CDN_S4 build thread

[JeffsR50]

Thats friggin COOl man. shes coming along beautifully

[CDN_S4]

Despite everything in there, it looks nice and tidy, i like tidy installs!!

 

Nice work.

 

But i have a question. What Red LED did you use for the Ashtray(assuming the SB-LED)? I have one in my pathy, and its nowhere near as bright as that. And even though all my ashtray does is hide my aux cord, i'd still like to get some more light in there somehow...

 

Thanks in advance.

 

-Kyle

 

WAIT JUST ONE NEW YORK MINUTE!!!! Is your defroster switch illuminated?????

Hey Kyle, the red LED is the 74-R and it is really bright!! Maybe your plastic lens is dirty?

 

And yes, the defroster and warning light buttons do illuminate.

[ferrariowner123]

Nice. I'll be sure to get one of those. How did you install it? I originally DE soldered the factory bulb and put my led in there. And if your referring to the lense that allows light to pass into the ashtray, then that's a negative, because I have to bust that out to get my aux cord to go through.

 

And maybe it's a Canadian thing, because my 96 does not illuminate, and while I have taken one of the defroster switches apart, and found a bulb covered, it does not illuminate, I'm thinking due to lack of wiring.

 

I need to see if the harness is different for chillkoot editions.... Hmmmm

 

-Kyle

[CDN_S4]

The ashtray light was the easiest of all to install.

- pop out the ashtray insert

- remove screw from bottom

- lift the assembly out enough to be able to pop out the light assembly held in only by 2 prongs

- pull out old bulb, replace with new bulb and reinstall.

- no more than 5 minutes and only tool needed is a Philips screws driver.

[hawairish]

I also recently switched to LEDs. I went with blue on the cluster, AT, and HVAC, and 6K white on the ashtray, glove box, map lights, and dome lights. Major improvement...I can finally see my odometer at night. I've got the cluster with the embedded LEDs, so I could only change the 3 backlights (blue), 2 turn signals (green), and hi-beam (blue) bulbs. One of my sockets broke when twisted out...be careful with those...they're about $12 from the dealer, and the cheap ones you see on eBay are a different style. (Noting that there were two different types of clusters, and possibly bulb socket types).

 

Also, to ease removing bulbs, I used a small piece of 1/4"ID rubber fuel hose. Fits perfectly over the bulbs, gives you all-around grip. Wiggle and pull.

 

My Pioneer allows setting custom colors, so it's of the same blue now.

 

The map and done lights were the best improvement, though the festoons I got weren't nearly the length they were supposed to be and I ended up bending tabs in the housing to make the fit, along with some other hacks:

--soldering a 10k resistor to one of them because it was staying dimly light when it should've been off

--cutting a little plastic cradle to keep one festoon from being able to rotate under vibration

--crushing/crimping the ends of the rear dome lamp's festoon to make it fit

 

Wasn't really pleased with having to do any of those, but the results look great. I plan to put some recessed LEDS in the tailgate hatch plastic so they shine down when the hatch is opened.

[ferrariowner123]

The ashtray light was the easiest of all to install.

- pop out the ashtray insert

- remove screw from bottom

- lift the assembly out enough to be able to pop out the light assembly held in only by 2 prongs

- pull out old bulb, replace with new bulb and reinstall.

- no more than 5 minutes and only tool needed is a Philips screws driver.

 

Huh, maybe they changed they on later years because mine was definetly soldered in...

 

Werid.

 

Anyway, thanks for the help..

 

-Kyle

[CDN_S4]

Finally received the right OME rear MD springs. Attempting to install today. My front seems really saggy despite new struts. I might have to get new coils. I was thinking to go with MOOG replacement coils as they are available in Canada while imports and the weak Loonie right now are making shopping in the US hard to justify. Anyone else have experience with them?

Also, this might be a stupid question, but is there something like a Torsion Bar re-indexing available for the R50 as there is on the WD21?

[hawairish]

Finally received the right OME rear MD springs. Attempting to install today. My front seems really saggy despite new struts. I might have to get new coils. I was thinking to go with MOOG replacement coils as they are available in Canada while imports and the weak Loonie right now are making shopping in the US hard to justify. Anyone else have experience with them?

Also, this might be a stupid question, but is there something like a Torsion Bar re-indexing available for the R50 as there is on the WD21?

 

Nice. Unfortunately new struts won't help with sagging issues...the only remedy is new springs.

 

Spacers are basically our torsion bar re-work equivalent. The typical spacers you see replicate a torsion bar re-index; they give lift without altering the compression of the spring/torsion bar. NX4 is the only company I've seen that offers "mid-mount" spacers that install between the upper strut mount and the upper spring seat, essentially acting like a torsion bar crank; they give lift at the expense of additional compression on the stock spring/torsion bar. This is also essentially like swapping in a lift spring on a stock strut.

[CDN_S4]

Thanks. Yeah I have spacers front and back. Figured I need new springs up front. I was suprised to see that the OME springs were a tad shorter than the original, and don't appear much thicker either. But they are stiffer. Here is the final product, 2" spacer plus 1.75" coil lift with extended Bilstein shocks.

 

 

 

 

My front seems so low now.

 

 

It will balance out a bit more when I put the tire carrier back on it tomorrow.

[CDN_S4]

Found some Festoon LED bulbs I had laying around so with a little bit of convincing I made them fit. Also took off the seat cover and used only the molle back part as trunk organizer.

 

 

 

Tow strap/kit, first aid, axe, maglite, straps, and some random emergency equipment. First aid bag is not strapped down for quick grab and run.

[hawairish]

Looks good man. Good use of space for utility, too.

[CDN_S4]

Thanks. I like it a lot better than having had it on the driver seat.

Since I installed the the new springs though I am getting the weirdest rattle coming from the rear driver side door it seems. And it sounds like glass on metal. I can't seem to source it as when I try to shake the door itself, if makes no sound. Also climbed up on the tire and shook it and again no sound. Only when I'm actually driving it. It has me stumped right now.

 

As far as the OME springs go, they feel great, not too stiff and not soft. Stiff almost seems to give the wrong impression, I would sooner say they feel stronger. Definitely upper my load capacity quite a bit as they hardly even seemed to budge when I put the carrier back on. Got some rake now so I'll have to focus on raising the front. However my main effort is to get a new front bumper made. I'm leaning towards a more tubular design, nothing too bulky as that is exatly what I hate about the face lifted R50. It reminds me too much of a Hyundai Santa Fe when I see them in oncoming traffic.

 

 

This is along the lines of what I have in mind.

 

[hawairish]

I think I have that exact same rattle! Mine's also coming from that same area, and didn't happen until I changed shocks. I think mine's the tailgate or the tailgate glass...both can be adjusted at the strikers. I'm gonna take a look at it today.

 

And the OMEs are great. I had to pull my rear OME shocks and went with some cheap Monroes for an F250...not a good pairing with the OME springs. Too harsh for my liking, but it was very comfortable before that. I bet it'll improve with some load though.

 

That tube bumper looks slick. I'd like something similar but there's too much junk hanging down that's normally covered by the plastic. It'd be like a nice bikini on a lady that needs some lady-scaping, if you catch my drift.

[CDN_S4]

Haha yes I get what you're saying. I already thought about that. Instead of leaving those areas open, I would add filler plates to cover the ugly parts. It's just to give an idea of what I'm after.

 

Well definitely let me know if you can identify that rattle. I can't seem to replicate it while stationary. If there is something in this world that can drive me nuts, it's unknown rattles lol.

[CDN_S4]

I'm also going to redesign the spare carrier. I'll actually build it into the bumper. Remove the jerry can holders, offset the tire carrier and set it next to the carriers. So really I'm building a rear bumper out of it. I just don't like how far it sticks out of the hitch.

[hawairish]

One thing I noticed in XPLORx's pics of those Calmini prototypes is that they rattle-canned a few areas to highlight their parts. On their front bumper, I noticed they blacked-out the washer fluid bottle. That's an option, too, I guess.

 

I hear you on the tire carrier. I have an idea for a carrier as well, though I may take an Xterra-like approach and only build a center section, while cutting the bumper cover to create end caps. This has been my inspiration:

 

 

Full thread at ExPo: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/6760-Casper-s-Xterra-Build?p=419803#post419803

[CDN_S4]

Yes that's an awesome idea too, seen a couple like that. Only thing is you have to undo both swing outs each time you want to open the trunk. That's the only downside I see to those. I already use my rear window as trunk access as much as possible to avoid swigging out the carrier each time.

 

I sketched around a big tonight with some ideas, pretty hard to put thoughts to paper lol but this is what came out. Nothing is to scale either, these are just idea sketches.

 

[hawairish]

No luck on the rattle.

 

That's the nice part about your setup...you already have a solid bumper in that carrier. Are you integrating that, or building new from scratch?

 

As for the dual swing, it's actually not so bad. I plan to use tailgate struts to assist with opening, and holding open, both swings. I'm not a huge fan of the single long arms because they need a wide radius, and because of the leverage. Yours is ideal because the arm is already shorter.

 

I've been talking with duke90 about the idea for a while, and he sent me a link that I hadn't seen before that was almost exactly what I was thinking:

 

 

The creator of that bumper did an awesome job in real life (and his blueprints...check the last pages of the EDDMS...pdf at https://sites.google.com/site/r50projects4free/home). That center plate with the blue object...that's a padlock that prevents the plate from rotating. He can rotate the plate clockwise 90° to open the right swing, or counter-clockwise 90° to open the left swing. A simple right-then-left twist opens both gates. His design doesn't replace the factory bumper, but bolts using the hitch mounting bolts. He can also open his rear window.

 

I would take a slightly different approach and have one arm secure the other arm (via overlocking tab or something) and then would only need to latch one arm. (And in some other pipe dream, I'll tie them in electromechanically so that if I pull the tailgate handle when the truck is unlocked, it'll release the swing arms...probably into my knees...or my blueberries.)

 

[CDN_S4]

Nice designs!!

 

Still no luck on this noise. I would describe it as something loose inside the door that knocks side to side. But when I shake the door by itself it's completely solid.

 

While I was changing the springs, I noticed this line here, and when I pulled on it it came out of the frame, seemingly sitting in there not attached to anything. What is it?!

 

[hawairish]

My noise is more like a thin piece of metal scraping on metal...like those pressure clips that hold the trim in...but none of my trim is loose.

 

Looks like an extended diff breather tube. Not a bad find! Normally it's a stubby, loose metal cap on a barb with a hex fitting that rises maybe an inch off the pumpkin. Lets the diff breathe, keeps water out. Just put the open end of the hose as high up on the unibody as it'll reach and secure it. It was probably just tucked in wherever it would hold firm.

Edited February 9, 2015 by hawairish

[CDN_S4]

Phew ...that's good news then, I was afraid it was going to bad news as usually a hose not connected to anything isn't usually good.

 

I also had a bunch of water slushing around in the resonator as I was shaking it to see if the noise was coming from there. Thought that was weird since I haven't been using AC at all.

[Beatup96]

When you run the defroster , I always thought it worked along with the AC system so that dry air would hit the windshield ?

[hawairish]

Phew ...that's good news then, I was afraid it was going to bad news as usually a hose not connected to anything isn't usually good.

 

I also had a bunch of water slushing around in the resonator as I was shaking it to see if the noise was coming from there. Thought that was weird since I haven't been using AC at all.

 

What resonator? Not sure anything should be trapping condensation, except maybe the EVAP canister behind the driver's rear tire (though it should drain out). Is that what you're talking about?

 

When you run the defroster , I always thought it worked along with the AC system so that dry air would hit the windshield ?

 

Yep, the front windshield defrost mode will run the AC compressor, even if the AC light (if one) isn't lit.

[01Pathmaker]

Haw is correct, that hose is the breather for the rear axle, though it shouldn't be open ended. It should have a breather cap on it and it was run up inside a "crossmember" of the unibody, I'll look tomorrow when I'm under one of mine to see what it's held in with.

When you say water it trapped in the resonator, am I correct in assuming you're talking about the one at the tail end of the exhaust? 1)There shouldn't be any water trapped in there. There should be a drain hole in the lowest area of the case on either the front or rear face (flat sides that pipes go in/out of), might be clogged. 2)Running the ac or defrost will not cause added moisture in the exhaust, there is a condensation drain tube that runs down the firewall and exits inboard of the framerail behind the right front tire.

[CDN_S4]

Haw is correct, that hose is the breather for the rear axle, though it shouldn't be open ended. It should have a breather cap on it and it was run up inside a "crossmember" of the unibody, I'll look tomorrow when I'm under one of mine to see what it's held in with.

When you say water it trapped in the resonator, am I correct in assuming you're talking about the one at the tail end of the exhaust? 1)There shouldn't be any water trapped in there. There should be a drain hole in the lowest area of the case on either the front or rear face (flat sides that pipes go in/out of), might be clogged. 2)Running the ac or defrost will not cause added moisture in the exhaust, there is a condensation drain tube that runs down the firewall and exits inboard of the framerail behind the right front tire.

 

Thanks for that info. Yeah the hose was held on by a zap strap and then the open end was tucked into the unibody frame. I put it back that way after I disconnected it to drop my axle to replace the springs.

 

As for the water, yes, the rear resonator. It might be helpful to know that I chopped the tail end of the exhaust pipe (post resonator) off as it was pointed at my bumper and was melting it. The stubby end might have allowed water to get in. The make is Quiet Flow and I didn't see any drain holes, so I made one lol. The water that poured out was very clean, which I found odd. I expected it to be rusty, brown or even black. Not crystal clear.

 

Still can't ID the source of the rattle. I've asked the wife to drive it tomorrow so I can try to pin point its source. I might try to take a video of it tomorrow, maybe someone has dealt with this before.