Time to SAS Hawairish's truck

[hawairish]

I hit a mental roadblock for the last several weeks trying to figure out how I was going to support the engine.  This is one of those moments where it would've been awesome doing a swap on a framed trucked because the support likely would've remained 100% intact.

 

Instead, removing the subframe and trying to replicate the OE positions ends up being a massive pain.  There are just way too many constraints.  The left and right side mounts positions on the subframe aren't in symmetrical positions, and they're angled, and with the way the motor is slung up, it's impossible to know where the original position was to feel comfortable enough piecing something together while underneath.  I had spent some time early in the project mapping all the distances and angles off the subframe, but even after CADing their positions, it was still difficult figuring out how to place them on the truck.  Passenger chassis rail has too many parts around it to comfortably weld onto, and driver side, while wide open, has other design constraints I need to work around (like placement of the upper panhard mount).  And then on top of everything, just trying to keep things serviceable (like having the mount supports detachable to make replacing the motor mounts easier in the future, as opposed to fixed mounts on the chassis and trying to lift the engine 2"+ higher).

 

So, last Wednesday I had the day off and was staring at things again and just decided to chop up the subframe to see if I could use the arms off it, since it'd effectively retain all the OE positioning.  It seemed promising, and spent the weekend trying to make it work.

 

Basic plan (for now) was to lop off the front subframe mount and build a new plate to attach to the arm.  It also needed to incorporate the mount for a bumpstop (cheapies from GM applications).  The RH arm is basically done, but I wrapped the weekend by fitting it to the truck and haven't gotten more pics of it yet.

 

LH arm below, just to give an idea of the starting point.  I started on the RH side because it had less constraints.

 

 

New front mount in place and welded up.

 

 

 

Need to add a gusset in there above the bumpstop.

 

 

The little piece of metal between the arm and chassis rail is a disc with a tube sleeve welded on.  It'll get welded to the rail, and also in the wheel well so that I can put a bolt through it and tighten it against the rail for additional support.  I may add one more sleeve and bolt towards the rear, not sure yet.

 

Right now I've left the rear subframe mount alone, but am planning to replace with plate steel and add provisions for a crossmember (basically restoring a missing link).  It'll also add more support to the arms for the motor.

 

One major advantage of this approach will be on the driver's side.  The flat underside will give me real estate for the panhard mount.  Since the driver's side chassis rail will get a lot more plating for the steering box, it should make for a pretty solid mounting option.

 

 

[hawairish]

Hit a major milestone today: the engine supports are supporting the engine.  They're not done-done, but their function of supporting the engine is done.  Still need to make a panhard bracket for the LH side and such.

 

I'd been working on the chassis rail brace the other week, and got that all mounted and welded on...

 

 

 

 

 

That was going to be the end of it, but then I had an afterthought about adding another mounting provision to really try to beef that area up, since the PHB mount will be directly under the rear leg of the subframe cradle bolt.  Ended up like this...

 

 

 

 

 

Didn't get any pics of the supports after taking these, but was just jamming today.  Right now the axle and everything is back under the truck and lined up for the next round of work, which includes the transmission crossmember with radius arm mounts.

 

At some point, I spent some time looking for an OE radiator that had electric fans from some other car model that was similarly sized.  I can't believe how difficult that search has been.  Original plan was to just move the radiator over maybe 1/2", but it would also require heavy modification to the fan shroud to clear the steering gear box.  The best option I have is from a Cadillac CTS-V from nearly 20 years ago, but it uses a remote pressurized reservoir instead of a tradition reservoir and radiator cap, which means system changes I don't want to do.  Need to keep researching that, because I'm getting to the point where I can start putting the engine back together.

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

Looks hell for stout!

 

If you don't find a better candidate than the CTSV rad, something like this (rad neck that splices into the upper hose) would let you run it without the expansion tank.

[hawairish]

8 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Looks hell for stout!

 

If you don't find a better candidate than the CTSV rad, something like this (rad neck that splices into the upper hose) would let you run it without the expansion tank.

 

I hope so!  Haven't heard the sound of an engine hitting concrete, so that's a plus.  I still have the support bar in place just in case.

 

The filler neck is pretty novel, never seen something like that before.  Unfortunately, that particular style wouldn't work here because the hose itself is only about 2" longer than the piece I'd need, and the hose steps up, which means the cap wouldn't be the high point (I think that matters?).  But, great suggestion, I do appreciate!

 

But yeah, the radiator search has just been strangely difficult to even be in the ballpark.  Even the CTS-V isn't a perfect option...right width, inlet/outlet placement and size is spot on, but it's also about 3" shorter that stock, though thicker.  However...I'd like to think if it can cool a 6.0L 400hp car, it stands a good chance against the VQ.  I just don't like the pressurized bottle, and I definitely don't like that this particular radiator was only ever used in exactly one car that only existed 4 years.  Custom radiators are grossly out of the question due to cost, but even then, I can't even find anything that would work.  It's nuts.

 

Worst case, I keep what's stock and maybe see about having a custom shroud made for the mechanical fan.  Not sure yet.

[Slartibartfast]

Figures it can't be that easy!

 

Have you looked at universal/hot rod/racecar parts? I see Summit and Speedway (and I assume others) let you search for radiators by dimensions and inlet/outlet placement. I imagine most of their "universal" options are based on stock rads that you've already ruled out, and a lot of what I'm seeing there is stupid expensive, but they might give you a lead if nothing else.

 

The custom shroud may be the way to go. This guy made a pretty decent-looking fiberglass fan shroud from a T-shirt stretched over some plywood, and the e-fan shrouds I've seen look like they'd be pretty simple to fab from sheet metal.

[hawairish]

Yep, I spent a while browsing through Summit and Jegs. Their filters are somewhat useful, but that’s how I came across the CTS-V option, was looking for OE replacements and there were some options. 
 

Also found this odd site, size.name, that just a bunch of radiator specs and limited filters. Found a couple with useful sizes, except they were pretty much all for international vehicles or still used mechanical fans. One for a Terrano would have worked well, slightly narrower than R50. VG33 equipped trucks are similarly sized, but the outlet on the passenger side when I need it on the drivers side. 
 

The good news is that I did a little research on the “expansion tank” setup, and the CTS-V option may actually be viable now. Amazon has universal tanks and there’s should be enough space to mount above the steering box. The overflow I could actually spill into the OE reservoir, and I think I’d just need to tee-in a return line somewhere…and I think I’d have just the spot by the thermostat. Now it’s just a matter of pricing this out…RA wants $40 for a replacement fan wiring harness, and I’d need two of them. That’s not happening. 

[hawairish]

Killed a few minutes in the garage tonight, and fortunately I think the radiator conversation is moot now.  I like the idea of e-fans, but I went into it knowing it was just going to add complexity and cost.  The lack of good options makes it tough to pursue further.

 

The original plan was to just move the radiator over to the passenger side about 1/2" and keep everything otherwise stock.  At the time, it was hard to tell if that would actually work.  That's why getting those engine supports and chassis rail brace in was a big milestone, so I could get confirmation.  Looks like I only need to move it 3/8" so I was very close, and things are still pretty tight, but it looks doable.  Fan blades clear the shroud, which is probably the most important part.

 

Took a torch to the shroud to make some clearance.  In hindsight, I probably should've just used the heat gun or boiling water.  Looks like $h!t, and the plastic melted through a little, but I really just needed to get quick fitment confirmation.

 

 

I may just cut an opening, or rivet in an ABS patch, but this going to work.  I have some points where plastic will rub on metal, but I can trim that or live with it.

 

Regardless of the path I was going to take here, the radiator was going to be replaced.  It's actually nice to not have to put something else in.  The truck will already be a Frankenstein by the time the project's done.  I'm having to closely track where all the parts come from...Land Rover, GM, Jeep, Toyota, and even other Nissans.  In this case, I only wish there was some sort of radiator upgrade for the R50, but staying stock saves a few bucks and moving the mounts shouldn't be too difficult.

[hawairish]

Long time, no update!  Project has had its typical slow point the last several months.  Work and sports (youth & adult) took up a lot of that time, dealing with sports-related injuries, and AZ setting a new record of like 113 consecutive days over 100° or something...well, hard to get motivated to go outside, to say the least.  I think the only notable thing I did for the last few months was order a new radiator...still sitting in the box because I've not gotten to relocating the mounts for it yet, but I still have other engine things to do first anyway.

 

The past couple weeks I'd been figuring out how to mount the radius arms to the chassis.  Went through a couple designs and finally settled on something I really liked.  Got all the pieces cut out the other week and got them tacked together and temporarily mounted up.  Pretty huge step right there, because it allowed me to start working on the upper panhard bar mount (the lower mount was done a while ago).  Got all that tacked up, too, only to realize that the position wasn't going work and that it would need to be moved forward a little...meaning the lower mount will also have to be redone.

 

Then this week happened...and I finally had a super productive week!  I took the whole week off and also flew TownDawgR50 down from WA to help.  He'd thrown the idea out a while ago and I finally took him up on it.  He was only in town for 3 days, but it was great seeing him and jamming on the project.  We focused mainly on the radius arm mounts and crossmember, but also hammered out the corrected upper panhard mount.  He went to town welding up the brackets and steering links, freeing me up to CAD and cut out parts.

 

Pics!

 

Radius arm brackets welded up and bolted where the transmission crossmember existed.  The bolts are just for positioning; the entire bracket will be welded to the chassis rail.

 

 

A plate will also be welded to the inner rail with gussets.  The driver's side inner rail is free of lines and wires, but there's limited clearance below the cats, which is why everything had to be mounted below the rails.

 

 

Much more cat clearance on the passenger side, but with all the fuel and brake lines there, plus electrical and pneumatic lines I've added, there's very limited space to weld a plate on the inner rail.

 

 

Passenger mount showing how the transmission crossmember will attach...front wheel studs pressed into the bracket.

 

 

This how the crossmember started.  I chopped the OE one and built a bracket to put new mounting provisions on it.  On the driver's side, plan was to put a plate (shown) to extend the tubing rearward rather than try to build a hoop over the driveshaft (I prefer staying under so I don't have to remove it if I need to remove the crossmember).  For this setup, there'd be a 2" square tube (similar size as the center section of the OE unit) offset about 3" and it'd give me the clearance I'd need.

 

 

But then, I got to this point and didn't like my options on how to attach it to the other radius arm bracket because of all the little height differences involved.  So, I ditched that approach entirely and designed a whole new piece.

 

 

Worked on it today and just need to redo the center piece and trim up the ends on the inner supports, then tack it up and confirm fitment.

 

 

 

This took a bit of time to plan out and make the bends, but came out pretty damn good, if I may say so.  The driveshaft hoop portion is deliberately shaped to be narrower than the rest of the shape (1.5" vs. 1-7/8") to give just a little more clearance at the point closest to the driveshaft at full droop, but the base plate keeps a uniform width so it's still well protected and boxed in.  The big advantage to this is that it keeps my mounting surface flat and low profile, and just looks a helluva lot better.

 

Lastly, got the revised upper panhard mount done when TownDawg was here.

 

 

Since this piece is entirely bolt-on and uses the subframe mounting hardware, I needed to retain access to hole.  Moving the mount forward would block the hole, but I was able to box in a pocket to retain access.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, it's not looking like I'll be done by the end of December which is when my tags expire.  So, I'll be an outlaw for a while longer until I can get it rolling to get emissions done.  But with the recent work, it's that much closer to having the axle attached and in the final position...next step: coilover shopping.

 

[TowndawgR50]

This project is outstanding. Working with @hawairish and watching how he implements massive amounts of thorough engineering, design and consideration into his projects is incredibly inspiring. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to help with a small part of this project and I'm excited to see it in action next year!  

[hawairish]

I've been chipping away at things since @TowndawgR50 was in town...and am stoked he's coming back out right after Christmas for another session!

 

Major milestone today: finished welding the radius arm brackets to the chassis!  Didn't take time to get pics, but I will...though it looks a lot like the prior pics except with welds and painted black.

 

 

Crossmember got welded up and painted, too.  Turned out great.  I'm awaiting some exhaust gaskets before I can really button the center of the truck up, but it's nearly there.

 

After installing the LH subframe with the new panhard mount the other week, I realized the lower panhard mount was no longer in alignment with the upper now, so the lower got chopped off.  I welded the bracket together today on the bench, and planning to stick it to the axle tomorrow.  After that, still need to do the bumpstop pads, and figure out the coilover and limiting strap bracket, steering stabilizer, and sway bar brackets.  I have no clue how I'm going to get a sway bar in there...it won't be easy.

 

Towndawg machined down the wheel hubs to clear Tacoma/4R/FJC rotors the other month and I finally got around to mocking things up a little.  

 

 

 

The wheel stick-out is about as expected and desired.  1" wheel spacers installed, for now.

 

 

In hindsight, I should've requested leaving a little more meat on the hub face to help center of the rotor.  Centering rings will be required, but I couldn't find anything that adapts 3.5" hubs to the 108mm of the rotor and spacer.  So, going to have to get creative and modify some off-the-shelf rings to work.  For now, I can machine something out of ABS or wood when I'm getting closer to really diving into this.

 

It looks like there's tons of working space...

 

 

But then again...

 

 

 

I may need to get creative with the bracket for the calipers, however, the easiest way to mount the caliper is a simple tab/bracket welded directly to the spindle knuckle.  But, that tab/bracket would have to be 3/8" thick and welded to cast.  While my little buzz box has been great for 3/16" stuff, including welding to cast already, I just don't trust it for this job.  But, I know a guy!

 

Towndawg has also spent the last couple days jamming on the tone rings.  We were originally hoping another guy at his shop could crank them out on some super fancy multi-axis CNC mill, but his timing wasn't great.  So, we scaled the parts to something that could be done on another mill, and the results are beef.

 

 

The ring started as a CHUNK of plate steel, reduced down to a 5.5" OD x 3.75" ID x 0.75" ring, with the teeth going the full width to give me some wiggle room to mount the sensors.  The initial version weighed 3 lbs., though!  By comparison, the OE tone ring is about 4" OD x 0.4" and a 3 OUNCES.  End mills were destroyed in the making of these.  After some rethinking, we opted to take the teeth width down to 0.4", which got them down to about 1.5 lbs. each.  It'd be great to lighten them further, but for now it's probably best to prove the concept first.  I have yet to hold these puppies, but they look awesome.

 

 

Towndawg really is a master of his craft.

 

But anyway, brakes are still a little ways away in the project.

 

Next big step is figuring out the coilover and springs set up.  I think I'm decided on the coilovers, but need to figure out the spring rates and lengths to go with.  I need a way to weigh the new sprung weight of the front of the vehicle.  There are coil exchange programs where I could dial it in without first knowing the weight...but time, shipping costs, premiums on the coilovers and springs, and other risks make it really tough to go that route.  Most shops use Eibach springs at nearly $80 each (needing 4!) so I really hope to go with JEGS or Summit or house brands for closer to $35-$55/ea.  For now, I may just order up the coilovers and figure out the springs later.

[hawairish]

Another awesome session with @TowndawgR50 in town to help with the project!  A bit more brainstorming this time around than last time, but still super productive.  It was great to have him around for a few days!

 

He hand delivered the tone rings and we heated them up and dropped them onto the hubs.  They're chunky!

 

 

Old vs. new...

 

 

 

Slapped the hubs on the axle, and for the first time a very long time put the wheels on the axle so we could do some turning checks.

 

 

 

 

There's only so much we can simulate here, but mainly put the axle at full compression and just turned things back and forth as a starting point.  Things were looking great overall, and with very few constraints fortunately.  The panhard bar and drag link pairing is pretty solid.  The WJ gearbox seemed to allow for more right turn than left turn due to the angle of the pitman arm when in a straight-ahead position, so we needed to maximize whatever we could for left turns.  The bolt head for the upper panhard bushing was the most problematic item, since it would be struck by the tie rod on full compression and full right turn unless I limited turning with longer steering stops.  I absolutely did not want to redo the upper panhard mount.  We considered modifying the bolt head, but rather than shave it down, we lopped the head off, welded the rest of the bolt to a tear-drop shaped tab, and secured it with a countersunk screw to keep it from spinning when tightening it down.  Looks clean and freed up several degrees on the turn.

 

 

Next focus was the steering stabilizer and sway bar.  The steering stabilizer options aren't great, so no progress was made there.  We tossed a JK Wrangler sway bar under the truck and determined the only way to mount it would be behind the axle, but space is pretty tight.  We found one specific spot where it looks like it would work.  Towndawg got busy surgically cutting off the rear subframe pads (where the LCAs bolt to) and I got to designing something.  We came up with this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the only place I could make that work was to position the bar directly underneath the rearmost subframe bolt, so I'll need to find something a bit more low profile, but that shouldn't be a problem.  Not shown (or really, not built yet) is that there will also be a layer of plate between the subframe pads and that sway bar mounting brackets that'll provide some other functions, including spacing the bar away from the bolt head.  I will also have something resembling a missing link running parallel to the sway bar, which should also give me some provisions to do a skid plate for the transmission.  I incorporated a few mounting points on the subframe plates that will may also be used to build some armor below the oil pan.

 

The sway bar's elbows do consume some turning radius, but only at compression and full turn.  If that becomes problematic, there's a backup plan.  Also still coming up with some ideas for sway bar disconnects...I have a few ideas.  The easiest options are to just use off-the-shelf options for JK Wranglers, since I'll basically be mirroring that setup.  But, I'm holding out for a really special approach.

 

Also painted the chassis rails, but no pics.  Rattle can paint ended up being a pretty solid color match, so I'm happy with that.  The real takeaway about painting is that it means I'm finally done with that part, so I'm getting closer.

 

 

 

[hawairish]

Went down a rabbit hole last night to see what my options for sway bar end links looked like.  It went like this:

• These disconnect sway bar options kind of suck.
• Oh look, Google Ads.  There's a pneumatic kit that's somehow relevant.
• Oh neat, it converts the electric JK Rubicon sway bar disconnect system to pneumatic.  Interesting.
• There's even a kit to make it manually operated?  Cool, I guess that's convenient...but for $120?  Yeesh.
• Wait...how does a Rubicon sway bar even work?
• Wow, I can't believe how dumb Jeep owners are when it comes to repairing things like sway bars.
• Hey wait...I installed a JK non-Rubicon sway bar onto the truck.  So does that mean...?
• Damn, those pneumatic kits are $300 and the Rubicon sway bar seems to run around $500 used.  Scratch that idea.
• I see that one of those kits uses a $40 air cylinder I can buy from Grainger, of all places.  I could easily replicate that $300 kit for far less.
• Hmmm...there's a guy in town selling front and rear sway bars on FB Marketplace, and the front is from a Rubicon and already has the manual kit.  He only wants $200 for everything??
• It's 2AM but I'll message the guy anyway.

The guy lives 3 miles from my house, so I picked it up and got to fitting it.  I'm going to have a disconnecting sway bar from a Rubicon.

 

 

The bar has the same dimensions as the non-Rubicon one, just all the additional mechanically pieces.

 

 

 

Fitment is about as perfect as I can get it.

 

So, the way this works the sway bar is two parts with a coupler inside a housing.  A fork moves the coupler on or off the mating gears.  The ends links stay connected.

 

 

Normally there's a control module with an actuator that does the work, but when the part fails, you can't just buy a replacement module.  So, manual and air kits exist.  This is the manual kit.  Super simple...just turn the knob and it moves the fork over.

 

I'm just going to buy an air cylinder to replace the knob and bolt assembly to convert it to pneumatic operation.  I'll need to modify the plate a tiny amount, which saves me time making a new one.  Also need to make a rod to push the actuator.  It'll end up like this off-the-shelf unit.

 

 

 

The housing is normally held stationary by a rod and damper setup on one of the bushing brackets.  I just need to cut the rod off and relocate it.

All said, I'm stoked I'll have a setup like this.  A little pricey, but a very nice-to-have feature.

 

Also got some pics today doing a couple more turning clearance checks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pic above is where that flat panhard bolt pays off.  Now I can get both sides to have the same amount of turn.  Notably, this is only in play when the axle is all the way up like it is in the pic.  At ride height, this is not an issue.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Score! I wondered if the Jeep disco setup was what you were hinting about in the last post.

[hawairish]

39 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said:

Score! I wondered if the Jeep disco setup was what you were hinting about in the last post.

 

Actually, it wasn't even on the radar until that night.  I've thought about it in the past on a whim long before this project started, but that's about it.  I was just content getting that regular sway bar to work, and figured next steps were disconnect links.  Totally happy with this new direction.

[adamzan]

Wow, this is looking great! I think I've only ever seen 1 other SAS r50, and the amount of work to overcome what would be pretty simple if it were body on frame, is pretty impressive.

 

IDK if you ever found an upgraded radiator, but they do make all aluminum ones that bolt in now for the WD21 and WD22. This one "claims" it fits up to 04... I bought one for my 1995 as an upgrade after it was hit in front.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/355939610930

[hawairish]

Thanks!  It's definitely been a challenge being a unibody, but not too bad...in some ways, it's been great, actually.  Like being able to drop the subframe and everything's just ready to go.

 

No luck on upgraded radiators.  I spent a lot of time looking at potential units that might've opened up options for e-fans, or at least free up some space for the gear box.   The WD21/22 units were on the radar because they share all the port sizes and similar enough dimensions, but the bottom port is on the wrong side for me.  I settled on a OE-replacement CSF unit a few months ago, though.  I'm waiting on a fan bearing assembly before I replace the water pump in hopes it's the last thing I need to sort the mild overheating issues I was having previously.  Once that's addressed, I can start buttoning up the engine and then relocate the radiator.

[hawairish]

One year later and I'm basically back where I started and am deciding to go a different direction...

 

 

Just kidding.  But damn, it's been a year as of yesterday.  Year+ being a leap year, too.  Progress lately has been great, though.  If you didn't notice in the pic, the engine is now resting on the subframes as of last night.  Pretty big milestone.  This is how they turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if I explained it previously, but the subframes use the existing subframe attachments, but both sides also have a 1/2" bolt running perpendicular through the chassis rail (tubed holes), between the front u-bolts, to hold the subframe tight against the chassis rail.  Driver's side has an additional support bracket welded to the plate on the inner rail near to create a rectangular bolt pattern with the u-bolt.  This is all to bear the push-pull stress of having the panhard mount.  The long bolts shown by the bump stops will be for the limit straps.

 

For now, I've added some additional weld nuts to the lower perches so that I can build some sort of missing link and transmission pan skid plate when the time comes.

 

Chopped up the fan shroud last night.  Months ago I was hoping to heat and shape the shroud around the steering box, but that turned out like dogshyt.  Going to rivet on some ABS sheet, should turn out a lot better.  CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) process...

 

 

 

This should help things run as cold as the Rockies.

 

Other things done over the last two weeks, in no particular order:

• Radius arms torn down for bushing replacement and painting.  Need to install new bushings.
• Water pump changed.  Old pump seemed ok, but with the mild cooling issues I was having, this was one of two remaining things I had not replaced...
• Radiator mounts moved over a little...except after doing all the work, it feels like I didn't move them over at all.  So that sucks, but the radiator is in a good spot.
• New radiator in.  Two of two things I had not replaced.
• Still sorting out the power steering lines, but I basically have all the parts needed.  Not sure I'll be able to route the line how I wanted, but I have some options.  Went with a PTFE fuel line kit and 6AN fittings.  Figuring out all I need has been a bit of a PITA, but I think I'm 95% of the way there in terms of parts.
• Rebuilt the power steering pump.  I thought the thing was black, but after cleaning all the sludge that had accumulated on it over its life, I realized it was silver aluminum.  Whoops.
• Tore apart the Rubicon sway bar the other week.  A little sludgy inside, but it'll clean up well enough.  Need to order the pneumatic bits to finish it up.
• New headlights and corner markers installed.  The other ones just needed to go.  Yellowing, cracks, etc.  New ones look great.
• Cracked my washer fluid reservoir...mistook it for something to grab onto when trying to get off the ground.  Fluid spilled on my cheap digital caliper, which wasn't good for it.  I was more bummed by that chain of events than a grown man should be.  Need someone to explain why washer reservoirs are $100...or $200 on ebay.  That's a junkyard trip I wasn't hoping to make.

[hawairish]

Bonus post!  (Long post...)

 

Figure I'd keep this one separate from my last post since it's a pretty significant aspect of the project.  Enough to warrant its own discussion. 

 

So, I bought a coilover.  Just one, though.

 

 

Going with a Fox 2.0 emulsion coilover.  10" travel (9.25" actual), 7/8" shaft.  Fox seemed to be the best overall option...cost, parts availability, service availability (local).  The thing I've learned is that each additional "feature" or upgrade on a coilover adds $50-$150 per shock.  My "budget" Fox option was just under $300/ea, while the piggy back reservoir ones I wanted ran almost $500/ea.  

 

I'm seeing about 7" of vertical travel; 3" up and 4" down.  Squeezing more up-travel would require lifting the truck more, and beyond the usefulness of using radius arms.  Ride height should amount to about 7"-8" of lift from stock, which is still another 2"-3" above what I was running with the SFD.  Numbers-wise, things are pretty much on target for my needs.

 

Springs are the next thing I need to order (well, and another coilover...they only had one in stock at the site I went through at the time).  I'll have a dual rate setup, which uses two springs, though it'll be unconventional setup I suppose.  Rule of thumb is:

1. The lower spring should be equal or longer in length than the upper spring.
2. The lower spring should be equal or higher in spring rate than the upper spring.

In a dual rate setup, there's a primary rate produced by both springs being in series, and then a secondary rate...which is just the rate of the lower spring because at some point, the upper spring will stop compressing.  Problem with the conventional approach is that the secondary rate is always, at minimum, double the primary rate.

 

For example, Calmini offered a 300 lb/in + 300 lb/in 10" coilover setup for their Xterra SAS kit.  (This is about as best of a starting point as any considering the 1st Gen Xterra has almost the same curb weight as the R50 and loses and gains pretty much the exact same parts).  A 300/300 spring set produces a 150 lb/in primary (it's not an average) and 300 lb/in secondary rate.  But, that's what I don't like...the primary rate seems perfect, but then there's a 150 lb/in rate spike.  Just seems like too much. 

 

I set some target rates around the stock numbers (150 lbs/in), OME numbers (200 lbs/in), and also on a few dual rate springs OME offered for similar vehicles.  OME's dual rate gaps are closer to 40-120, which I'd like to think led to a far more comfortable ride setup (I do trust OME in this department).

 

The only way to lower the gap is to put the heavier spring up top.  So, that's probably what I'm going to do.  Currently planning on a 9" 350 lb/in upper and 12" 250 lb/in lower.  That'll give me a 146/250 setup.  Notably, the OME MD setup for an FJ80 is 170/260, and 150/260 for a Pajero/Montero, which are fairly similar vehicles (FJ being a bit heavier).

 

There's some other math involved, but I should be within the range I need to be.  Unfortunately, if this approach flops, I'll learn a pretty valuable lesson about coilover springs.  They're not cheap, but Summit has some options that'll shave a few bucks off.

 

 

[hawairish]

After polling some other SAS'd Pathfinder and Xterra owners on a Nissan SAS Facebook group, seems they stick with convention running 200 or 250 over 300 spring setups, yielding 120/300 and 136/300 dual rate setups, respectively.  They (all 3 of them so far) seem to have good things to say about their setups, particular ride quality and the transition to the secondary rate.  Of course, it's the coilover that does the work of ride quality.  It may very well be the case that real-world experience beats number crunching.

 

So if that's the case, I guess I'm rethinking (surely overthinking) the spring setup.  Maybe Calmini's 300+300 setup is the way to go, since the R50 is a little bit heavier than the WD21 and WD22, and I presume most of that is due to VQ vs. VG.

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

21 hours ago, hawairish said:

Cracked my washer fluid reservoir...mistook it for something to grab onto when trying to get off the ground.  Fluid spilled on my cheap digital caliper, which wasn't good for it.  I was more bummed by that chain of events than a grown man should be.  Need someone to explain why washer reservoirs are $100...or $200 on ebay.  That's a junkyard trip I wasn't hoping to make.

 

I remember someone ages ago punched a couple of holes in a Nalgene bottle and ran that for a washer res. Might be below the standards of this build, though

 

I knew shocks could get complicated, didn't know the springs did too! I would not have expected the order of the springs to matter.

[hawairish]

16 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

I remember someone ages ago punched a couple of holes in a Nalgene bottle and ran that for a washer res. Might be below the standards of this build, though

 

I knew shocks could get complicated, didn't know the springs did too! I would not have expected the order of the springs to matter.

 

Honestly, that's not a terrible idea and I'm sitting on an absurd amount of unused water bottles.  I took a quick look at universal and other OEM bottle options, but the R50 has this stupid gooseneck design that might complicate tucking another bottle in the same spot...and there's no space under the hood for a different option.  I may just pick up some fiberglass stuff or a plastic welding kit and see if can be repaired...not that I use washer fluid all that often anyway.

 

And yeah, shopping for shocks was enough of a challenge, but spring choices and unknown variables (like what's my new sprung weight?) were something else.  Just finding options that aren't $80/ea ($320 for the whole setup!) complicates things, since that's apparently the going rate for most springs.

 

BUT...on that note, I did order springs last night from Summit and they should be here next week.

 

After mulling on it some more and seeing what was actually available and from where, I went with 9" and 12" springs at 300 lb/ins each.  So 150/300 will be the resulting rate.  Even better was getting costs under $250 before tax (free shipping at least) if I didn't mind using different brands and different colors.  In this case, Summit house brand in silver and Aldan American brand in black.  Considering I have a silver truck and practically everything else will be painted black, not to mention the Fox shocks are chrome and black, I'd say it's going to work fine.  Never heard of the latter brand, but I presume a spring is a spring is a spring, and they're both made in USA (not that that's much of a factor for most of my purchases).

 

At this point, the coilover setup ends up being a big dent on the project budget at around $1100, or about 25% of what I've got into the project so far.  I admittedly had some buyers remorse buying the 1st coilover.  In hindsight, sticking with leaf springs would have been a fantastic option for this project both for costs and effort...I surely could have been done months ago had I gone that route.   But, no real regrets at this point aside from not putting more effort into it last year.

 

Anyway...this week's been too busy with work to touch the truck, but hoping to jam on stuff over the 3-day weekend.

[hawairish]

Couple updates since the last post...

 

Got the Rubicon sway bar mounted.  Still a few more things to do before that whole component is done, but for now, it's at least mounted.  Awaiting some parts to finish the pneumatic portion of it, and need to make the mounts to attach the end links to the axle.  The end links are from a late model Mustang, to add to the Frankenstein parts collection.

 

 

 

Also finished the radiator shroud.  Turned out well enough, I suppose.  Tasked my CNC router to make the ABS panel and then spent some time heating it into shape before riveting it on.

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, all the radiator is back in the truck and the engine is basically waiting for coolant.  I'm waiting to do that until I figure out how I'm mounting the steering lines.

 

Ordered new switches for the overhead console.  Not sure who remembers, but a few years ago, I picked up an overhead switch console made for Patrols.  I installed it in the truck long ago, but it's only had blank panels installed since.  Looking forward to putting it to use, but not looking forward to redoing the wiring.  I'll also be overhauling the pneumatic setup...and also dreading that, too.

 

 

Got these from https://www.otrattw.net, except the ARB cover.  Found sway bar "diconnect" switches all over the place, but since OTRATTW lets you customize the text, I just decided to make it spelled correctly.  The remote air switch will be used for my tire inflation/deflation setup.

 

Ordered all the power steering line kits and fittings.  I have a pretty good idea how that's going to work, but still figuring out how I want to route the lines.  No real update beyond that.

[hawairish]

Today had enough progress that it deserved its own comment.

 

After spending a couple weeks designing a few ideas that gave me some adjustability, decided the other day to just get on with it and make a static mount in what I seemed like the right spot.  Pretty straight-forward at this point.

 

 

 

 

This is the first mock-up with a tire...finally!  There's so much space in there, that it makes the 2.0 coilovers seem puny.  But hey, no more farting around with the stupid coil bucket on the McPherson strut!  There's about 4" of space between the springs and tires, and about 2-3" from the inner fender.

 

 

The first two pics in this post show a different attachment method, but this will be the end result.  There will be a strut 'ring' atop the strut tower with bolts welded in, then the coilover mount attaches from underneath.  This way I won't need to remove all the crap above the strut towers to change anything.

 

 

After getting the mounts all welded up, I decided to see if the spring selection was the right one.  So, time to see if it can support itself!

 

 

Ride height compression...

 

 

And so, I have coilover mounts!  Right now this is about 1.5" taller than I predicted.  I'll eventually put a bumper and winch on to pull things down another 0.75" or so and hopefully they'll settle the rest.  I can't lower it any more unless I change springs, so I'm going to see how this does.  Overall, I'm satisfied.  I'll eventually make some changes to the rear suspension to level things out better, but I think I'll have some squat for a while.

 

Painted the steering links today, too.  Panhard and radius arms refreshed with bushings and paint the other week.  In this pic, the axle is supporting the truck, so I must be doing something right!  The axle is at ride height so I have some pretty good clearance. 

 

 

[hawairish]

Lots of progress since my last post!

 

Got the caliper brackets designed and ready.  Waiting on some hub rings to center up the rotors before welding them up; should have them done later this week.  More pics when they're done, but here's the idea.

 

 

 

 

Sway bar tab welded on.  Thinking I'm might go with the H3 end links instead of the Mustang ones, so I had to weld the tab a bit lower to clear the caster bolts.

 

 

The big news from the weekend was that I finished up the power steering system!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to use most of the low-pressure line all the way to the reservoir.  It was becoming too much of a challenge figuring out where to route hoses, especially factoring in the cooler.  But, works out great.  I picked up some new OEM hoses off the reservoir from Japan to really freshen things up.

 

 

 

 

This pressure sensor was a bit of a thorn to deal with.  The ECU uses it to idle-up the engine when high-side pressure increases enough.  Nissan uses an M12x1.25 thread on the sensor, so I needed an adapter.  There wasn't really a good way to mount it, so I made a bracket with some angle iron and found a convenient way to tuck it out of the way without needing to relocating the wiring too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything's pretty tidy...as tidy as I can get it.  I have ample clearance from moving parts, but did need to shim the air box up about 1/4" to give a tad more space around the high pressure fitting.  It's tight, but it's going to work just fine.

 

The final highlight is that I got everything back into the engine bay and fired up the engine!  It's been over a year since it ran.

1st try, it didn't do anything.  Click.

2nd try, click.

3rd try...fired up!  Rough start, and sounded awful.  Bad tapping/ticking noise.  I figured it was from just dry lifters from sitting for so long, but I had a gut feeling that maybe somehow I screwed up the timing when I changed the water pump.  Shut it off.

4th try, less noise, still a little tick, but otherwise smoothed out soon after.

 

At that point, I played with the power steering and topped off the reservoir.  Power steering works and no leaks!

 

In other news...

 

Ordered a built-to-length double cardan driveshaft and am waiting on it.  I'll need @TowndawgR50's machining magic to make an adapter to mate it with the TX10 output flange.  I spent some time exploring other options, but that seems to be the best approach, which is also the approach Nissan Nut recommended.

 

Towndawg's already got a box in the mail for me with some off-the-shelf aluminum hub centering rings that have been machined to be custom fit for the project.  They'll center up things nicely and allow me to finish the caliper brackets.  Also anxious to get the remaining parts for the sway bar disconnect.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Congrats on the milestone of working steering! Feels like this thing's getting close.