shift220

Nope everything else is stock except for the KYB struts

So I had a problem with the first set of strut spacers I made up. I only accounted for the 12 degree strut angle going left to right and had a problem with the strut not seating very flat on the body mount. I realized right away that I needed to account for the 5 degree front to back angle as well. So I made the ones shown and the funny thing is that I forgot to account for the 1/4" thicknesses of the flanges... can't really complain about another 1/2" of lift though

So after some testing, I decided I didn't like the way I did the steering linkage the first way. 2 u-joints and a rubber pad made for an awkward looking linkage. So I ditched the rubber pad and extended the length between the u-joint to lessen the angle they run at. This resulted in a much smoother feel. Here are the strut spacers (typical weld show-off pic) and back on the ground with the weight on the front wheels! 32" BFG M/T's on 17x9 MKW wheels

So at the junkyard I went to the first logical vehicle I could find... a Nissan. It was an early 90s hardbody truck although i'm sure the WD21 pathfinders are exactly the same. I started tearing into the steering linkage and got this off the truck. It is basically the whole steering column with this little beauty on the end The joint is basically an exact match for the previous u-joint I have posted up. The only modification needed was to grind off the little key on the stock u-joint so it would slide into the new one. Then I measured the distance I needed and cut the "new" joint to length. This was then TIG welded onto a small plate I fab'ed up. I welded it very carefully so the u-joint did not get very hot. And assembled!

Well I took a trip to the local pick n pull and found the perfect steering extension. It requires minimal fabrication and still allows you to go back to stock if needed. Easy to find too! Ill post pics later tonight.

Nope, i'm not welding anything. The blocks sit very snug around the bolts so there's no where for the blocks to move.

Just to let everyone know, I went with 3.5" high blocks. Now I'm just waiting on some new OEM strut bearings and steering... I never really thought about it but that one picture I had of the SFD where the person used a block to space the steering u-joint, was a left-hand drive. I have a feeling that the steering angles might have been a little different and they were able to squeeze in a block. Right now I'm thinking of doubling up with this stock U-joint, that is if I can find another.

Here's some pictures up to date Getting the rear end up high Supporting the front with 12 ton jackstands to get the height I need to drop the subframe Strut removed and the knuckle supported with wire to avoid stretching any cables. I was extra careful when I removed the nut holding the sway bar endlink on. I stripped out one of those before and new endlinks are not cheap. Spacer blocks fresh out of the oven (powder coated). I will post more on those later but I measured, cut and drilled these before I had everything apart and they were basically dead on. Only one modification and that was slicing the corner off the rear blocks to clear the frame when it bends downward. All the blocks in place and torqued. Subframe bolted to rear blocks Front Blocks and engine blocks

This is my DD too... The passenger side engine mount was a breeze. As for the driver's side one, I had to drop the diff to get even close. I left the cv axles and driveshaft attached and let it sit down on the subframe. It's to bad every dam 17mm and 19mm bolt on this thing needs to be literally cracked loose with a snipe on a snipe. Little heat helps too.

So this afternoon I started the tear down. Its now jacked up high in the air with everything torn apart. Blocks have been fitted and I'll powder coat them tomorrow morning. All that's left is to see if the strut spacers will work, figure out the steering spacer and reassembly! Pics to come very soon.

I say use what comes off the headers. 2 or 2.25" will be good either way. This sounds like a great project and something I would like to do also. Thanks for being the guinea pig! Any way you could get a baseline on a dyno? Then after the exhaust get another at the same place? It would be really handy to compare before and after.

80 lbs is nothing and 5-6 inches is a lot of travel left. Nothing to worry about.

I took a quick look and it looks like a good easy fix. The only thing I don't like is relocating the sensor to a different spot then the ECM is calibrated for. It will read slightly different then the stock position and may or may not be more or less sensitive to knocking. But if the stock one is mounted on the intake manifold somewhere (I'm not sure?) then this should be fine. Now if your engine wasn't naturally aspirated, then I'd be a little more cautious.

Here is the strut spacer flange Autocad file that I drafted up. To anyone that I sent the previous file to, this one is updated and fits a little better. I got 4 of these cut out of 1/4" mild steel and they will be welded to 4" ID 1/4" round steel tubing cut angled at 12 degrees I'm slowly accumulating all the parts I need to put together this lift. I have everything really except the rear spacers and the steering shaft (which I will probably have to do a design-build on) as well as some misc stuff. It would go a lot faster if this vehicle wasn't my winter DD! R50 Strut Spacer

I wouldn't worry about backpressure so much. Even if there was some value, it would be silly and time consuming to design around it. Just put as best you can with the least restriction and enjoy the extra power at all RPMs. Any loss of low end torque is going to be a mental thing unless you run open headers. I like going right out the back because sometimes dumping underneath resonances in the cab and can get annoying!

Well like I said before, the compression valves do the damping when the shock is compressing. Doesn't matter how you mount the shock, when the suspension compresses, so does the shock therefore only the compression valves are damping. Rebound is the exact opposite, it controls how fast the shock is extending (and ultimately the suspension itself). No matter how you mount the shock, it is going to rebound/extend and only the rebound valving is acting.

My picture does over-simplify the dynamics behind it but the overall idea is the same. When the suspension compresses, the compression valving is decelerating the motion (oil bypasses the rebound valving), then the exact opposite happens when the suspension extends. You say force #2 is a fixed point but what makes it any more fixed then the rear axle?

I'm not trying to start a fight either. Its just a discussion. Here's another look at it. When a shock is compressed, there is a axial compression force placed on the shock. In the engineering world, a free body diagram would look like this (attached). F is the axial force. The wheel hits a bump and transmits a force through the shock and that force is equal and opposite from the body mount. This free body diagram explains exactly how the forces transmit through the shock. Now since the forces applied are equal and opposite, it simply does not matter how the shock is mounted. It sees the same singular force "F". Now if we were to get technical, the only differences between mounting up or down is more/less unsprung weight and the weight of the oil in the shock either working against the compression or rebound valving. This is of course quite neglectable on vehicles like ours.

A little more on topic, I have the Bilstein HD's on all four corners of my Sonoma and they perform great. Handling, braking, heavy loads and towing all feel very solid and controlled. No compliants and I too have heard many great things about Bilsteins. Apparently lots of people have them outlast their vehicles

This is simply not correct. First of all, if it were true then you would think somewhere it would state that one end of the shock needs to be installed on the "wheel" side of the suspension and the other would have to be on the "body" side. Here is a picture of your 7100 shock. See where the compression valve stack and rebound valve stacks are? Ok, so when the shock compresses, it gets shorter right? Which means that the piston moves to the right (in relation to the picture) and oil is forced through the compression valve stack (pushed to the left). What you are telling me is that if I flip the shock around on the vehicle, that somehow when the shock is compressed, the oil flows the same direction? I hope not or you can kiss that shock goodbye. If I really am that blind then please use the picture to explain your point. Otherwise maybe I will stick with my generic shocks

When a shock compresses, it becomes shorter right? Doesn't matter if its upside down or rightside up, it still compresses and it still forces fluid through the same valving the same direction. Therefore the compression numbers and rebound numbers will stay the same. Using your logic, if I mounted the shock horizontally, it would have no compression or rebound damping

This isn't true. The shock will still have the same compression and the same rebound no matter how it is mounted. But the life of the shock and its characteristics over time will be altered and you are correct in it isn't recommended unless it specifically says so.

No I'm pretty sure the dump angle is not the same and that's what would need modifying. This is judging by the picture posted though

Are you sure the springs are seated correctly? I suppose it could be a bad shock or something in the suspension binding as well

That's very interesting. I didn't realize that the exhaust ports stayed the same between the 3.0 and 3.3. I was contemplating making my own set out of a universal kit and now that I might be able to buy some pre-cut exhaust flanges (for say a 300zx), it would make things much more easier. I even have a set of stock replacements to make a jig out of. Removing the cats would also greatly simplify things. As for the ones you posted, it looks like you would have to adjust it for sure but most of the work is already done anyway.