keithb7 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Well I finally got around to changing out my stock springs on my 93 Pathy to Jeep Grande Cherokee springs. I have the rear tire carrier and gained about 2.5" of lift. Here in Canada the darn "auto recyclers", scrap yards in my mind all wanted $40 each Canadian for the springs. I cut off the pig tails and put 'em in. An easy simple mod. Took me about 2 hours to complete this. I did not install the springs to get more lift, just because I wanted to raise it. I did it because I tow my enclosed cargo trailer, as well I have a dirt bike carrier that I use in my class III hitch to move around my dirt bike. I wanted to stiffen up the rear end so that it wouldn't droop so much when I had weight on the hitch. Now I am interested in raising the front so it sits even with the rear. I did crank up the torsion bars a bit, bit don't want to over do it and severly shorten the ball joint life. I am thinking of buying the A-Arm kit so the lift does not change all the geometry and kill the ball joints. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Congrats on getting them in and showing that lift is not the only reason to install the alternate coils. Did you run into anything worthy of note? Like a problem area, given the time I am betting not. You would not happen to have any pictures showing the before and after, would you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 I can share a few details if you like. The cross link arm nut was pretty much siezed in place. I heated it up with propane and used some WD40, no problem then loosening it. One of the small bolts that holds the E-Brake cable bracket to the frame, just above the wheel snapped off on me. It was a 12mm bolt head, I had removed all the e-brake mounts to allow the cable to move freely when I lowered the diff to get the springs out. There were 2 bolts on each of the brackets, so I never bothered to try and remove the broken bolt. Now there is only one bolt holding the one bracket on instead of 2. No big deal. For some reason the left rear is about 1" lower than the right now with the new springs in. Not sure why. I am thinking of putting a spacer in the right spring to stiffen it a little more, then the rear will be level. Anyone know why maybe the one side is a little lower? Could it be some other worn rear suspension part? The cross link? Everything I touched was in great shape, nothing looked worn. I do have some photos. Iget them posted. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Keith, I can almost guarantee that the rear end being uneven has more to do with your torsion bars being uneven than the rear springs. Try to crank up the driver's side t-bar a touch more, and it should even out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chupacabra Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 What year JGC springs are suitable for this application? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 I believe they are 93-97 FRONT JGC coils. From a 4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chupacabra Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Anyone know of a way to put coils/springs in the front end of a 95 Pathfinder? I was wondering if there was a way to to add some softness to the front end...mine seems a little unforgiving going over large ruts..ditches, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 (edited) 95% of the time the actual source of "too stiff" ride complaints is the shocks. Coil or torsion bar suspensions can work equally well when properly tuned. Many, many "off road" shocks have grossly excessive compression damping, which pretty much prevents the suspension from moving when you hit bumps. To refine your root problem: Is it too stiff when driving slowly over bumps? Or when driving at over 25 mph? How about freeway expansion joints? Edited February 6, 2006 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chupacabra Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 All of the above...It's just got a real stiff ride all around, on the highway and off. I've got new adjustable Nissan shocks on it now....I'll probably go with some Rancho 9000's next go around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I believe they are 93-97 FRONT JGC coils. From a 4x4 BTW, use the ones from a V8. The V6 coils are too thin and won't give any lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 BTW, use the ones from a V8. The V6 coils are too thin and won't give any lift. it has been discussed a few times that the V8 and I6 coils are teh same. i have looked at 3 diff parts retailers and 2 offroad retailers and all 4X4 coils come back as teh same parts number regardless of engine type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 (edited) In lieu of pics from keithb7, here are the before and after for me. 94 SE with springs from a 96 JGC. As keithb7 and I and many other have said, this is overall a very easy mod. Anybody with wrench experience and some basic hand tools should be able to do it, no problemo. These pics are kinda hard to tell because of the different angle, but I got about 2 3/4" lift with the rear tire carrier and about 75-100 lbs of subs, box, amps and cap all on the rear end. Not too shabby, and it took maybe an hour and a half with me alone and lazy. Edited February 8, 2006 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 (edited) After Edited February 8, 2006 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 yeah, 93-98...or if you try trolling a JGC site like i did..youll be looking for ZJ code coils. must be from a 4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 It is worthy to note that the stock Nissan springs are about 280 lb/in rate (.50 wire diameter) while the JGC coils are a much stiffer 375 lb/in rate(.55 WD). (all rates approximate) Ford coils are more in the 600 lb/in range, WAY stiff. So replacing your stock coils with JGC coils not only lifts your vehicle, but improves it's load-carrying capacity by no small amount at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted February 11, 2006 Author Share Posted February 11, 2006 Sorry about the delays people here are my before and after photos. http://members.shaw.ca/keith-barron/before.jpg http://members.shaw.ca/keith-barron/after.jpg Not great photos, it's hard to tell the exact amount of lift. They are definetly stiffer, I load my dirt bike on the hitch receiver and way less sag. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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