TowndawgR50

Nice! I bet seeing it transform has been fun. Make sure to link up with @deltaR50 . I was able to hang with him a bit when I lived in CA and his rig is amazing.

You wont be disappointed. Just make sure to get manual hubs at the same time and always use the 2WD option on your All-mode transfer case when street driving. I'm not aware of any variances, should be the same as all LSD equipped R50's If I had to do it all over again with my truck I would have gone with front and rear springs with a front locker for the first modifications. Those alone will give any R50 the clearance and confident traction to get through almost anything and truly determine what is needed next to get it to your performance goal, if anything. The downside is it will get you in and out of places the truck can now handle with ease but requires sliders and under-body armor to prevent damage from the rough terrain. I waited to put sliders on and it happened to me. Not that it matters as my rig is mostly used mostly for recreational purposes but you clearly have a really nice QX4 so try to keep it that way!

Not at all. This is the cheapest and most straight forward way to lock up the rear axle of the truck. A whole new axle would be much more expensive and labor intensive with some fabrication required. This swap is %100 bolt on. No fab work, grinding, welding etc. Hard part is finding donor axle shafts with everything else being readily available off the shelf OEM hardware

@MLML

That wont work on any R50 unless you swap over to a 31 spline setup. All R50 H233B rear axles are setup with 33 spline. The 31 spline swap has been done and @hawairish documented the steps and parts needed.

Love your rig! It inspired my build for sure. Glad I could help you out!

Yes, new adjustable upper and lower. I do have a slight bow to the springs but nothing severe and my pinion angle is good while retaining my original one piece driveshaft. I have the materials to make an adjustable PHB but havent gotten to it yet.

I have a minor clunk at the moment of acceleration/deceleration that was present before 6" but no constant howl or noise. Made adjustable control arms when I went up to 6" and have had no issues. I've clocked a few thousand miles since including wheeling and long road trips.

The kits are still being tested and refined but as of right now they include all stainless fasteners, rivnuts and the stiffener plate for the body mounted latch components to retrofit a Pathfinder that did not come with a swing gate with a used JY unit. There is the optional license plate relocation bracket for those that want it as well. This setup has not been tested on pre-face lifted Pathfinders or any QX4. You'll need to source a used swing gate and latch components from a JY or part out vehicle. Also, you'll need to rent or purchase a rivnut gun to install the threaded inserts. Given the total cost, when compared to a swing gate for a 4runner or universal unit from Smittybilt, JY swing gates are a great alternative.

Yes, our base plate is the foundation for all of our modular components and it provides 1.75" of lift. It can be used by itself or in conjunction with 3" or 4" strut risers and the appropriate subframe blocks

Thank you for your patience everyone! We're excited to make a few important announcements... First, our company name: Pines to Spines Off Road. Affectionately "PSO" in our regular discussions, the name refers to the regions we call home and the challenges in between that inspire us to design and build our rigs to tackle all terrains. Our primary goal is to provide a comprehensive line of products that focuses on design, function, and quality. Since our product line will come from two locations depending on our fabrication processes, we also couldn't proceed without proper facility names: the "Tiger Mountain Test Lab" in WA, and the "Spines Fab Lab" in AZ. By both combining and splitting the production, we're able to make solid use of our respective areas of expertise and assets. Second, our SFD components. Let's step backwards for a moment, though: we know there are "kits" (pieces?) out there. Everything we've seen is based on antiquated prints that have been floating around the internet for years, with very basic designs, zero improvement, limited tooling access, and little assurance that the alignment issues are addressed. The design got folks down the road, but many have experienced problems with fabrication quality or alignment issues. The original kits were also intended for a specific outcome (either 4" to 6" of lift), and potentially required removal of prior upgrades; even that company got out of the game for some reason. Fast-forward to now, and we're addressing all those points. Our SFD solution is modular and bolt-on, backed by CAD and CNC equipment to produce consistent and efficient results. Our SFD "kit" is actually multiple kits, including a non-SFD lift option! We'll be offering 1.75", 3", and 4" strut spacers, all of which feature camber adjustment, and pairing those with 3" and 4" SFD kits. This allows us to cater to practically any desired setup! The 1.75" base spacer can be used without a subframe drop, or combined with OME or AC springs and 3" SFD to produce something more moderate. The base spacer is also the heart of our 3" and 4" strut spacers, so upgrading later is easy. None of the spacers require strut disassembly, and because they are two-piece spacers, installation is as simple as attaching one part to the strut, the other part to the chassis, and then bringing the two together. All materials meet or exceed OE specs with grade 10.9 metric hardware, 1/4" plate for the strut components and subframe risers with 3/16" plate for the motor mounts. Shown above are the unfinished prototype 3" and 4" motor mount spacers, the 4" strut spacer demonstrating full camber offset, and the upper mounting plate for use as a 1.75" spacers. These are fresh from the plasma table and press break processes this past weekend with a quick mock-up to validate core assembly so they have not been welded yet. We are still prototyping, using our personal rigs and a 3rd vehicle--an 03 Pathfinder LE (a.k.a., The Gambler) that @ferrariowner123 graciously sent our way! This rig will be fitted with all of our gear and serve as demo vehicle and eventually participate in the Washington State Gambler 500! Soon after, we'll be working with several local NPORA members (our "Piners & Spiners" Team) to personally install the first batch, among other things we've already been field testing. We are very grateful to these folks for the support and a chance to provide real-world feedback to further improve our products. We have also been eagerly developing other products we hope to offer in the near future: · static and adjustable rear control arms and panhard bars · polyurethane motor mounts · swing-gate installation kits · roof-rail mounting system for roof baskets, lighting, storage, etc. We are excited for the coming months as things roll out and our products get put to the test. Going forward we ask that all posts to this thread stay on topic with questions and comments pertaining only to our offered products and services. Stay tuned for up to date progress and product release dates!

I lifted my rig in stages- - 2" spacers up front, new KYB struts on stock springs, Warn manual hubs, rear OME MD springs with HPDE spacers, Airlift spring helpers and Bilstein monotube shocks - 4" lift via SFD with a full front end suspension rebuild, front OME HD springs and a missing link -6" lift with new polyurethane bushings on all components front and rear, adjustable upper and lower control arms and LR rear springs paired with bilstein 5160 rear shocks At each point, based on having drove it from the stock condition to its current 6" setup, the ride quality has consistently improved with my current setup driving better than it ever has. Not at all rough and bouncy nor sloppy on the road. The truck flexes well off road with fully intact extended sway bar links front and rear, helping it handle high speed turns on and off-road without any lean or instability. Its luxurious and very comfortable yet purpose built to handle some very demanding driving. Love it. The only issue I've encountered was at the first stage with a 2" spacer lift on stock springs- I was breaking CV's when I had full extension of the front suspension under load. The CV showed no sign of binding when up in the air on jack stands but with the load of the driveline in 4 Low in an off-road scenario the axles would detonate in that same full droop position. I was using, and still am, the brand new lifetime warranty imported CV axles from O'Reilly's. Without that warranty I would have been on the hook for 3 extra CV's. 2 lost from off road over-extension and 1 to a tear in the boot.

Thats odd. I have had no issues with my OME HD front coils and I have a heavy steel plate XJ front bumper. I received about 1.75" of lift with them and have run them since 2015. No problems or major settling after many miles of highway and tough off road driving.

1/4-20 bolt on the left side of the license plate and self tapping metric sheet metal screw on the right side

No problem. Yes, you can do it with the cover on and you will need an additional fastener to secure it.

Yes. It should be there. Havent seen one without the pre-terminated pigtail yet but there could be a possibility that some weren't equipped. Pop the lower cover off the hatch area to check. There will be a firewall style rubber boot with the pigtail for the sensor just off center under that cover. Just be sure to pull the harness out of the cavity first to avoid damaging it when punching through with the drill. The sensor location was drilled after the plate was installed on the rigs pictured so you should be ok.

I thought you replaced your diff bushings with OEM rubber in an effort to solve the rumble? My bushings were shot and the poly bushings made a pretty noticeable difference but I cant say they are dramatically better than a new set of OEM rubber bushings because I don't have any wheel time with a fresh OEM rubber set to compare to. Like all polyurethane bushings they transfer more road "feeling" into the steering wheel which I like. Even with the front Lokka its not harsh and there are no vibrations but a very crisp and firm translation of the front drivetrain to the steering wheel when going down the road or a trail. Doubly so when wheeling in 4-low

Works great. The bushings for the differential are not available in polyurethane. I machined these from oversized bushings. If you are interested I can machine another set.

Yes

They flex well. I love mine

I just wanted to add to what @hawairish stated and fill you all in on some details. We want to provide comprehensive R50 specific aftermarket support. Aside from SFD's and trailing arms we've been developing accessories and solutions to other areas of the truck like modular rooftop and interior storage, rooftop access, front and rear bumpers, driveline upgrades and much more. Like @hawairish mentioned we have been very fortunate to have the support of some willing members of this community who are using our initial products and we encourage those folks to review them here. We both are working fulltime jobs so the process has been slow but steadily ramping up. 2019 is going to be packed so stay tuned for more updates! One quick note- We recently acquired @ferrariowner123 2003 LE and will be using that in the development of our products. Big thanks to him for adding a crucial element to this equation!

That liftgate is valuable too. Id snag that in a heartbeat. Its got everything setup to accept the plate

?

Ive had this happen to me on my 01. I have video of it that I'll dig up and post soon. Nothing to worry about. It did throw me off though as this is the only vehicle I've ever driven to do this.

I agree. My seats heat up quickly and make myself and the passenger sweat if left on too long. Never had any problems with taking too long.