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When I did OME springs in the rear and the 1.5" spacers I never did unhook anything but the top shock mount. I just compressed the springs for removal and installation and pushed the diff down with my fore arms and re-installed. Lucky you had help! It took me a good 8hrs to lift my truck front and back by myself. But I was doing new front springs, struts, manual hubs and end links. My rears were the OME 2922's

 

I've enjoyed reading your thread. Glad to see you doing your own wrenching. Your stance is perfect. Too bad when you do the springs everything is going to get thrown off!! I actually lifted the front and did the OME in the rear. Drove it around up in the front and let it all settle then measured to give me .5" of rake in the back. And ended up adding 1.5" spacers. I am picky with my stance. I actually had 1/4" more on the passenger side due to bottom mounting the spacers and them hitting on a factory weld.... Going to have to clearance that soon.

 

Keep up the good work.

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When I did OME springs in the rear and the 1.5" spacers I never did unhook anything but the top shock mount. I just compressed the springs for removal and installation and pushed the diff down with my fore arms and re-installed. Lucky you had help! It took me a good 8hrs to lift my truck front and back by myself. But I was doing new front springs, struts, manual hubs and end links. My rears were the OME 2922's

 

I've enjoyed reading your thread. Glad to see you doing your own wrenching. Your stance is perfect. Too bad when you do the springs everything is going to get thrown off!! I actually lifted the front and did the OME in the rear. Drove it around up in the front and let it all settle then measured to give me .5" of rake in the back. And ended up adding 1.5" spacers. I am picky with my stance. I actually had 1/4" more on the passenger side due to bottom mounting the spacers and them hitting on a factory weld.... Going to have to clearance that soon.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

From what I could find on the internet, the 2610's are the heavy duty option, which is exactly what I was looking for. I would have gotten the 2922's if I had not found these. And yes, I am very lucky I had help! :laugh:​ I couldn't imagine doing that alone, especially with how much of a learning experience it was.

 

I'm not too worried about the stance, as I eventually plan to add OME springs in the front as well to bring it back to a more level setup.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

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That moment when you type up a nice long post and then it doesn't post right and you have to start over. :suicide:

I tried to install my new Old Man Emu coils and ran into multiple problems. The first is that the spring compressor I rented wasn't big enough to work with these beefy new coils. Seeing how big these new coils are, I don't think I'm comfortable using a compressor on them anyways. On this thread (http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/42249-changing-rear-springsshocks/) hawairish showed (although vaguely) how he was able to change coils without a compressor. I tried to do this, but ran into an issue with my brake lines. They are not long enough to allow that much movement.

 

What are my options in regards to longer brake lines? I would like to go with a braided stainless steel option, like this (http://www.4x4parts.com/i-18915974-extended-brake-lines.html). However, I have a couple of problems with this product. The first is that it says it's for 1996-99.5 Pathfinders, while mine's a 2002. Despite this, is there any reason these wouldn't work? The other issue is that I don't exactly want to spend that much right now, I'd rather just do the rear line for now. Is this a generic part that a local shop could get for me, or do I need to get R50-specific ones?

 

Also, if anyone (or hawairish) could give more detail as to how to put new coils in without a compressor, that would be really great. And FYI, I'm planning on only putting the OME coils in with 1 spacer, as supposedly the OME coils I purchased will give 1.75 inches of lift, which will be plenty of rake for me with another inch of spacer.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

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Apparently I did not take as many pictures as I remember taking but...

(Rear sway bar removed completely already)

I backed mine up on ramps (Metal or plastic whatever),

jacked up a little more (floor jack) and used jack stands at the rear jack points right in front of the trailing arms,

removed the wheel and then the ramp (on the side I was working),

Lowered (via floor jack) axle to shock extension,

disconnected shock, and lowered until very near brake line max.

At this point, I was able to remove the spring with little effort and replace.

 

My first replacement was for the OME lift springs which were oddly shorter than the factory ones, but with more coils.

Later, I went back and did the same thing to add Fleurys 1.5" spacers.

 

Same process when I installed the spacers, but I staggered the ramps, front right and rear left when I did the rear right spring/spacers, opposite for other.

 

Spring only examples:

20367755724_6c65e0610e_z.jpg

20369313113_77eea4a89b_z.jpg

20980528632_6f55a94049_z.jpg 20997883081_4cd0e5be36_z.jpg

 

When doing spacers - notice the ramps opposing side - help twist entire vehicle and rear axle more - helped me:

21264384865_681f919811_h.jpg

front view:

21238122316_02440ea54d_h.jpg

 

Put my spacers on the top, then swapped them to the bottom. Either/both work. Prefer the bottom.

21272442601_1ea3b018bb_h.jpg

 

Yes, I painted mine, they hold paint - unless impacted, then it chips off - just liked the darker look - not the white sticking out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I can give you all the information you need...always feel free to ask.

 

I added a reply to the post you referenced with better/detailed instructions. I omitted one (important) note previously: you need 4, not 2, jack stands, to accomplish this. One set is used to lift/support the rear chassis, and another set is used to pivot the axle. You'll need the chassis up get weight off the springs.

 

The procedure is what I've did on my Wrangler (front and rear axle), on my truck several times (most recently to just test fit 4Runner springs), and when installing OMEs and spacers on my buddy's R50. Again, have never needed spring compressors.

 

For longer brake lines, see my post here: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/40487-ac-2-lift-shock-options/?p=758898. There are cheaper options; I chose Centric because they were cool enough to provide detailed specs. These obviously aren't stainless steel, but I can assure you they work just fine.

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In response to pepperjack26, those ramps are a good idea! I don't have any, but I do know someone who does, so I may borrow them if I can't get my hands on more jack stands, as I only have access to 2 of those right now. Also, those spacers look much better painted-I may have to do the same to mine!

Now in response to hawairish, your technique is probably the one I'll use if I can get my hands on some more jack stands, so I guess we'll see how that goes. Which generation Frontier are the brake lines you used from, if you know? It seems like since this is just a stock part for another vehicle that I could just pick it up from a local auto parts store.

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1st Gen Frontier/Xterra, but really any non-Pathfinder from 1987-2004 according to RA for that Centric p/n.

 

Though, I'd be surprised if you could find something locally (or even cheaper than RA+shipping). I stopped believing local parts stores stocked Nissan parts long ago, but that's just me. :/

 

Maybe if you can't find a suitable Nissan set, it wouldn't surprise me if you had better luck finding something for a Toyota, as long as it uses the same M10x1.0 fittings. But again, I can confirm the Centric lines work. I even have the specs on them if you think it'll help.

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I got a rear brake hose for a D22 Frontier from one of my local Auto Zones. It was about $11 and is 20 inches long, perfect! Now I have to decide if I want to mess with brakes myself, or have someone else do it. I don't want to spend the money, but I also don't want to end up with an undrivable vehicle....

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Well, I'm surprised, that was easy. :lmao:

 

If you've ever worked on brakes, swapping that hose is a breeze, then just have to bleed the brakes. You can do all that without even taking the tires off.

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Well, to be fair I have a lot of local auto parts stores! And that was the only one any of them had. Lucky me!

 

The most brake work I've done on this vehicle is checking the fluid level once, and that was just because. Other than that I've helped my dad change pads on other cars before, but that's it - never messed with fluid before. I guess this is another instance where I'll need fatherly guidance! I will probably do this at the same time that I do the coils, as long as I'm back there and it needs to be done anyways.

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So here's the stuff I got:

 

IMG_20160819_204059_zpsldcx2ks1.jpg

 

Also, I decide to hose off the chassis since it was dirty...which lead to me 'accidentally' washing the entire thing. :laugh: The stuff that happens when the other option is to work on college applications. :/

 

IMG_20160819_202652_zpsfqpnn8k8.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

So those of you who said the Old Man Emu part #2610 was not the correct part for our trucks, I can't say you're wrong! I had to bring my QX4 to a shop to have them installed, where we discovered that they give about 6" of lift - way too much for me! Other than that, they fit perfectly on the spring perches. I had them cut 4" off of them both, giving me still tons of rake, but hopefully it will come down to a more reasonable level after the springs get worn in a little bit.

 

IMG_20160901_142530_zpssdlhaooz.jpg

 

If you're willing to do some mods to the springs/have a very lifted Pathfinder, these are a great option to get heavy duty rear coils. I'll keep you guys updated on how they do as they break in. Also, I'll measure how much it drops with my dad in the trunk again when he gets home from work, so that I can compare with the 'before' measurements.

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So now that I've driven it a little bit, I think it's too stiff for me. With stock coils the suspension compressed 1" with my 200# dad sitting in the trunk over the axle. With these OME coils installed it compressed 1/8 of an inch...yeah, it's stiff. I'm already a lot of money into it, but I think my best move will be to eat the loss and install OME medium duty coils.

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Yeah, I can't imagine those being a comfortable ride considering they're almost 4x the spring rate of OE coils, not to mention for an IRS. But, if you can find an extra 400lbs of cargo, I bet it'll be pretty good in all honesty. Of course, that's not an ideal scenario.

 

Don't forget you've got a fellow NPORA'r who's selling a set of new coils for quite a bargain...check the For Sale section.

Edited by hawairish
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Yeah, I can't imagine those being a comfortable ride considering they're almost 4x the spring rate of OE coils, not to mention for an IRS. But, if you can find an extra 400lbs of cargo, I bet it'll be pretty good in all honesty. Of course, that's not an ideal scenario.

 

Don't forget you've got a fellow NPORA'r who's selling a set of new coils for quite a bargain...check the For Sale section.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I'll be sure to check the For Sale section! I toyed with the idea of throwing a bunch of bags of sand in the back, but I would rather just build the truck right. Maybe I'll do that in the meantime, as it looks like my local Home Depot is selling 50lb bags for $4. I bet it would ride a lot better with a big heavy steel bumper and tire carrier! Maybe this thread will see this springs again in the future, after I have some nice bumpers and am ready for an SFD.

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Just ordered these:

 

http://www.4x4parts.com/i-18981486-pathfinder-medium-duty-rear-coils.html

 

Which should have been what I ordered to begin with rather than fussing around looking for a stiffer option, which is more than I need and rides poorly. Oh well, now I have spare ridiculously beefy coils laying around. You know, just in case. I will probably pair these medium-duty coils with both rear lift spacers to give me a little bit of rake. Hopefully this is the last time messing with rear coils until the inevitable SFD later down the road (or is it trail?).

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Good news and bad news; again. The good news is that the better OME coils will be arriving on Friday, and will hopefully be installed the following day! The bad news is that my outer passenger-side CV boot clamp came undone again, resulting in a lot of mess. :/ Luckily the CV doesn't seems to be damaged, so it is being repaired, this time at a shop in hopes to have the job done better than before.

 

There is another issue that I've noticed for a few months (I think it started about when I installed the lift) which involves a noise and a bump coming from the front end. When going through a long turn at full lock (such as when turning around in a driveway) at a later point through the turn there will be a hard clicking noise, only one, and the part that particularly worries me is that you can feel it. I think it could be some CV bind, but then why would it do this so infrequently, and not continually through the entire full-lock turn? Whatever it is, I have noticed no other ill effects, however I have been trying to avoid especially sharp turning maneuvers.

 

Oh, more bad news, school has started! :thumbsdown: This means I have less time to mess around with the QX4, so mods over the next 9 months will be anything but major; I think the biggest things I might do will be Warn hubs and Bilstein shocks; no major disassembly, as having to arrange a ride to school is a pain.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I've had the OME Medium Duty coils installed for about 3 weeks now, and they've been great! :jig: They ride similar to stock, however they do this while also making the rear end feel tighter (which is excellent!). Also, I now have about 3.5 inches over stock in the rear, meaning that these coils are about 1.5 inches taller than the old ones and the same in rake, exactly what I expected! With this much rear lift, should I be looking into a panhard drop bracket? At this point I'm going to stop messing with the suspension, as I actually quite like where it's at. Of course some day I'm going to have to dig back in to do the front coils and struts and the rear shocks, but it's fine...for now. I hope to have one of my dad's co-workers help me fab a skidplate for the front end fairly soon. I am also hoping to be able to make some kind of a custom missing link, maybe even this upcoming weekend. I was just re-reading CDN_S4's build thread and was inspired when I saw his. It appears to be exactly 1.75 inches wide and a smear under 2 feet long, so that's convenient. Will just a flat piece of steel with a hole at either end work fine, or should I use square tube? How thick do I want, 1/4"? Material suggestions?

 

Once that's been done, I don't know what I want to do next! Here's the options I'm currently considering:

 

Warn hubs (winter is coming up soon, so they'll probably stay locked for the next 6 months, so maybe wait 'til spring?)

Custom front bumper (a little pricey, but might be worth looking into, especially since the side that's taken the most hits has lost a lot of mounting hardware)

Junkyard stuff (replace sat nav with basic climate control system, maybe rear tire carrier, WD21 transfer skidplate and whatever other cool stuff I can find)

CB radio (but which one?)

 

Looks like I have another question packed post, sorry guys! :blush: I just want to make sure I'm making the right decisions with my R50.

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Here's some pics from the outing last weekend. It was an event called Wheelin' for a Cure that essentially was meant to be a fun and creative way to raise money for a camp called Special Days Camp for kids with cancer. If you'd like to read more about it, I did a pretty lengthy bit of typing on one of my Instagram posts about it (find me @mjotrainbrain). Now on to the pics!

 

Staging with the first group to head out. Think the RC (my other hobby) can keep up? :laugh:

 

IMG_20160924_082514_zpsrjto32ai.jpg

 

Another picture of the group before heading out. There were a ton of vehicles in attendance! I had the only Infiniti and there was only 2 Toyotas and a Hummer, everything else was a Jeep! Being unique is nice.

 

IMG_20160924_082518_zpshzlusma7.jpg

 

The trails were overall pretty easy (used 2wd all day) but it was still a lot of fun and there were a couple spots where the suspension got a work out due to lots of deep holes. There were also a couple long sandy hill climbs that involved some wheel-spin, but not enough to justify 4wd. Besides, spinning all the way up a hill can be fun!

 

IMG_20160924_100528_zps5fmjfi67.jpg

 

This was our lunch stop. All of the people parked on that side from the Tacoma at the far end (can't really see it) through my Infiniti plus a red JKU parked elsewhere were in group 1. I was a little out-trucked, but I kept up just fine, and in extreme comfort by comparison! :happy:

 

IMG_20160924_120340_zpstjfgkio2.jpg

 

 

Edited by mjotrainbrain
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  • 1 month later...

Again, it's been a while, but not a ton has happened. All that's really changed is I fixed everything that was broken when I bought it with some parts from junkyard R50's and added a Curt roofrack and extension, that so far only has a shovel mounted to it. Not sure what mod I want to get next, what do you guys think?

 

IMG_20161104_173413_zpsetsvve2k.jpg

 

And just to start planning ahead for when I eventually get new wheels, would anybody be interested in 5 Infiniti tri-spoke wheels with some damage to the chrome?

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