dkpath96

I got my struts here: http://www.partsamerica.com, they are $50.98 each. Right now they offer free shipping on orders over $50, so it's unbeatable. My mechanic charges $35/hour at the local garage. Avoid dealerships. He replaced the struts/mounts and installed 4 OME coil springs; took him 4 hours for a total of $140 labor. Shop around, it is so worth the extra time (and $) to do the research. Good luck!

The mounts themselves are not expensive. I made the mistake of letting my garage order the strut mounts, so they charged me $78 apiece. I got KYB GR2 struts for $60 each online. The garage also replaced the spring cushions and put rubber boots on the struts for an additional $128 surprise on my bill. Add on the cost of labor and yes, the overall bill is in the $600 range... But the up-side is that last night I went off-roading with my cousin. His Cherokee has a 3-4" lift and has 31x10.5 BFG MTs. But I followed him everywhere in my Pathy with the OME springs and 30x9.5 BFG ATs. It performed flawlessly, and we got muddy!

How old are your strut mounts? Mine had 128,000 mi on them when they were replaced. I didn't know they were bad just from driving around, but the mechanic said they were when he got in and tore the strut out. I'd say while you're there, might as well if you have the extra cash (not that expensive).

Finally got the Old Man Emu coils installed. I got the HD coils for up front. New KYB GR-2 struts, too. It rides awesome! The front HD coils are not too stiff. Measuring from the center of axle to the bottom of the wheel well edge, I figure I gained 2 full inches all around.

I'll give it a try, Vengeful, thanks. Only thing is, when I tried to move it the first time, nothing budged and the hose, since it's aluminum I think, was really stiff and didn't want to move. I can't tell if the hose pulled out of the diff. or if the rubber slid up on it when the axle dropped with the lift. That brass fitting, it must be the connector - so I'm hoping, like you said, it is just the rubber sliding up.... *********Just to update y'all, it was just the rubber casing sliding off, it's fixed! And the OME HD front springs are awesome... pics to come soon!

Hey Pezzy, I've included a picture. Yes, it is on the top of the rear differential. How would one go about shoving that thing back in, if it's coming out?? I don't want to snap it off.

So my local shop installed the rear OME springs, but ordered the wrong strut mounts for the front, so he didn't install the front ones... now I sit like a damn dragster, at least for another week. Anyhow, I noticed a metal tube with a black rubber casing around it that comes straight up out of the rear "pumkin-ball". The rubber casing has either pulled away from the pumpkin ball or the metal tube is being pulled out - I can't move either by hand. Anyone know what that is, and is it critical??

Replacing struts typically means replacing strut mounts, too. Shocks and struts replacement won't effect ride height, but will improve ride quality. My local garage also replaced the bump-stops inside the coils, too. If you have $310 laying around, and want a little more ride height (2" max.) get the Old Man Emu (OME) coil springs. I'm getting them put in soon. There are lots of posts about them here. And DEFINITELY order all the parts if your mechanic will let you. I ordered the struts cheap ($60 each, free shipping). I don't know why I didn't order the strut mounts, the shop did that and got the wrong ones, so now I have to wait another 10 days for them to get it right... ugh.

Yeah, I did some more research and talked to a few guys about it, and from what I gathered, it is typical to replace strut mounts along with struts, esp. if it's never been done yet...

I had my RH manifold replaced, along with timing belt and drive belts, and an oil change, all for $390. I ordered the manifold and timing belt from rockauto.com. Shop around - their shipping is fast but pricey, sometimes other places offer free shipping on $50 or more items.

Has anyone ever had to replace the strut mounts? I took my pathy in to get the OME coils installed and the shop told me that I needed new struts and strut mounts!! This was a surprise because there was no indication of wear or noise or anything that my struts were bad. And the strut mounts, too? I have 127000 miles on the beast and around 65000 on the struts. I don't doubt they are in need, but the entire mount, too? :confused:

My drop-in K&N did nothing too noticeable for me. I did notice a bit more high-rpm power with the custom air intake that's been done on a few pathys around this forum, tho. But no doubt the biggest improvement was the Warns, in terms of performance and gas mileage. My first official tank with them I got 344 miles, which was almost 21 mpg for me. Pre-manual hubs, I was hard-pressed to get 18.

Well, just for kicks, here's the math for those interested in the mpg increase from installing manual hubs: If you average 17 gallons per fill-up, and are getting an (optimistic) 17 miles per gallon, you can travel 289 miles on a tank of gas. With at least a 1 mpg increase using manual hubs, a 17 gal. fillup at 18 mpg will let you travel 306 miles on a tank. This is a 17 mile increase per tank, which translates to a 0.94 gallon savings per tank. At $2.75, this is a savings of $2.59 per tank of gas. The cost of the hubs divided by this savings ($150/$2.59) tells you that you would have to fill up about 58 times to offset the cost of the hubs. 58 tanks x 17 gal. per tank is 986 gallons. At the new 18 mpg, this is 17,800 miles. Manual hubs would pay for themselves in 17,800 miles, if you only get 1 mpg increase. For me, I put about 16,000 on my pathy per year, so my hubs will pay for themselves in one year, one month and 10 days. Not too shabby! p.s. I am seeing at least a 2 mpg increase... so mine will pay off in half that time!!

Vengeful, I posted all the differences in the Garage section already. Biggest thing was the fact that 96+ (at least, mine was like this) have one outer spring clip and no other washers inside the auto hub. Do you think I have to worry about the length of my original studs? Check them out in the picture in my previous post... They clear the nut by a thread or two, so I figured it was close but acceptable...

Got my Warns installed... now just waiting for the OME coils to arrive!! BTW, installation is slightly different than what is posted in the Garage section. They make the front end seem "lighter" in terms of response, and I can coast much easier now. Can't wait to see if the mpg increases.

Here's a few comments on installing Warns in 96 and up Pathfinders: 1) After removing the dust cap, there is a spring clip that needs removed before the auto hub can be pulled. Then remove the stud nuts. 2) The studs on mine did not have hex holes. They were also seized and the only way to remove them would have been to heat them with a torch to break up any lock-tite. I did not remove them (next time I regrease I will.) 3) Pull the auto hub off. There are no other washers or spring clips. You will see what is shown in the third picture in statikuz's first post here. 3) Clean the drive shaft and surroundings good. I had to use rust buster since mine were really dry and coated with powdery rust. 4) I used high-temp brake grease to lube the heck out of the innards of the new manual hubs. They were very dry - "factory-greased" is not what I call greased. 5) Install the manual hub base - use the new washers and nuts provided. Re-install the spring-clip (get new ones if you can). Assemble the rest of the hub as per the first post (grease the paper seal, btw) and you're good to go! Like I said earlier, I re-used my original studs, they were long enough. But that is only because I didn't have time to heat them and remove them, which I will do at a later date when I have more patience.

The local mechanic finally isolatede the clunking noise for my pathy. It apparently is the left rear upper trailing arm bushings that are going bad.

I got mine changed at 100K. Somewhere here it was recommended that you also change the water pump while you're in there, but I didn't. Now at 126K and just wondering how long it will live...

Ok, I ended up 2.5 mpg under my average of 18, all commuter mileage. It has definitely rebounded on the second tank back to 18 mpg. I'd call it bad gas, but who knows.

I have a bubble starting behind my license plate, on the rear hatch, and right around a nice little dent that's been on my front right fender since the day I bought it. Neither have spread in two years so I am hopeful that continual waxing will keep them in remission! The rustiest part of my pathy is the front bumper - used to be black, not anymore. What would be easier - removing, sanding and re-painting, or just buyin' a replacement one?? Aren't they like $30-40 on e-bay?

Thanks Entropy98, that's cool that your pathy is on the Rocky Road site. I just ordered the OME front HD springs, rear medium springs, and a set of the Warn manual hubs!! I can't wait to get everything and start building up my pathy. NPORA forums are PRICELESS!

Thanks!! I just saw another pic of a 97 pathy with the HD coils up front, it sat perfectly level. Problem is, it was 2WD, so it's quite a bit lighter up front, right?

98Silverpathy, You wouldn't happen to have a blueprint or template or something for those strut spacers available on paper, eh? I have access to a metal shop and a plasma cutter that would do a nice job at making those spacers. My only other option would be to buy one from Rocky Road and use it as a template...

Racer38, Would you happen to have a pic of your pathy head-on so I could see the stance it has with that setup? Nice rig!

herm and 98silverpathy, Thanks for the great posts! I also do mostly commuter/highway miles (until summer rolls around, then it's trails) and am leaning towards Old Man Emu. For the both of you - after the break-in period, were you still seeing around 2" of lift in the rear, 1+" lift in the front (no spacers)? And what would be the problem of stacking two 9/16" spacers - or are they not made to allow that? My stock coils are giving me an axle to fender height of 19" front, 20" rear, in case you need some reference...