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1st Gen FAQ...PLEASE READ. ADD INPUT

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JoshuaTest
WELCOME to ClubFrontier....

1998-2004 Nissan Frontiers are typically refered to as "1st generation frontiers" or "1st gens"

These trucks have a torsion bar front suspension, and a leaf spring rear suspension....

Some of the most common questions are...

1) How to lift my truck
2) What lifts are available
3) What size tires can i run
4) What Axle's do i have

I hope to answer MOST of these basic questions in this thread. But feel free to start additional threads with deeper questions...

WEBSITES TO KNOW....

www.4x4parts.com
www.calmini.com
www.spencerlowracing.com

FRONT SUSPENSION

The 1st gen frontier has the ability to adjust ride height via "pre-loading" the torsion bars... or as its better known as.... adjusting or cranking them.... Basically the torsion bar is a spring... It is connected to the LCA (lower control arm) in the front of your truck, and connected to a crossmember and adjuster in the central area of your truck. If you look under the truck, you will see on each side, just inside of the frame rails, a long bar that extends back from the LCA.. thats your torsion bar...

ALL LIFTS with the exception of very high dollar SAS or Coil Over conversion lift your truck via a torsion bar crank... Some kits have the option of upgrading to aftermarket torsion bars, but this is NOT needed.. some prefer, some prefer stock bars... The stock torsion bars have more than enough ability to give you well over the maximum 3+" of lift.

LIFT OPTIONS...

0" to 2" - You can simply adjust your torsion bars...
2.5" to 3" - You can either purchase a complete lift kit, or purchase aftermarket UCA's

To adjust your torsion bars... You simply jack up the front end of your truck, secure it with the wheels slightly off the ground, to remove any tension on the front suspension, and tighten the adjuster bolts.. There are two 19mm nuts on the top of the adjuster bolt... the top being a lock nut... simply loosen the top nut, then tightned the adjuster bolt to adjust ride height... lower truck, measure... and repeat untill you have desired height.... REMEMBER.... you want a minimum of 1/2" of room between the bottom of your UCA, and the bump stop which is below it.....

or click here for some detailed instructions with pictures...TorsionBarWriteUp

It is said to always get an alighnment after adjusting torsion bars, however in MOST cases, it will not effect your alignmnt, however this is YOUR CHOICE... if it needs the alignment, GET IT DONE.

You always have the option of purchasing a lift "kit" that is complete with all that is needed... However there are lots of people who do the lifts in steps... Lots of people start off with a simple torsion bar adjustment, then decide they want more.... Here are your options...

1) Add aftermarket UCA's. Basically as you adjust the height of your truck with your stock UCA's, the angle that they sit changes, which also changes the ball joint angle and slightly changes your camber. Aftermarket UCA's DO NOT ACTUALLY LIFT YOUR TRUCK... The torsion bars do... The aftermarket UCA's are simply designed at a differant angle, so that when the truck is adjusted by 2.5-3", the ball joint angles, and your camber are at the correct points... There are several options, and most of them are in the $350.00 range.

AS I UNDERSTAND IT... Now keep in mind, because we use torsion bars, there is the ability to adjust... but... the lift amounts below are what I've come to understand the aftermarket UCA's to be designed to provide...

AC (4x4parts) and Rancho - 2.5"... both of these are almost identical.
Calmini and SLR Econ's - 3"... both of these are almost the same exact design.
SLR Stage series - 3" plus added down travel....

STOCK TORSION BARS VS. AFTERMARKET

Aftermarket torsion bars are basically the same thing, except they have a higher spring rate... Basically they are stiffer... Some like this, as they feel them to be stronger, some don't because its said that the stock bars will flex better... This is 100% a matter of personal preferance...They are NOT needed to achieve the lfit..

RE-INDEX - In the even that you are adjusting your torsion bars, and the adjuster bolts run out of adjusting room.. (the brackets they go through have no more movement available)... you can reindex the stock bars... Basically the ends of the bars are splined... you simply remove the adjuster bolt, back the bars out of the ends... rotate them by 1 or 2 splines, which will give you the extra ability to adjust higher...

SHOCKS... With a simple torsion bar adjustment, its not requried to upgrade shocks, but lots of people do.... If you are lifting to the 2.5 to 3" range... you will need to upgrade...

Now... There are wide spread comments on the good/bad effects of adjusting your torsion bars.... As most of us have found... There really is no DOWN side to doing this....

Will your truck's ride get stiffer due to adjusting the torsion bars? NO!.. however people do tend to say it does... And the reason has little to do with the torsion bars, but more in the fact that they are adjusting to much. When you adjust your torsion bars for more lift, you are changing the angles that your control arms sit. Just under your UCA (upper control arm) there is a little black rubber bump stop. This is there so that when the front end goes up, and the wheels "droop" or drop down, it prevents the suspension from drooping to far, and causing your CV's (axles) to bind, and possibly brake. Normally when you go over a bump, your front suspension has plenty of room to travel before that bump stop, so it never actually contacts it. But by lifting more than 1.5-2" this way, you are causing the front end to contact those stops more than regular, resulting in what seems to be a stiff ride. Worn out shocks can also play a part in this, however the simple answer, is distance between UCA and bump stop... You can purchase "low profile" bump stops from www.4x4parts.com which can help with some of this.

REAR SUSPENSION....

you have 3 basic options....

1) Blocks
2) Shackles
3) AAL's (add a leaf) or custom leaf packs.

I personally don't like blocks.. but they work... but i won't go into details on the

SHACKLES... You have several options... the aftermarket parts places listed do sell them... OR... AutoZone and several other places do sell universal ones that can be used for aprox $14.00... The aftermarket ones available are stronger, but the universal ones are usable... Shackles will provide the most flex of all these options...

AAL's.. they sell Add A Leafs that range from cheaper 1pc to more exspensive 3pc sets... This is the BEST way.. however they don't flex as good as shackles, so lots of people combine shackes and aal's..


BODY LIFTS...

4x4parts.com sells a 2" and a 3" body lift... The 2" is less work to install, however both work great.. A body lift ONLY raises the body of the truck... giving it the lifted look, however the suspension and frame are still at the EXACT same height.... The one MAJOR advangate with a body lift is the fact that it allows for bigger tires, because it raises the wheel well higher above the tire, which creates more room for larger tires... Body lifts are typically less money to purchase, but way more work to install...

TIRE SIZES....

FLAT OUT... there is NO answer for the biggest tire you can run...

With minimal change, a 31" tire is usually never a problem... With a body lift, or 2" or better suspesion lift, a 32" tire is IDEAL...

YES... you can make larger tires fit... NO... there is no way to tell you what you can fit...

The size tire you can fit all comes down to what rim your using... and what the backspacing is... the wider the stance, the smaller the tire, because as you move to a wider offset, at full turn, your tire is no longer tucked inside the fender, and will rub with a smaller tire than with stock rims... Larger tires are simply trial and error... Sorry, the simple answer just doesn't exist....

AXLES... What do I have??? This link should just about cover it.....

http://nissan4wheelers.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/3766078435/m/88310151411



Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. As other things get posted in this thread, I will update the original post with most of this information, and/or links to the information. We are attempting to stay as factual as possible with everything posted here, however based on the type of suspension we have, and differant offsets of rims people use, it is intirely possible for two people to have completely differant results in regards to several things covered in this thread...


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silversuper
thats just about right, although i think i nshould mention the flattening of my leaves wiht the shackles, nad how much i love AAL's better.

and 33 is about the bigggest you can go on suspension
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JoshuaTest
silversuper said:
thats just about right, although i think i nshould mention the flattening of my leaves wiht the shackles, nad how much i love AAL's better.

and 33 is about the bigggest you can go on suspension
Click to expand...
I chose to stick with 32's for tires because honestly, the 32" tire is probably the best bet, especially for new guys.... With a lift, 33's will work, but most people that wheel and lift, don't keep stock rims, and they chose a wider offset. so when off road, the 33's can rub... hell.... I've had my 32's rub when i was only 2-2.5" of lift... So i figued if people are experienced enough with modding there rigs, they will know what they can and can not fit, but for new guys to this, its safer to give a realistic expectation that they can do a small lift and 32's with no real issues...

as for shackles.... Lots of the blame doesn't go to the shackles, but more so the weak leaf packs our trucks come with... I think more of it comes from the fact that once we lift, we also start wheeling, and start trying to flex our trucks out as often as we can.... and that in itself is more likely to be the reason they flatten out... because at that point, we are stressing the already weak leaf packs even more...... I think i hit on the AAL's are the best, but shackles create more flex thing though... which is true....

WHERE ARE MY BODY LIFT GUYS????????? Houdini, NismoGone... somebody...

anybody want to add anything, or help me out on the technical side of anything????

Also a vote? are you guys happy with me choosing the 31-32" tire as the suggested top end tire size? based on the reasoning i gave? I want to make sure this is not only MY OPINION, but truthful info....
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Icarus03
Is this FAQ going to contain questions that are solely lift/off-roading oriented?

I read the first sentence and a few topics that I've seen repeatedly asked came to mind like audio (speaker sizes, subwoofer options especially for CC guys, HU install), intake/exhaust/header options, various bulb types/numbers, wheels. Then read the rest and felt I needed to ask the question above to contribute some info.

Personally, I know nothing about lift, suspension, and tires for this truck so I would gain benefit from reading the FAQ. :)
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Firelli
For those of you Crew Cab owners that want to put a sub box behind your rear seats:

-These are Outside Dimensions (Gross)-



-------------------------------------------------

If you plan on doing this, please be aware that you will have to cut out the jack support bracket which is located behind the rear seats. If you don't want to do that you can split the box in half and put in one sub. I cut the bracket off and put the jack under my seat. My amp is located under the passanger side seat so make sure you get one that will fit under there or else you will have to find another place. With this setup there is no room left behind the rear seats and the seat closes against the enclosure making it a great massage seat :D (There is no need to strip the seats to make it fit). There is approximately 50.5" behind the seats so you can make your box fit in perfect or make it smaller like I did (48"). Make sure you measure the area in your truck before you start. My truck is an 03 Crew Cab and it fits nicely. To make the box get yourself some 5/8" wood, wood screws, and wood glue. You want to make the box air tight. After you finish the box you can put carpet covering around it or just leave it as is. I am running two eight inch Rockford Fosgate P1s and it looks like I can fit up to 4 if I wanted. 10 inch subs might also be a possibility for this box. There is about 0.83 Cubic Feet of air space inside the box so keep that in mind when looking for subwoofers.
--Firelli
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fusionfronty99
Icarus03 said:
Is this FAQ going to contain questions that are solely lift/off-roading oriented?

I read the first sentence and a few topics that I've seen repeatedly asked came to mind like audio (speaker sizes, subwoofer options especially for CC guys, HU install), intake/exhaust/header options, various bulb types/numbers, wheels. Then read the rest and felt I needed to ask the question above to contribute some info.

Personally, I know nothing about lift, suspension, and tires for this truck so I would gain benefit from reading the FAQ. :)
Click to expand...
well, as for speakers, a stock nissan comes with 2 door speakers that can be replaced with aftermarket 6.5 inchers with no problem, the only thing is tho is getting that pesky door panel off.. does anyone kno how? (a shop did my door speakers) that would be awsome advice to put in here.

o and for you extended cab owners, you can stick a single 12 box or a dual 12 box just about anywhere, i personally went with a 15, aka mega bass for a smaller sized truck. and if having trouble finding a place to put it, make a plateform so everything will be level, just measure the back space and cut it out on a square piece of plywood. then build supports based on how high you want the plateform to be, i did mine flush with the cup holder in back of the console. then if wanted, grab some carpet and some glue and stick the carpet on there, it makes it look like the floor is even and smooth but with a "from the factory look" (i got the same color carpet as the rest of the truck).
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JoshuaTest
Nope.. it doesn't have to stop with lifts and tire stuff... those are the ones that i've seen tons of, and catch myself answering more often than none....

I can also add the stock intake mod info too...
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fusionfronty99
i got one more (cuz someone just asked this):

how to get to #6 plug.. aka pain

need 2 6" extensions, 3 pivots and a plug socket, pull the plug wire off, fish those 2 extensions down with all 3 pivots on them (i find it way easier to leave off the wrench till the socket is on the plug) then stick the wrench on and loosen away

idk if this should go on here, but when i first got the truck, that was a major thing i had a question about, not a very user friendly design :damn:
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nismogone
this might be a double post and if it is the suck on my lolly pop!!

stearing is a big issue with 1st gens this is the weakest point on out trucks with any offroading you wheel hop with anything bigger that a 31 you will bend tie rod adjusters 4x4parts.com and slr are the only two places i have found that carries heavy duty replacements for stock stearing once you lift you truck and put bigger tires i would upgrade!

then for the more crazier (because we all are crazy we wheel nissans!!) there is calmini which i believe has the best designed system but there is l&p slr and big money with total caos king kong systems. these replace everything from the power stearing box to the knuckle!

without the rack and pinion that the 2nd gens have we need something stronger for our stearing!
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D
Regarding the OEM Air box mod, someone (and I'll do it if time permits) should consolidate into an easy step by step post. But for now, see these links... The mod is ~$5 for the two caps needed and time wise it took me 1-2 hours, but I like to take my time when doing unfamiliar mods

Josh's original thread - http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/s...ead.php?t=4672

Useful link on an Xterra site which Josh found (Post #8 on the thread above), has some good details - http://www.xterraownersclub.com/cgi-...;f=70;t=000190

My thread, which may have some additional details, start from about post #7 onward - http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/s...ead.php?t=5183
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fusionfronty99
joshuatest, i was reading your old thread about the airbox mod and you said that for the fender resonator, you just removed the little plastic tube going between the box and the resonator, im just curious if i could just do that, i really dont think i could get my inner fender out, my trucks a little bit old, soooo rust is common and id prolly snap bolts

also, did you do like a filter over that hole?
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JoshuaTest
What i probably mean was once i removed the fender one... there was a short plastic tube that connected it to the air box... I lift that tube on the air box... Esentially i changed which hole took in air for the intake... Now its forced to draw air from the fender instead of the engine bay, which i guess in some way is cooler air.....

But nope... defanately got getting into that fender well to get the big one out... and its a big one

One mod in the near future will be the snorkle for me... Not so much for the traditional snorkle use, but more for forced air..
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D
fusionfronty99 said:
joshuatest, i was reading your old thread about the airbox mod and you said that for the fender resonator, you just removed the little plastic tube going between the box and the resonator, im just curious if i could just do that, i really dont think i could get my inner fender out, my trucks a little bit old, soooo rust is common and id prolly snap bolts

also, did you do like a filter over that hole?
Click to expand...
I don't remember that little plastic tube Josh is referring to, maybe mine just came out with the resonator and I didn't notice. In any case you can remove that rubber barrier in the fender pretty easily as it's just those snap clips and short screws that hold it in. Hopefully you won't break any pulling them out but that part is pretty easy. Then when it comes to the fender resonator, if you can at least get the first forward bolt out which is underneath the air box itself, then if you can't get the rear one out, which is a pain, then simply grab hold of that resonator and rip that SOB out, cause I guarantee you you'll never get it back in once it's out. Then just put back that rubber liner and you're done. There's no filter needed cause that area is pretty well protected from dirt & such, yet it makes for a good breathing hole

Oh and Josh, it's really good to have you back! The forum has missed your wisdom Obi Wan :)
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roastbeef
put that 14-17 mpg is normal with stock tires. and the only way to improove mpg is though a more efficient intake and exhaust. all others are debatable.
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YerBoi
silversuper said:
it wont fit because its a different bolt patttern.
Click to expand...
Correct. 05 + Frontier's have a smaller lug pattern.

The Titan's have the same lug pattern as the 1st gen's, but the center of the Titan wheels need to be routed out to fit over the Frontier hubs.
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silversuper
might as well put that info here too.

we have a 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern with 5.5 inch backspacing
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D
silversuper said:
someone do a write up on how to change a taillight, i hve seen that asked a few times LOL
Click to expand...
This is quite simple...
  1. Each taillight is held in by two bolts (don't recall the size offhand).
  2. These bolts are located on the sides of the bed at the end where the taillights are, one is above the other. Finding and accessing them is the trickiest part of the deal. Do not remove your tailgate, simply let it down
  3. If you have the plastic bed liner, you'll need to pry it away on the sides at the end to access the bolts. The liner is quite tolerant to bending, and will bend back to normal with time. So with one hand pry the bed liner away and with the other hand use a wrench or socket to loosen each bolt. Sorry but you cannot drink beer during this step...
  4. If you have a bed extender, these bolts are also the same two bolts that hold in the bed extender harness.
  5. Once the bolts are removed there are two snap clips which hold the light in place. With some light tugging the light should just pop out.
  6. Once out, pull as much free cable out and set the lights on the tailgate face down. You can remove each light bulb from the lens housing by turning it a 1/4 turn and pulling it out. From there bulbs can simply be pulled out of the socket.
To reinstall, simply reverse your steps and make sure you line up the snap clips and pop them in prior to screwing the bolts back in.


Incidentally headlights are very similar to remove / install. There are two bolts per each headlight on the top of each side. One on the outside is obvious, the other on the inside screws into the grill but is still pretty obvious. This bolt can be a minor PITA on the drivers side light as the washer fluid inlet is somewhat in the way. Headlights also have two clips near the bottom that hold the light in place there. Pretty much a similar procedure as taillights. Headlights will pop out without removing the grill (least for 01 - 04 models). They are a tight fit and will take some wiggling, but they should slide out just fine. Headlights also have adjuster screws for adjusting the beam.
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JoshuaTest
01-04 SuperCharged models that where factory equipted with a flux compasitor need to have vacume preasure levels checked before turning 50k, and again at 100k. Since this is a little known thing, I guess i should add it too....

If your 01-04 S/C is so equipted, you need to remove the air box lid, and remove the filter. You will then have complete access to the flux box, which will have three separate vacume lines running to it. The middle line has a valve stem type dealy on it that you can use a regular air preasure gauge to read the preasure. When the vehicle is at normal running temp, the preasure gauge should read 14lbs. And of course, when the truck is not running, the preasure will be 0lbs. When key is on, but truck not started, you will get a 3lbs reading....

IF.... if for some reason this is not reading correctly, get to a dealer immediately, as vacume leaks in the flux box could cause your halogyn fluid to clog the EPO lines, and through time, you could end up replacing your flux compasitor itself.

Hope this helps.
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silversuper
and i think the tail light bolts are 10 mil, for those who are too lazy to try another socket first
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adorsey
Is there any other 3" full suspension lift kits besides the calmini?
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