Little Mule

Side view after lift

Side view before lift

Clearance after my lift.

Clearance Before my lift

Just thought I'd share pics of the fruits of my labor. I installed a set of JGC springs in the back of my 88 Pathy. Sorry that the before pics are in daylight and the after are in the dark. It's too hot to work midday here in the Phoenix AZ area. So I started about 1 hour before sunset and finished w/ a halogen lamp. I think I only got 2 inches of lift because I care a full size spare on a tire carrier. Eventually I need to do a little fender trimming, and get bigger tires. Well, on to the pics. First pic: I painted the springs blue metallic. I thought it would look good with my black Pathy.

Try spending money to buy a new car. The way I see it, little expenses like this keep me happy with my 16 year old car, and decrease the urge to go buy a new Titan, etc. But, as I said. I was up too late on ebay. It does however match my dash, and that was the final straw that made me give in. I've got an ebay search for wings and a rudder, but nothing has come up yet.

There is one on ebay now. Here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...sspagename=WDVW I almost got one for $25, but someone tried to snipe me, but failed. But they drove my price up. Oh well. I'm going to do a little studying before I install it, but I will take pictures when I do put it in. My only concern about using an adhesive is the the mounting bracket is a little raised. Thus, if I just use adhesive, the cluster will sit about 1/2 inch above the dash, leaving an ugly gap. If anyone has one mounted, I'd love to see a picture. Thanks.

The wiring inside:

The bottom:

I bought a JDM clinometer/altimeter on ebay late one night. Why? I don't know. And I thought it was kind of neat as I tend to like gadgets. I guess its a little bling. It works mechanically, but has some wiring for lights. I'm going to put it on the center of the dash just above the air conditioning vents. But before I go putting holes in my dash, I want some expert advice. Question 1: How should I attach this to my dash? What is under the dash that I can damage if I try to drill into it? I don't think the vinyl dash material is strong enough to hold it on its own. Question 2: Wiring it up? There is one red and one black wire. I assume I need to attach an inline fuse on the red. But to where should I connect the power? Thanks for the help. Here are some photos. The cluster:

Check ebay. I remember seeing service manuals on CD for some year pathfinders. They don't include my year, so I never got one. But I sure they could be had for a lot less than $200. I don't think they pop up on ebay every day, but check for a week or 2 and it should.

-bounce- Today was my lucky day. I went to a local junkyard that was listed in the yellow pages as specializing in Jeeps. When I called, I asked if they had any JGC w/ V8 engines. I was told several. Well, I went down there today, and when I asked where they were, they said they only had one. I was wondering if I wasted my time. (I spent 20 minutes in line to check out a loaner spring compressor at a autoparts store to take with me.) Well when I went to the 1 V8 JGC there, it looked like the springs were gone...until I looked around the back. Someone was nice enough to take them off for me. $25 for the pair. No elbow grease needed. I cut them and painted them blue metallic. I hope to install next weekend, if I can wait that long!

Here's an update for you Pickles. I've had the new supports in for a week. They are working ok, but if I do go over a good bump (like rail road tracks today), the glass does squeak and rattle some. I don't hear anything over typical bumps in the road. I haven't tried it off road yet. They do hold the glass up, but don't seem as strong as I'm used to. I wonder if they were stronger, would they stop all rattling, even over big bumps?

Hey 88, would it be better to get the .5 inch ball joint spacer, or the 1.5 inch. My thought is you wouldn't need to crank the torsion bar as much with the 1.5. Is that correct? Would that decrease chances of a steering problem? I just looked them up on AC. The .5 inch is $55. The 1.5 inch is $90. I'm just trying to absorb some of your expertise. I'm found some JGC springs. I'm going to go pull them Sat morning, and hope to prepare them for lifting next weekend.

Adding to squam1's statement: And take some pics and let us see when you are done. I wanna see.

I've been fixing up my 88 Pathy lately. I got two problems that I believe are separate problems. 1. My stock fog lamps don't work. I checked the bulbs and the fuse, and the wiring directly behind the fog lamps. They all seem to be in good shape. The fuse I checked was for "clearance illumination." Is that the correct fuse? Any ideas on what I need to do to solve this problem? 2. Similar problem with my stock back up lights. They don't come on when I switch into reverse. The bulbs look good. I know they are connected to the transmission, but I'm not sure which group of wires they are. I guess I should follow them to determine this and probably clean up the connection. Do they screw off of the tranny, or snap off, or what? Any other ideas on what it could be. Could it be something else? Thanks for your input.

Hey Pickles, They are called Mighty Lift. The number above the UPC code is D95225. They are by Arvin Meritor. Website: http://www.arvinmeritor.com/products/mcs/a...ket/default.asp I got them at Autozone in AZ. Here they are on the internet. http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker/?...LASS&PageSync=5 I was a little off on the price. I guess I paid $27 each. Sorry, I'm getting old and the memory is going bad. I don't think they are the greatest, but they do hold my glass up. Hope that helps.

Howdy, Yeah, I believe the headers replace the exhaust manifold. My passenger side exhaust manifold (with a broken stud) occured at about 120,000 miles. I now have 163,000 and my driver side exhaust manifold has gone. I wish I had gone with headers at 120,000. I will probably go with the headers this time, as it is still cheaper than new car payments and I plan to keep my Pathy 4ever. FYI, I've read that the Thorly headers are good, and that the Pacesetter headers are junk. I'm a novice DIY guy, so I'm letting a pro deal with the broken studs that will surely come my current bad exhaust manifold. If this is your first broken exhaust manifold, consider the headers, because the other side will go bad some time. When the studs go bad, they do replace them with a different stud. The stock Pathfinder studs were a problem. Hope it helps.

Thanks 88, but I got ambitious and fixed my glass lifters last night. I found some that fit at a local parts store, but they didn't have the bracket that attaches to the truck. So I took off the stock lifters, cut the pin that held them to the brackets, and was able to reuse the brackets by attaching the new lifters to them. It worked great, and the new lifters were only $22 each. Got any of those JGC springs though?

Anyone have any recommendations for front brake pads for an 88 Pathfinder? I need to change mine soon. Thanks. -study-

I'd second a request for some rear glass lift supports. They are mounted to the lift gate with a bracket. You can't remove the support from the bracket without cutting it off. I can't find any at the local Checker/Autozone that has the bracket with it. I went to the dealer, and they wanted $123 each! :furious: There is a Nissan/Toyota junkyard here, but I they don't have any. But let me know how much you want if you find some. Thanks.

Yeah, I was going to leave it. Everything works without it. I thought it may be associated w/ an automatic tranny (I have a manual.) It just makes me wonder.

Okay. Ever put together a model or something and have extra pieces left over? Then you wonder what the heck the extra pieces are for and what is going to go wrong since they weren't put in? I recently repaired my gas/temperature guage by replacing the voltage regulator. While putting the dash back together, I notice an extra electrical harness that wasn't plugged into anything. I am 95% sure it was unplugged when I took the thing apart, and there is no place to plug it in behind the instrument cluster. See the picture below and tell my what you think it is. Thanks.

You guys rock. :bow: I'm just back from the test drive, and there is no rattle from the carrier. None. Zip. Nada. The only draw back is I now hear all the other little squeaks and rattles from other parts of the truck. But the loudest one is gone. Rami, you will have to try it. All I did is cut a small piece of old rubber garden hose. It was about the size of a nickel. I used a flat head screwdriver and packed it into the hinge. I flew over some speed bumps and the world is a little bit of a better place.

Thanks Matterhorn and 88. I tried a chunk of rubber hose. It was easy and cheap. I'll take it for a test drive over some speed bumps this afternoon and give you guys the results.