shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Hello everyone! I'm hoping you guys can lend me a hand here to finish up my AC 3" body lift kit install. I'm almost finished installing all the spacers, i have 8 of 10 in. I couldnt get enough lift for the front 2 spacers with my 18" floor jack and some pieces of wood, and it was a long day, so i called it a night. tomorrow i will cut a piece of 2x6 to help get me the lift i need to slide the front 2 spacers in. anyways, i havent experienced any real problems so far, but the only thing i've noticed so far is my upper steering shaft hasnt extended at all from the lower steering shaft, as in this picture from statikuz' body lift install thread: The directions say to remove a bolt at the end of the steering shaft going into the steering box. i dont see any bolt removed in statikuz' pic. maybe the pic was taken afterwards? I wrote him a PM to ask. anyways, here's a picture i took in my truck of the bolt with a socket and ratchet on top of the bolt i removed, what i refer to as bolt #1 in the picture above. at the time, it was the only bolt i could see, but after reviewing statikuz' pic, i see there is another bolt that fits the description in the directions. its the bolt i refer to as #2 in the picture above.(it's been a long few days. i'm 18hrs into this body lift install, and i didnt have any real problems. i give huge props to those who can do this in a night!) anyways, again, this is a pic of the bolt i removed. what i refer to as bolt #1 in the first picture by statikuz. and here's a picture of where the upper shaft should extend from the lower shaft. i marked the location in white so i could see any movement, but there wasnt any. i used PB spray, and i got inside the hole as pictured by statikuz' pic, i just had to get at it from below. and i tried hammering on the shaft to loosen it up as the directions suggest. but maybe i dont have the right bolt removed. I removed the bolt that i pictured above with the socket on top of it, and, after the lift, i think there was a bit of movement from the shaft leading out of the steering box. maybe if i remove bolt #2 and hammer the lower shaft back towards the steering box, the upper shaft will extend from the lower shaft, like in statikuz' pic? I just thought of that... i will try this tomorrow. Anyways, i was hoping to get some help as to how to get the upper steering shaft to extend from the lower steering shaft. and i just wanted to make sure i was removing the correct bolt. do i need to remove bolt #1 or bolt #2? the directions for this portion of the install are written very poorly. hopefully this all makes sense to you guys. And i just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has contributed body lift information on this forum, i did a ton of reading beforehand, and it helped a ton. i didnt run into any problems on the install (besides this part so far). 6 months ago i would have never thought i was capable of doing this. it was a great project, and i learned a lot about my truck. and i love how i have access to my oil filter now without removing the front left wheel! almost dont need a oil filter re-location kit anymore, and i just ordered a universal Derale model for my TD27T engine. oh well. I took a ton of pics, and i plan to do a real good detailed write-up with pics after i'm all finished for a 3" body lift in a '91 Terrano, for my first real contribution here, which will help Pathfinder owners also of course, but there were some things unique to the Terrano for this body lift install. i'll get to that when everything is complete. the directions that come with the kit are very poor, it should really come with better directions. and judging from all the questions regarding general body lift installs, a really detailed "how-to" with pics should be useful. Until then, here's a sneak peek of my new 3" body lift: Thanks for your time guys. any help is greatly appreciated. Josh EDIT- I just noticed how much bigger statikuz steering shaft looks in comparison to mine. does it look bigger to you guys? and i'm not sure i even have bolt #2? i'll have to check tomorrow. Edited July 6, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 The bolt you need to remove is the one closest to the steering box. Lube and persuasion... That might be holding you back as well, give it some good taps when you have the front of the body jacked as well, use that as some more leverage if you will. DONT FORGET TO PUT THE BOLT BACK IN TOO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Hit up steevo at rugged rocks off-road...I did a full write up with pix...my laptop is effed right now or I'd send it to u I took the shaft out and used a vice prybar as a chisel and a 3lb sledge to move it oh and lots of Pb blaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Looks like yours is seized together. I too had to remove the steering shaft and beat it to get it to budge as previously mentioned ^^^^. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 hey guys, thanks for the tips! nunya- so i removed the correct bolt? the one i refer to as #1 in the first picture, correct? unccpathfinder- i will try and find this write-up you speak of, thanks for letting me know. if anyone else has any pointers, i'm open to suggestions. i will try going back at it today. keep you all posted... Thanks again, Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 When I did mine I had someone hit that joint with a hammer while we jacked the truck up, moved perfectly. I did soak it in PB blaster for like 2 days before though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) adamzan- yeah, i'll see if my neighbour is around today to give me a hand... Cuong Nguyen- incase i have to remove my steering shaft like you did, i may as well ask now, do you mind explaining to me the process you used to remove the steering shaft? I have a manual, but i find that often someone who has actually done the job i'm trying to do gives me a better understanding of what i need to do. plus my manual is in my truck right now, and i'm to lazy to go grab it and have a look right now... just curious as to how you pulled your steering shaft, thank you very much for your time. Josh Edited July 6, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovemaN Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 To completely remomve the shaft you will need to remove the bolt from the clamp at the steering box and remove two bolts from the rag joint (by the firewall) to separate it. Slide the steering shaft off of the input shaft on the steering box and that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 great, thanks KovemaN! i already have the bolt from the clamp near the steering box removed, and i think it came out of the steering box a little bit already. i was thinking if i tap it back onto the steering box maybe the upper steering shaft will extend from the lower shaft. does that make sense? we'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 well guys, i still havent gone back at it. i just been caught up doing chores around the house. dang priorities. anyways, i went down to my truck to give the steering shaft another shot of PB spray, and i had a look at it, and i definently dont have the bolt I reffered to as bolt #2 in the first picture. so the Terrano steering sjaft most be slightly different than the Pathy. and i think its smaller diameter also. its hard to say from the pictures, it could be the angle, and my picture was taken closer up, but it looks like my steering shaft is smaller diameter to me. anyways, i'm gonna go back at it soon here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 well guys, i still coudnt get my front 2 spacers in. i'm short about 1.5", everywhere else i had more than enough room. just cant get enough lift on my front end no matter what i do. tomorrow i'm going to buy a 22" floor jack (4" taller than mine), and i should be able to return it at canadian tire with no questions asked, never had a problem returning anything before, even broken stuff. so i never got around to trying to extend my steeering shaft today. has anyone else had this problem? here i thought installing the spacers was supposed to be the easy part, hehehe, it always works this way doesnt it... to be continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 The advice has been sound so far, I'm just trying to think what might still be holding things together. You removed the front bumper, correct? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I don't know why the body lift companies just don't give a longer steering shaft in the kits, when I did the 3" body lift in my hardbody the Trailmaster kit I used came with a longer shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Expand the brake lines...make sure the fan shroud is off the radiator...make sure the power steering reservoir is unboltded...front bumper is off and steering shaft Get my instructions from steeevo @ ruggedrocks its daamn near picture by step before and after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 hey guys. yes, everything is un-bolted. bumper and fan shroud are off, power steering resovoir is dis-connected, and everything else like brake lines, etc has been disconnected from the firwall/fender wells. the body is lifting away from the frame, just not enough. my jack maxes out and there's still a 1.5" i have to lift it to get the spacer to slide in. i just dont understand why my jack worked for all the other spacers. i'm positive everything is dis-connected, and even if i forgot to dis-connect something, i doubt it would keep the body from lifting, if something was connected still it would just break when i lift it. ahardb0dy- yes, i agree, it should come with more peices. i think they should have included power steering resovoir hoses instead of asking you to remove and lower the whole thing. something to raise the rear bumper, and a better system to raise the front, i heard it sucks. i just bought extra hoses for the power steering resovoir. not sure what i will have to do about my steering shaft yet, or my rear bumper. my neighbour has been helping me yesterday, and he's a pretty handy guy on vehicles. he's driving me to pick up teh bigger jack today, so i'm sure he'll help me a bit today as well. unccpathfinder- i contected "steevo" for your manual. just waiting for a response.... if anyone is able to post up unccpathfinder's body lift manual, please be my guest, i know i will really appreciate it, and i'm sure others will also. I have another question about the rad drop down kit. i know i could just lengthen the upper rad hose, and trim the lower rad hose, but i'd like to keep maximum cooling effeciency, so i ordered the drop down kit for my rad. my question is, if i have aftermarket transmission cooler installed, do i need to even drop the to keep maximum cooling effeciency? i'm not exactly sure how my rad works. if i'm only using my rad for the cooling fluid, does it need to be lowered? and if i should still drop my rad, what are the 2 rectangular brackets with a hole in them for? I can get a pic up later... and i'll make sure to search the forums for an answer. i'm asking this rad question without searching first. so please forgive me if there's an answer somewhere, i'm usually pretty good about this. thanks again guys!! josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) ok, so i found this thread, http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29048 on the rad drop down kit. seems most of you guys dont think its necessary, and the thread here gave me some options to think about, but if anyone can still answer my original question of whether or not i need to drop the rad with a aftermarket trans cooler to keep maximum cooling effeciecy, i'd appreciate it. it gets pretty hot here in S.Ontario in the summer. 95-100*F with 100% humidity often for 2-3 months... Edited July 7, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 You need to determine if your jack is maxing out because something is holding the body down and you're "stretching" something while jacking, or if it's just because something is different at the front geometry wise and you need more lift. Can't you just put your jack on top of some wood or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) hi guys, thanks for all the help. i got my body lift installed today. i removed the bumper, but not the bumper brackets, and the body was running into the bumper brackets attached to the frame and starting to lift the whole truck after awhile, and i couldnt tell at first. to me a bumper does not include its brackets, should have been written more clear, the instructions are poor. and i got my steering shaft extended, i had to pull it to get it extended. so now i just have to put everything back together, and swap my tires! and i ended up getting unccpathfinder's body lift manual from steevo today. i havent looked at it yet, but i'll see if i cant get it posted up here for the rest of you guys... thanks all again, josh Edited July 7, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) about the steering shaft, i'm wondering now what would have happened if i hadnt of removed the bolt, would the steering shaft extend on its own when i jacked up the truck? i think thats would i try if i was to ever help someone else. i'd just keep an eye on things as i raised it up, if it started slipping off the steering box before extending i'd stop. Edited July 7, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) hope this works. this is unccpathfinder's Body Lift Manual: http://ruggedrocks.c...5-body-lift.zip EDIT- hmmm. doesnt work. i'll see if i can figure out how to link this.... Edited July 8, 2011 by shasdakota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I don't know why the body lift companies just don't give a longer steering shaft in the kits, when I did the 3" body lift in my hardbody the Trailmaster kit I used came with a longer shaft. I honestly can't think of anyone here with a wd21 that even needed one, heck tons of people have been running for years will ill affect on just bolting the shaft down higher on the box. Maby a HB I can understand though as a 3" bl on a truck that has a small factory BL might go past the length of the splines on the steering box. just an outloud thought you made me think... and even if i forgot to dis-connect something, i doubt it would keep the body from lifting, if something was connected still it would just break when i lift it. not sure what i will have to do about my steering shaft yet, or my rear bumper. I have another question about the rad drop down kit. i know i could just lengthen the upper rad hose, and trim the lower rad hose, but i'd like to keep maximum cooling effeciency, so i ordered the drop down kit for my rad. josh trimmed to just where I plan to give some tips. 1. Not necessarily, when I did my BL, I forgot to unbolt the hoop that bolts to the floor under the front seats and loops to the frame, couldn't get the center blocks in and bent the floor making my seat tops kinda point at each other... kinda funny and straitened out with 0 problems after I realized what I did. 2. Rear bumper you can flip the brackets upside down and reuse them, won't be 100% perfect but pretty dam close and still line up nicely 3. I don't know of too many people here using them, and most that did order it are still trying to sell it here. On that note, I did nothing with my hoses (even had to replace my rad after the BL and the hoses went on perfectly with no fighting) and even ran with no shroud for a wHile and never had a cooling issue (other THAN the rad, but that was just due to it's age/condition) i removed the bumper, but not the bumper brackets sorry but not to be mean but I DO find some humor in it. Of course it's something simple! But good you found it and got it together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasdakota Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 great tip for the rear bumper, thanks nunya. yeah, i was laughing afterwards. i was just glad to have finally figured it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 now post up some pics of it all grown up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Ha last night I almost stated to make sure it was the bumper Brits and not just the bumper...sorry about that...did the instructions help? If u could take pix of the bumper install That would be awesome...I have a PDF that I gotta get the final missing info in... No cooling issues on either truck of mine so far and I've driven my 87 in 4lo in 110 plus for hrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Rear bumper Brits will slide straight up and cut the 2 stud plate in half to use it only uses 2 bolts on each side but the holes r in the bumper Brkts and frame and it lines up damn near perfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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