The_Q

try a compression test if you haven't already, results could be informative! also, when was timing belt done? unlikely to cause a misfire, but if the belt is stretched, this could be the last of other factors contributing to misfire. The difference in short term fuel trim from bank 1 to 2 is also insane lol (difference of 30% !!!). assuming you were holding the throttle constant while taking the photos, it's possible cylinder 5 injector is not working correctly and the system is increasing fuel to bank 1 to compensate. could be a faulty injector or wiring if it is the injector.

Hello everyone! I moved to Michigan in late February this year. I had a commute to work that was up to an hour in the snow. I have the Mile Marker manual hubs. When I locked the hubs and flipped my switch to 4auto or 4high, the front wheels would engage normally and without problem. However, there was at least 3-4 different occasions where I would engage 4auto at the start of my commute, but after 40-45 minutes the vehicle would kick me out of 4wd and start flashing the 4wd light. This would go away after a few minutes (longest was ~10 minutes), and it would allow me to switch back into 4auto. Restarting the vehicle did not reset this if it appeared. This was a bit scary the first couple of times this happened (I'm from California lol). The flashing 4wd light makes me think this could be related to the manual hubs because when driving highway speeds with the hubs unlocked, the 4wd light flashes the same way. some background mechanical info for those who may be wondering: -mile marker manual hubs. -VG33E with the Qx4 Transfer case, which is different from the VG pathy T-case. For those who are unaware, the Qx4 has an auto transfer case. The shifter only has 4hi, N, and 4Lo. There is a switch on the center console when in 4high to switch between 2wd, 4auto (center diff unlocked), and 4high (center diff locked). -This has had new Tcase seals and fluids from early 2022. I've been off-road several times with it and not ever had T-case issues. If anyone has any idea what could have been going on, or has also experienced this before, please let me know! I will add that before I added the manual hubs, I had been in 4auto for long durations without any issues. If the issue is the Mile Marker hubs, I have 2 options -gamble some $$$ and buy Warn hubs and pray they work better -swap back to OEM hub setup (sad to lose the up to 2 MPG extra)

I just came across this thread. I haven't seen this CV-axle before! I have some questions if I have a 2" spring lift in the front (AC coil + KYB strut), I can also use a 1" strut spacer for some more lift if I have these CV-axles? Will it also work without binding issues with a 2" strut spacer? And if I did the 2" strut spacer, would I need to extend any brake lines or do any other supporting modifications? I appreciate whatever knowledge you posses on this topic, thanks for your time!

Got lucky on Wednesday! felt like checking the junkyard inventory and there was a 97 pathfinder with a carrier that had been brought in the day before! swooped it for the Q yesterday, gonna go back tomorrow for the hole templates in bumper and for the hinges. I have been keeping my eye out for one of these for about 2 years lol. planning on getting it done up in the next few weeks! Thanks everyone in this thread who has posted their experiences and advice here as a resource.

I love the VG engines man, absolute tanks. Last year I drove my VG Qx4 from San Jose, CA to Greenville, SC over the course of 5 days. She was loaded to the roof from the front seats to the trunk, fully packed out. Squatted pretty good lol. Stopped in Moab and did the White Rim trail in Canyonlands national park, 100 miles off-road over 2 days of the trip. She was fully loaded and did some pretty challenging sections without serious trouble and with 0 problems in 100+ degree weather. What else can you say about these vehicles man? Just amazingly capable and tanky!

Hello to all the other R50 nerds out there! I have one hell of a weird issue on my '98 Qx4 (VG33e), and I am looking for some help from the wise folks on here. Truth be told, it's not a major issue. It does not affect the running of the vehicle, but it is weird. Let me set up the story here for you guys. I got my Q in May 2020 with 199,500 miles on it (under 200k lol). Since then I have added a 2 inch lift, tires, some lights, and various front suspension replacement/upgrade parts as a result of taking it wheeling. No other mods have been done, certainly nothing ECU/tuning related. Occasionally when I started it, I noticed it would go into a strange mode on the trip computer. It would not show me my usual miles travelled, but would show another value. I also cannot change the trip computer to trip A or B, it is stuck on this value. This was a recurring but not frequent problem, and was seemingly random. Sometimes I would start the car and it would have this alternate odometer reading, but for the most part it was fine. It happened again recently for the first time in several months, so I snapped some pictures because I have been wanting to post this for a while but never had pictures for you guys to see! I will refer to the incorrect reading of the odometer as the ghost odometer from now on. If the car is started and shows the ghost odometer, the miles on it tick up very slowly. As it happened to me today for the first time in 7+ months, I did some tests. Firstly, the odometer was counting very slowly. I drove around aimlessly to see what would happen. After about 5+miles of driving, the ghost odometer had only increased by 0.2 miles. Additionally, any time miles are driven on the ghost odometer, they are NOT added to the "real" odometer. There is nothing specific about starting conditions to trigger the ghost odometer. I almost always let the fuel pump prime for a few seconds before cranking the engine, and it starts within 3 turns of the crank EVERY time I start her. Even if I just get in and immediately crank it, this does not specifically trigger the ghost odometer. Other symptoms include that the coolant gauge was locked between optimal and the cold marking. This was not the real coolant temp, but the gauge was stuck there. There is no specific trigger for activating the ghost odometer that I can identify. Below is the ghost odometer reading and the coolant temp being stuck. This next picture is the "real" odometer reading. This one behaves normally, and I can cycle between this number and trip A and B normally. After driving around on the ghost odometer for a bit to see how the value changed, I went home and plugged in my scan tool to see live data and DTCs (while still running the ghost odometer). After looking at the data, I shut off the car. Then I started it again, knowing it would be on the "real" odometer again, which it was. The miles from the ghost odometer were not counted on this one. The scan tool data was exactly the same. (To be clear, when the ghost odometer pops up, the fix is to simply turn it off and on again, which works almost every time I've seen it happen.) Anyways, to summarize, my odometer does spooky stuff sometimes that does not affect the running of the vehicle in any way. The ghost odometer shows a value of 39,723.3 miles now, and the real odometer shows 213,008 miles. The ghost odometer value is SAVED by the ECU somehow as well, because each time it pops up it is picking up where it last left off. This is a really weird issue. I have no idea the true miles on my Qx4 because of this issue. Was the ghost odometer always undercounting miles as it did for me today? Is it a real value? does my Qx4 really have 250k+ miles? LOL.... best part is she runs absolutely fantastic, no transmission issues, doesn't burn/leak any significant amount of oil for me to need to top off between oil changes (3k miles)... Scan tool said short term fuel trim was ~ -12%, so I might run some injector cleaner through it again. The engine feels very balanced and smooth still, no rough idle, no vibrations in the driveline. I honestly really love the engine, I can tell it has been properly maintained through its life and it has never given me an issue, even though I have put her through some tough running! The ghost mileage is not a huge issue as I have plans to replace the timing belt soon anyways due to age. But I would love thoughts/input from the crowd here, and if anyone else has encountered this type of problem!

I have a 98 and I didn't have a fuel leak, but I went to replace the fuel filter because it seemed like a good maintenance item. Come to find out it was rocking with the FACTORY fuel filter lol (it said Nissan and had a serial number and everything). The engine ran so much better i was amazed, more effective than an oil change or spark plugs or any job like that. I cut open the old filter with a hacksaw and it was gross. Dripped out gas with visible dirt and crap out, filter material looked black and gunky, smelled like bad gas. Yikes. After a long session of offroading once, I had vapor-locking when i went to start it after an hour or two, which I assumed was because of the fuel filter. So I would also recommend you change out both that old fuel line, and the filter. if the leaking line is attached to the fuel filter, replacing that line includes most of the work to change the filter anyways. Youtube has plenty of quick videos for the fuel filter. and then I would suggest if there is a soft line someplace before the line that is leaking, to simply use vice grips to pinch it shut to avoid draining the tank. Prepare for gas to spill everywhere tho! lol It's a fairly simple job overall, just a bit annoying to reach up there and get to everything, especially when stuff is old and a bit stuck! But seriously change the fuel filter, it felt like i gained 10 horsepower back. It starts easier and sounds better doing it. It even started shifting WAY better, it was quicker to accelerate and had a faster cruising speed on the highway!!! so worth it for such a cheap part.

I will add another thing. After running through my first set of new CV axles, I also decided to start doing lots of front end components, like inner and outer tie rods, lower ball joints, and steering rack bushings. All of those parts were super worn out, and overall the car handles much sharper. I also believe this would help preserve CV boot life, because the front end is much more resistant to shocks and movement with the new parts. Just another factor to think about if you want to preserve your boot life as long as possible!

This was the Import direct axle vs the stock OEM ones. Note, gold colored ring on the spline side, and on the inner side the flange design as 3 little feet. This is where this story takes an unexpected turn! I do not have pics of the Duralast ones I got before I put em in, but here is a few photos of them installed on the truck. Note: Full circle flange, more riffles on the outer CV boot. the little ring that was gold colored on the other axle is just silver here. also better looking heat treatment marks on the outer joint for this axle. You guys will just have to trust me on the fact they are beefier and a little bit longer then the other set Where this gets weird is the pictures from both companies websites! Let me explain.... This is the link for the o'reilly part. I checked my orders and it is the exact same part number. The pictures it displays have switched. If you click this link, the pictures display the axle that I got from autozone https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/import-direct-driveline/import-direct-driveline-cv-axle-shaft-new/id10/ni8185/v/a/6752/automotive-suv-1998-nissan-pathfinder?q=cvaxles&viewName=redirect%3A%2Fdetail%2Fc%2Fimport-direct-driveline%2Fimport-direct-driveline-cv-axle-shaft-new%2Fid10%2Fni8185%2Fv%2Fa%2F6752%2Fautomotive-suv-1998-nissan-pathfinder%3Fq%3Dcvaxles Even weirder, if I go to autozone's website and look for the exact part number I just installed in my R50, they display in one picture the axles I first got from import direct, with the 3 small flanges on the inner side and the gold ring on the spline side of the axle. https://www.autozone.com/drivetrain/cv-axle/duralast-gold-new-cv-axle-b7260n/831817_0_0 Let me know what you guys think! The fact that the pictures have switched around for 2 different companies is really making me question my own sanity.....

It's important which axles you buy if you go aftermarket! I lifted with all around AC coils on my '98 Qx4. Took it on a wheeling trip after the lift + tires (before it really settled on the lift btw). OEM stock CV boots were SHREDDED after that. So I kept those axles thinking about rebooting for a trail set (have not done this yet and it's been many months lol). To replace the axles I went with O'Reilly CVs because they have the closest store to me. The axles fit, but I busted the boots within a few weeks, which included several hundred road miles and some light dirt roads. I got the axles swapped under warranty and put in the same brand thinking maybe it was just a bad set of axles. It was not, the brand (Import Direct) is just crappy and not up to what we use these rigs for. Now i got the AutoZone axles (Duralast). I wish i took pics to compare the two, but here is a quick summary. After a wheeling trip with the Second set Import Direct axles, which included some mud pit adventures- the axles were corroding. I left the mud on there for a day or two before washing the car off. But this is a Cali car, no salt on roads, very little water besides the mud pit. This was a little more than just surface corrosion, it had turned a rusty color and the surface of the hubs was super rough! they looked super gross honestly lol Obviously torn boots, which is the main reason i was swapping them limited 1 year warranty Compare this to the Duralast axles autozone lifetime warranty (automatically makes it worth it in my opinion) the axles were physically heavier and beefier in literally every aspect, from the inside hub, to the center shaft, to the outer hub. Significant weight difference, I am thinking around 5 pounds per axle (total guess, but the weight difference was significant!). But heavier in a good way, solid built material quality was better. the boots themselves feeling like nicer rubber, with more riffles. The hubs were bigger and higher quality metal, with what looked like better heat treating spots. as soon as i pulled them out of the box I knew they'd last longer. They were a little harder to install, slightly bigger size made the fit a little tighter, but still very doable. it's only been a few hundred miles, 99% road miles. But i went and checked the boots before this post and they are absolutely fine. They still feel nice and no tears. there is more stability with the front end steering and I can tell it rolls a little more solid because of the extra weight and size. Again, good changes in my opinion. Note: if i say hub in this post i mean the big ends of the axle, not actual manual locking hubs (which i do not have). I do not know the exact name for this part of the axle lol. cost difference, the Import Direct axles are $80-$90 (each), and the autozone ones are like +$25 or so compared to those. Honestly, after holding both of the axles in my hands and comparing them, I'd say it is VERY worth the minor price difference. If the boots rip on me soon, I will check back to this post and let y'all know

great video dude, looked like a lot of fun. I've said it before and I'll say it again, any new R50 owners gotta check out Tyler's youtube channel, the videos he has on all the details you need for the lift provide a TON of good info. Recent and up to date content, informative, and specifics. I spent a while digging through them when I first started working on my rig and it was an invaluable resource. The forum also has a ton of info, but the videos are straightforward and lay it all out in an easy to understand way. Suspension stuff is expensive and a little intimidating to do for the first time, and the videos gave me a lot of confidence in my purchases and my install! Keep up the videos dude, the work you put in is showing! Looking forward to whatever is your next project on the rig so I can steal some ideas hahahahaha

Apologies in advance this is gonna be a big post, lots of photos to dump! Me and my buddy Vic in his lifted Taco from Sunday's wheelin' trip these first two are on the way up to the top these next few are us at the top of the little mountain chillin' for a bit ***** FAT ASS ALERT ***** Last but not least, post mud pit... Hollister Hills SVRA, California

cool man I see your rig there, very cool build. We should set up a little wheeling session sometime in the future! I still gotta get my CV axles replaced, haven't had much time to do it recently. I also got a couple cool projects planned for my rig, one of which may put it out of commission for a few days, but still gotta source some parts/materials for all that. i'm down to meet some local R50 owners. us VG's gotta stick together

an older pic of before i did my lights and other stuff. This was taken right after I did my AC springs and KYB shocks/struts and got my big 265/70/R16 tires on there. Just me messing around a bit and smilin' all big, putting the Q on a random rock lol

Seriously dude, your videos were a HUGE help. I would've been so lost trying to figure out some of this stuff without your helpful vidoes with the suspension diagrams and stuff! Super descriptive and helpful, especially when I was picking parts for the lift. Good luck with the school bro! CE stuff is too much for me lol, I am not that great with long coding sessions or electrical work. Stick with those ME friends, they do the most fun work in terms of getting into the shop and messing around with all the cool machines lol. But also it seems like you have plenty of shop/mechanical experience from browsing your channel ? keep up the good work on the pathfinder! looking forward to whenever you do another video, even if I don't necessarily need it to advance my own build, they are fun to watch

Hello all, fairly recent R50 owner here! Got my hands on a 1998 Qx4 (VG33E) with just under 200k miles in late May of this year. Somehow a deal fell in my lap. A friend of my parents had this car and the alternator had gone out. The owners were not huge car people, so when the shop quoted them around $1200 for the alternator and accessory belt swap, they decided to offer me the car (for FREE?!?!?!) as a project car, as they knew I am big into cars and wanted to start a project of my own! This is my first real project car. I graduated SDSU with a BS ME in December 2019, with my senior project being an air intake for the school's FSAE race car, so I do have quite the mechanical knowledge and stuff, but turning theory and knowledge into experience and cool projects is a whole new thing for me! I've been having a blast working on this car, even with the scarce aftermarket support. The forums here and youtube videos by other members are honestly invaluable, so big shoutout to the community here! That dude Tyler Smith on youtube is a massive help, recommend any new R50 owners check out his stuff Anyways I've done a bit of work on the Q since I got her. Here is a quick rundown, will try and post some pics soon! maybe I'll make a quick build thread in the R50 section ? This is also the car I have been learning how to off-road and such in. Some areas the car has been to include Hollister Hills SVRA and some random trails in the Lake Tahoe area! The Q is an absolute beast and handled some tough spots Work done: Alternator replacement, and 3 accessory belts (generator, power steering, AC) new wipers (lol) Tekonsha Tow Harness T-connector (to be able to connect to a trailer) 2" lift springs off of 4x4 parts for the front and rear KYB Excel G shocks and struts 1" spacers for the tires I got, which are Toyo Tires Open Country AT3's, size 265/70/R16 to fit on the stock wheels (why not lol) - Highly recommend these tires! they are a new tire by Toyo and they are awesome and work really well. Lots of grip on trails even without airing down a lot. Plus they are rated for severe snow conditions! - https://www.toyotires.com/product/open-country-at3 new CV axles in the front (destroyed the old CV boots on the Hollister Hills trip, totally worth it lol) a $50 Nilight light kit from amazon, which included 4 small LED pods and a 20" bar. I consider myself bad with electric stuff, but I decided to order a switch box and wire up all the lighting circuits myself without buying any wiring harness kits. It's not too pretty, but it works and I am proud of my work! Air filter replaced (it was gross and had some black and maybe some burned crap in it.....) Work planned: -Manual hubs -Need to replace my CV's again.... got new ones from O'Reilly about 3 weeks back, swapped 'em. Went camping in Tahoe 2 weekends back and hit some light trails (and one tough section), and went camping/fishing up North again this past weekend with minimal dirt roads. We did try some low level stream crawling (so fun). On the drive back though, something started clicking and I found out the inner CV boots on both sides had torn. Poked one of them and water poured out.... I have not even been wheelin' it that hard... But it's all good! O'Reilly has lifetime warranty, so I have to call them and see what my next steps are to get new axles. If they don't want the new axles back to give me replacements, I plan to swap the torn boots myself and re-grease the joint and keep them as a backup set of axles, as it seems this is an issue that will pop up again due to the lift. If anyone has advice on what else I can do to try and not run through CV axles every few weeks, I'm all ears After doing the CV's again, I am not entirely sure on what to do next! The engine is begging for more power! Looking around the forums and on youtube, I see a couple options for myself. A pop Charger intake from JWT seems like it would be a good mod for a bit of power. I have also seen that a Cat-back Exhaust might do a decent bit for the engine as well. After that, it seems like the jobs get much more intense. I saw something about "Euro Cams" which seems super cool. And of course maybe finding a VG33 that was supercharged out of an old xterra or frontier that came with those would be super cool to do as well. Pictures of the car as it currently sits!