I am currently running the PML on my 04 Xterra and I am upgrading to the 3" lift. I am not all tha familiar with installing it so I am looking for any help and/or advice. If anyone is around the area of Omaha Ne, and would care to help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. Looking to get it on with in the next month.

Order a new set of camber bolts.

Spray every nut and bolt and spline with nut blaster to dissolve the rust welds for a week or three before you start.

Calmini? - Might need to do the zerk thing to prevent squeeks (I forget if they now COME with zerks, or if you have to install them yourself...find that out...)...if you don't have one, get a good grease gun and some Mobil1 synthetic grease for it.

While you're at it...get a zerk for the front drive shaft, and grease it too, everyone seems to forget about that thing. (While you're greasing/zerk shopping...)

Line up your alignment shop...time the lift so you can bring the truck in as soon as you're done.

Think about shocks...a huge number of people didn't like the Calmini ones, and ended up taking them back off later and swapping longer, more durable, and better valved Bilsteins or Ranchos on instead, etc...(If you wanted to save an installation, and just do the final shocks first, etc...)

Hope that helps!

Not only the camber bolts, but the washers and nuts as well - since they are sold separately.

While TJ's right aboug PB blasting everything, you still may want to consider getting a sawzall and / or plasma cutter ready. The reason being that the nuts on my UCAs came off so easily that the group of us thought it was going to be a cake walk from that point forward. 8 hours and 15 blades later, we all knew how wrong we were because the bolts had been pretty well welded inside the bushings.

Also, when popping the ball joints, while a pickle fork may help you out, be prepared to break out the BFH to pound the you-know-what out of them until they pop out on their own. In fact, there are a few people that suggest using the BFH from the start and, if I knew then what I know now, I'd have to agree.

Good luck and post up pictures when you're done.

I have the SLR Stage product and have been very pleased with them.

Milwaukee "The Torch" blades and a dab o cutting oil (or bar chain oil what ever you want to use) make much shorter work of those camber bolts. I only had to cut one but it only took one blade and a couple of minutes for both sides of the bolt.

The cheap blades and lack of cooling is what fucked us on your truck. I will never cheap out on blades again.

Good point about the stuff that is needed for the camber bolts...some people might not think about it. (You'd think it would be all together, ya know?)

And yeah...if you get cheap ass suck sawz...you'll use up a lot of blades.

One good blade can do several truck's worth....as opposed to the cheap shit going through a dozen blades per bolt, etc.

I figure the unit costs per blade are higher...but the total cost of operation is a lot lower, as you use very few blades in comparison.

And yeah...if people don't know to lube when cutting metal...oh yeah, it can be a long night.



Now the LOWER control Arm Bolts/Bushings...that's a long night no matter what.

Ahhhh, Calmini...

Right, camber bolts and eccentric washers. Don't even look for them anywhere beside the dealership. Should cost you $30-ish total.

Mobil 1 synthetic grease.

Ok, so you DO have zerk fittings. One thing that is a MUST do, is to buy new zerk fittings. If you look at the brilliant placement of the zerk, there is no way to get to it and getting the most extreme angles with a grease gun is your closest bet. I took my wheels off, I cranked my T-bars to change the angle on the UCA (upper control arms) and did everything possible to get them to work. Barely got it on there. So, with that said, you shoul take one out right now and go to an auto parts store. Ask them to point you in the right direction.

You NEED to get one with a 90 degree bend in it. If you do not get this then you are looking at spending an hour to grease all of your zerks (4 in all)as opposed to spending about 5 minutes wiping off old grease and putting new in. It is going to save you such heartache it is not even funny.

Alright, now you should buy a pickle fork (ball joint separator) and have a BFH (Big F**kin hammer /AKA sledge hammer) to get your stock ball joints off. This is just going to be a headache if you do not buy this tool. Just buy one for assurance and make it as easy as possible. Should cost you about $10 at any auto store.

Also, very important is new hardware. You will be given new hardware with your suspension lift but you should buy some more. I am talking specifically about the ball joints. You will notice that the ball joint itself is threaded. You will also notice that you have 4 puny bolts there too. As an incentive and to be safe, buy some new grade 8 bolts that are longerand go all the way throught the ball joint and the UCA. Also buy some Nylock nuts, and 2 locking washers per bolt AND some RED loctite. These bolts are known to back themselves out. Mine did and nearly fell off. Could have killed me. That cost about $15-$16. Here is a pic of what mine look like now:


T-bars, if you mess with them, you might want to buy a butane torch for $20-at a local hardware store. Home depot or Lowes is your best bet. T-bars are often very stubborn when removing. They are stubborn when removing where the splines meet the UCA's. You might want to take a BFH and a butane torch to get these out.

For the AAL that came with your package, it should be called add 2 leaves per side. DO NOT THROW AWAY ANY LEAF SPRINGS! when they say add (A) leaf, they actually mean add both of these leaves and do not replace any.

Bet you wish you guys were in Arizona where nothing ever rusts

There's a full how-to on lift installation in my How-to forum on www.nissan4wheelers.com

It will walk you step by step on a lift install for your truck. Regardless of brand, the lifts install the same way.

Thats what all that red crap is , I see that and think clay.

Ditto on the new shocks, zerks, and new bolts for the ball joints.
My lift squeaks like a banshee in heat and my ball joint to UCA bolts worked themselves out as well.
My (rust free) 2003 install

Hey, never installed one before, but would be willing to give you a hand. Im in Bellevue. let me know.