Trailmaster 3" Body Lift Installation Guide

Installation

Overall, I found that the kit was pretty complete and the included instructions for installation seemed to be straightforward and easy to read. When I got a little further, however, I found that the instructions just had the "86 1/2 - 90 Hardbody Pickup" title crossed out and had "86 1/2 - 90 Pathfinder" written over the top of it. The instructions are divided into two sections: 'Cab' and 'Bed'. I have tried to combine instructions in more of a practical order in this review. This indicates to me that perhaps the Trailmaster people got a little lazy and didn't research their vehicles a whole lot before selling a lift kit for them. I wrote a letter to Trailmaster about this, but I've received no reply. Figures.

First, I must stress that you need to open the kit and check your bundle of nuts and bolts to determine that you have all the necessary hardware before you remove anything from your Pathfinder. If anything's missing, you'll be begging a free ride to the hardware store like I did.

The instructions say to wash the underside of the vehicle before installing the lift kit. Good idea. I washed mine right before getting under it to work on it and got dripped all over with muddy water. You might want to do this a day earlier. Next, try to go around with the WD-40 or Liquid Wrench and hit all the body mount bolts, nuts, and any other bolts you will be removing so they'll come off easier later.

BODY MOUNTING BOLT LOCATION NOTES

Following the instruction sheet, the next step is to loosen but not remove the body mount bolts. I used an electric impact wrench because it was available and made it easier. There are five mounting points per side. The front, center and rear mount bolts are easily removable. The second front ( at the rear of the front wheelwells ) and the fourth rear ( right in front of the rear wheelwell ) body mounts will require removing some inner side panels and peeling back the carpet or tipping up your rear seats to access the bolts. The bolt heads in these two locations are encased in a black plastic floor mount tab that seems to be pressed into the floor. When you replace the bolts in these locations, you will need to use a hammer and punch to tap the bolt upward into the cab so you can remove it.

The next few steps center on the front end of your Pathfinder. You need to remove the inner fender skirts which have little plastic pop out clips. I would recommend removing the front bumper while you're under there. It helps to jack up the front end a bit for easier access to the insides of the wheelwell. The front bumper has four bolts (two per side) and is directly bolted to the frame with access holes through the body inside the wheelwell. You might want to have a friend hold the bumper while you remove the bolts, but it is possible to do it yourself. With the mounting bolts removed from the bumper, it will slide forward out of the body. I was pretty surprised by the light weight of the front bumper. I guess they're mostly for looks.

Remove your front skidplate. Then get under there and reach up to remove the lower outer section of the fan shroud. This piece is a slim plastic attachment on the lower half of the fan shroud itself. It takes a bit of work to figure out how to get this thing off. It snaps apart. Removing the lower outer shroud section allows the fan to clear the rest of the shroud when the body is lifted. Personally, I had to remove the entire fan shroud (after popping off the upper radiator hose and unscrewing the shroud mounting bolts) and shave the inner lower part with a hacksaw blade for some additional fan clearance. The fan was rubbing a little after taking off the snap-off section and the lift was installed. I checked by spinning the fan by hand with the engine off.

Inside the engine compartment: remove the engine ground strap on the driver's side attached to the inner fender, as well as the ground strap attached to the firewall and one that is on the passenger side inner fender.

Underneath in the rear: The emergency brake cable mounts can stay where they are, just don't leave the e-brake set when you lift the body or the cables will be tighter than a piano string. The driveshaft hoop also needs to be unbolted and removed for clearance. The instructions say that it MAY need to be bent a bit to get it to fit back in place. I didn't even bother trying. The hoop happens to be made of a rather thick piece of steel and is not easily bent to allow reinstallation. The kit supplies two spacer tubes and bolts (one of which was missing) that are supposed to allow you to reinstall the hoop, but you can decide what you want to do with it.

STEERING LINES, BRAKE LINES, AND HARDLINES FOR FUEL VAPOR RECOVERY

When I was finished with my lift, I failed to notice that the power steering hoses between the pump (on the engine) and the reservoir bottle (mounted to the BODY!) would need to be lengthened. They nearly pulled off the reservoir bottle before I noticed how stretched the hoses were. The instructions say NOTHING WHATSOEVER about this and nothing is included in the lift kit to correct the problem. ( Some kits just relocate the reservoir lower on the firewall either with new brackets or by drilling new mounting holes, but that would also move the reservoir closer to the engine and make it a tighter fit. ) What I did was go out and get some new lengths of hose. I used 7/16" and 9/16" inside diameter bulk braided rubber hose(same as HP braided fuel line). Measure the old hoses while they're still installed and add about six inches when buying the new hoses. Then they can be trimmed to fit perfectly. New hose clamps are also a very good idea.

Remember to remove the bolts holding the transmission cooler lines ( if you have the auto ) to the front crossmember under the radiator. I had to zip-tie the lines out of the way of the fan when I was done. Also watch for clearance between the lower edge of the front of the body ( below where the bumper was) and the crossmember under the radiator. Mine had screws in the edge of the body that scraped all the way up the crossmember and then popped over the edge when I jacked the body up. No damage, but the popping noise from the screws scared me.

Unbolt ALL the brake lines and the vapor recovery lines that are bolted to the frame. There are quite a few, and most are held on with a 10mm bolt. I missed a few on the driver side and almost had the brake line crease itself when I was jacking up the body. There is a hard-line connected with rubber spacers that runs from the charcoal fuel vapor recovery canister up front down to the catalytic converter that will need to be unbolted. Check the other recovery lines as well. Be sure to un-clip all lines that run between the firewall and the engine, as well as all lines that are clipped to the inner fenderwell on the passenger side. The clips are all plastic and mine either broke or just got lost when I was working on my Pathfinder so I used some electrical wire attachment clips and some self-tapping screws to reattach everything to the inner fenders and firewall. Take your time and make sure everything is clear and won't be pulled off when you jack up the body.

REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING SHAFT (applies to 87-89 models only, 90-up models have a different shaft)

This was the singular most difficult and trying experience of the whole lift kit experience for me. The stock steering shaft on the 87-89 'Path is a two-piece unit with a u-joint on the bottom end (the steering box end) and a splined shaft on the upper end. The lift kit includes a 3" longer splined steering shaft to replace the stock one.

The instructions state that you should scribe two marks on the steering box and the lower u-joint, as well as the lower end of the splined shaft and the u-joint where it enters the u-joint assembly. This is so when you reinstall the steering shaft it will line up properly and the steering wheel won't be 3 degrees off kilter when you're done. This is a very good idea. I used a black permanent marker. Very bad idea. The ink rubbed off with all the handling and I had to guess where to reinstall the shaft. As a result, my steering wheel was off by about 1/6th of a turn and I had to remove the damn thing once again to straighten it. I would say either use a scratch-all, scribe or perhaps a paint pen in a bright color so you can tell where you were in the first place. It takes a 13mm and a 12mm wrench and ratchet to remove the rag joint bolts at the upper end of the steering shaft. These bolts are hard to access and remove. Just keep at it. Remember to loosen the retaining bolts, top and bottom on the splined shaft so that the upper yoke and the lower u-joint assembly will slide off.

After removing the entire steering shaft, I placed the lower u-joint section in a bench vise to allow the upper splined shaft to be removed. On the lower assembly there is a small hole with the splined shaft showing through it. The hole is where a tiny, tiny (did I mention TINY?) ball bearing is installed in a groove cut into the end of the splined shaft inside the lower shaft. The bearing retains the splined shaft and keeps it from sliding out on it's own.

To remove the splined shaft, I used a pair of Vise-Grips locked onto the shaved section at the exposed end of the shaft and proceeded to whack the hell out of it until it started sliding out of the u-joint assembly. WD-40 helped. Due to the violent nature of the removal of the splined shaft, it was very difficult for me to know exactly when the tiny retainer bearing would be popping out at me. Therefore it surprised me by shooting out and very nearly being lost on my garage floor. I retrieved it after searching for 15 minutes with a telescoping magnet and a bright lamp. I would suggest placing a piece of masking tape over the hole on the u-joint assembly and maybe over the end of the collar so when the ball comes out it won't be lost, but make sure you know when the ball is out of the hole so it won't accidentally be tapped out along with the shaft.

Compare your previous marks on the old shaft and the end of the u-joint collar and place the new shaft in position to be tapped in. When the new shaft has been tapped far enough in, the slot for the ball-bearing retainer will be exposed in the small hole on the lower assembly. Place the retainer ball in the hole and carefully tap the shaft in so the ball will follow the groove and be drawn down into the u-joint assembly. Then tap the new shaft all the way in until it bottoms out and remove it from the vise. Be careful not to round off any spline edges on the end you are tapping on. Finished! The instructions say at this point to reinstall the steering shaft in the vehicle, but I fail to see how it could be possible when the lift blocks have not been installed yet. It just won't fit. Hold on to your steering shaft until after the blocks are in, then install it.

GAS FILLER & BREATHER HOSES

At this point you will need to remove the plastic shield bolted on inside the passenger side rear wheelwell so you can access the fuel filler hose and the breather hose on the gas tank. The plastic shield is easy to remove but cannot be reinstalled after the lift. Unscrew the hose clamps and pull the hoses off. The hoses will be lengthened a bit later with a couple of metal spacers. You might stuff a rag or something into the end of the hoses to keep dirt out while you are working on the rest of the lift.

Here are a couple of picture for reference.
http://nissan.damagedreality.com/fuelhose1.jpg
http://nissan.damagedreality.com/fuelhose2.jpg

Take all the body bolts out on one side as well as the rubber spacer mounts. Lift the body carefully and slowly with a floor jack topped by a piece of wood to avoid damage to the lower edge of the body. Make sure nothing's still attached. Then install your lift blocks between the rubber mounts and the bolts through the holes. Don't tighten yet, they need to pivot when the other side is lifted. Repeat on the other side. Then tighten all the body mount bolts.

Now you need to cut the gas filler hose at a point where you can put the extension tube into it and clamp it down on both sides with the supplied clamps. I had to go out and buy two more hose clamps to replace the old stock ones. The hose needs enough cut off the end to allow you to slip it back onto the filler neck mounted to the body and have room for both clamps. Same on the breather hose.

The kit includes a spacer tube for the UPPER radiator hose, but strangely enough, it isn't necessary at all. The upper hose is fine just the way it is. The LOWER hose, however, becomes creased after the lift. You will need to either use the spacer tube on the lower hose somehow or just cut it shorter. I cut the hose and slipped it back on, which works just fine. This might be a good time to change out your coolant if you aren't too sure about it.

SHIFTERS

With a manual transmission, the shifter will be too low after the lift is installed to allow you to shift gears properly. It'll hit the edge of the cutout on the floor. So will the transfer case shifter. ( No 4LO! ) The instructions say that the shifters may need to be bent to allow proper shifting. I've heard that most people with body lifts just get under the console and carpet and notch the floor. Another option is to remove the stick itself and have it lengthened and/or bent so it will work after the lift. When I modified my t-case shifter, I removed it, stuck it in a vise, and heated it until red-hot with a propane torch, then bent it until it was angled forward enough to work properly. I also notched the floorpan about 2". It works just fine now. You can also utilize the transfer case shifter from a HB pickup as a direct swap, being as the HB shifter is 1"-2" longer to begin with. The HB's sit 1.5" higher on the frame than the Pathfinder body does.

Last but not least: THE FRONT BUMPER

The lift kit includes a set of brackets and bolts (again, one missing) that are supposed to allow you to reattach the front bumper after the lift. Also included were a few diagrams showing either the frame mounting area or the bumper bracket itself, I couldn't tell. Another diagram shows a hole location template for the front bumper, but the instructions don't say ANYTHING about drilling holes in anything. In any case, the diagram didn't look anything like my front bumper brackets and the included spacers, bolts, and brackets refused to fit any which way I tried them. I ended up opening up the phone book and going to a local welding shop and having someone fabricate some mounts for me so I could reinstall the front bumper. It only cost one hour of shopwork, about $25. You may have more luck with your kit than I did in this area. Other people I've talked to complain that the supplied brackets and bolts leave much to be desired in the way of tightness for the front bumper, and that they keep having to re-align the front bumper every now and then.

To relocate the rear bumper, simply unbolt the bumper(and tow hitch if you have one), then move it up 3" to the upper set of frame holes and reattach the bumper and towhitch. No drilling required!

That's about it! Make sure everything you undid or loosened is tightened back up and off you go.

More Info:

• TrailMaster's Nissan Page