Precise1

Thanks for the warning!! I have some Pro Comp shocks I was going to swap over to the newer pathy; I check them out first... B

Sounds like a major failure, not just fried clutch. Could be a problem with the pressure plate or you could have lost one of the clutch friction pads or something. I'm afraid you will have to open it up and take a look. The good news is that you can replace everything in the bell housing for about $300. How old is this clutch? B

Let me go out and look... B Well, I looked and wondered what you were going on about. It's very simple, on a 95... Sorry, can't help you.

Sounding more and more like the O2 sensor and perhaps the MAF... Either that, or you have been driving around with the parking brake on... B

Other wise known as a C clip and/or snap ring, hence the term 'snap ring pliers'. Glad you got it done. No it's not hard, just dirty and cold (I just replaced my wheel bearings on Saturday). By far the easiest way... B

x2 B

Absolutely!! I didn't think to mention that as I would assume that's the way everyone would do it when able... B

Good job!!! I have knuckle dragging monkey arms so I never had a problem shifting my 5 speed and now I have an auto... Still, I like to see people figure things out like this... B

It's an adaptation of a stirling engine. Sorry, you are mistaken, it is an ECE. B

HOLY CRAP!!! The exchange rate is 0.420433:1 (USD to Brazilian Real) so asking $13000 would be about $5,500 USD. I'd buy that in a heart beat!! It'll need all new rubber, fluid flushes, etc but still!! I highly recommend you do what you can to buy it... I'm almost tempted to... B

Nicely done!! I can't wait to see/hear it run!!! Are you going to give us a basic write-up of what you did/figured out/recommend for next time? B

Some more basic information... SUSPENSION: All Hardbodies and Pathfinders use a common independent front suspension (except two wheel drive Hardbodies; they still use an independent front end but of a different design). It consists of an upper A-arm, a lower A-arm, and a torsion bar spring. The lower A-arm uses a compression strut (extending from the rear of the arm to the frame) to make up the rear half of the arm. The torsion bar is connected to the lower arm and runs along the frame rail to a crossmember where it is connected to its tension adjuster, and the adjuster to that crossmember. The front anti-sway bar (or roll bar) is attached to the front portion of the frame and its ends attach to the lower A-arm through small links. The rear suspension of the Hardbody is rather conventional in design. It employes a typical solid axle design that is suspended by leaf springs. The 2WD models mount the leaf springs under the axle while the 4WD variant mounts the leaf springs on top the axle for the added "lift". The Hardbody's rear axle (to the best of my knowledge) does not use an anti-sway bar. The Pathfinder's rear suspension, on the other hand, was quite unconventional for its day. While the other manufacturers (save Land Rover) were using a standard leaf spring setup derived from their pickups, Nissan went out on a limb creating a "5-Link" coil spring rear suspension. This offered several advantages for the sport utility. The most important being extremely good compliance when compared to a leaf spring set up. This excellent compliance gifted the Pathfinder with a much more supple ride then the other sport utilities of the day. For those of us that like to go off-road, it offered excellent advantages as well. The compliance was very welcome. That combined with the longer travel nature of the coil springs, lead to excellent suspension articulation off-road, and excellent suspension control both on and off road as well. Since coil springs can not "locate" an axle as leaf springs can, Nissan had to design a fairly complex (from an engineering standpoint, the angles of these links as the suspension moves must be precise in order to work properly) system of linkages to locate the axle. This is the design they settled on: two upper links, two lower links, and a horizontal Panhard rod to locate the axle. Then they tossed in an anti-sway bar for good measure. This rear suspension design has much to do with both the Pathfinders excellent on road handling manners (it's been described by many publications as the drivers sport utility), and its excellent off road prowess. Other manufacturers quickly noticed this and the coil sprung rear suspension was adapted on most of today's current crop of sport utes (Toyota, Land Rover, Isuzu, Jeep). Things to Watch for: The independent front suspension is very sensitive to modification. It is common to run out of camber adjustment when people try to lift the front end by "twisting" the torsion bars. This is a poor man's lift that causes problems down the line. If you can't afford a suspension kit from a reputable manufacturer, consider a body lift. All of the Nissans soon suffer from front suspension creaking noises as dirt works its way into the rubber bushings of the upper and lower suspension arms. This is normal and all IFS designs suffer from it. Sometimes spraying them down with a liquid lubricant Tri-Flow will quiet them down for a few days, but they'll be back! Also, Nissans (And Toyotas) suffer from an awful sounding (but harmless) metal to metal creak when the front tires are turned tight. This is the steering stops hitting their spot. When the truck is new, it has little nylon caps on the stops to keep them quiet but once they wear through, you'll hear them. It is caused because of the placement of the stops. If you turn the wheel against the stops, and ask the suspension to move, they rub with an accompanying nasty noise. Cheap fix: a glop of grease on the stop! Also, the stock torsion bars tend to sag with time. There is nothing you can do about this except adjust them as necessary. The only real fix is quality aftermarket heavy duty bars. Nissan Motorsports sell single and two stage bars, Calmini sells some, and Sway Away Suspensions (SAS) sells the two stage bars I run on my truck. I'm not aware of any sagging problems with the Hardbody's rear Leafs, but I do know that the Pathfinders sag with age. Again, the only cure is quality aftermarket springs. Nissan Motorsports (again) carries two versions of replacements, one with a 1/2" to 3/4" lift, and the other with a 2" lift. Modifications: Oh boy, here we go again! Again, I'm going to start off by saying that our options are limited in this area as well. However, again there are options. All of the major suspension kit manufacturers seem to have a kit for the truck. Rancho (the system I run) Offers a 2-2.5" lift kit for the Hardbody and Pathfinder. Both front kits are virtually identical. They supply you with an upper A-arm, urethane bushings, and a new pivot shaft assembly that employs braces at the outboard ends for added strength. These arms, combined with new torsion bar adjustments give a realistic 2" of lift while still allowing you to bring the alignment in to specs (though I still have a slight camber problem; custom work time again!). The rear kit is a set of add-a-leafs for the Hardbody and a new set of coil springs for the Pathfinder's rear. Take note that there are two different Pathfinder systems: one for the 2-door trucks and one for the 4-door trucks. The only difference in the kits is the rear springs. I recommend the 4-door kit even if you have a 2-door. I ended up swapping out the 2-door springs for the 4-doors. I didn't get an appreciable amount of lift from the 2-door springs, but the 4-doors worked out perfect! This kit allows for 32" (max) tires on the Pathfinder, and 33" (max) tires on the Hardbody thanks to the latter's higher body mounting position. SuperLift also has a similar system for about 2"- 2.5" of lift. They use replacement upper A arms (using the factory spindle) with urethane bushings. They use longer shackles or add-a-leafs for the rear. I'm told Explorer Pro-Comp has a system for these trucks as well (2-3" range) but I have not seen it and therefore can not comment on it. However, I have heard generally good things from Explorer Pro-Comp owners... TrailMaster produces the largest lift available for these trucks at 4". The TrailMaster approach is completely different, and much more complex though. The front uses a system of drop down brackets and steering knuckle adapters to lower the front differential and lower A-arm assemblies as well as the rear torsion bar mounts. This causes several other caveats. The knuckle adapters require using wheels of greater offset to clear them, therefore mandating aftermarket wheels which will stick out of the wheel wells. Then there is an exhaust system modification that must be purchased from them so the exhaust can clear the now angled front driveshaft. This lift affords no increase in front crossmember clearance without increasing tire size as the other kits do. On the plus side, it retains OEM CV joint angles and suspension droop, although it also puts a new angle in the front driveshaft, one that Nissan didn't count on. Additionally, the rear suspension is lifted by using four inch long coil spring spacers that bolt into the top spring mounts, retaining the factory coils... Good for the ride I suppose, but then still vulnerable to the sagging problem. Additionally, Nissan Motorsports offers dual shock kits for the front of the Hardbody and Pathfinder, and dual shocks for the Pathfinder's rear Suspension. However, in the words of those in the know - if you need dual shocks, you're driving it too hard!! B

Just like it says... As we are talking about tidying up some information here at NPORA, I thought that some of the most common questions should isolated and broken down. This thread is solely about suspension lifts; the brands, installs, experiences, pro's and con's, articles, etc. We need specific threads to point people to rather than regurgitating the info or telling them to search. By all means chime in with pertinent info; I will be copying parts of other threads to insert here so feel free to do the same. I'll start with a basic article that explains what is being done with a suspension lift. http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/Ref/Susp...ategoryId=11319 B

I can't get a good picture to see them, but I suspect they are the same idea... That kit for $50 isn't bad. B

Original spark plug wires? damn... Yes, clean your MAF, there is a write up in the how to section. It is simple, quick and uses a few Q-tips and some alcohol; in other words, free... B

The key here is to use a cold form (aka roll) tap to reform as much thread as possible. Do not use a cut tap which will remove even more thread... B

Believe it or not, it can be quite a bit more accurate the a guesstimate. It's more like calibrating your force/leverage... B

This is a trick I have used is similar situations. Find another (non critical) bolt, loosen it, torque it to the low end of the spec, put a wrench on it and tighten it just a fraction more. You now know how hard you have to push/pull with the wrench to be in the torque range... B

My experience with 3 Nissan trucks is that they all have efficient cooling systems and tend to run cold when everything in the system is in good shape. I have never had one overheat, even with a failing fan clutch in summer. This morning it was 25 degrees; my 'new' pathy ran cooler than it did when it was 70 degrees (new radiator). B

Glad it worked out for you!! Yes, the stock equipment is usually very restrictive. I plan to replace the entire exhaust, headers, catylitic converter and muffler; imagine what effect that will have... B

That's the most common place, but you have to fab a bracket. I've seen them in a roof basket (dumb for several reasons) or just tossed in the back... I believe packie88 did a nice reweld of his tire carrier to fit items. Look in the pictures/video section... B

Remember, rim backspacing and width (tire width also) are also a factor. I believe the recommended backspacing is 3.75" (3.5-4.0 ok), 8" wide rims are common (6-7 stock) but wider may not be wise. 33"x10.5 (what I am considering) would fit better than 33"x12.5. It all adds up, .5" here, .5" there... B

Yep!! Web reading comprehension autocorrection... You are not that big of an idiot, so sarcasm or omission were the two only possibilities. Reads fine to me... B

Yeah, I took a break there for a bit. Life got too distracting... Don't be too much of a stranger though!! Yeah, I bought a stock 95xe with 96k miles on it for $3300. A bunch of new parts, vehicle is about 95% condition. I'm pretty happy with it and have a bunch of the usual mods slated for spring (BL, SL, headers, exhaust, etc). The old 95 is going to be parted out, the front frame damage makes it junk and I couldn't justify a SAS. If I had more time/money/room I'd do it as a trail rig, but that's not the case today. I'm off for the next two weeks so I'll dig in the garage then. Yes, I'll sell you one but let me see what kind of brackets I need to make for you first. Yes, rock auto has a stabilizer bracket ( RANCHO Part # RS5533) for $23.79 but no picture so I don't know what to expect... B

Ahh, good news. Congrats!! Just a word of advice; put some miles on it first before you go too far out and play... B