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PathyGig12’s Build Thread


PathyGig12
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3 hours ago, spicyheckboi said:

Lmao same!! I have pads and rotors in a box in my room with a cb radio waiting to go I just need to get the bearings, I just came home and the rears started to squeek now ugh

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Oh man, the rears are going now too?

 

I was considering doing my rears at the same time, but I can’t figure out what to buy? Are there two bearings per wheel like the front? Also a little bit scared of the drum brakes because I have no experience there. 
 

speaking of drums, I’ve been trying to figure out why my brakes seem to be less effective than they used to be. It’s either a problem with the brake booster or the drums I think. I just chalked it up to the larger tires and all the weight, but there is a distinct hissing when you press the pedal hard and quite a bit of travel before they really start biting

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Oh man, the rears are going now too?
 
I was considering doing my rears at the same time, but I can’t figure out what to buy? Are there two bearings per wheel like the front? Also a little bit scared of the drum brakes because I have no experience there. 
 
speaking of drums, I’ve been trying to figure out why my brakes seem to be less effective than they used to be. It’s either a problem with the brake booster or the drums I think. I just chalked it up to the larger tires and all the weight, but there is a distinct hissing when you press the pedal hard and quite a bit of travel before they really start biting
Sadly they're on the way out too, and the rear wheel bearings are one that looks a little more like a can of soup if I remember right , while the front do a sandwhich of two bearings per side inner and outter.
The brake issue for you- do you have manual locking hubs in the front? It made a huge difference in braking after I had those on because of the less rolling resistance they provide. But also I think there's a cylinder for the rear too i thought I saw online when I was looking at rear drum kits for us

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Just ordered the bearings, races and wheel seals. Hopefully I’ll get everything done along with the new rotors by the end of next week
 
Lmao you'll definitely get done before me


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I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s something else. It’s weird that the vibration is only at higher speeds. Seems like a bearings issue would be noticeable at all speeds. 

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I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s something else. It’s weird that the vibration is only at higher speeds. Seems like a bearings issue would be noticeable at all speeds. 
I can't say that thought hasn't come across my head too. Do you also have manual hubs up front?

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1 hour ago, spicyheckboi said:

I can't say that thought hasn't come across my head too. Do you also have manual hubs up front?

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Yup, warn manual hubs in the front.

 

Any way they could be involved?

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I don't think there is any way the hubs themselves. But you are running them in free mode right so you know it isn't the front drivetrain, and 4wd is off too.

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I don't think there is any way the hubs themselves. But you are running them in free mode right so you know it isn't the front drivetrain, and 4wd is off too.

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Exactly

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Last night I finished swapping out the hinge pin on the tire carrier with the new one, and it worked out great. Much stronger, no wobble, and very smooth. Had to fabricate quite a few pieces to get it where I need it, but it clears the hatch and sits level and also corrected the backward lean of the tire that was present before. Very happy with it, just needs to be painted now. And I won’t post pics until it’s painted lol

LkHnomR.jpg
Ive also got the coastal off-road kit sitting in the garage, the old brush guard is off the truck now, just waiting to dig into the front end this week. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me, but I’m figuring at least a few days 

vZl3wGu.jpg

 

Then I’ll do the bearings on Saturday I think 

Edited by PathyGig12
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Just did the bearings last night, and so far the issues has changed slightly but not gone away. Now it’s not quite the same sound as before, it’s shorter and faster repetitions of the vibration rather than longer buzzing pulses. 
 

I ended up not needing to do the races because they weren’t scored or damaged at all, but the old bearings did seem a bit loose so I’m glad I swapped them out. I’m thinking maybe I didn’t tighten things down enough? I followed the recommendations online to preload them with 60 ft lbs, and then loosen and hand tighten as far as possible, with a little bit more after that (1/4 turn). Any more than that and they seemed to be slowing the rotation too much, and the holes also wouldn’t line up with the screw holes in the outer plate. So I don’t know at this point. 
 

I also swapped out the rotors and that didn’t fix it either

 

Im not 100% sure, but I think when I had the hubs locked and the truck in AUTO mode the vibration didn’t happen, or at least wasn’t as noticeable. I’ll check again today, could have just gotten drowned out by the sound of the water and slush on the road 

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I missed that you have an auto mode transfer case (dial not shift lever).

Some people have not had issues with unlocked hubs and auto transfer case, others have.

The auto mode system probably thinks you are experiencing slip, so engages the front drivetrain. With the front drivetrain unloaded from rolling resistance and rotating it isn't surprising it makes weird noise. I'm surprised it hasn't freaked out that the front wheels still aren't turning.

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And to clarify with the hubs in locked position, they act just like factory drive flanges, so the whole system is operating as designed.

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7 hours ago, colinnwn said:

I missed that you have an auto mode transfer case (dial not shift lever).

Some people have not had issues with unlocked hubs and auto transfer case, others have.

The auto mode system probably thinks you are experiencing slip, so engages the front drivetrain. With the front drivetrain unloaded from rolling resistance and rotating it isn't surprising it makes weird noise. I'm surprised it hasn't freaked out that the front wheels still aren't turning.

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Well the only thing is that the auto mode isn’t engaged when the hubs are unlocked. I have it 2WD mode because that’s the only accessible one. 
 

I can’t see how the system could send any power to the front if I’m not in Auto mode? The auto mode is the one where it is capable of detecting slippage, but in 2WD it doesn’t 

Edited by PathyGig12
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Bumper is on. Loving it so far, massive upgrade over the brush guard. Just waiting till Monday to add the tubing over the grill and headlights. The steel shop is closed over the weekend. 
 

Then I also need to find a good mounting point for the fogs h0Mvcv8.jpgP6yhrlU.jpg

Took her on a trip to the mountains today

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Does anyone know if there are any trails near denver that are open and passable right now? I’m trying to do some winter camping this weekend and I’d like to wheel a bit on the way there. Snow that’s a bit deep isn’t an issue, but super deep stuff and icy rock are what I’m worried about. 
 

 

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Tubing just arrived, so I’ll see what I can do with it tonight. A few days ago I spent some time playing around with random scrap steel to get a decent format and work out the necessary dimensions, and I’ve left it on until now so I could have a map for when the finalized piece goes on. 
 

After that’s done I’ll start working out a plan for a new roof basket. I also ordered a smittybilt air compressor so I’ll be able to have onboard air. Not sure yet if I want to hardwire it and give it a permanent spot on the rig. 

 

I tried to hit the Balanced Rock Road today to get to a camping spot, but we ran into a closed gate on the way there. Im guessing it was due to the recent snow, even though it was less than 6 inches deep. Oh well, we ended up just stopping and hiking a random trail with our new furry friend. We’ll save the wheeling and camping for later in the spring

 

lKX9W75.jpg

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1eF4yZc.jpgkl7OS6X.jpg

 

Came out pretty great. Needs a few little things like caps for the open ends, maybe some extra support in the center. I used 3/8ths bar stock for the center uprights so it should be strong enough. I also did the tubing on the outside of the bumper so that it would have more surface area in contact to make it stronger and so that it would protect the fog lights as well. And I made sure to go wide enough on the corners to keep the original turn signals visible from the front but not too wide that it sticks out excessively. The headlight sections more or less follow the angles of the bumper 

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cgk0jQe.jpgiSrJbkD.jpg

 

Finally found an open trail and a place to camp. It’s called “Matchless”, and the camping area is called “Gordon gulch” if anyone is interested. Entirely passable despite some snow and deep ruts, but we didn’t drive the whole loop, just went until we found a good site

 

Shes definitely not the cleanest rig, I’m sure a lot of people might even say shes ugly. Couldn’t care less. Everything was built with a purpose and not much time was spent on polishing. I didn’t bother with making the rear bumper look pretty, just like I didn’t bother making the tubing in the front look like a factory option. The rear can be used for towing, and holding up the tire carrier, and the front can deflect branches on the trail, and offer recovery points that otherwise weren’t available. That’s all I need them to do.
 

Im very happy with both the looks and functionality at this point. Shes not an Instagram overlander, shes here to take me to cool places and allow me to do cool @!*%. At 280,000 miles, she’s already done her fair share, but unlike some other brands she is still capable of much more. I enjoy sharing things on this site and participating in the community because we all love wheeling our pathfinders and this place has the best info in the world when it comes to this platform. 

 

Next up is the front Lokka and roof basket. The basket is already on the way, I just need to wait till things settle down with the whole pandemic thing before I go dropping cash on the lokka 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Roof basket just went on. I also relocated the LED pods to the back so that they would work better, and I’m debating moving the main light bar so that it’s mounted to the rack itself rather than leaving it in front of the rack on the OEM crossbar. I’ll probably get to it eventually but it’s not a priority. First I need to finish hiding the LED pod wires properly and find a cleaner solution for mounting the tools. 

 

eFXU16f.jpg
 


I also ordered some generic eBay traction boards and a set of the 9449 springs because the extra weight in the back has basically negated my lift at this point. Hopefully the extra stiffness will help. Once I have the cash, I’ll spring for some bilsteins to compete the rear

 

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Now for the bad news. So far I’ve still had no luck fixing the vibration issue 
 

I’ve narrowed it down to the 4 wheel drive system or front drivetrain because it changes depending on a bunch of things so I know it can’t be bearings or tires. Sometimes it will be completely smooth at all speeds, but I can’t find any particular method of achieving this on purpose, it just seems to happen sometimes when I’ve been on the freeway for a while. With the hubs unlocked, sometimes it becomes smooth after 5 minutes above 80mph, but sometimes it doesn’t. With the hubs LOCKED sometimes it’s smooth in auto, and sometimes it’s smooth in 2wd but never both. There is always vibration in 4wd though, so maybe it’s a U-joint in the front drivetrain? Or something in the transfer case or diff maybe? 
 

Another weird thing is that I got incredibly good gas mileage on my way through the mountains with the hubs LOCKED rather than UNLOCKED, which makes no sense. For anyone who knows I-70, I didn’t even use 1/16th of a tank from Georgetown to denver doing 60-70 the whole way, which normally takes closer to 1/4 tank. Left me baffled.

 

So yeah, my best guess is that my trucks 4WD system is flipping out for some reason with the manual hubs. At one point i had been driving on the highway for a few hours with the hubs unlocked and it started snowing so I got out and locked the hubs. Then I tried to flip it into 4H and the “4WD” light was flashing on the dash and I had lots of vibration and it seemed to be down on power, but when I shut the truck off and then turned it back on, I was able to use 4H with no issues at all and the power was back. Almost like it had reset something 

 

If anyone knows more about the mechanics and logic of the 4WD system, please let me know what might be happening here because the vibration has me worried that something is being worn down and will eventually fail

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, davydavidoff said:

What did you go with for the roof basket? Looking to add one with the stock crossbars, and would hate to order one that doesn't fit right. 


 

This is the roof basket I went with, just a basic cheap eBay one. One thing worth mentioning is that I don’t know if this rack will fit on top of the OEM crossbars. I removed the rear crossbar so that the rack could be mounted flush to the roof. The front crossbar I was able to keep on there by pushing it all the way forward 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/64-Roof-Rack-Cargo-Top-Luggage-Holder-Carrier-Basket-with-Extension-Travel/192058630233?pageci=2f26b205-d21d-4c26-8daa-3e5ac4eb4189&epid=2113517269

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So I got tired of the “unfinished” look on the rear and ended up cutting the stock bumper cover to fit over the new bumper and tire carrier. Then I went and painted it charcoal metallic along with the fender flares. I think it came out pretty nice overall. The bumper could use a little more refinement to the cut outs, but it’s getting there. 
 

I haven’t managed to swap in the 9449s yet, which is a bummer. I gave it a go in my garage but wasn’t able to get the frame high enough to give myself clearance for dropping the axle, so I decided to wait until I have access to a two post lift again. In the mean time I’ll just lighten up the back to reduce sag lol.


HvsDISs.jpg

 

t2spN4T.jpg

 

Next I’ll be trying to figure out this vibration issue. I’ve narrowed it down to the front drive shaft, so I plan to take off the shaft entirely to see what happens, and if the vibration disappears then I’ll bring it to a drivetrain specialist to balance it and check run out and Ujoints

Edited by PathyGig12
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Don't remember if I asked before (may have been on a different thread), did you check the mounts for the front diff? Someone on here had those go bad and the diff would **** around when it was loaded, putting the U joint at a weird angle, which caused a vibration. If your bushings are completely flogged, the diff flopping around could explain the noise coming and going. Hopefully it's something like that rather than something going out in the transfer case. If you haven't yet, you might just do a drain/fill on that to see if it changes anything. It's a completely different beast of course, but the manual transfer in my '95 quit sticking in 4HI after I changed the fluid.

 

Looks better with the bumper shell back on!

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