The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Top is the Before Pic. Yes it's jacked up but all the weight is still on the rear end. I forgot to take the pic and didn't want to start all over. I had a 1/4 tank of gas at the time of the pics. Ok so for those that don't know this is what I was trying to accomplish... I wasn't looking to lift the truck. I like the height that it sat at but with the addition of my front bumper, roof rack, rock slider and my soon to be finished rear bumper the added weight was becoming an issue. With just me, the women, and the two kids I was riding on my bump stops in the rear. This is completely unacceptable for many reason that I don't think I need to explain. Basically I'm building this pathy to wheel with, drive my a$$ to work, and tow a small trailer when needed. I also want to keep the 31" tires simply due to their cost. So basically I was stuck wondering what I should do to solve my problem. I had the option of EMU medium duty springs (3/4" lift), AC 1.5" lift (they wouldn't tell me what the spring rate was), or to head to the junk yard and hope I could find the proper Jeep Grand Cherokee (JGC) spings. What the proper spring would be was up in the air to me. This was all new territory. Everything I found on the net was simply people looking for a low cost lift. Their needs seemed to be all about lift and tire size where mine were load capacity, flex, and keeping the lower ride height. The EMU springs were what I thought I should go with at first but I'd have to wait for Steven from Rugged Rocks to get back from King Of The Hammers for me to even be able to order them. Plus that's a nice chunk of change to throw at what I felt was a risk. I was worried that they would still sag to much when I was completely loaded. So anyway to shorten this story up I ended out risking $25 and some of my time by heading to the junk yard and grabbing some JGC springs. Here is the amount of up travel I had with no one in the truck and only a 1/4 tank of gas. I didn't measure it but I'm pretty sure it's around 1" or less. Here they are: Here they are sitting next to the stock Pathy Spring. The Pathy spring is on top. Here is where I cut the JGC springs: One of the things I was worried about when cutting the springs was the springs being to short. My shocks are 2 inches longer than stock and I didn't want issues with them falling out at full flex. Luckily they were the same size as the stock springs after being cut. However for those wondering how long of shocks they can run. I wouldn't run any shock that is longer than the shocks I have (2 inch longer) right now. At full extension the spring has very little pressure on the seats. I'm confident that longer shocks would result in having to mod the spring mounts to insure that they stay seated. Before: After: I'm not sure what the wire thickness is on the JGC springs that I found. There was no markings on any of the ones I found at the JY. However these where visually the larger of the bunch that I found. They came out of 98. The After measurements were taken after a full day of driving it around. I didn't adjust the front bars as all. However The rear is so much of an improvement that the front end short comings are very noticeable. I definitely need higher spring rate torsion bars. So basically I'm really happy with how it turned out. It feels much better and I can't wait for my next wheeling/camping trip. Hope this helps a few people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Looks good! In the future if you are up to it (and it seems like it would be no issue for you) then re index your bars... There is a great write up here somewhere... Found it: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=17038 Or replace them... Edited February 13, 2012 by tmoore4512 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 You may also want to look into the airbags that slip inside your coils. My buddy picked some up for like 80 bucks and they work great, no more sag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 I had those air bags. They leaked. I took them out when I put the JGC springs in. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting better torsion bars. Cranking the stock ones will only put more strain on the joints and steering and it will still more than likely feel squishy do to the extra weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I thought that by cranking the torsion bars you increase their effective spring rate? That would make up for any extra weight unless the bars were worn out. Am I wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Unless I'm wrong the only way it would do that if you cranked them past full extension. That's no way to fix the problem. It will only lift it and cause unnecessary stress on the front end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meandmy92Pathy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Top is the Before Pic. Yes it's jacked up but all the weight is still on the rear end. I forgot to take the pic and didn't want to start all over. I had a 1/4 tank of gas at the time of the pics. Ok so for those that don't know this is what I was trying to accomplish... I wasn't looking to lift the truck. I like the height that it sat at but with the addition of my front bumper, roof rack, rock slider and my soon to be finished rear bumper the added weight was becoming an issue. With just me, the women, and the two kids I was riding on my bump stops in the rear. This is completely unacceptable for many reason that I don't think I need to explain. Basically I'm building this pathy to wheel with, drive my a$$ to work, and tow a small trailer when needed. I also want to keep the 31" tires simply due to their cost. So basically I was stuck wondering what I should do to solve my problem. I had the option of EMU medium duty springs (3/4" lift), AC 1.5" lift (they wouldn't tell me what the spring rate was), or to head to the junk yard and hope I could find the proper Jeep Grand Cherokee (JGC) spings. What the proper spring would be was up in the air to me. This was all new territory. Everything I found on the net was simply people looking for a low cost lift. Their needs seemed to be all about lift and tire size where mine were load capacity, flex, and keeping the lower ride height. The EMU springs were what I thought I should go with at first but I'd have to wait for Steven from Rugged Rocks to get back from King Of The Hammers for me to even be able to order them. Plus that's a nice chunk of change to throw at what I felt was a risk. I was worried that they would still sag to much when I was completely loaded. So anyway to shorten this story up I ended out risking $25 and some of my time by heading to the junk yard and grabbing some JGC springs. Here is the amount of up travel I had with no one in the truck and only a 1/4 tank of gas. I didn't measure it but I'm pretty sure it's around 1" or less. Here they are: Here they are sitting next to the stock Pathy Spring. The Pathy spring is on top. Here is where I cut the JGC springs: One of the things I was worried about when cutting the springs was the springs being to short. My shocks are 2 inches longer than stock and I didn't want issues with them falling out at full flex. Luckily they were the same size as the stock springs after being cut. However for those wondering how long of shocks they can run. I wouldn't run any shock that is longer than the shocks I have (2 inch longer) right now. At full extension the spring has very little pressure on the seats. I'm confident that longer shocks would result in having to mod the spring mounts to insure that they stay seated. Before: After: I'm not sure what the wire thickness is on the JGC springs that I found. There was no markings on any of the ones I found at the JY. However these where visually the larger of the bunch that I found. They came out of 98. The After measurements were taken after a full day of driving it around. I didn't adjust the front bars as all. However The rear is so much of an improvement that the front end short comings are very noticeable. I definitely need higher spring rate torsion bars. So basically I'm really happy with how it turned out. It feels much better and I can't wait for my next wheeling/camping trip. Hope this helps a few people. My only question is, are they front or rear JGC springs.....I have looked everywhere and cannot find that answer....I know that may be a stupid question, but they are different....Thanks, Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 You want the front springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meandmy92Pathy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 You want the front springs. Thanks.....I found a pair in a j/y for 40$.....a deal for me!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18&pid=527889&st=160entry527889 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks.....I found a pair in a j/y for 40$.....a deal for me!!!!! Make sure they are from a V8 cherokee. If you have a pair of calipers the wire diameter should measure around .6. The L6 GJC wire diameter isn't much larger than our factory springs and won't give you much lift at all. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meandmy92Pathy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Make sure they are from a V8 cherokee. If you have a pair of calipers the wire diameter should measure around .6. The L6 GJC wire diameter isn't much larger than our factory springs and won't give you much lift at all. James Gotcha, James.....got a pair of calipers yesterday and am going back to the j/y on Saturday....Thanks for the warning!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 picking up some JGC v8 coils tomorrow, since after putting my new wheels on, they stick out and rub super bad at not even fully lock... so gonna jack up the rear and then front hopefully... i like how much lift it gaves yours TME! :O hopefully i can get that... 40$ and they are going to be pulled FOR ME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 picking up some JGC v8 coils tomorrow, since after putting my new wheels on, they stick out and rub super bad at not even fully lock... so gonna jack up the rear and then front hopefully... i like how much lift it gaves yours TME! :O hopefully i can get that... 40$ and they are going to be pulled FOR ME. Nice! I would have paid $40 for mine if someone would have pulled them. That was kind of a pain in the ass to do in a wrecking yard. Just make sure you get the thicker springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Nice! I would have paid $40 for mine if someone would have pulled them. That was kind of a pain in the ass to do in a wrecking yard. Just make sure you get the thicker springs. i will try and make sure, i might borrow a caliper from autoshop tomorrow at school... the teacher is awesome like that. yeah, at first he said 65$ until i told him i could get new for 65$... then i said 40 and ok. haha. now i just need to save up for longer shocks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 I think I paid $35 each for my skyjackers. Somewhere around that price anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amfq120 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Mine are the "up-country" model, and they give me a good amount of lift. I'm glad I did the suspension lift, although it did take me awhile to get everything tuned in just right. Traction bar was loose for awhile and "pinging" when flexed, the alignment that les schwab did wasn't very good, and when I got it home I could tell that the driver's side tire was still at an angle, so I just removed one of the shims they put in the UCA and that is where I left it. No uneven tire wear what-so-ever. I did not replace my torsion bars either. I've heard they can be a PITA and I saw no need to replace them, no problems there either. Both of my CV joints have torn boots and I'm just waiting for them to break. Any signs to look for or sounds for them breaking?? I've seen your pathfinder go a lot of places stock! Good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teixeira Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 This swap affect confort? are these springs stiffer than the stock ones making the rig harder on road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 This swap affect confort? are these springs stiffer than the stock ones making the rig harder on road? Yes it's noticeably a firmer ride. I actually like it better. Feels firm not hard and not squishy like the stock springs where. Keep in mind I have extra weight on my ride so that also plays a role in how it feels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teixeira Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Yes it's noticeably a firmer ride. I actually like it better. Feels firm not hard and not squishy like the stock springs where. Keep in mind I have extra weight on my ride so that also plays a role in how it feels. mmmmm, ok thanks... My back aren't that good that's why I have to think on doing this kind of stuff and it's my everday car. I like the confort of it stock and don't want to loose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Magicians_Eye Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 You can always put the stock springs back in and sell the JGC springs if you don't like it. I mean it's not like you'll be investing hundreds of dollars. It's very low cost gamble. Not to mention shocks play a major role in how firm the ride is too. I'm running skyjacker gas shocks in mine. You could always run oil filled shocks instead. Those are softer than gas shocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teixeira Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) You are right, didn't think like that. Let's see if I can them here. Thanks for the help. Edited February 25, 2012 by teixeira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 My pathfinder rides a LOT better with jgc springs and cranked tbars then it did stock, just for the record. It is more firm but rides nicer on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 ^x2 B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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