HFXpathfinders

That's a common way for a starter to begin failing. There may be one dead spot on the armature and if it stops on that spot again, you'll have to hit the starter again to get it going. A failing solenoid will react the same way. Have it replaced or rebuilt sooner rather than later. Next time you could be further from home or in a spot where you would not want to leave the vehicle overnight! I believe I paid about $60 to have my starter rebuilt at a local shop and with a 1 year warranty. A new rebuilt starter from NAPA was almost $250.

Mod the relay. I had control over my fogs regardless of lights on, off, high, low. I used a ignition on source for the trigger to the relay. Check my how-to here My relay mod

I think I still have a switch if you want me to send it to you. You can have for the cost of S&H plus $2 (for a coffee). PM me with your address if you want it.

Keep in mind that the OME HD springs give 1.5" of lift on a Path that is stock. Medium duty provide less. Given your additional weight, it would likely be .75" or less after the springs have settled. With 500 lbs of tongue weight from a trailer, my Path sat at ~ factory ride height with HD springs, but of course, this was with the weight further back on the hitch.

^^ X2 likely an alignment issue or tires that are getting worn. When my tires were near death, the cabin noise was similar to a bad wheel bearing. U-joints will not hum, they will make popping sounds and clunks when starting or stopping. The 3 most likely culprits are well worn tires, mis-alignment and wheel bearings that were not properly installed. The axle nut (when installing new bearings) is required to reach a certain torque to set the bearings and then be loosened and retorqued to a lower number for retention. If this process was not followed, your newer bearing are likely shot.

The Path is gone. A local guy took the front diff when I parted it out prior to going to the crusher. And yes, 3 wheeled in on-road slippery situations for 7 years. I ralely use 4WD in the snow on-road. Much more fun to fishtail that way!! My Path only gained 6k miles a year, so it was not a big deal to worry about. The benefits off-road more than made up for the 3-4 times a year I used 4WD in the snow on-road As for including more additiove, it would have worked but then I would not have had the LSD for off-road. Kind of a trade off, lower break away, yes, but not what you want in the dirt & rocks.

Selectable is available on a switch. Regardless if its electronic or air, its the same end result...the on switch is on, off is off. All others are varying degrees of mechanical type lockers with varying degrees of break away torque and this includes LSD. If your end result is good traction in snow, get some decent studded tires and stop worrying about front lockers. They do more harm than good on road and suck a$$ above 30km/hr off-road. Trust me on this one. If it were not for the fact that the previous owner of my Path installed the LSD before I bought it, I would have removed it to re-install the OEM guts...but I didn't have the OEM on hand.

They are not, I think he was posting the specs for info purposes. Where the OP was looking for additional traction in snow, it's hard to get to 60 or 100lbs in order to break-away the LSD. I loved my Pathfinder in the snow but the LSD (from a 300Z) made it utterly useless with the front end locked. Off road, great but I used only one hub engaged on the road. Not a big issue for me as snow covered roads happen less than 20-30 times a year here, but for someone in a snow belt...I would not recommend it for the front. Now selectable lockers are another storey

As for adding a modifier, no. The modifier is an additive that makes the fluid more viscous ("slippery"). Unless your rear tires lock on dry pavement when taking a corner then you do not need to add any modifiers. I ran an aftermarker gear oil in my LSD rear diff for a week and the inside rear tire was chirping taking any corner at parking lot speeds...I needed the modifier, you do not. You can't lock the front with any success on-road unless driving in a straight line. <--(period). As mentioned above the front end will push in any turn and the traction will be F'd. Previous posts noted frontal LSD but again in slippery situations (on-road) especially in corners they suck at anything over 20km/hr. LSD in the front is intended for off-road situations, not the majority of on-road with the front driveline engaged. If you've ever driven a FWD vehicle in snow, you know what it like to push the gas an plow straight ahead, even on corners. Now add LSD or a locked rear and you have no control over the vehicle at all. Welded or selectable locked front ends are for off-road only at low speeds. Permanently locking your front-end will limit you to off-road only. In snowy conditions on-road, grab your snowshoes as you will not make it far above 30 km/hr! You'll join the multitude of minivans and other SUVs in the ditch.

XE. SE & LE came with alloy rims. Only the XE came with chrome. I had the same options, though mine was a 96.

The 3.75" BS is referring to running tires larger than 31's. 3.75" is required to prevent the inner part of the tire lugs from rubbing against the bottom of the strut coil perch. 31's or less and you'll be fine. KYB are your best choice for struts, their shocks are good. I ran KYB struts, OME rear shocks and OME coils all around and the ride was great. Very little topping out. Search for ARB dealers in your area (if looking into OME)and get a price on them as you will not have to worry about duty & additional taxes on the S&H. KYB's are availabel in many places. My .02

I have one sitting in my shed if someone wants it, $100 + shipping and its yours. Send me a PM if interested. Mine is the OEM that bolts through the rear hatch. Here's a pic for reference.

I think you may need a new tranny or a rebuild. The whirring noise you hear is the throw out bearing starting to go. The grinding is likely the syncros. Maybe the previous owner was not aware that Nissan Trannys require GL4 fluid, and they/their shop, used GL5 and it ate the syncros? Hard to tell for sure. When you replace the fluid, if you find particles in the old stuff as you drain it. Don't put in the expensive synthetic. You'll only have to buy it again if indeed the tranny is shot...my .02

I had a chance to see a set of headers for a WD21 off the rack and I compared the set up to the manifolds in the R50 and the difference was not worth the effort for me. The flange appears to have the same bolt pattern to match the head, so there is little issue there. The major issue was the angle of the collector to connect to the first set of Cats. A local muffler shop had stated that the work required to get the angle right would probably be as much if not more than the cost of a custom set. Where I did not/do not have access to a welder, the cost was not worth the attempt & down time required. I believe that if you move forward, you will be the first with headers except for the few who have the Stillen models! Good Luck, post back results!

What is the build date of your Pathfinder? Most early 96's used the same tranny as the WD21's so it is necessary to overfill the tranny to get the proper amount of fluid. Check the build date on your door jamb (or the firewall, I can't remember which one). Once you have that, post back.