more strength. i believe he beefs up the whole centerlink too but im not too sure. also look into an IDLER ARM BRACE. you can get one from automotive customisers or calmini for about $40 shipped. the VG30 is a very peppy engine.....with the right gears. you can make anything nasty with the correct gear ratio but the great thing about the pathy V6 is that is is very strong. there are peolpe on here that have over 250K miles and its still runnin strong. i have 185K miles and my tranny is just about shot and my rear main seal leaks oil but my engine purrs like a kitten, doesnt smoke or burn oil. fortuniately, i am blessed with 4.63 gears and a very unlimited slip rear diff. like i said im runnin 31" mud tires and the tires chirp when i go around corners. with the 31's i can powerbreak it and leave fat-ass burnouts with some awesome clouds of smoke. some manual pathys did come with 4.6 gears and an LSD in the rear(so ive heard). look at your rear axle gear housing and see if you can find a bright orange sticker that says LSD on it....if its there you cant miss it....you may need to scrape off some grease/dirt but it should be on the backside of the pumkin. i know theres a pic of what your lookin for floatin around here somewhere. i know theres a name plate somewhere under the hood that will tell you what gearing you got but dont know where it is either. i think the LSD only came with 4.63 gears. likie someone else said, look in a JY(junkyard) for an automatic pathfinder, see if it has an LSD sticker on the rear axle housing and if it does it has 4.6 gears front and rear. then all you gotta do is buy those axles and switch em into your truck....it will be a direct boltup i believe. your correct though...runnin 33's will reduce acceleration and street driving but offroad its all about TORQUE. i know the pathy tcases have some pretty low, good gears. i think you would be fine runnin 33's offroad esp if you utilize 4LO. i know the manual trannys are geared pretty high as i have heard 1st gear in 2HI is almost a granny. but, of coarse, the higher the gear ratio=the bigger tires you can run. i wouldnt go with anything bigger than 35's on IFS and thats even pushing it. when i start runnin my 34's, even with my steering upgrades, my ball joints and CV's are going to ware quickly and i will probably have to replace my ball joints a couple times a year and my CV axles every year. just remember once you start modding your truck you just got infected....its a sick twist between a disease and an addiction. be prepared for things to break/ware out faster. no one ever said wheelin was a cheap hobby but its so much fun!!!!! Rich

not sure why you would need to relocate your panhard rod. i have almost 5" of suspension lift in the rear with no sway and i have some great flex and my springs stay put. im runnin Rancho 5112 in the rear and am very happy with them. i would recomment going with a little taller tire(33's). you NEED ground clearance. theres no point in putting 6" of lift on your pathy just to put some tires on her that would fit with no lift in my opinion....i was runnin 31's stock but in about a week ill be running 34's with no body lift and some fender trimming. you need to upgrade your center link if you plan on wheelin often or hard. Hoohaa(Bryan) sells a beefed up CL for $225 + core and he is a member on here....just search him. i would definately do sliders and full underbelly skids if you like to play on rocks. if its an auto tranny you need to install a big-ass tranny cooler and bypass the stock one that is in your radiator or else the tranny wont last long....or just swap it out for a manual which is what im doing. also with a 3" BL and a PML with no sway bars the trucks gonna roll all over the place in turns on the road. im runnin no sways with no BL and its scary at first but you get used to it. id also put some manual locking hubs on the list. im not a fan of BL's. 3" is a lot to me so i would do as little as possible. you could easily run 31 x 11.5 on 4" BS rims with a PML only in my opinion. just remember.....its all about GROUND CLEARANCE!!! the only way to get your diffs up off the ground more is with bigger tires.

do a PML(poor mans lift) it will be a hell of a lot cheaper. i got my lift for $300 used from a guy on here and im about to be runnin 34's with a SL only. search a PML and you shall see the light!!! if you cant find it pm me and i can point you in the right direction. you could piece a PML and beefy steering(which you will need if you wheel hard or plan on runnin anything bigger than 31's) for less than $600. a prefabbed system will cost you over $1200 new. Rich

thats cool man.....ive been sleepin all day. my alergies(i think) are kickin my ass. i missed my dentist appointment cause i cant even get outta bed. i hate being sick. i think ill have a solutioin for the wiring for you by the time you get home. give me a call and let me know when you get home

ok sorry for the triple post but Sean keep an eye on this thread: http://www.roninwheelers.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2209 its the guys at Ronin and im talkin to a couple guys about the wiring issues. hookin the auto back up isnt going to tell you much unless you cut wires individually and when it doesnt start assume its those wires that need to be connected. im working on getting a good FSM with GOOD scematics and hopefully i can figure this crap out tomorrow. its not hard just tedious and if its not right things may fry which is a BAD thing!!!

yea i got the 4.6's and love em. will be lovin them more when my 34's get here and slap em on. lovin them even more when i get my manual tranny in.......oh i got lots more to do then its time to SAS......im gonna stop thinking now!! i would look more at gears than tranny tho. you can run 33's with ease on 4.6's but on 4.3 it may be a different story. if i had 4.3's i wouldnt run the 34's i got on order. really its a preference thing but as stated if u get an auto PUT A BIG F'IN TRANNY COOLER IN THAT BEAST...like a 20K GVWR one. i overheated my pathy once and got stuck in mud once and my auto is shot....though it may be electrical or the fact that i drive the @!*% outta my truck on the trails!!

ah just buy whatever and then convert it to what you want it to be.....just be careful cause figuring out the wiring SUCKS(ask Sean)!!!! Thats what im doing, Sammyb33, and Sean(pk.....) have done.....swapping a manual in place of there autos. you get the benefits of 4.6 gears(heard they were exclusive for the autos), LSD rear so your gears would be better(well higher ratio) than a stock 5speed i think. gas mileage may go down but power curve will be better with the option to run bigger tires w/o regearing. didnt the manual pathys come with 4.3 gears and the autos came with 4.63's?? or was that just an option? rich

oh and Sean...i have a feeling its the 2 wires on the top plug inder the hood....the big brown/black wires but i cannot confirm that. im thinkin that if you cut those 2 wires and solder them together it should close the relay. the only thing is that if im wrong we could start frying fuseable links and other important electrical @!*% ya know. ill hit you up tomorrow after my dentist appointment....around noon Rich

Sean i saw i missed your call but my voice is fuct right now cause im gettin sick from the temp changes/pollen....damn you spring time!!! ill call you tomorrow. i may be off all day tomorrow and i do have a DC volt meter. Hey Sam is there and way you can look under your hood or even take a pic? i know you dont believe in digital cameras but it would help. basically i need to know the location of the inhibitor(aka neutral safety) relay or at least the damn tranny computer. i got a scematic of the plug to the tranny computer with wire location and where they go/what they control but i cant find his damn tranny computer. the wiring colors in the haynes manual schematic dont match whats under his hood.....go figure! if i can figure out the color of the wires going into/out of the inhibitor relay i can solder them together and we should have ignition at that point. thats the only safety (i believe) preventing the vehicle from starting. like i said i got the "N" light to come on in the guage cluster. according to the schematic, after illuminating that light the only thing that has to happen is power going to the inhibitor relay to close the switch sending the signal to the starter coil to turn over the starter. dont know if im making sence.....the sedatives just kicked in.... Rich

yea we cant figure out how to start the damn truck now. i got the wiring now to make the "N" light come on at the guage cluster indicating to the ECU the truck is in neutral but i dont think im sendin the signal to the inhibitor relay. can anyone help me out on this one. there are a buttload of wires on the pass side of the engine bay for the auto tranny. also where is his computer tranny located....hes got a 1990 2door and it definately isnt over the passenger wheelwell or under any of the seats. i think unplugging the computer is going to help things. any help is awesome Rich

i had the same bogging with mine as well. only on low RPM's(like when starting off from a stoplight and was also worst when cold) and when i kinda floored it it would pick up. when it warmed up it became tolerable. i checked my MAF and found a tiny chunk of mud on it. cleaned my MAF and problem solved and im getting 18MPG now.....i know unf**kinbelievable!!!! ive been used to 12-14 but my last trail trip i was averaging 18.4 on the highway and almost 16 on the trail with all my tools in the truck and mud tires. just replaced my plugs with some NGK iridium plugs and NGK wires and its runnin better than ever. my tranny is also **** and it seems to be electrical thats why im gonna replace it with a manual. after i go thru water i will loose gears 3 & 4 but with a little feness of the shifter....i.e. a lot of cussin and hittin it really hard.....viola my gears come back!!! going to try to trace that problem down this weekend. its sad cause i got a rebuilt manual tranny and everything to swap it into my pathy, the knowledge, tools, etc but not a damn place to do it!!! really sucks. clean your MAS, check your distributor cap/rotor/timing first then go deeper. this may also happen if you have a fowled spark plug or loose compression in 1 cylinder. a tiny crack in a cylinder wall could close back up once warmed up. if your MAF/distributor is ok id pull all your plugs and check for signs of misfire/overheating/oil etc. the looks of old plugs can give a lot of info. good luck! Rich

wow thats weird....i thought it was a direct fit. im gonna come by this weekend for a bit. lemmie know what your wrenchin plans are.

speak of the man....THERE HE IS!!! yea Sam, Sean(pktzygt) bought my JY tranny+all the parts and is droppin his auto today. im gonna help him out with the swap so hopefully i will learn something. headin over there sunday to see how its comin along....going to shoe creek tomorrow with the va4x4 peeps. Rich

on my RC UCA's there was no issue with the ball joints fitting.....but when i tried to put ball joint sapcers on there the welds did interfere and had to grind the welds down a bit. i am very pleased with my RC UCA.....esp as the 2nd owner of the set i got thanks to Sammyb33!!! Rich

oh and i think I said that. When Sean came and picked up the tranny i let him know who knows there $hit on here IMO and you were one of the people i told him about......sorry for callin you out but i guess thats kinda a complement?!?! Rich

not so slick....the ECU could care less about the tranny in the truck. the auto tranny has a separate computer not connected to the ECU to determine shift patterns. i heard a few things about the ECU capatibility with a tranny swap but the conclusion was that the ECU doesnt care what tranny is driving the truck. Sammyb33 did his swap and his pathys runnin fine with the stock ECU....he went from an auto to a manual as well. Rich

yea ill definately be swingin by man. im going wheelin saturday for the last time with my auto tranny untill i do the swap in about 3 weeks. Ill tell Sam (sammyb33) about this thread to make sure you got everything goin good....hes the one who already did the swap in his 95 about a year ago. When do you plan on dropping the tranny? Also let me know where you get those bellhousing bolts from....i need to pick some up! oh and the tranny mount crossmember from the auto tranny will need to be drilled on 1 side where it mounts to the frame....thats it. you can use the old bolts(if you can get em off without breakin them) with no problem and should take a whole 5 min to drill the hole. ill probably give you a call in a little bit cause i got a new phone number. and check that cluch kit again. the pilot and throw out bearing are 2 different parts. the TO bearing should come with the kit but you will need to buy the pilot bearing separately. dont forget to get a pilot bearing puller and make sure the pilot bearing comes with the alignment tool. the pilot bearing must be perfectly aligned or else you will damage the clutch/flywheel. i know advanced has the flywheel you need for about $30. Also the tranny is from a 95 FYI. oh yea and progress pictures would be awesome!!! after your done you can do a "how to" write up which im sure will help some people. ill be taking a lot of pics when i do mine. Rich

i do not know either but i found this out b/c i have an alarm. i was starting the truck a lot and everytime i reconect the battery my alarm will go off. i had the key in the ignition with the battery disconnected and i wanted to get the key out so i can turn off the alarm when i reconnected the battery but no luck. when i reconnected the battery alarm starts screamin so i go in the truck, shut it off and viola the key came out. very strange indeed but it did do it to me a couple times. id be curious to see what was wrong with your ignition so let us know when you get it back Rich

this happened to me when my battery was disconnected. the key wouldnt turn untill i reconnected the battery. Check to make sure your battery isnt dead. i was having alternator charging issues and was disconnecting the battery a lot. the key wouldnt turn untill i reconnected the battery. i have a 92 automatic with an alarm so that may have something to do with it. Rich

nice max whatcha make yours out of??

ok so 88 the plug in the pic you posted may not be the problem. i was reading up on it and realised that the plug is where the brushes are in the alt to transfer the power to the battery right? well when i push really hard on the plug or shim it to one side or the other it starts charging when running(i know not the smartest thing to do but hey), i disassembled the plug(female going to battery) and everything seems in tact there. the only thing i saw in the wiring schematic is a possible fuseable link very close to the plug or is it closer to the battery? this is very frusterating since it will charge just fine untill i hit a bump.....then i gotta mess with that plug for 5-10 min to get it to charge again. i did clean out the plug and receiver of said plug with some contact cleaner and put some fresh electrical grease in the area with no benefits or changes in this situation. lemmie know what you guys think. im assuming that this is the original alt but cannot be sure b/c previous owner is a moron(but thats why i got it for $500 when it needed only a tstat to fix the overheating issue....he swore the block was cracked and engine was shot tho it didnt smoke or run rough...so his stupidity and my knowledge/common sense is my gain)!!! Rich