westslope

If I can sneak in a question GG, what is wrong with rear LEAF springs? dd: What are you towing? How many klicks, err miles on your pathie? tek is right, manual shift WD-21s are relatively easy to find.

Interesting. Who is Parts Source?

According to the instructions on the kleen-flo engine flush bottle, one is supposed to fill, idle 5 minutes and drain. Like MikeV says: flush with no load on the engine. Costs less than Seafoam. Cris, maybe you should do a second engine flush? Just a suggestion.

Why 10W40 Mobil 1 ? Why not the 10W30 Mobil 1 for high-mileage vehicles? (Not that it would make a difference.)

Is this a sign of just how bad the US recession is? (BTW, the US economy just grew 3.5% in the last quarter.) Somebody wants advice on buying a Ford Explorer on a Nissan Pathfinder forum? !?!! Can't afford a used WD21 pathie in reasonably good shape? Buy a FWD car!

I find the prices are all over the map. For example: NGK plugs were cheaper at Lordco than at NAPA or Cdn Tire. Lordco and Cdn Tire carry FRAM filters and until further notice I try to avoid FRAM filters though I suspect that they are just fine. FRAM filters never caused me any problems in the past when I didn't know any better. Zibi, I too have been generally impressed with the selection and the quality of service at NAPA. Discount store Princess Auto (Langely, BC) can be interesting for tools and generic hardware items. (The store doesn't carry maintenance items.)

Actually there is. But it would require a radical change in mind-set that may never come about. To begin with, wheelers would have to recognize the difference between Open Access and access rules on the one hand, and freedom on the other hand. They are not the same.

gm? Government Motors?

There is also a trend up here in Canada to ban motorized vehicles in sensitive natural areas. Beyond that, it is also popular to decommission logging roads and skidder roads that are no longer used. I'm guessing that we'll see additional restrictions on snowmobiles as racing to the top causes avalanches and snowmobilers can effectively harass game to death. I'm curious: Is wheeling on private land growing in popularity in the USA? There is certainly a strong trend towards the privatization of public sport fisheries and the de facto privatization of many hunting territories that were once available to the public in the USA. There's actually a compromise solution that would allow folks to continue to wheel on public natural areas but I doubt it would be at all popular with American wheelers.

FWIW, on our '93 MT pathie, we => slowly shift at low revs from 3rd into 4th. Allowing the revs to drop seems to eliminate any grindings. => double clutch from 5th into 4th. Didn't spend much time driving hay trucks that required double-clutching. Works. I guess that would be the synchros? We removed, flushed and replaced the tranny fluid last summer. Overfilled it. May have helped but not by much. We had planned on driving it as is until shifting became dysfunctional, and then fix/refurbish the clutch and transmission.

Where do you source stuff like air and oil filters, plugs, wires, white lithium grease aerosol cans, 5-min engine flushes, etc., etc., in the Lower Mainland, western Canada? How many drive across the border (and where do you go)? Been a dull, unimaginative Canadian Tire customer the longest time but have increasingly bought more and more stuff from NAPA Auto parts and Lordco Autoparts in recent years. Any favourites? Any to avoid? Strengths, weaknesses? Is the FRAM bad rap overdone? Or is it best to avoid FRAM parts? (I ask because both Canadian Tire and Lordco stock Fram filters.)

Have you cleaned out the air intake throttle body? See this thread.

O2 sensor

Now that I recall, it is a 'recovery strap'. It is in excellent condition; it has never been used.

Especially if you don't mind doing some of the maintenance, holding onto the pathie is by far the cheapest option. What are you doing to prevent rust? I'm applying Krown Rust treatment annually. I try to high pressure hose off the dust and mud immediately after each and every trip off road.

Now, that could be the only unequivocally positive benefit of this Cash for Clunkers program. Fewer older Ford Explorers on the road. A 1/2 tonne SUV whose suspension is that mushy has to be dangerous at some point. Even if you do inflate the tires properly.

BTW, does anybody know the expected life span of a '90-'95 pathie these days? Years or distance. Anybody care to guess? Remember that more than a few are succumbing early to traffic accidents, cash for clunker boondoggles, exciting life styles as local militia rides in Africa, rust from winter ice, etc.

The Hi Lift Jack looks like a heavy-duty come-along. The Tirfor also looks interesting. Think I have seen those on job sites: Thanks kiwipete. Thanks all for the comments and suggestions; much appreciated. OK. If I am registering correctly, nothing beats an electric winch for power, safety, weight, and convenience. Understood. Haven't used one in the last 10 years and am unlikely to use one for the next 20 years. The Hi Lift Jack looks like a more powerful and safer alternative to what I have now. Wonder what the weight and volume increment would be.....

Not sure about that. One of the advantages of the Canadian system (as is) is the fact that it produces a lot more health care bang for the buck than the American (mostly) private system does. On that criteria alone, a socialized medical system with universal coverage in the US promises to make Americans collectively richer. Socialized medicine promises more benefits for small entrepreneurs and workers for two reasons. It removes costly private health care as a barrier to entry and exit. It promises increased labour mobility which should be positive for productivity and wealth generation. Now I know that many of you are anti-entrepreneurial capitalism. I respect that. But if I understand what many American folks are saying over the last 8 years, these (numerous) Americans don't mind Americans collectively becoming less wealthy and watching the hegemonic status of their proud country decline, and with that all the privileges that come with being the undisputed top dog. All empires decline and perhaps now is the turn for the USA to decline. Man, it was good while it lasted.

That's curious adamzan. Us heavy carbon foot-print monsters must think alike. At this point, if we ditched the '93 pathie, an Xterra would be the replacement but the BC Scrap-It program would offer $0.00 assistance. Frankly, I would rather wait a few years for a turbo-diesel powered 4X4 SUV mounted on a light truck-like frame. (That and folks are complaining that the Xterras are top-heavy.) In the meantime, we keep the pathie motor and exhaust system in good shape, drive slower and walk and bicycle as much as possible close to home.

Just quickly read this thread on Doctor Bill's homemade winch ideas with interest Rear-bumper-mounted winch thread Don't have a winch. Am not sufficiently adventurous to justify the expense, weight, maintenance, etc. But I do own a come-along and a towing strap which I have yet to use but carry in the vehicle at all times. Not sure I could haul the pathie out of a prairie ditch with it but I should be able to remove fallen trees and pull the pathie off a slippery grade. I suppose I can always lend it to the 3/4 tonne 4X4 to pull me out if I really get stuck (if one is handy). Experiences? Thoughts? Suggestions?

British Columbia has a Scrap It program. BC doesn't even manufacture vehicles! But we have some nasty air that piles up in the Lower Fraser valley and makes people sick, kills a few on occasion. You can choose to buy a bicycle instead of a new vehicle.

Hmmm. I think I see your point. Unibody then. Unibody chassis is common usage in some parts though I know perfectly that doesn't make it right. How does one refer to the underside of a unibody?

I can tell that you and Kingman have extensively traveled in northern Europe and have some well-grounded strong beliefs on this matter. BTW, do both of you belong to "Let's Turn the USA into a Banana Republic" Party? Are both of you monitoring the fiscal huh, err situation that confronts the US? Do you really believe that US will not raise taxes in the near future?

OK, I dislike raining on your parade..... but I was doing stuff like that in my FWD '87 Sentra wagon. Well, at least up until some really nasty stiff ruts poked the rear right strut through the unibody chassis.