fleurys

enough with the suspense already...!

1 thing you MUST respect.. Torque specs These are aluminum...If you torque them until your air gun stops (which will be around 200+), you will actually compress the spacer and change it's shape, then the bolts will start to loosen... When you order them, there is a warning note on it that says between 90 and 100 ft/lbs.... Buy yourself a torque wrench if you do not have one and follow this simple rule... They are not the old cast spacers from old days... they are machined to precision from a solid block.. These things are great... enough of this non-sense fear of losing a wheel crap... :-) I don't even have loc-tite on mines and I change my wheels every 5000km for the rotation and they never lose 1 pound of torque... If you follow this simple rule, YOU WILL BE OK !

I will not say anything to discourage you even though there is a lot of thoughts going in my head right now... What you are trying to do will not be easy nor cheap, but if you're decided to get it done, then IT CAN BE DONE! If worst comes to worst and you decide to quit , then you will still have learned a hell of a lot of stuff with mechanics, body work, project planing etc... With everyday that passes, you're gaining experience and learning... this cannot be bought and will always stay with you. What you learn from this will be your new starting point for future projects... Go for it and show us all, the old farts, what young and full of energy guys like you can accomplish... Now I need to go get another blue pill... I feel weak...

the 1 inch spacer might require you to trim your studs... you did saw that warning right ??? link fixed : http://cgi.ebay.ca/NISSAN-TOYOTA-GMC-WHEEL-SPACERS-ADAPTER-1-0-6-X-5-5_W0QQitemZ400115114570QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5d28b8224a#ht_2264wt_1165

I bought mine from them : http://cgi.ebay.ca/WHEEL-SPACERS-CHEVY-TOYOTA-NISSAN-6-X-5-5-12MMX1-5-1-5_W0QQitemZ110519965444QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19bb80d704#ht_2302wt_1165 they are excellent quality and comes with the 24 nuts... price is unbeatable and have been running for more than a year now both front and back. I use 1.25'' though... contact them.. they make all sizes...

That's what I call a properly engineered solution ! .. This is great. You took the time to see what the real problem was and to fix it once and for all...no temp patch here... Bravo. S.

Update.... I finally changed my u-joints (4) and got rid of my bad vibration in the front...But finding u-joints for my pathfinder turned out to be a little more complicated then expected until I stumbled upon Jason Hickman of the ujointstore ( http://www.theujointstore.com ) . I did my research before ordering and I was pretty much set on the spicer 5-153x for the front and the 5-1505x for the rear... All this was according to my phone calls to some spicer resellers and also the spicer/dana web site.... Well,, I would have been dead wrong going with this cause any of the reseller (except Jason) raised a crucial question which was "are your snap ring inside or outsite the cup of the u-joint? ) Well, I,ll be damn! The spicers were designed for outside snap rings....but my present ujoints are INSIDE... SO I would have ended up spending a good amount of money for NOTHING... It seems that many online catalog do not count for all the differences of the truck... For instance, after checking my FSM, for my year, 2001, if the truck was a manual trans, then the snap ring are outside...if it is a automatic, they are inside...all this because the manual vs automatic have diffeerent driveshafts! I couldn't believe what I was reading, but it's there.! Obviously Jason did not rely on the catalogs only and was asking the right questions. He then proposed me the NEAPCO brand which is 100% USA made. His experience played a big role in that purchase since he has been selling/installing u-joints for many years. At one point I was looking at the precision brand made by Federal-Mogul and also the GMB brand. Jason told me that many time those have excessive play in them as the tolerances are not what they should be.... So I followed his advice and went with NEAPCO 1-449 for the front (which are greaseable) and the higher end 1-0029BF Brute Force series for the back. The brute force are made more rugged and permanently sealed with nitrite rubber. I installed them last night and the U-joints are simply perfect.. The tolerances are right on and with the snap-rings, there is simply no play in there.. It's tight and not only my driveline vibration is gone, but what I thought was tires not balanced perfectly ended being a little because of the old u-joints... My truck feels new again.. If you are looking for U-joints with good advice and very good prices , talk to that man : Jason Hickman (By the way, Even though it seems like it, I was not paid to advertise for this company... They simply do the job with great advice and great prices... I thought it was worth mentioning, since finding good people that are ready to help and knows what they're talking about seems more and more difficult these days ! ..) pictures: NEAPCO 1-0449 : NEAPCO 1-0029BF:

nice info but I don,t think he was looking for a better fuse....just a better cv.... It's a nice thing to have this, but it's just putting another part that is less strong then the cv, then it will break even easier than before... meaning what he used to be able to go though without breaking, might not be the case anymore with this 'new' fuse.... we need to do engineer better cv...and it will be done...... you got my word on this... :-)

Can you show (picture) or tell me where you break them ?? The reason I ask is that I hope it's the inner joint (tripod) , cause I am trying to make a better cv also and will build a new alternative based on a porsche 930 joints that can support alot (read 400+) of torque and have a steeper angle of operation. I have found pretty much all the parts I need and just need to find some time to start measuring and designing... I am basing my self on the design of rcv performance... They have made an unbreakable cv for the fj and will be adapting their design to our cvs... https://www.rcvperformance.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=47 They basically replace the tripod joint with a 930 joint. Then they change all the internal to chromoly . One question : would you be willing to pay 400-500 $ for an unbreakable cv ?? That's the real question.... I mean I will do them for me, but I wonder hom many people are trail commited enough to drop that kind of money for cv's.... anyway...another solution is to find a manufacturer of cv that will have a life warranty...I know that NAPA in canada have that. I'm sure you can find the same in the US

I say push the button...:-) I'm not buying a set now cause mine are still up for the task, but if they fail, for sure I go with better than oem stuff...so you need to have them in stock (or at least in production) !.. Tks.

Thanks for the update.... I know a lot of people who would have just let it go and say nothing... I also have a small leak that seems to be coming from the bellhousing sqaure window (underneath where the bellhousing meets the engine)... I am pretty sure too that it is the mail seal, but reading your story brings a doubt to me... so I'll go and check the valve covers now.. Tks again.

it's a shame having to change a 150$ part for a 20 cents o-ring....:-( can't always win i guess...

send these photos to rough country and see what they have to say ..... sorry i can't help you, but this is not acceptable in my book....

This is great... You should post that in the service section though... IMO...

Have a look here for your choices of wheels and tires vs lift and rubbing ... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19867

If you have metal shavings in your trans oil, you have a bigger problem... personally i change my trans oil twice a year (beginning and end of trail season). some might say it is overkill, but for me it's cheap insurance for a critical mechanical part like this. For the filter, I go with every 50000km to 80000km... considering my oil is almost always new, It works for me.

well, like any filter..over time it gets filled with clutch plates material and will eventually not do it,s job as well as when it's new...

Wow.... lot of work... I also hear that a brand new skidplate is coming your way before the end of the week... Can't wait to see the pictures... hahaha

good initiative !... If I can put my 2 cents in, I would probably also offer a <budget> lift which would offer rear spring spacers instead of new springs. This way you would be able to have everything <in house> and save on delivery and waiting time.. Just have to fabricate a good model of rear spacers.... Hope it works for you. S.

if you are going to have a look again at it, if I were you I would go be elimination by removing both half shafts and front drive shaft.. This should not take more than 1 hour and you will either eliminate those things or you;ll find that the problem comes from this... It has to be something that turns... ****edit : forhet about my suggestions,..I just read that you did your tests with the hub locks unlocked...so half-shafts and driveshaft not turning...

I think what laxman was saying is that if someone would take the time to build one kit that has everything, people would be more inclined to buy it since they don't have to search for a welder, Junkyard parts, springs manufacturer etc... I see a business opportunity here...

This thing is called a <tank assembly vaccum> Look the last drawing at the bottom of this page : http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-parts-r50-1996-2004/genuine-nissan-parts/fuel-engine-control/165-air-cleaner/-c-4700_4701_4717_4720.html Price is 30$ : http://www.courtesyparts.com/22370p-tank-assy-vacuum-pathfinder-r50-1996-2004-p-196427.html at any nissan dealer.

Good... as for the gearing, this is over my bank of knowledge....I have no idea...:-( If the frontier has an r200 and H233b, I don't see why it would not fit. I I were you, I would download some fsm of the frontier of different year (look on ctnc), and start reading about their diffs... you'll know for sure and also the different gearing they came with.... I'll start a small research for you on the side too..

yeah, I,m having the seminar at the gazoduc on may 22nd... everyone's invited (i know you have a good reason....it's the others i'm a little disappointed...)

I was pulling your leg... bad joke I guess..... yes you are right you absolutely need to run same gear front and back or else, something's got to give and it's never pretty...! :-)