Help, I need ideas for lift and wheels

[DukeDuke]

I just got the pathfinder from my Uncle the other day, and am already loving it(I will post up some pics soon) I was wrong, it was an 87. Everything he had done was at the Nissan Dealership, so I doubt there is many more that have been taken better care of. But it is sitting low in the front, I am thinkin about doin the T-bars. But am unsure about how to do it. It says to raise it and lower it tighten clockwise, unless it is just one of those things you have to be under it to understand, then maybe that is my problem. As well, I would like to get some 33's under it. I enjoy goin campin and fishin, but won't do much off roading, and zero muddin. So I don't want to dump $1000.00 in a Calamni(sp?) lift. Thought about a 3 inch body and doin the Cherokee V8 Coils. Also saw on 4wheelparts they offer new Leafs that will add 2.5 I believe. Any ideas on those? Basically, I am just wanting ya'lls opinions and recommendations for lifting it. What is good, what isn't. What is safe, what isn't. I dunno if crankin the T-bars is safe or not. As well, as body lifts or even putting on another companys coils.

 

As well as wheels. I am in dire need of some new wheels. What does everyone recommend? I believe they are 15's. Should I step up to 16's? What is our width, offset, etc. Do I need to stay with 10.50's for tires? Or go up to 12.50's? I don't want to do the TSL 11.50's. But I want a good tire, and again most of the time I will be on the road, so I would like something that will get a good tread life, but has a nice mean design pattern to it.

 

And, if anyone has any used parts they would like to get rid of, i.e. wheels, tires, lifts, whatever. Please list it and let me know.

 

Thanks for everything. I haven't been into 4x4's in about 2 years. So, its kinda new to me again. And I was always into domestic 4x4's. So this is an entirely new thing to me. Please help if you have ANY kind of quality information! Thanks guys!

[JDM4x4]

Do the jeep cherokee springs. For the front control arms you need to check the General forums about that. I asked the same question and they told me what to do. As for calmini, I have heard about their bad service and cheap parts. I think that you can get a lift for a lot cheaper than going through Calmini or "Crapmini" as they put it in my question, for less money and more quality.

[headpeace]

leafs are for the hardbodies (pickups), the pathfinder uses coils so we can't use leafs, cheapest would be the JGC coil with cranked tbars, although I didn't get any lift JGC coils maybe they were old and saggy? but many many people have used them successfully for lift. If you plan to crank the tbars for a full 3" in the front you need to consider getting new UCA's to correct CV angles. Do that and a body lift and your good to go with 33's. There is another current post somewhere that trailboss said he's running 33's with just the body lift, so look around here and ask questions, you'll figure it out

[89_trailboss]

UCA arnt for CV angles, rather BJ angles.

 

I ran 33's on 15x8with 4" BS and a 3" BL with no rub. I didnt have fenderflares or mudflaps tho.

 

JGC coils also didnt give me anylift. Im using 92 ford 150 coils and got about 2.5" of lift. only problem is that I drop them out alot on trails(so did my stock coils tho).

 

best bet is to find some coils for the rear(or better yet get some coilspacers-I never drop coils with mine and they give you the same ride) crank your Tbars 2". get a CL and idle arm brace and run 33's. like I said, you can run 33's with a 3" BL but I found that I still needed clearence on the front(IFS was like a snow plow).

[rustyole88pathy]

I'm asking myself the same kind of questions as DukeDuke. I was originally going to go for a 3'' suspension lift, but have now decided against spending that much on my ageing Pathy. I'm now thinking of just doing a small lift (1.5" or whatever) with 31's. Where could I get some coilspacers for my Pathy? It's either that or these: http://www.4x4parts.com/public_html/shop/i...ed61dd0342b5ccf

 

Either way I'll then crank the front T-bars and buy an idler arm brace from AC or Calmini. What's the "CL" that you mentioned???

 

Thanks.

 

 

UCA arnt for CV angles, rather BJ angles.

 

I ran 33's on 15x8with 4" BS and a 3" BL with no rub. I didnt have fenderflares or mudflaps tho.

 

JGC coils also didnt give me anylift. Im using 92 ford 150 coils and got about 2.5" of lift. only problem is that I drop them out alot on trails(so did my stock coils tho).

 

best bet is to find some coils for the rear(or better yet get some coilspacers-I never drop coils with mine and they give you the same ride) crank your Tbars 2". get a CL and idle arm brace and run 33's. like I said, you can run 33's with a 3" BL but I found that I still needed clearence on the front(IFS was like a snow plow).

[Pavelow Leaks]

IMHO, if you arent gonna do much off roading and zero mudding, do the JGC coils in the rear and crank your T-bars, then run a set of 32's. As far as tires, pretty much any descent A/T tire will serve your purposes, good street wear and they'll get you pretty much anywhere you need to go off road. It really depends on what you want and how much cash your willing to drop, It's very easy to spend alot of money very quickly on a pathy.

[88pathoffroad]

Point of contention: there are at least 8 different coil springs used on the JGC's. You need to get the ones that have at least .54 or .56" wire diameter. Mine are the .58" coils and I got 3" of lift easy. Stock Pathy coils are .50".

[GrimGreg]

UCA arnt for CV angles, rather BJ angles.

 

Actually they aren't for that either. All they really do for you is allow you to align it with the use of less shims after you crank the T-bars all the way. For my money, I'd rather just use more shims.

[Simon]

Actually they aren't for that either. All they really do for you is allow you to align it with the use of less shims after you crank the T-bars all the way. For my money, I'd rather just use more shims.

 

Uh....Ryan....You're wrong, at least, with some aftermarket UCA's you are. AC's UCA's do nothing, it seems. However, Roughcountry (Superlift) and Calmini UCA's both allow the ball joint to sit at a much more vertical level, when the T-bars are cranked, as compared to stock arms. Believe me on that, I was running with stock UCA's and my upper ball joints sat at a very extreme angle. They're perfectly level now. If you look at a pic of the Roughcountry arms, you'll see they're bent near the balljoint mount to allow for this.

[GrimGreg]

 

Bottom line for me, I haven't had a need to get new UCAs after my T-bar cranks. I don't see the need to waste the $$$ on them. The BJ won't go beyond what they were engineered for with the stock + crank unless you remove bumpstops.

[rustyole88pathy]

AC's UCA's do nothing? They don't correct for BJ angles, camber etc? If they don't they're off my list...

 

 

Uh....Ryan....You're wrong, at least, with some aftermarket UCA's you are. AC's UCA's do nothing, it seems. However, Roughcountry (Superlift) and Calmini UCA's both allow the ball joint to sit at a much more vertical level, when the T-bars are cranked, as compared to stock arms. Believe me on that, I was running with stock UCA's and my upper ball joints sat at a very extreme angle. They're perfectly level now. If you look at a pic of the Roughcountry arms, you'll see they're bent near the balljoint mount to allow for this.

[rustyole88pathy]

buy RoughCountry's package then (http://www.roughcountry.com/nissan_hardbody.asp) and chuck the shackles? Then go out and get some JGC? sound good?

[Simon]

Nope....just call, and only order the UCA's. They're about $160USD shipped.

 

Ryan.... The issue with the balljoint is not that it will travel past where they were engineered to go, the issue is that they sit at one extreme of their travel, the entire time. That not only puts stress on the ball joint itself, as it was designed to be straight, and only venture to it's extremes with suspension travel. THe other thing is, that the boots on them will wear out faster, as one side is completely squished, and the other extended. As you know, when the boot rips, the ball joints fail shortly thereafter.

 

Another thing to consider....with the age of our trucks.....I'd say it's more than possible that things move differently (read: more; further) than they did initially from the factory. Bump stops wear down, get squished. It may only be a small amount of difference, but if the ball joint is already sitting in at an extreme angle, this could be an issue.

[GrimGreg]

As you know, when the boot rips, the ball joints fail shortly thereafter.

 

Nope, all 4 of the boots on my 88's BJs are torn and don't hold much grease anymore. Been that way since I got the truck in 04. My BJs are still going strong so far. Next excuse?

[Simon]

That surprises me. My boots rip, my ball joints fail shortly thereafter. I went through it for 2 years, and about 3 ball joints per side......

[88pathoffroad]

EVer seen what happens when you're driving down the road and a BJ fails? The wheel goes to a funny angle and then you go into the ditch. At that point, you hope to God the brake line doesn't rip off and you can stop it without running over the lady jogging with her one-year-old in a stroller on the sidewalk.