alexrex20

since your SAS is just about done, i'll trade you my Pathy so you can mock up the subframe drop, while i drive yours.

ya, it's always a bit scary on that first yank. i've pulled out a minivan buried in sand, by the rear axle, but only because pulling from the front was not an option (it was the ocean), there was no rear tow point, and it was 3am in the middle of nowhere. we found him trying to dig himself out with his cutting board and a Rubbermaid bin lid. the only place to strap to was his rear axle, and who knew when someone else would drive by. anyway, they would have to do it the same way as well... we were just amazed that he made it that far down the beach. there's a great fishing spot at the 65mi marker, but from the 5mi marker onward it's very clearly marked as "4WD REQUIRED FROM THIS POINT." i was aired down to 15psi and i still had a difficult time!

exterior, on the housing

a shackle is rated for a far greater load than a metal hook on some off-the-shelf tow strap, so its breaking limit will thus be much, much higher. regardless, a shackle is securely attached to the stuck vehicle, and the only chance for error is that you rip off the recovery point - unlikely. it is, however, far more likely that the open hook will wiggle itself out of the recovery point, in between the many pulls. as you reverse and pull, then reverse and pull again, the hook may become loose and on the next pull, the hook can slingshot away. it's really not that difficult to comprehend, how a securely fixed shackle is safer (and less likely to fail) than an open hook which relies on gravity and tension to remain in place. if a closed end strap fails, the shackle remains on the car, and you have a big slingshot. if the hooked strap fails, and the hook just happens to still be on the strap, do you want that metal hook to be on the end of the slingshot?

ya, that's the big disadvantage with closed-end straps. i use shackles to attach to trucks/suvs' anchor points, but the shackles don't always fit in the tow hooks of most cars, so sometimes you're forced to wrap around an axle or frame. the methods of connecting are endless, especially when you consider you'll be pulling from their front or rear bumper. sometimes i'll even use my hooked tow strap, if i'll be pulling out a lightweight civic from some wet grass. in such a scenario, a dead pull will be all it takes to unstuck them, so you don't really have to worry about busting a strap and sending a hook at someone's head at high speed.

nylon straps inherently store a lot of potential energy (in the elasticity of the material), so if anything were to let go, the metal hooks on the end would very quickly become extremely dangerous projectile; whether the anchor point fails, the strap snaps, or the hook was not properly secured. for hard stucks where you'll be yanking or tugging or snatching, i strongly recommend using a strap with closed ends and shackles. for small slips, a hooked strap may be ok, but use it within your judgment, knowing the potential for injury with those metal hooks.

that's all the more reason for me to hook up myself. first of all, i don't want them &^%*ing up my expensive strap, and secondly i don't want to put them worse off than when they started, by causing even more damage. we don't have snow, but we have retarded drivers that spin out into ditches when it rains, or 2WDs that try 'Texas exits' by crossing the grass median from the highway to the frontage road. they usually require a bit of a tug, so i don't use hooked straps. i only ever recover with a closed-end recovery strap. a rice burner with a damaged bumper is nothing compared to a rice burner with a metal hook stuck in his chest. and if you're charging anyone, it is illegal because you are not licensed or equipped to do so. at the very least, it should be called a free recovery plus a $__ tip - a good way around that loophole.

ok first of all, we need to stop referring to ball joints as BJs. i can't read the thread and keep a straight face!

nice truck thunderbolt. is your Pathy lifted?

indeed, it would be nice to get a free or heavily discounted shrockworks rear bumper... and maybe some sliders thrown in for good measure.

i thought the CDN dollar was worth more than the US dollar?

that's not a bad idea for a rear bumper w/tire carrier, but i suspect you were referring to the front bumper. i already got the ARB and am more than happy with it so i can't justify the extra cost/time of a Shrockworks, no matter how badass they are. but i'm sure if enough people express interest in R50 front bumpers, and they decide to include the R50 in their lineup, i'd be glad to lend them my Pathy for prototype fitment.

for the price and wait time for a KenMtn or ARB bumper, i'd recommend just going full custom. find a reputable shop, and drop off the Pathy for a week or two to let them do their thing. if i had known it would take 4mo to get my ARB when i purchased it, i would've just dropped my Pathy off at Shrockworks (about 10min from me) and let them build me a custom one-off bumper. it would've been faster and roughly the same price!

i have 265/70/16 michelin LTX A/T2 on my '00 Pathy, and they rubbed the plastic front inner fenders. i just unscrewed some of the trim screws and remounted them further outward. it didn't take much to create enough clearance. i'm stock suspension with fender flares but no mud flaps. and actually, i previously had to move the inner fenders when installing the 265/70/16 Pathfinder-brand Trail A/P tires. i guess the same size michelin was even larger, so the General Grabber may be even larger still.

cold front came in, so it went from high 60s today to 37F right now. just got back from taco bell, and i have heated mirrors! i just now discovered them when i rolled down my window at the drive-thru, the hot air from the cabin blew onto the mirror, causing condensation. what better time to experiment!

yes, i agree with that being the worst possible pic taken. anyway, next we needs pis of it dirty!

lol, you drove it home with the wheel rubbing the caliper bracket?

not that it ever snows or freezes or ices in houston, but it's nice to know i have mirror defrosters

pass it through the hole where the main wiring loom runs through. if you're in the driver footwell, it's above and to the right of the gas pedal, and quite a way's up. from the engine bay, it's way behind the engine, maybe in the center, but a foot or so down from the cowl. you'll have to be pretty flexible to get to it, but it's a big opening and it's where i run all my aftermarket wiring (compressor switch, fogs, etc.)

why apologize? you did nothing wrong. vengeful, on the other hand...

who are you replying to? i'm alex and i never said i had a 5-speed, unless you meant 5-speed AOD... :roll: my VG is an auto and has 4.6s. tekaz implied he had an auto with 4.3s, which is what i was replying to. perhaps you should follow your own advice before you call someone out and make an ass of yourself.

do the automatics not come with 4.6s? because i'm pretty sure the engine plate on my '00 VG says HG46... i wouldn't say my R50 is quick, but it's definitely a gas guzzler

you could just check with a multimeter for ground and power. worst case scenario, you blow your Accessories fuse...

even in Fuel Conservation Mode, the best i have EVER gotten was 14.98mpg 'nough said.

nice truck! pics of pathy with Xterra SC wheels needed ASAP. the frontier SC had the same wheels, right? i've been trying to find some for the longest time now...