Old Man Emu: Late model Frontier and Pathfinder

[david despain]

any news?

this thread is a zombie, I am bringing it back from the dead! mark any idea if ARB ever did develop a lift for the frontier?

 

[articulate]

Yes, and widely available down under. I suspect you can bug an ARB dealer in the US to get it. I managed to get the part numbers for the shocks:

Front: N183S
Rear: N185

Dude with an xterra ordered in the front shocks and got a spring from elsewhere:
http://thenewx.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2498

Mark

 

[4Rescue]

Hi Mark
Your the first American that I have heard of knowing of OME let alone ...

My truck runs an OME susoension... There are lots of us running this killer stuff here. I'l admit that I became a beliver in Australia, but there's alot of it running around in NA now.

It's great that they're letting Nissan in on the game.

Dave

 

[vengeful]

OME has been making suspension components for Nissans for years. The Patrol, Pathfinder, Navara/Frontier, etc all have suspension systems available. It's nice that they're releasing products for the newer generation stuff, though, the vehicles have been on the market for 3 years now, so I'd say they're even a little late to the game...

 

[edsd90]

I'm a new member of Expedition Portal, and see a thread I might be able to provide some input on.
ARB installed a complete suspension on my 2007 Frontier as a beta-test this past September. It went on without a hitch except for having to enlarge the holes for the beefier OME U-bolts at the axle. The OME suspension gave me a lift of about 2.5 inches in the back and just a little less than that in the front. I do have a Shrockworks bumper with Warn 9000, so am carrying extra weight in the front.
I have all the part numbers for springs, struts and shocks if there is any interest.
This week they're installing the ARB rear bumper as sold in the rest of the world. The sent the installation instructions, and it looks like it should go on very easily as well. The rear infill panel kit may not be an exact fit from what I can see in the instructions, but should be simple to adapt.
Ed Sanman

 

[articulate]

I'm a new member of Expedition Portal, and see a thread I might be able to provide some input on.
ARB installed a complete suspension on my 2007 Frontier as a beta-test this past September. It went on without a hitch except for having to enlarge the holes for the beefier OME U-bolts at the axle. The OME suspension gave me a lift of about 2.5 inches in the back and just a little less than that in the front. I do have a Shrockworks bumper with Warn 9000, so am carrying extra weight in the front.
I have all the part numbers for springs, struts and shocks if there is any interest.
This week they're installing the ARB rear bumper as sold in the rest of the world. The sent the installation instructions, and it looks like it should go on very easily as well. The rear infill panel kit may not be an exact fit from what I can see in the instructions, but should be simple to adapt.
Ed Sanman

Ed, very nice. Thanks. Please share the part numbers. I thought this only provided about 1.5" increase . . . based on international part numbers anyway.

What can you share about your impressions so far? And do you have the original equipment upper control arms?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[IceCap4runnerORP]

Very cool, sitting on the edge of my seat for the part #'s :wavey:

 

[edsd90]

I've put OME on two Land Rovers, a Disco I and Defender 90, and this gave me exactly what I expected. Better control, more capacity, better road feel, but stiffer as you'd expect from a heavy duty suspension. The truck has since been used on primitive double track while loaded for expedition use, and also as sweep for performance rallies in the Northwest where we follow the last race car down the stage at speed. It has performed beautifully in both extremes.
I've scanned the ARB paperwork, which lists every part needed. ARB stocks all of this since they distribute to all of the Americas from the Seattle warehouse.
For interest, I'll also include am image of us sweeping the Wild West Rally last Fall.
Ed

 

[IceCap4runnerORP]

Ed,

This is great, thanks. One question - did you already have the cam bolts on the front for alignment or did you have to purchase them separately?

Jeff

 

[edsd90]

Looks like that GIF doesn't show up too well.
Here's the list as shown on the invoice:
OME608 Pathfinder R51 Front HD
N183S Pathfinder/Navara Front Strut
CS050R Nissan D40 2005+ Medium
N185 Navara D40 Rear
OMEGS15 Greasable Shackle
OMESB96 Navara D40 Spring Bush
OMEU53A Tacoma 05+ UBolt

 

[edsd90]

Hit something by mistake, so it was posted before completion:
OME608 Qty 2
N183S Qty 2
CS050R Qty 2
N185 Qty 2
OMEGS15 Qty 1 (must be a set)
OMESB96 Qty 2
OMEU53A Qty 4
Hope I've answered all the questions, but if not can probably help further.
Ed

 

[edsd90]

Jeff - Please help me out here about these "Cam Bolts". I had it aligned, but with nothing more than was already on the truck. I come from a Land Rover background, and this Nissan is very new to me.
I bought it because I wanted a better long-range expedition vehicle than my Defender 90, and it's proving to be a great choice.
The alignment shop did suggest that I should consider a camber kit. Do these cam bolts answer that need?
Thanks, Ed

 

[IceCap4runnerORP]

A little more detail. 05-08 Xterra/Pathfinder/Frontier vehicles come with non-adjustable Cam Bolts which do not allow adjustment (beyond factory settings) of the camber on the front end. This has been an issue for folks who alter the height of these vehicles and many people purchased after market cam bolts and complained to Nissan Nissan has issued a Service Bulletin (NTB05-099a) on September 20th which states

An Applied Vehicle needs to have the front wheel alignment adjusted,
NOTE:
Applied Vehicles listed above come from the factory with non-adjustable bolts
(Not Cam Bolts) for the lower link (lower control arm) mounting.

ACTIONS
1. Remove the original lower link mounting bolts and washers (2 per side).
• Refer to section FSU in the Service Manual (ESM) for lower link mounting bolt
(cam bolt) locations.
2. Install new bolts (cam bolts) and cam washers listed in the Parts Information table.
• Reuse the nuts you removed from the old bolts.
3. Perform front wheel alignment adjustment per the ESM.

This is most likely what they were referring to concerning your vehicle.

Jeff

 

[articulate]

Ed, you rule.

Greasable shackles? I love it.

Any idea what the CS050R are?

Thanks,
Mark

Edit: never mind.... leaf packs probably....

 

[edsd90]

Yes Mark, the CS050R would have to be the rear leaf springs.
By the way, I didn't repond to your upper control arm question. I have the stock upper arms, and did not relize that there was on option. I have a lot to learn about Nissans.
Now that you mention the upper arms, I do remember seeing another post somewhere about getting better articulation by replacing these. Could you help me with a source and what I might expect out of them? Where I've gone with the Nissan so far has not required a lot of articulation, but I can certainly see a need in the future.
Thanks, Ed