My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[stioc]

Thanks and I'll let you guys know how I like them once I've had a chance to really test them out.

@Kyle, you already have the 5165s with a higher valving than these. How have they been working out for you? Which longer travel shocks are you looking at? I have thought about relocating the shock mounts to get more travel out of the shocks but it's pretty dismal in the front too so I figured what's the point lol afterall our trucks aren't long armed desert runners with 18" of shock travel...and they never will be. I will say that with the sway bars off my butt meter tells me the suspension works much smoother and I can easily pick up another 10-20mph on washboards but on the flip side the street handling feels less than optimal - compromises. Oh, I do carry a lot more weight than you might think when in full camping mode. I've tipped passed the original GVWR recently. Unloaded though your bumper may be a tad heavier vs. my hitch/storage platform plus the 70lbs of misc junk in it.

 

[richard310]

Fancy pants 5100s! I may go that route as well since my 4600s are maxed out. Definitely let us know how the changes go! I'm interested in hearing how they perform on and off road.

 

[bushnut]

Gotta say I'm very happy with the 5150s I got from Kyle. way better than the toped out KYBs I installed originally. (though I keep those around as spares)
as for the sway bars, I'd love to find a set of disconnects for both front and rear. I've always wondered with disconnects, just what keeps the sway bar from clanking around underneath?

 

[Weekender41]

Agreed on the sway bars. I left the front on but that rear definitely needs to stay off haha. As for the 5165's i have which are valved slightly higher than yours, it was very stiff for a long time. Now, finally, after all the armor it feels very comfortable. I have been looking into relocating shocks because even though the front is flex deficient, the rear with more travel could help comfort over uneven roads. These shocks are kinda overkill. They are extremely robust and dont have a boot to catch water or tear which is nice but the external reservoirs would really only benefit if i was going over washboards at high speed. The one benefit I do get as well as bushnut gets with his piggy-back reservoirs... We are able to have shorter shocks that can still use full extension. The gas is stored in those reservoirs and not the entire length of the shock.

 

[stioc]

Do watch out for the rear brake line with a lift and without a rear sway bar. In my case the KYBs were acting as limiting straps :costumed-smiley-007 so now I'll need to check and make sure the brake line isn't hyper-extending.

As for the shocks I looked at all the usual 51xx series shocks, talked to a few people and ultimately determined that the 5100 with the 211/63 valving is what I wanted for my application. The 5125 is a 'universal shock and a good choice if you want the higher 255/70 valving, otherwise it's the same shock as the 5100,- the AC guy I talked to said they feel the 5100 valving is a perfect match for their springs. As for the remote-resi shocks, you see the monotube design and the nitrogen combo already minimizes fade and oil foaming so the remote reservoirs don't provide any additional advantage (to me) unless I was doing extended desert runs at high speeds, so I felt they were overkill for me. I also didn't like having the shaft be exposed on the bottom and closer to the rocks and action. They do give you another 1" or so of travel over the non-remote resi shocks though and that'll probably be the main reason for me to move up to them in the future if I felt the need. In the end though considering my use of the truck I went with the KISS philosophy and stuck with the 5100s

I took the truck out today for some street testing and I can actually feel the difference. The truck doesn't feel as skittish to the sudden steering input. The rear feels more planted in general- but also a bit firm over bumps which I'm sure will get better once the shocks are broken in. Overall I'm very happy with this upgrade so far.

 

[Matto]

Man, you just keep doing stuff! Every time I check this thread, there's half a dozen more updates .

Nice work on the gauge cluster - I imagine that would have been fiddly. I should probably do the same - AU delivered R50's don't get the cabin filters, and I tend to drive with the windows down if it's a nice day. So yeah - I have dust .

Good work on the shocks too. Not sure about over there, but around these parts the Bilstein shocks are seen as the Gold Standard for suspension on these machines. I'm sure you'll get a lot of comfortable miles out of them. I like the idea of extending the shock mounts - when I first bought ours I was looking at the top mount for the rear shocks and wondering how hard it would be to move that up a couple of inches. The biggest issue I could see was moving it out enough to clear the body when articulated, but not having it foul on the tyre when that same side flexed up (if you get what I mean). Larger offset wheels / spacers may help there, as would your skinny tyres.

I've just looked up those shocks - for AU$90 each I could be talked into trying them at some stage. I've got big foam-cell shocks in the rear of mine atm, and they're *very* stiff when unladen around town. Those remote-resi shocks are pretty cool, but that price counts me out. Like you, I'm not too crash-hot on having the shaft mounted down low where it could get hit. That said, any monotube shock is buggered once the tube gets a significant hit anyway, isn't it?

Matto, it's been a while, how have you and your pathy been? I should stop by your hang out on the 'net one of these days.

Pathy has been taking me to work and back, and not much more unfortunately. Has been a rough couple of years for a variety of reasons that I won't bore you with. But I'm hoping that we can get out and about for a few quick local trips again soon. I opened up the camper trailer last night actually, and it's got a little bit of mould inside the tub, so I need to get it out, clean it and air it all out. And the best way to do that is to actually use the silly thing. So hopefully we'll have some trips to talk about in the near future .

In the meantime, I've been living vicariously through your thread along with some others on this board and the local http://www.4wdadventurers.com/ forum . If only my desk had low-range...

Keep up the good work!

Cheers,
Matto

 

[Allof75]

Nice work, those are my next shocks Bilsteins have been nothing but good to me, supposedly 4600s are the same valving as the 5100s, but whether or not I believe that is another story. Mine are maxed out, so I'll end up going the same route when the time comes.

And for your answer a while back, yes the AC plates come with a drain access hole, but it only resulted in spilling oil all over itself due to its shape. So I cut an extra notch in it and oils changes are easier since. Still trying to think of a plate to stop me from having to take off the whole damn front plate to remove the filter. I do changes so often it'd be a big help haha.

 

[Weekender41]

Nice work, those are my next shocks Bilsteins have been nothing but good to me, supposedly 4600s are the same valving as the 5100s, but whether or not I believe that is another story. Mine are maxed out, so I'll end up going the same route when the time comes.

And for your answer a while back, yes the AC plates come with a drain access hole, but it only resulted in spilling oil all over itself due to its shape. So I cut an extra notch in it and oils changes are easier since. Still trying to think of a plate to stop me from having to take off the whole damn front plate to remove the filter. I do changes so often it'd be a big help haha.

A spring hinge on the front would work. Have the hinge at the top of a plate that covers the access hole you want. The spring hinge keeps it closed while moving and putting it on the top would make it quite safe from damage. When it is time to change the filter, lift up the plate and hook it somewhere and go to town. It was something I have been trying to make. I cant seem to find a beefy enough spring hinge but you live in a much more store dense area than me so you may find one.

 

[stioc]

@Matto, sorry to hear about the rough couple years, I think most of us have gone through them but hopefully things are getting back to normalcy now!
For our trucks Bilsteins are the gold standard here too (since there aren't a lot of options for them) and they work better than the other off the shelf shocks for our trucks. I wish they also made a front strut or a coilover setup for our trucks but the KYBs are doing a fair (not exceptional) job there.

Oh as for the updates, I always seem to have a dozen little projects on my list and just when I think I'm done I find something else to tweak or do. For e.g. I changed out the steering rack rubber bushings this past weekend and picked up a tall bottle jack from a Land Rover

@Allof75, I think the valving is different, you can call Bilstein with the part# of the shock (printed on the shock) and they'll tell you the valving- that's what I did to verify AC's answer- yes the answer matched

As for your oil filter issue...I'd offer you a swap for my plastic splash shield but it's a prized possession...OK you convinced me, I'll swap it for yours Seriously though you can cut out a rectangular hole like I did and then re-attach the cut-out piece similar to the attic-access with two small bolts- easy peasy.

 

[Allof75]

@Matto, sorry to hear about the rough couple years, I think most of us have gone through them but hopefully things are getting back to normalcy now!
For our trucks Bilsteins are the gold standard here too (since there aren't a lot of options for them) and they work better than the other off the shelf shocks for our trucks. I wish they also made a front strut or a coilover setup for our trucks but the KYBs are doing a fair (not exceptional) job there.

Oh as for the updates, I always seem to have a dozen little projects on my list and just when I think I'm done I find something else to tweak or do. For e.g. I changed out the steering rack rubber bushings this past weekend and picked up a tall bottle jack from a Land Rover

@Allof75, I think the valving is different, you can call Bilstein with the part# of the shock (printed on the shock) and they'll tell you the valving- that's what I did to verify AC's answer- yes the answer matched

As for your oil filter issue...I'd offer you a swap for my plastic splash shield but it's a prized possession...OK you convinced me, I'll swap it for yours Seriously though you can cut out a rectangular hole like I did and then re-attach the cut-out piece similar to the attic-access with two small bolts- easy peasy.

I will, by the time I'll have the capital for new shocks these ones will be well worn anyway. No use in not going to the 5100s . I do remember a (probably clueless) Bilstein rep saying the valving was the same, but obviously I'll do some research.

And I like that idea, I'll have to figure out some sort of securing mechanism, and make the hole big enough for the oil to pass through I suppose... Thanks for the idea, and keeping us updated on your projects.

 

[stioc]

Hope everyone is having a good 4th!

Taking advantage of the long weekend I decided to tackle a project I've been thinking about for a long time- the cargo barrier. The one I've been using so far is a flimsy dog barrier that weighs 1lbs and change. It will never stand up to any sudden shifting of the cargo items let alone anything more than that. On our last outing I had a tent for the porta-potty at the top and it kept sliding into the passenger area- not good at all! Unfortunately no one makes a good barrier for our trucks and I didn't like the idea of using the Raingler net barrier. So ultimately, I decided to build something more substantial. The end result is a full height 15lbs barrier made of steel. The main section uses four attachment points (2 top, 2 bottom) and the side rails use 2 attachment points each. It is S-O-L-I-D. As a scientific test I tried a good shove with my shoulder which shook the truck pretty good but the barrier didn't move even 1mm. Total time about 10hrs, I thought I could whip it up in 4 or 5 but took me twice the time but I'm picky with the fit and finish.

Anyway so here're some pics from start to finish.

Purchase metal

Start cutting

Do the fit up of the frame and some more cutting

Next start welding it up

Does it still fit? Do more adjustments and finish up the welding of the frame

Finally, after painting it stand back to compare the old 'barrier' next to it and admire the handy work

A close-up of the side bars and how they attach to the truck

Another shot with the whole thing in

 

[mortonm]

Looks good!

Although seems pretty unpatriotic to be using the metric system on Independence Day eepwall:

barrier didn't move even 1mm

 

[Weekender41]

Well I do like that! If my drawers weren't so heavy I would have gone metal. How it attaches on the bottom side is easy enough, but how does it attach at the top? I see when its laid on the ground there are two flat straps, but they connect how? Under the hook in the rear? What gas mix are you using to weld? Flux core is always so much to clean...

 

[stioc]

@mortonm, hehe yeah I guess so. How about 1/32" - close enough Did you have a good Victoria day?

@weekender41, yes the top two metal straps attach to the top two hook bolts (hooks removed and 1/2" washers cut out of pipe welded in place- similar to the sides). I'm using 8 yo C25 gas, I'm suprised after all these years it's still in the cylinder. I am having some issues with the wire feeding on my Hobart welder, a couple of times I blew holes in the steel tubing so I had to patch those up and grind them flat.

Oh the mesh (expanded metal) is not what I wanted (I was looking for the bigger squares like those used in dog crates) but this is all they had that didn't look funky. At first I thought it would look like a cop car and it kinda does but it also sort of matches the look of the truck with the roof rack etc. Turned out ok afterall.

 

[mortonm]

@mortonm, hehe yeah I guess so. How about 1/32" - close enough Did you have a good Victoria day?

Haha I did have a good Victoria day, although was two months ago and we celebrate it because she was a ************ queen.

Canada Day is July 1 when Canada was declared its own Dominion by British Parliament in 1867.

So we celebrate the birth of our nation at almost the exact same time