Pathfinder-vans kit on a 91 and previous van

[richmeyer]

Has anyone here done this conversion on a 91 and older van? My 91 is in serious need of some front end work and instead of putting money into the stock suspension, I'm thinking of just converting it to the solid axle setup. I'm on a budget so I'll be doing the work myself with some buddies. Anyway, if youve done this conversion yourself, please shoot me a PM if youre willing to answer some questions and give some guidance. Pic of the victim:

 

[ujoint]

I had a 78 Pathfinder (my 1st van) and I ditched the coil suspension & went to leaf springs. I'm not too familiar with the system you're talking about, but I think it's just a simple U bracket that welds to the bottom of the frame. Not the strongest setup, although there are other companies using a similar design.

If I were you, I would go with a custom setup, or try to find a used Quigley suspension from that generation.

 

[el-cid]

Chris, do you have any pictures or documentation on your conversion? I remember seeing you refer to it before and my '79 E350 Pathfinder rides like it has no front suspension. I'd be interested in doing a leaf swap if it wasn't too much headache.

 

[ujoint]

I may be able to dig some up..... Shoot me an email so I don't forget.--

chris@ujointoffroad.com

 

[nely]

Pathfinder vans is still around.

http://www.pathfinder-vans.com/html/4x4_van_kits.html

Ive ordered parts for a customers van b4.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

 

[el-cid]

I may be able to dig some up..... Shoot me an email so I don't forget.--

chris@ujointoffroad.com

Just dropped you an e-mail. Thanks a bunch Chris, I appreciate it!

 

[richmeyer]

Wish I had a newer van, I'd just call up ujoint!

 

[ujoint]

Here are some pics of my 78. I made the front hangers, and used a shackle hanger from the 99-04 F series trucks with a bracket to adapt to the Van frame.

 

[blupaddler]

Chris,
It appears that you had a decent amount of up travel with the set up on your '78.
How did you accomplish this?
Also what size tires were you running?
Were your front spring hangers still higher in the front vs. the rear as with most of the older vans?
What dual shock kit did you use? Was it worth it?
:drool:

 

[el-cid]

Chris, thanks for the pictures. I'm seriously considering doing this to my van; I've got a fresh 460 and C6 in it and if I can convince myself I'm keeping it for a while it'd be nice if it rode like it actually had suspension.

**Edit: what springs did you use?

 

[ujoint]

It flexed up pretty good!

The springs were custom made by Atlas, shock hoops were custom as well with Bilstein 5150's. 37" Krawlers. The van was fun, but too loud, rude & ugly for LA. I wanted something nice & comfy (with AC) that I could drive up to Mammoth in the summers. So Vanaconda was born....

 

[el-cid]

Chris, thanks again. That looks like it wouldn't be too complicated a swap; I have to take a look at my stock steering setup and see how it'd jive with the leaf setup. See, I live in rural Montana (Anaconda, to be precise) and a loud, rude, ugly vehicle will serve me well here.

 

[alefcourt25]

Here are some pics of my 78. I made the front hangers, and used a shackle hanger from the 99-04 F series trucks with a bracket to adapt to the Van frame.

Chris,

Would you be able to replicate these parts again? I want to do a leaf spring conversion on my '89.. If you could fabricate them I would be interested in purchasing.

 

[ujoint]

Nope..... I don't have any of the specs, I would unfortunately have to start from scratch.

 

[spencyg]

DO NOT use the Pathfinder suspension for a 4x4 conversion. It is a terrible design and rides like crap. I have every intention of removing the pathfinder hardware in favor of a custom linkage setup on the front of my '86 Pathfinder Ford E350.

The leaf spring idea is by far the easiest and arguably most robust solution for a 4x4 conversion of this vintage. Follow what Chris did to a "T" and you should be fine.