misterwizard

Thanks, Tim! I like how it came out. A few tweaks are left including an aluminum skid covering the lowest part and bent under the front lower radiator support and a set of Hella 700ff lights. As far as blueprints...I've got nothing for you. Sorry. This is the first bumper build that I didn't fab myself. I had an acquaintance fabricate this one and it came out far better than I could have ever come up with on my own. We took our original styling cues from Armorology's Toyota bumpers and then tweaked things for the Pathy.

This summer I had a run in with a delivery truck while parked at a coffee shop. His insurance covered the cost of repairs...way, way more than a custom front bumper, spacer lift, and winch cost me. Here's a before and after of the whole thing.

Just a quick update. The Pathy is slowly becoming ours...I just can't keep my hands off of things. :-D After being clipped by a box truck and having the bumper pulled off, insurance money subsidized a custom front bumper, winch, and 2" spacer lift. Now with 265/70r17 tires she's closer to where I think she'll stay. I'm considering a 1 or 2 inch subframe drop in the front and matching XJ springs in the rear. I don't want a monster, but the current spacer lift isn't quite adequate. Anywho, here's a current shot:

Year: 2004 Platinum LE Lift : 2.5" spacers up front (assisted by custom bumper and winch to weigh it down), 2" spacers rear Wheels : OE Platinum LE 17" Tires : 265/70R17 Cooper AT's Notes: 3/4" spacers front and rear; rubs mudflaps on full lock without trimming; stock springs are reeeeeeally soft and seem worn;

Steve, do you recommend putting the spacers in the rear above or below the spring? Does it make a difference?

What size tire are you running? I think I read elsewhere that you aren't happy with the struts. Seems to be a common issue. Any other options you've been thinking about trying? Thanks for the info...it looks solid.

Yea, that's exactly what happen. His rear bumper caught and snagged my front bumper. It really is pretty simple damage and looks worse than it is. He did pull out ever so slightly the energy absorbing beam across the front. The estimate for repair came in repairing all of that and is well above what I'm spending on a custom bumper. I drop the rig off next weekend for the build-out of the bumper. I'll be sure to report back on my impressions of the shop and some shots of the bumper when it's all said and done.

Yea, I'm really not that worried about it. The guy was great and it didn't ruin my day at all...in my world, it's just stuff and stuff gets broken all the time. It's not worth getting bent out of shape over. The best bit for me is that insurance is paying me to replace my bumper that I'd already begun planning to replace, so in reality it's an fortunate loss.

Ha, that's funny. I hadn't seen that. It's from the previous owner but it lends credibility to they guy's assumption that it was a Pathfinder....oh, and the fact that he was amped up after hitting someone else's car. :-)

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I was working from one of my favorite cafe's when a guy came into the shop asking if anyone owned the 'Toyota Pathfinder' out front. I spoke up and said I owned a Nissan Pathfinder parked out front. He replied, "Well, I've got bad news for you. I just hit your car." I'm grateful that he came in and found me. He was such a great guy to be hit by...if that's possible. He owned up to his mistake and felt terrible. He gave me his insurance info, his private cell number, and his office number. By the afternoon I had a quote and his insurance is sending a check. So I'm not sure if it's clear to everybody else what this means... It's time to have a bumper built! I'd build my own, but we moved into the city last year and all my shop equipment is in storage at my in-laws. I sold the welder, chop saw, and the rest of metal fab tools before we moved knowing I wouldn't have a garage for some time. Fortunately I found a great shop in the area to custom fab me something up. The Pathy goes in for reconstructive surgery in a week and a half. I'll keep you posted on what comes of it.

Great looking QX4. I was looking for one of these with low miles when I bought my '04 Pathfinder. I don't regret the Pathfinder one bit, but those QX4's are nice! Good job. R

Good eye, Kingman. Yep, we live in Portland all right. And yes, it's in extremely clean shape!

I thought the same thing with mine, but it seems to be the normal. Just enough to vent out hot air in a parking lot I guess. R

I'll keep my eye on it. No overt oil burn out of the tailpipe and the oil doesn't smell like combustion. I really like the VQ engines. We replaced a 2000 Nissan Maxima that had the VQ30 and 190k miles. It still runs amazingly well. My sister is inheriting it for her daughter. I had a hard time letting it go because it just ran so stinking well. It's the reason I went with the 2004 Pathy and the VQ35. Hopefully it has the same longevity and relatively low maintenance requirements. R

Thanks guys. Right now the plan is to enjoy it fairly stock. We live in downtown Portland and, for the moment, it's our only vehicle so modifying it much isn't on the immediate docket. At most, I may put a small spacer lift on it this fall when it needs new struts/shocks and and upsize the tires. Who knows. I have a hard time leaving things alone. I've already investigated a set of Warn hubs. We'll see. This summer it's our camping and adventure rig though. We love living in the city almost as much as we love getting out of the city! See you guys out there.