Precise1

Yes Martin, a proper hydraulic press would have been much better to use, but I already have 2 motorcycles, a car, a universal gym, a mill, roll around tool box, a work cart, work table, shelves, 10 rims, etc in a 2 car garage. There just isn't room for something I would use a few times a year at best... Made do with what I had, it went fairly well once I figured out the recipe. I had the drive shaft laying the length of the mill table and just stacked some boxes to support the other end, no over the shoulder shaft holder here... And YES, I was definitely wearing safety glasses!! 87pathy, I couldn't get it to budge one bit with a hammer alone. 3lb hand sledge was as far as I went. Once it broke free, then maybe it would have worked, but not before. Besides, a 6" mill vice will exert 4-5+ tons of pressure easy, so why launch sockets if you don't have to? That said, I did launch a socket and unfortunately my thumb was the next stop for the 24oz deadblow. If I was using the hand sledge, I would have crushed the last thumb joint of my left thumb. As it was, I just pulped all the meat and burst it open like a grape. After the initial blood spray, it went mostly numb other than feeling my pulse in it. A definite sign you have done a good trauma job... By the time I got it bandaged, the nerves had reconnected to the brain and work slowed at that point. The whole opposable thumb thing is pretty important for handing tools, I was down right paranoid of hitting it again and I had a tendency to scream (or at least whimper) any time I bumped it. Oh well, it's mostly healed and some feeling is begining to return... B

Now those are quick, helpful replies... B

LOL, yeah, PITA is a very good discription! Thats why I recommended just taking it somewhere unless you are stuck, broke or have a GOOD place to work and another vehicle. Er, 1 of the bearing cups I pulled was filled with rust and one of the needle bearings was in two pieces, does that count? Oh, that was Croil in that that jar. It seems to be deforming it... Like I said above, I'll finish this tomorrow... B

I'll finish the gory story after dinner... B Sorry, correction. I'll finish it tomorrow... B

Ok, then repeat the whole damn process to attach the end to the drive shaft... B

Oh, I found it easier to set cup all the way and install the C clip, then press the other side until you can do the same. It took me various combinations of vice pressure, dead blow and hand sledge to achieve this... B

Ok, this is the process of installing the new journals. Exact opposite of removal. The spider HAS to be inside the cage first, then the journals pressed in on either side. What a pain in the acks design!! Make sure to have the spider firmly seated in the side you are driving in first, or the needle bearings can be displaced/fall to the bottom sideways, like the photo shows. You'll know this happened when you cant move it the last little bit to secure the C clip, then everything has to be driven back out(did this twice). Extra grease globbed in the cup on the needle bearings seems to help them stay in place. B

This is what the spider journals looked like when cleaned. Holy Crap!! The scores are .02-.03"deep!!! No wonder it made noise?? Nope, that's the effect, not the cause. It gets better... B

Now it was just the same process using the vice to drive out one bearing cup, then cleaning/greasing the other side and driving that end back through. The spider is removed, bearing journals cleaned with steel wool and greased. Oh, my thumb no longer looks like that, but I'll explain later... B

With the second cap driven out the far side, the bolt flange with the spider is now removable. I opted to remove the ends first, then work on them as I thought this would be easier and I believe I am right. B

This meant the remaining cup had to be cleaned, properly aligned and driven back through and out the other side of the freshly greased journal by striking the exposed end of the spider. I used a deep dish socket (5/8 or so) and a 24oz dead blow hammer. B

Ok, now it was simple to drive 1 of the bearing cups completely out. Problem is that the cup on the other side was driven completely in and there is NO WAY to pivot the spider out with the cup on the end. Simply not enough room. Note 3) Be VERY careful with the journal inside diameter that the cups press into!! If you fugger them up badly, you need to have them welded and rebored or just a new drive shaft!! B

Ok, hammering didn't work so I rotated the drive shaft 90 degrees, placed the socket against the vice jaw, blocked the other side so the cup had room to move and cranked the vice tight... REALLY TIGHT!! Nothing moved, even when heated with a torch. Ringing the steel was the trick, it finally broke loose. B

Ok, so my universal joints started making noise driving home a week ago. Thankfully, I was 1 mile from home when I noticed it (not 200 miles away like the week before!). I've not replaced U-joints before; I suppose this is a How To write up but I'd like input from others to see what their method/experience was like. I'll clean it up and re-post it later. Oh, this is on a 95 V6, manual tranny; I'm not sure if autotragics are different. I'll start by saying that unless you have a decent garage set up and another vehicle or if you can spare a few dollars and have a shop you know/trust, just pull the drive line and take it somewhere, it's not worth the headache... The sound was far more frequent than once per rev of the wheels so I didn't think it was brakes, axles, etc but I checked them regardless as I haven't pulled the rear drums since I bought the truck 3 years ago. It was hard to tell where the noise was comming from as the drive line is one long resonance tube and the fact that the noise did not occurr with the rear axle jacked up/tires spinning/in gear/motor running. I felt a significant amount of slop in the rear U-joint and decided that it was the most likely source and needed replacing regardless. $30 for 2 U-joint assemblies at Autozone later, I pulled the drive line. Note 1) Clock mark the bolt flange at the rear differential. Some people use paint, I use a file as I've had the paint come off. While you are at it, clock mark the drive shaft ends to the shaft its self. You want to assemble it the same way... Unfortunately, my truck spent the first 2 years of life in Rodchester NY so it had a film of surface rust, annoying but not that bad. This makes removing a 12 year old steel/steel press fit rather difficult to break free. First thing I did was brush away as much grit/rust as possible, ring the steel (hit it with a hammer a few times, it helps break free corrosion) and soak it with penetrating fluid overnight (my new favorite is Croil:creeping oil). Note 2) The C clips are on the inside of the journals, make sure the replacements are the same and that you remove them and clean the bearing cup inside surface before trying to drive the cups out. Using an undersized socket (11/16) as a drift punch, I found I couldn't budge the cups what so ever. This is with the drive line clamped in a 6" mill vice mounted on a 700+ lb mill and striking with a 24oz dead blow hammer and 3lb hand sledge as seen in the photo. B

Yeah, or like expecting the staff not to jump on the train... If you have a better way (valid, helpful suggestions) share them. Build up rather than tear down and all that happy crap, eh? B

Here is something I ran across and decided to give a try. So far I have tested pieces of 4130 chromoly, several 1-2-3 blocks of unknown steel(china), a crowbar, crescent wrench, a wind chime and touched up the wear marks in the blueing on my makarov slide, all to reasonable+ results. Consider it a cold blueing without the heat, salts and more durable nature. Essentially, the chemical is cupric nitrate mixed with selinous, hydrochloric and few other acids. It reacts with the surface of the metal to provide a crystaline/chemical barrier. The barrier is basically just a skin layer of the metal, very thin and darkens the metal to a blue black. Testing a precision ground piece of chromoly showed only .0001" growth, and it protects better with an initial coating of barrier (read oil). This seems to be a good way to protect bare steel (stainless may not take to the treatment) for many projects and items. Craftsmen can use it for their work, welders can use it on their pieces, mechanics can use it on their tools. Anyone who has to deal with casual rust (I tend to transmit it) has a use for it. The key seems to be the prep, just like painting. Degrease the bejesits out of the item(no petrolium solvents), and it should work ok. I doubt you need the cleaner and I have yet to crack the lid on the can of Prevent (used Starret M1 on a few items). Even coating of the solution will help the visual finish, and dipping would be ideal. All the items I have 'blackened' took about 2-3 fl/oz of the 32 that I have. Oh, they claim it is readily paintable, but I haven't tried that yet. $60 for the kit at MSC or $25 for the solution alone... Check it out and ask me what you will; I like the stuff... http://www.victornet.com/productpages/toolblack1.html B

Friggin' Whores, the lot of you!!! B

Ok, WHERE in Cali are you?? Different rules and enforcement apply in different areas. It is a big state... B

I seriously doubt width effects braking much (2-3 inches) in normal street conditions. More contact patch=less lb/square inch=slides easier. Less contact patch=less surface to dissipate heat=melts faster. I'm guessing it's a close trade. Off road, it will make a bit of difference depending on the terrain. All depends what the dedicated tires are most used in. Other than sand or bog, I tend to stick with the military's mentality of a bit taller and somewhat thinner is better. B

Yeah, it is fun, isn't it... What I meant by room in the wheel well is all around. Try something like this. Turn the wheels all the way to the right when parked on a street, then put the passenger side tire on the curb. Get out and look to see the clearance. Do the same thing with the wheels to the left and back onto the curb. You get the point. 31" tires will be 3 inches larger in diameter than what you have, so make sure you have at least 2 inches clearance in abnormal flex situations. This calculator may help. It's kinda cheesy and you can google far better ones, but I had the link... B

Hey Phil, thanks for taking the time to explain things, and sorry for the difficulties in your life. Don't think that no one cares (few like to hear of someone having a hard time), it's that no one knew... I'm not sure what went on at other Nissan sites, but I think it is fair to say that most of the people posting here are merely concerned/upset consumers. If you payed $300-400, never got parts, had a truck in pieces and couldn't get a response, you would be upset also. I'm not rubbing your nose in it, just stating it. There have been quite a few people who spoke well of you and your products also, so don't overlook that either. Your efforts to refund/make good will help to remove some of the tarnish from L&P, but before you rebuild the company, I think you need to get your own things worked out. Stable base and all, you know what I mean. Best of luck with that! As a journeyman machinist, I have made many items for people over the years and all too often my efforts to help others has backfired in some manner. I have seen what can happen on a smaller scale... There you have it people, Phil is back and if you have grievances you can contact him, but try to do so constructively. It'll be better for everyone... B

No harm in A/T's, its all most people need. I prefer good tires though, BFG A/T or Revo's are popular. What size tire did the truck come with stock and how much room left in the wheel well? B

^ What he said, fer chrissake!!! (glad you had fun big P) B

Um, NO!!! for an 88 it is 55k or 60k miles (can't remember which). You can put it off, but possibly at the expense of damaged heads or even more grief. Best plan to change it/have it changed soon. There are plenty of threads/how to's about it here. B

No problem, let us know how it works out. B