[IZVERG]

Well I started the install of these bad boys yesterday w/ a friend of mine and here's how it went...

All was going ok, we ran into a few snags here and there. Most of the issues I feel could have been avoided and/or sped up if I had sprayed the PB sooner and let them saturate more than about 5-10 minutes. My sway bar was kind of stuck and was hard to swing loose but we got it eventually.

Those damn cotter pins on the tie rods! Mine must have been installed by a real hater on the Nissan assembly line cuz they were a real beyatch to get out!

We started on the passenger side, here is the spindle and UCA separated followed by the stock UCA removal.

We got the Radflo installed on top, then we ran into problems getting it aligned w/ the lower mounts. After bugging Greg (several times) he explained that the spindle had to be unmounted from the UCA first, d'oh!

So we had to leave my X in the auto shop on base cuz we ran out of time due to the mishap of INSTALLING THE UCA UPSIDE DOWN!!! Yeah, I was so focused on making sure the right UCA went to the right side of the truck I paid no attention which end was up! You can see here that I Sharpied a 'D' and a 'P' on the UCA.

Once we got the UCA back off one of the spacers wound up getting threaded while coming off of the spindle boltbecause we had to impact it off after much banging and hammering while we had it on WRONG. Greg said I should be ok, just might have to take a 9/16th drill and smooth back out the spacer. Unfortunately I have to wait until tomorrow after work to finish this up...I'm going through X withdrawal!

I accept all of the 'burns' and 'constructive criticism' comments about the UCA screw up. But hey, it's all about making mistakes and learning from them! Hopefully knowing what NOT to do will make the driver side go a lot faster and smoother. Hell, I even had an appt. scheduled for Tuesday to have a local 4X4 shop do this install for me (for ~$200) but I decided to tackle this head-on myself. Only thing that should hold us up is having to cut off that bolt. More to come tomorrow!!!

 

[Mark]

Here comes a burn....................Did you seriously take the bottom bolt out of the shock before removing it? Then did i see a radflow coil over attatched at the top end first? And the bottom not in the lower shock mount? DUDE! You made that job like waaaaaaaaaaaaay harder by the looks of your photos. I have to go take something for this headache and lay down!

Didnt you see any of the how to's?

Ok, Burning done.....Oops, not yet, uca's upside down!.........ok, now im done.

Aas long as its all in correctly now.

 

[XterraPA]

Yikes... well, I am available for any questions too. It looks like you might have some. PM me if necessary.

 

[IZVERG]

1) Yeah, that pic was taken before we realized our problem of why the lower shock mount holes weren't lining up. You have to have the spindle undone from the UCA first...now we know! The Radflo is fully installed now though.

2) You have to mount them (Radflos) from the bottom up? Does it make a difference or is it just easier?

3) And PA, we printed out your how-to and used that mostly as well as the PRG directions just cuz yours had pics! Honestly though, not that I'm unappreciative of your write-up, there were a few gray areas when it came to exact, step-by-step instructions. We felt this way w/ the PRG instructions, too. I know that this stuff is usually done by vets in terms of mechanical experience, but just throwing in the disclaimers of like "This is up and this is down on the UCA", or instead of just "Install the Radflo coilover" maybe something like "Install the Radflo coilover bottom first, then the top" would have been MUCH appreciated!

And here is that threaded UCA spacer I was talking about. It goes in between the UCA and the spindle:

Greg said I should be fine w/ just drilling it out, making it smooth again. I guess we'll see how it goes! Oh, and more $hitty news...the auto shop on base where my X is sitting all tore apart is closed tomorrow! GAAAAAY! The withdrawals are getting worse and worse!

 

[Mark]

"just easier"


Like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier.

 

[IZVERG]

"just easier"


Like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier.

Hmm, well I'll def have to keep that in mind for when we tackle the driver's side on Tuesday. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[miles]

you learn from your mistakes...

 

[PrerunnerGreg]

You can mount the coilover top or bottom first (its usually easier to mount the top first though). You just cant install the coilover after the UCA. But luckily the UCA just unbolts, so its easy to fix. As for mounting the UCA up-side-down....well, there's a first time for everything. Im sure the second side will go much smoother. and im just a phone call away.

 

[IZVERG]

Yeah I tell ya Greg you saved us a lot of hassle! Thanks for picking up on a Saturday! That spacer looks ok? I'm pretty sure my base auto shop will have that drill I need to smooth it out.

I'm just perturbed that I can't get back in there to finish it until Tuesday! Though I'm pretty confident that the driver's side will go MUCH smoother, w/ the UCA RIGHT SIDE UP!

Quick question though, the reciprocating saw I got is an 18V Black & Decker, will that be enough power to cut through the bolt? I went w/ that one cuz it was only $50 compared to all the other $100+ saws.

 

[Creek]

i'm speechless

 

[Logisense]

as long as you have a bi-metal blade on the black and decker you should be good to go!

 

[IZVERG]

as long as you have a bi-metal blade on the black and decker you should be good to go!

Yes, just checked and I have two attachments, one of which says "Bi-Metal" and a big "Cuts Metal" logo!

 

[DBAX]

I accept all of the 'burns' and 'constructive criticism' comments about the UCA screw up. But hey, it's all about making mistakes and learning from them!

I commend you for taking on a project of that magnitude after your setback w/ the nylock nut, given your limited experience. Taking on this job shows some stones. Keep posting the install, ask for any help..

 

[willgr1]

my question is why did you disconnect the tie-rod? just disconnecting the spindle is enough to get the coilovers out and in. As others have said, you made the install a little more complicated than it needed to be.

 

[IZVERG]

This was def a big jump for me as far as experience goes. Shoot, I didn't even install my spacers, had a shop do 'em, and those are a cake walk compared to this!

The guy helping me is really the brains behind the install, he grew up working in his family's auto shop so he brought the most to the table. Between the two of is it was a totally new project, first time working on custom suspension components.

 

[IZVERG]

my question is why did you disconnect the tie-rod? just disconnecting the spindle is enough to get the coilovers out and in. As others have said, you made the install a little more complicated than it needed to be.

I had to disconnect the tie-rod because I had spacers. That extra 2" of length on the old coilovers was too long to get them out due to the tie-rod being in the way. You didn't have to do this because you just went from stock to Radflo.

 

[S_e_X-Terra]

my question is why did you disconnect the tie-rod? just disconnecting the spindle is enough to get the coilovers out and in. As others have said, you made the install a little more complicated than it needed to be.

I had to disconnect the tie-rod because I had spacers. That extra 2" of length on the old coilovers was too long to get them out due to the tie-rod being in the way. You didn't have to do this because you just went from stock to Radflo.

Sounds strange to me... Im pretty sure anyone with a spacer lift didnt have to disconnect the tie rods. But who cares.... Looks like you have everything under controll and I hope you get it wrapped up and on the trails soon.

 

[IZVERG]

I followed SeXterraPA's how-to for this and he did have to remove his tie-rod due to his TGC spacers. Guess it just varies from X to X, but there was NO WAY those shocks and coils were coming out w/o moving that tie-rod out of the way!

 

[DBAX]

"Guess it just varies from X to X.."
Uhh, no.

 

[IZVERG]

Well SeXterraPA and I must have the only two X's that had to do this?!

From PA's How-To:
Now, because I had the spacers on top of the shock, there was not enough room to get it out. I had to remove the tie rod to make enough room to get it out.

As shown here.