mws Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 As B can attest to, the suspension in TransworldMoto's '88 with 200+K miles was nothing short of knackered. It bobbed and weaved and wandered and pretty much required 100% attention to keep going where you want. The lock-rite in the rear just exacerbated the situation. Rolling on and off the throttle resulted in a quaint 3- dimensional jig. The front lower control arm bushings were so far gone the shock body was slamming into the UCA - actually wore through the wall of one shock. But I see only the potential, not the reality, and bought it! After 3 full days of very sweaty and dirty effort, I have replaced: - All 10 bushings in the rear suspension with Nissan OE bushings. Only one of the originals had really come apart, but it was enough to let the rear axle steer itself. These puppies take a LOT of effort and technique to get out. You must have an impact hammer, bushing cutter, and a lot of patience. Propane torch, files, and grinders came in handy as well. - Front lower control arm bushings were replaced with OE bushing. The old ones were TOUGH to get out. The new ones were tough to get in. - Poly bushings for the tension rod. Had to fabricate new bushing cups as the old ones were hogged out and destroyed. - Rough Country UCA's with Poly bushings - Replaced all 4 ball joints with Moog - Replaced front wheel bearings, rotors, brake pads. - Hurled the Rancho 5000 shocks as far as I could and installed Rough Country/Heckethorn 8000's. Still waiting for the L&P steering kit to arrive, but already it is AMAZINGLY better! A little slop in the steering, but the truck handles like an absolute dream. Like it is brand new (which, in effect, it is). Total cost: About $600, 55 hours of sweat (it was over 100 degrees), and only a tablespoon or so of blood. But what a great project to make a tired old truck feel like a completely new and SAFE truck! Next project: Body de-lift. Cutting down the 3" lift blocks to about 1.25". Thats more than enough to clear my tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 i'm so glad she went to a good home.. but i wish ben woulda lemme steal his functional front diff before he sold it! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Understatement Martin... I'd describe the front end as fuggered !! I was considering buying it to drive until I fixed the front end on my 95 or melding the two. When I drove it, the front end was considerably worse then mine. While I didn't need 2 trucks with front end issues then, now that I have moved and have a place to work I'd probably have bought it... Cool that you got it back in good shape, the steering kit will fix the rest. I was suprised by the lack of power when I drove it. It felt more like my old D720 with the Z2.4 than my heavier WD21 with the 3.0. I'd seriously say my 95 has +15-20% power. Is that inherent to the VG30I throttle body, or have you done a 'stock' tune up to make it run better ? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Shoot, B. A 87 versus a 95? No comparison. The engine accounts for +/- 8 HP or so from stock specs, (145 vs. 153) but the mileage and years on the 87 will do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 I know it will never have quite the output of an MPFI engine, by design. But it is soft. As I drive it and check things out, I suspect the cat is pretty plugged up. It is a little softer than my '87 which has over 200K, and the engine in the '88 is a japanese pull out with under 100K and the Thorley headers. It has this little itty-bitty Magnaflow glasspack and is still quieter than my '87 with triple pass Dynomax turbo style muffler. That tells me there must be a serious restriction somewhere. A new cat is on order and should be in this week. I already have a new Dynomax muffler and will run 2.5" pipe just like the '87. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 wow thats alot work..... i think you actually passed me on the amount of work done to the front end.... ohwell doesnt matter anymore anyway good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC88Pathy Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I bet the cat is clogged Ben didn't hook up the EGR tube... Glad to here you're getting good use out of it! I might have purchased it if I didn't already have a good running pathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 the mileage and years on the 87 will do that True, I didn't really consider that, but it felt like more than just milage, especially with the headers and relatively fresh motor I buy into the clogged cat theory, it's not like the motor ran poorly or anything, just no response... Definitely update us Martin ! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Latest update: The steering is in! She goes in for a proper alignment today (and she needs it!) but if feels great. Now I can clearly feel 2-3 degrees of slop in the steering box that was masked by all the slop before. But now, wow. Other than that 2 degrees of wiggle in the wheel, it is incredible. No shuck, no jive. Just solid and precise. Lovin' it! And now that I can get on it without it dancing sideways, and I can say that the exhaust made a very significant difference. It still ain't gonna beat a well tuned beetle in a drag race, but it is quite adequate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Thanks for the update martin I need to do this too -- did the $600 include the new uca's, BJ's,bearings and brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) I think so... memory is going.... TRE's, BJ's, brake pads came from Rock Auto. New Brembo rotors came from some place in Washington as the shipping was much cheaper than from Rock's distributor back east. The Nissan OE bushings came from Pinnacle (a dealership in Arizona?). It did not include the L&P steering. Or the steering damper. On rethought, maybe it did... Edited August 24, 2006 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie4x4 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Great Job, It just reminds me that I have to do the same soon. I have a new steering setup being made and have new slotted rotors, calipers, bearings, ball joints, CVs and bushes all sitting in a box in the garrage just looking at me each morning as I jump in and drive off. Do you want to drop over to Australia to give me a hand. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 HECK YAH! Australia is way up on my list. -bounce- Got a plane ticket laying around? I heard hitchiking there can be difficult... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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