DSM_guy Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 (edited) well, i did the 3" BL from AC today on my 1991 SE 4x4. here are some additional observations or differences from some of the main writeups here. #1 the little plastic tabs that cover 4 of the bolt heads (2 per side) are an utter BEAST to get off. i took a hammer and a screwdriver and annhilated mine. their glued to the body and to the bold heads..or at least they were in mine. nobody said what a bitch these are..so be prepared #2 i did not have to replace my upper rad hose with a longer one...mine is just fine, but i will have to trim the lower due to the kink. #3 after about 45 min of fiddling around and trying to line up the rear bolt holes...i noticed something. AC throws in the black bolts for....whatever years im not sure. i thought all 90-95 used the black rear bolts. this was not the case on my 91. i ended up using the 2nd pair of metric fine-thread bolts in the rear. #4 yes, the rear most bolts are a b*tch. not only because their a pain to aline, but because some numbskull decided to stick a free floating nut up in the mount...but there is no way to get at or hold the nut for alighment. you have to be dead on..and its very frustrating. it took me longer to do the rear 2 than the entire other 8 combined. #5 as far as the ps resivoir is concerned...i went ahead and just drilled new holes. the bracket needed to move a grand total of 1/2 inch..and i was too lazy (not to mention cheap) to go out and buy new hoses, new fluid, drain the resi, and bleed it. #6 you need a BIG freakin jack...or at least alot of stuff you can put under your stocker. i ended up using 2 stockers per side..and had a 2x6, and 2 peices of a powerline crossarm (about 4x6 each), and a 2x4 on top, and i had the stockers maxed out at the dot. gave me JUST enough for 4 of the 5 mounts. the rear most bolts were a PITA and i had to lift up a bit myself to slide them in. #7 get PLENTY of zip ties in all sizes. much of the stuff you removed wil not bolt back in its normal spot. and nobdy i know wnats to go around drilling new holes for everything. most of the stuff youll unbolt has something adjacent to it that you can tie it up to. #8 when extending/installing the fuel filler and vent lines, soaking the hoses in hot water does wonders for tight fits. i got the extension peice and got the rather small tubing over the nipple without issue. #9 i dont see why some writeups say you cant get the cover for the fuel line area to fit back right...unless mine is diff it just poped into place. thats all i can think of for the moment..im pooped. if i encounter or think of any more ill be sure to post them. of course this was just my experience..yours may vary a bit. even tho its a bit of a PITA the results are WELL worth it. i never knew 3" could actually make such a difference. ill have pix up on sunday probably..tomorrow i have to spend the day finishing and mounting my new bumpers on and finish up the piddly stuff from the BL install. i highly reccomend this mod. Edited January 21, 2006 by DSM_guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 well, i did the 3" BL from AC today on my 1991 SE 4x4. here are some additional observations or differences from some of the main writeups here. #1 the little plastic tabs that cover 4 of the bolt heads (2 per side) are an utter BEAST to get off. i took a hammer and a screwdriver and annhilated mine. their glued to the body and to the bold heads..or at least they were in mine. nobody said what a bitch these are..so be prepared #2 i did not have to replace my upper rad hose with a longer one...mine is just fine, but i will have to trim the lower due to the kink. #3 after about 45 min of fiddling around and trying to line up the rear bolt holes...i noticed something. AC throws in the black bolts for....whatever years im not sure. i thought all 90-95 used the black rear bolts. this was not the case on my 91. i ended up using the 2nd pair of metric fine-thread bolts in the rear. #4 yes, the rear most bolts are a b*tch. not only because their a pain to aline, but because some numbskull decided to stick a free floating nut up in the mount...but there is no way to get at or hold the nut for alighment. you have to be dead on..and its very frustrating. it took me longer to do the rear 2 than the entire other 8 combined. #5 as far as the ps resivoir is concerned...i went ahead and just drilled new holes. the bracket needed to move a grand total of 1/2 inch..and i was too lazy (not to mention cheap) to go out and buy new hoses, new fluid, drain the resi, and bleed it. #6 you need a BIG freakin jack...or at least alot of stuff you can put under your stocker. i ended up using 2 stockers per side..and had a 2x6, and 2 peices of a powerline crossarm (about 4x6 each), and a 2x4 on top, and i had the stockers maxed out at the dot. gave me JUST enough for 4 of the 5 mounts. the rear most bolts were a PITA and i had to lift up a bit myself to slide them in. #7 get PLENTY of zip ties in all sizes. much of the stuff you removed wil not bolt back in its normal spot. and nobdy i know wnats to go around drilling new holes for everything. most of the stuff youll unbolt has something adjacent to it that you can tie it up to. #8 when extending/installing the fuel filler and vent lines, soaking the hoses in hot water does wonders for tight fits. i got the extension peice and got the rather small tubing over the nipple without issue. #9 i dont see why some writeups say you cant get the cover for the fuel line area to fit back right...unless mine is diff it just poped into place. thats all i can think of for the moment..im pooped. if i encounter or think of any more ill be sure to post them. of course this was just my experience..yours may vary a bit. even tho its a bit of a PITA the results are WELL worth it. i never knew 3" could actually make such a difference. ill have pix up on sunday probably..tomorrow i have to spend the day finishing and mounting my new bumpers on and finish up the piddly stuff from the BL install. i highly reccomend this mod. Seems you got the worlds hardest to install 3" body lift kit. Are you blaming the clintons for that yet? Just joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Despite all the trouble... glad to hear you got it in and all is well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 (edited) Pretty much... yep, yep, and yes. Those back bolts are a joke, and they take more effort than the rest combined. I ended up throwing together a quick T ouf of scrap 2x4's to go between the jack and body and spread the load. As for the cover over the fuel filler hose, mine lined up except for 1 quick hole I drilled for one of the bolts. Good to hear it went relatively easy for you. Mounting that bumper sucks a bit too, good luck. My stock mounts just refused to line up on the drivers side due to interference. Since the bumper is pretty much for looks after the body lift due to the cheesy extension brackets, I said what the hell and just cut off the offending portion with an angle grinder and cut-off wheel. Ghetto, but git 'er done. PICS! Edited January 21, 2006 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 naw vsicks, i thought id become part of the "cool" crowd and blame bush...hey, he is responsible for all our hurricanes...i think he has some kinda secret conspiracy against body lifts most of today was spend reattaching lines to the frame and that type of pidly stuff. not really anything else to add to the list. as far a bumpers im going aftermarket (or rather..hand built) both F&R...so their crappy brackets can just....well you get the idea. i spent the rest of the day and part of this evening getting my custom brackets figured out for the winch bumper. as soon as its all bolted/welded up and whatnot, i promise pics! i drove around the pastures today in my newly lifted pathy...and i must say i love it. the entire truck looks a helluva lot better. you must admit...from the factory pathies look kinda docile and harmles. you add a few things here and there..throw on some lift, bigger tires, and a REAL bumper...and your well on your way to lookin pretty bad-ass but while i am happy...im not happy enough. im plannin for a JGCC lift with air springs very soon. then may go with the calmini 4" lift some day to get even more lift. and those 31's are startin to look a lil puny....33's anyone? muhahah -alcohol- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 Those back bolts are a joke, and they take more effort than the rest combined. I ended up throwing together a quick T ouf of scrap 2x4's to go between the jack and body and spread the load. youll laugh when i say this. but when i lifted up my body, i did so there between the doors just like in the writeup, but i couldent get enough rear lift. so after getting the front 8 blocks in, i let it all down, then stuck a jack with a small peice of 2x4 on top INSIDE the wheel well. with the jack seated right on the top of the tire. hahah thats wheel clearance right there! but yeah, then just lifted it up a bit and slid the blocks in. i woulda done something like your T job..but it was late and i was ready to get it all over with as little thinking and exertion as possible lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 another thing i found the other day! seems that nissan had all kinds of things engineered (ecept the front) for a 3" BL. for ppl with the OEM step bars..there is a higher set of holes both F&R to move your bars up if you so desire. the front is held on by a grand total of ONE bolt, the rears with 2. there are 3 sets of holes on the front...stock is middle..you can just move it up to the highest hole. the rear also has 3 holes...in stock form the lowest and middle holes are used. with a lift..the middle and top holes are used. oh and since the 3 rear holes are all at an angle from one another...youll need to losen the bolts to your front box mount and slide it back a bit. there is one you can see right away..the other is at the top of the frame..back behind it. imagine two "L''s bolted together..thats what the front mount for the bars are. of course i went with sliders..so i ditched mine and the front mount become useless..but the rears did pay off. but just thought id let someone else know this lil tidbit of knowledge if they wanted to keep with OEM equip and a 3" BL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 congrats on having patience and not taking a BFH to your pathy before you finished the lift! PICS!! PICS!! -bounce- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 another thing i found the other day! seems that nissan had all kinds of things engineered (ecept the front) for a 3" BL. for ppl with the OEM step bars This is most likely something related to the Hardbody... The cab and bed of a HB sits higher off of the frame than that of a Pathfinder. The holes were likely put in all the frames to make production easier. Rather than running batches of two different frame designs they run them all the same... at least on that section of the production line anyway But good find, thanks for sharing that bit of info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 (edited) hmm, that is true red. that thought never occoured. but hey, as long as we benefit from it lol! oh and slick...i have pix up in the pics section of my new bumpers and sliders along with my BL....JGCC lift pix will hopefully follow soon my thread of pics can be found here Edited February 15, 2006 by DSM_guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 This is most likely something related to the Hardbody... The cab and bed of a HB sits higher off of the frame than that of a Pathfinder. The holes were likely put in all the frames to make production easier. Rather than running batches of two different frame designs they run them all the same... at least on that section of the production line anyway But good find, thanks for sharing that bit of info The Navara/Hardbody (4wd model only) sits two inches higher than the Pathy. Yes, it has a factory BL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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