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2004 Nissan Pathfinder Lift


joshrichard
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I’ve been searching around lately for a lift and am confused. I’m wondering whether a coil spring lift would be better than a spacer lift. If I were to go down either road I want to know all the parts that I would need, I want to know EVERYTHING I need before I buy it all. Thank you!

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I went with a coil lift because I wanted a firmer ride and better handling. I did this like 10 years ago. I also bought struts, shocks and a camber bolt kit. With a car this age, you should also get new strut bearings and isolators. Can't advise on spacer lift.

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No they aren't necessary. But this is an easy time to replace them if they are more than maybe 6 years old.

I bought KYB branded struts which is the OEM manufacturer. They are just a bit cheaper.

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How many miles do your current struts have on them?  The reason it's generally advised to change them at the same time is because, in order to install a coil lift, you have to totally disassemble the strut.  While you're doing that much work, you may as well put new on generally.  KYB struts with OEM Nissan bearings are a very popular and good option as far as that.  Rear shocks only take 2 fasteners to change, so it's up to you when to change them, however longer rear shocks will allow you to take advantage of the additional suspension flex lift coils will make possible.  In addition, using a nice shock like Bilstein will improve ride greatly.

 

As far as spacer vs coil, it depends on your intended use of the vehicle, budget, and what you want as far as ride quality.  There's a lot more to consider than it seems at the surface.  For spacers they will all function the same, so I always recommend Steve's product (sfcreation.com) as he's a long-time member here on the forum and I personally enjoyed his products on my rig.  For coils there's two primary options: Old Man Emu or AC.  OME (Not to be confused with OEM!) is produced by ARB in Australia and give phenomenal rode quality on and off road, however at less of a lift; right around 1.5".  AC will generally ride harsher and may cause your front struts to "top-out" potentially causing them to wear prematurely.  However, they provide a true 2" of lift and can take heavier loads better.  They're great for a rig laden down with skidplates, rock sliders, and bumpers, or just anybody who doesn't mind a little harder ride who also wants a good amount of lift.  My personal recommendation based upon my own experience is a 1" spacer lift paired with OME springs, however this is making out what the R50 platform can take at 2.5" of lift and can make alignment a bit of a PITA.  Here's a breakdown of some things to consider:

 

Spacers:

Good:

-cheap

-simple

-you can add/remove to level out your ride, especially as you change out springs

-maintais factory ride quality

Bad:

-changes the location of the range of motion of the CV's, which means that at full droop they could bind (I can explain this more if you're confused, I may even do a write up on it with diagrams since it tends to confuse newbies!)

-maintain factory ride quality

 

Springs:

Good:

-stiffer ride/better load carrying capacity

-keeps CV's in stock range of motion (again, I can explain of you'd like) so no binding issues

Bad:

-in some (definitely not all, don't let it scare you!) cases may damage struts

-stiffer ride

-more expensive

 

Hopefully that's helpful for you.  I think it's fairly comprehensive, but it's late and I just got done with 4 days of working on my 4Runner, so I'm tired haha.

Edited by mjotrainbrain
I didn't proof read. Shame me.
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Great write up. I might just add that over the last year it has been discovered that Land Rover D90 front springs work well in the rear of the R50 & are very reasonably priced. You’ll want to find that thread (search LR Springs). The one thing I’m not sure of though is if anyone has only achieved 2-2.5” of lift. Micah used the ones we thought would do that but reported getting more like 3.5-4” of lift in the rear.
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My Pathfinder has 130,xxx miles and it still has the OEM struts. Just recently replaced the lower ball joints about 2,000 miles ago. I’m not going to be getting the lift for awhile but I want an outline for everything. I think the information that you gave me was amazing. I think I’m going to just go with some cool springs all the day ya around with some OME shocks in the read, and some new struts in the front. With all the camber alignment bolts and small things, etc. Thanks for all the information guys!

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Since this seems to be the most recent topic on the subject hopefully you dont mind if I hijack/I mean add to the discussion.


I'm at 193k miles and its definitely got the original rear springs (saggy) and I'd say front and rear shocks are shot.


Thinking if you want a package that one of the Rugged Rocks OME packages would be useful....assumably this is all you need....

 

Pricey? Yes, but its done in one shot.

I'm thinking "Medium"

https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/19962004-r50-pathfinder-lift-kits-c-38_1322_1411.html

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Update: for now I’m going to go with the all around 2 inch lift from SF creations. The reasons for this is because I’m in high school still, and don’t the budget for anything else, and I want to get the lift before my first winter. I plan to get the lift by next week and put it in maybe a week or two after that. By next summer I hope to get the springs, struts and everything else!


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4 hours ago, joshrichard said:

Update: for now I’m going to go with the all around 2 inch lift from SF creations. The reasons for this is because I’m in high school still, and don’t the budget for anything else, and I want to get the lift before my first winter. I plan to get the lift by next week and put it in maybe a week or two after that. By next summer I hope to get the springs, struts and everything else!


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I can understand your situation, but I really recommend doing everything at once. Having to go back and redo all the work of compressing struts is not fun work or practical. I think many of the members here will advise you similarly. Being patient now can save you a lot of headache (and money) in the future.

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Looks like we forgot to mention, before many people put on a lift, it is recommended to put on manual locking hubs. That can save you years of life on your CV joints, which are further stressed by a lift. They are also harder to replace that putting on a lift.

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Looks like we forgot to mention, before many people put on a lift, it is recommended to put on manual locking hubs. That can save you years of life on your CV joints, which are further stressed by a lift. They are also harder to replace that putting on a lift.

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I have the LE 17 inch rims, which hubs will fit where the hub cap is?


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I think those are the ones I've heard nothing fits without grinding down the lip that the cover snaps into, but the Warn is the most slim. Can you post a pic of the wheel to be sure?

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I have the LE 17 inch rims, which hubs will fit where the hub cap is?

Great question, I have the same. I think they look nice & want to hear the answer as well. If you have the tx14 transmission, make sure you read the threads about unlocking manuals & engaging AWD, I.e. don’t do it!
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Great question, I have the same. I think they look nice & want to hear the answer as well. If you have the tx14 transmission, make sure you read the threads about unlocking manuals & engaging AWD, I.e. don’t do it!

Yes this site has been making all of my free time fly away lol and was concerned about the auto at first but I only use it every once in awhile and I’m not worried about that. In the next couple weeks I’m going to buy some generic rugged ridge hubs and hope that they fit. If not then I’m just going to shave down the wheel bore. Will update!


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1 hour ago, joshrichard said:

...I’m going to buy some generic rugged ridge hubs and hope that they fit.

 

No need for hope, they're confirmed to fit: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/33354-manual-locking-hubs-with-stock-03-04-wheels/?do=findComment&comment=737467

 

Note that they also have a smaller diameter than the Warns, and I believe also the Mile Markers.  Those two won't fit the 16" and 17" wheels with the flush-mount center caps because of the inner lip on the wheel for supporting the cap, which reduces the center bore at that point to about 84.5mm (wheel center bore is 100mm).  You could grind the lip, but would lose the ability to use center caps on the wheels.   The older wheels had a larger center cap/cup that didn't reduce the center bore of the wheels (but would have needed removal or modification to expose the hub dial), which is probably why you don't see the hubs having late-model applications.

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8 hours ago, joshrichard said:


was concerned about the auto at first but I only use it every once in awhile and I’m not worried about that.


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You're right not to be concerned.  It's blown out of proportion a lot unfortunately.   Basically manual hubs should only be unlocked when in 2wd.  ANY other mode is 4x4 in some form or another, and therefore REQUIRES the hubs to be locked.  Good luck with whichever hubs you get!

 

PS. I recommend putting a binder clip labeled "HUBS" on the 4x4 switch so that you can't forget to lock them (it took me some getting used to) and so anybody who borrows the vehicle doesn't put it into 4x4 without locking the hubs since they won't know any better...or better yet, just lock the hubs yourself before you lend the vehicle to someone else.

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You're right not to be concerned.  It's blown out of proportion a lot unfortunately.   Basically manual hubs should only be unlocked when in 2wd.  ANY other mode is 4x4 in some form or another, and therefore REQUIRES the hubs to be locked.  Good luck with whichever hubs you get!
 
PS. I recommend putting a binder clip labeled "HUBS" on the 4x4 switch so that you can't forget to lock them (it took me some getting used to) and so anybody who borrows the vehicle doesn't put it into 4x4 without locking the hubs since they won't know any better...or better yet, just lock the hubs yourself before you lend the vehicle to someone else.

BINGO! That is exactly my concern & will be my solution. I can totally see my wife or my Mom getting in it where it’s parked in 2WD & switching it to auto due to our nearly ever present PNW rain. No matter how many times I might tell them, there’s a very good chance they’ll forget.
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After a lot of searching and A LOT of time taken away by this forum I have decided about what i’m going to do for my lift. i’m going to go with a 1.5 spacer in the front for a 2 inch lift. Then i’m the back i’m going to go with the land rover NRC9446 because I often have a full car, are pulling a trailer, and have a full bike rack with 4 bikes on the back so the rake will be perfect. I actually looked at my struts (haven’t had much time to do anything with sports, school, work, etc.) and they are very clean. I forgot that when we bought it they had new struts on it. Thank you for everybody’s help!

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