sprinthead

Oh ya ! Plenty up here ... doesnt seem many know of the board ... or just dont care ! Up in Kelowna myself .... gone wheelin up and down damn near every logging road and even some quad trails up and down the valley ! Lots of fun and plenty to see around our area !

A while ago I cruising around the board, and *somebody* was attempting to put a set of headers from an up to 95 3.0 L into a 96 and up 3.3 L R50. I remember thinking this was a pretty do-able thing, aside from cat conv fitment , o2 sensor bungs and possible clearance and fit issues. I would like to find out what this person did , and if they managed to make it work , and what headers they used if it did work ! I've tried the search function but have not been able to find the thread !! Can anybody help with finding this person, as I'm about to do full exhaust on my R50 and am seriously thinking headers and such ! Thanks all !!!

Well ... I think that will be my plan of attack ! I already have the 2 front diff mounts unbolted from the crossmember, so its *just* ( HA ! ) a matter of undoing the inboard cv joints at the flanges ... I think I will start with the drivers side first cuz I've seen mentioned you hadda pop that one out to pull the engine, so why pull both if ya dont need to , pull the front driveshaft , undo the 3 bolts holding the diff to the rear crossmember and see if that works, if not ... I go further and drop the rear diff crossmember and right side cv joint at the flange ! Will post what works ( since I'm figuring out what DOESN'T !! )

LOL !! I hear ya on that one ! I learned that trick many years ago ( altho pulling I once cracked myself in the jaw with a 1/2" breaker bar !! ) ... has saved me from many a busted knuckle !! What's your thots on what I'm suggesting tho ?? Does it sound like it would work ???

Thanks for the insight ! Yesterday when I was under the truck ( trucks in my case !! heh ! ), I noticed that the forward crossmember that has the 2 mounts that are on the frontside of the diff, is attached with 2 bolts on each end. These bolts are nutted on the frontside of the crossmember, thus leaving the bolts to come thru from back to front. On either side, one of each of these bolts are readily removeable, but the other ones, I believe upper outer ones, look as tho they will not be easily removed cuz of the control arm being slightly in the way ! My thots on getting the diff down ( and or OUT ) are this; undo both forward mounts on front crossmember, leaving the front crossmember still in vehicle, undo both cv axles on the inboard ends but leave them in the spindles, remove the front driveshaft, undo the vent tube, remove the bolts on either end that hold the diffs rear crossmember, and I *think* I should be good to go ! Am I right, wrong or totally out 2 lunch !! After 2 days solid workin on the ground ... motivation to get back under it again right away is almost non existant ! My 47 y/o bod is killin me ! LOL !! Any help is most certainly appreciated !! Thanks !

Thanks for the heads up on that one !! Now to either get a tranny jack, an extra body ... or split the tranny and t/case apart ( but that sounds like FAR too much work !! )

So lemme ask ya something ... how brutally heavy is the transmission and transfer case to re and re ? I'm doing an engine swap and am having issues with getting the damn thing out, so I am thinking about pulling the transmission and t/case to aid in getting the engine out for one, but I think the trans/transfer case in the donor vehicle is in better shape too ... so I'm thinkin bugger it ... switch the entire driveline over ! Reason I ask is that I'm workin solo ( altho I can get some extra hands to help ... ), but I could get a floor jack and a tranny jack adapter ... cuz I'm guessing the thing weighs a TON !!

OMG !! Anybody got any tricks or ideas on how in the world to get the dam engine OUT ???!!! I've gotten to the point where the engine is on the cherry picker and split from the bellhousing ( manual trans truck ... ), but the freakin oil pan wont clear the front diff !! I've read my stupid dam Haynes manual about 20 times trying figure out all the subtleties of getting it to the point where it WILL come out ! In the Haynes manual they talk about undoing 4 bolts that hold the diff to the crossmember and just letting it rest on it .... I'm guessing ( since its SO vague ... ) they are referring to the two mounts that attach the diff to * A * crossmember just forward of the diff !! Only other thing I can see doing is takin out the 2 bolts that hold the SECOND crossmember to the frame as this appears to have 3 bolts that hold the pinnion end of the diff to this crossmember !! The FSM says ya gotta take out the drivers side cv axle , but this is kinda vague too !! And why the hell do ya need to pull the cv axle to change the engine out !! What in the world am I missing here that someones's gonna enlighten me to so I can feel like a real IDIOT !! Thanks in advance for any learned and experienced help !! >> Well .... downloaded the FSM from a link posted here .... and OMG !! This looks like its gonna get REAL ugly !! Looks like I'm droppin the frikken front diff !!! Oh Yeah !!

Thanks for all the positve feedback ! I was initially REALLY pissed off at whomever hit the truck, but then after tracking down that bumper, I was all giggity to get it mounted up ! The guys that did the work was a place in Kelowna called Truckworks. They do general repairs and extreme 4x4 modifications and custom work. Granted the guy doing the fab work deviated a bit from what I had envisioned, but in retrospect my design ideas were WAY overkill !! The bumper itself came off what I think was about a mid 80's Toyota 4x4 pickup for the nice price of $300. The bumper does have provision for a fairlead, so when I had the guy fab up the mounts for it, I asked if he could make it so I could put a winch and mountplate in at some point down the road. I guess I will need to buy a winch and actually attempt to install it to see if it would all fit nicely. Realistically I can't see myself needing a winch anytime soon since I don't take it into really nutso places ..... yet !! I got a sweet deal on the labor to the tune of a mere $400 for a little over 10 hours of shop time, and that included ALL the materials ! Big thanks to Kyle and Trent at Truckworks for the primo job !! I will have to wash the truck and shinny under it to get some pics of the mount assembly, but it's pretty sweet, 8 bolts to undo and the bumper is off, leaving just the fabricated mount assembly. The mount assembly consists of 2 side plates bolted to the *frame* horns/ends, with a piece of fairly heavy c channel welded across the front between the the 2 brackets, and the actual mount tabs all fabbed and welded to put the bumper at the right height, and then the lower brackets fabbed fitted and welded in place. Pics will make it all more clear as to how it was done , just wish I coulda done the whole job myself, but no place to do it and lack of a welder is a bit of a showstopper !! LOL !!!

Damn USB cable was hiding in plain sight ! Too many cables for everything !! LOL !! Initial Damage ... All fixed up and fitted !! So ... while it was a bit expensive to get all the brackets fabbed and the bumper installed, I think it looks pretty damn decent ! So a mid to later 80's Toy pu bumper can be fitted to a Pathy ... just need either all the equipment, or a fist full of $$$ !!

I'd put some pics up if I could A) Find the damn USB cable for my camera, Find a host to put pics up on ! The shop I took it to here in Kelowna ( Truckworks ) to have the mounts fabbed up did an awesome job ! They made the mounts so I could even sneak a winch in behind at some point down the road ! My truck looks like a BEAST now .... plus it affords some much needed front end protection when wheeling in some of the absolutely idiotic places I do go !! LOL !! Small trees fear me now .... heheh !! I will get some pics up soon ...

Well the G/F and I headed up to take a look at it, and it was in really decent shape. The Toyota mounts are a few inches narrower, but that isn't too much of a problem to overcome ! I'm just gonna have to design some sturdy mounts and have those fabbed up and then I'll be good to go ! Where the bumper wraps around the front fenders will need some clearancing, but again thats minor ! I will post a pic or two when I get this thing all mounted and such. Its gonna look sweet once re-polish it !! heheh !! Shoulda seen the tube frame rock crawler the guy had built that was sitting in the garage ! Holy ! The thing was a beast ! The truck the bumper came off became the parts donor vehicle to create his crawler ! The guy was pretty talented I gotta say !! Off to see the guys at the local 4x4 shop to have them fab brackets and get the bumper hung so it doesn't look like I'm driving a wreck !! LOL !!

Thanks Pezzy !! I saw the pics of your install, and I'm just hoping the brackets are all in about the same place from Toy to Niss !!! I think I will just say to hell with it and peel off all the the bent up stuff off tonight in prep to go see this Toyota one tomorrow so I can sorta hang it and see how far off everything is ! I would have to guess the frame widths at the front are very close, or at least close enough that brackets will be easy to fab !! I found the bumper at http://www.buysell.com/root/detail/BC/Imp_...per_350_00.aspx

Two days ago I came out to go to work only to discover that some inconsiderate SOB hit and ran my 97 Pathy !! They did a nice job of plowing the front bumper in, lucky enough they didn't push anything into the the AC condenser ! Since I didn't put collision on my truck, my deductible for a hit and run is $750 instead of the $300 it would of been had I had collision insurance ! Damage was pegged at $2300, but since I work in an auto parts store, I can get all the parts NEW for about $400 to put it back to stock, but who wants to do stock !?!?! I have located what appears to be an aluminum TJM bumper off of a mid 80's Toyota pickup that can be had for about $300. Question is if any of you know whether this could be retro fitted to fit before I drive 50 miles to even see it !! I'm thinking if the bracket mounts are close enough, I can have one of the guys at a shop up here whip up some mounts for it. For $300 you can see why I would like to be all over this if it can be made to fit !! Thanks in advance for input and help !!!

I thought they became law up here for the 1989 model year, but according to Wikipedia, it was 1990 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp ). Personally, I wouldn't give up my DRL equpped vehicle after having a couple close calls ( oddly enough both times were with US plated vehicles that DIDN'T have DRL's or headlights on !!! ) in the daytime. Proven to save lives, but if you run around with your low beams on all the time, what the hey eh !! It will technically fail an inspection order !!

I've got the same problem with mine !! I didn't think it had gotten THAT cold already that I would have an issue such as this, but I am in the midst of trying to diagnose the cause and a fix for it ! If I come up with anything, I will post a fix !!!

I love working in the trade .... pulled mine off the shelf for $145 staff cost !! hehehe !!

Ditto !! They fit just fine on my 97 with the stock wheels ! I don't understand why they won't/wouldn't fit with other stock wheels .... weird !!

Why in the world would you go to 2.25 or 2.5" mufflers and pipe on a Pathy ????? IF you are wondering where the low speed torque went, I can tell you it went by the wayside when you put the WAY bigger diameter exhaust pipe and muffler on it ! For an engine to produce good low speed torque, there are a few things it needs, and when talking exhaust, it sure isn't the old *bigger is better* thing ! If you scroll back up the page to the picture of the exhaust system that is from a Walker catalog, you will notice that the muffler clamp used on the pipe is ONLY 1.75" !! That would therefore mean that since airflow is only as good as its smallest restriction, and the exhaust pipes are NOT mandrel bent, I would be surprised if the best you got on the ID was 1.5" in a bend !! This is what helps to build low speed torque. Why, I do not know because I am not an engineer nor air flow dynamics specialist, but it does make a difference as I've witnessed on a dyno ! I would really like to ditch the cast iron manifolds with the cats in my 97 SE and put on a set of headers, but there is that distinct chance that it will adversely affect the low speed torque of the engine and that is something I don't want to do ! Big pipes flow big air volumes which is ideally suited to high RPM engines, and/or engines of way more cubes than 3.3 litres !! I can go further into this, but I liken it to the guy that comes into the parts store where I work and wants an 850cfm double pumper Holley for his STOCK 305 chevy in his '80 malibu ! heh !

So what about the secondary O2 sensors when ya remove the cats ?? Thats gotta throw a check engine lite and a fault code on the computer ! I've been thinking about this and why there aren't headers for the R50's, but after seeing those pics, it all becomes abundantly clear why not ! It really is poor engineering I would actually come to expect from a domestic manufacturer instead ! LOL !! I was thinking one may be able to use a new aftermarket pair of manifolds from a VG30 engine and relocate the O2's to just after the bolt up flange using a weld up O2 bung ( Walker # 36339 ), and either a couple of low buck universal Walker cats or trying to eliminate them all together .... but the post cat O2's would then read the cats aren't doing their job ( esp. since they aren't even there ! ) and throw a fault code. I did see those $40 a pair things at 4x4parts.com that are supposed to eliminate that very issue, but I don't see or understand how the heck those are supposed to work !! Leaves me wondering if one could use a set of say Pacesetter headers from an up to 95 Pathy and mod things like O2 sensor fittings and cats ..... Hmmmmmm ........

I just had to do this on the new 97 SE I bought. I work in a parts store, and *nobody* made replacement bushings for it, so I went to the local Nissan dealer, where I got the stock bushings for a whole $16.50 each ! I phoned around to a few of the shops that deal with us, and I was being quoted $250 to $300 to do just the uppers ! OUCH ! I thought that was kinda steep, so I called one shop and they did them for $120 cash no bill deal ! Here's the funny part ! So I pick the truck up after they are all done, anticipating to no more p***y-footing around so it doesn't thunk everytime I shift and get on the gas .... and it did it again ! I was like WTF !?!??! I peered under the back and just laughed ! They goofed and did the LOWERS ! I call the guy at the shop and he goes Ooops ! My bad ! So I bought 4 more bushings from the dealer and they did the uppers for free ! BUT .... since they did such a sweet deal, and since it was friday when I took it back for the uppers .... I bought the boys a flat of cold Budweisers as thanks ! I look at it this way ... now they're ALL done and I needn't worry about having to do the lowers down the road !

Thanks for the input on this all !! I think I have decided that at worst I will just swap out the engine. Changing the body over would defeat the purpose of buying the 94 that has a better frame ( and the diff with the LSD and disc brakes ... ) even tho a body lift could be done at the same time. The engine in the 94 has an odd rattly farty noise that appears to be coming from the drivers side front of the engine that leaves me suspicious as to what it is, although I have yet to spend any amount of time trying to diagnose what it is. That is kinda todays job !!

Hey all !! Gotta love having 2 Pathys ! My old 93 XE seems to have way less powertrain issues than my 94 SE I just scooped on the cheap, so I'm thinking since I know nothing about how beat on the 94's powertrain is, I'm thinking I would be well advised to just swap out the whole shebang from one truck to the other. The clutch is almost gone in the 94 ( but mint in the 93 ... ), the engine in the 93 has 316,000 kms and the 94 has 271,000 kms, but the 94 engine has a noise in the topend that leaves me afraid to rely on it, plus numerous oil leaks .... SO !! The question of the day is this ..... Can you pull the engine, trans and transfer case all in one shot ??? Can you actually remove the rad cradle to make this easier, or is it all unibody type construction ??

Thanks for all the input ! I called the dealer the other day and had them run the VIN ... turns out my deal was a really good one ! The *only* option my truck doesn't have is the leather upholstery !! I have rear disc brakes AND an LSD !! WOOT !! I am seriously contemplating just using my 93 XE as a parts truck, since I know the history on that one's running gear than the 94's which has some serious oil leaks, no history to it, and it looks like it's seen alot of hard miles despite it having 40k kms less mileage than the 93's engine !! I am seriously considering swapping out engines and transmissions !!

I work in an auto parts store and I was looking to replace the seemingly dead electronic ride adjustable shocks and while looking in our computer lookup, it says there are special procedures for switching to non adjustable shocks !! WTF ?!?! To me it would be disconnect wiring at shocks, tie wrap up outa the way, install replacement shocks, remove switch from console, replace with a blank .... DONE !! Is there something more to this than meets the eye ?????