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PathyGig12’s Build Thread


PathyGig12
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9 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Don't remember if I asked before (may have been on a different thread), did you check the mounts for the front diff? Someone on here had those go bad and the diff would **** around when it was loaded, putting the U joint at a weird angle, which caused a vibration. If your bushings are completely flogged, the diff flopping around could explain the noise coming and going. Hopefully it's something like that rather than something going out in the transfer case. If you haven't yet, you might just do a drain/fill on that to see if it changes anything. It's a completely different beast of course, but the manual transfer in my '95 quit sticking in 4HI after I changed the fluid.

 

Looks better with the bumper shell back on!

Thanks for the tip man, I haven’t checked the mounts yet, but I have a camera that I’ll try mounting close to the front diff to see if I can spot any movement while driving. But I’m wondering, if it’s coming from the front diff mounts, why would the vibration be pulsing when the hubs are unlocked? The front diff should be completely idle right? 
 

I changed both the transfer case and front diff fluids a couple weeks ago to rule out a lube issue

Edited by PathyGig12
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Yeah, it seems like the front end shouldn't be doing much with the hubs unlocked. I've found that my hubs do have a little bit of drag when they're unlocked, which could still be trying to turn stuff, but yeah, that shouldn't be transferring enough energy to do much. I'd be tempted to test it with the transfer unplugged, to rule out the computer doing stupid things, but I don't know the ATX14A well enough to guess at how it would behave without power.

 

I like the camera idea, hopefully that'll give you a better idea of what you're up against.

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1 hour ago, Slartibartfast said:

Yeah, it seems like the front end shouldn't be doing much with the hubs unlocked. I've found that my hubs do have a little bit of drag when they're unlocked, which could still be trying to turn stuff, but yeah, that shouldn't be transferring enough energy to do much. I'd be tempted to test it with the transfer unplugged, to rule out the computer doing stupid things, but I don't know the ATX14A well enough to guess at how it would behave without power.

 

I like the camera idea, hopefully that'll give you a better idea of what you're up against.

Very interesting suggestion about unplugging the transfer case, never thought of that. But you’re right, it’s super complex and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t like it

 

The thing is, I know for a fact that the computer is doing stupid things because it’s confused about the lack of front shaft motion when the hubs are unlocked. But the way I see it, the vibration is significant enough to not be coming from the transfer case, so my theory is that it’s intermittently trying to engage the front and that’s why you get vibration as a pulse as opposed to the steady one which happens when the hubs are locked. The idea is if I can stop the vibration, the computers confusion will not be noticeable because it will still try to connect the front in error but that state won’t have any discernible difference. I’ve just accepted at this point that the hubs do not jive well with the transfer case 

 

Once I mount the camera I should know for sure whether my theory is true because you’ll see the front start moving even with the hubs unlocked

Edited by PathyGig12
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Took off the running boards, I’m loving the  “visual lift” that it gives the truck. I never used them anyway, when I go for the roof rack I stand on the tire. I’ll take my chances with rocker damage, I don’t think I’ll be doing any intense rock crawling anyway

 

It also shaved off 40 lbs or so, which helps take some load off the rear springs

 

XQsYKon.jpg

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Just installed the 9449s, very happy. With the 9447s my rear end was about an inch and a half lower than the front, but now it sits perfectly level at 21” from hub to fender both in the front and rear 

 

sqUv2il.jpg

Edited by PathyGig12
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On 5/16/2020 at 7:36 PM, PathyGig12 said:

Just installed the 9449s, very happy. With the 9447s my rear end was about an inch and a half lower than the front, but now it sits perfectly level at 21” from hub to fender both in the front and rear 

 

sqUv2il.jpg

You doing anything with those old 9447s? 

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36 minutes ago, Sjackson2 said:

You doing anything with those old 9447s? 

Nope, I was planning to eventually list them on eBay or something. If you want them, shoot me a private message and we can figure something out

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@PathyGig12 Man this is quite the progress on your rig. Just kinda skimmed the whole thread and now it's giving me a lot of good ideas on what to do with mine haha.

 

I noticed your tires are nearly 32", has that been an issue for you at all? I'm looking at going to 31.5" (265/70r17) AT's and I figure I'll have to cut out some of the trim at that point. Any pointers on picking out a good set? I do expect to mod the bumpers at some point down the road anyway but just curious about what I have to look forward to.

 

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Yeah the Wildpeaks are just shy of 32”, but I haven’t had any issues with rubbing so far. 
 

Before I changed the front bumper, I was getting a bit of rubbing at full lock, so I had to trim the plastic corner directly in front of the tire maybe an inch, but nothing crazy. It also helps that these are super narrow tires

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It looks much nicer with the rear bumper cover on - I really like the metallic charcoal & red recovery hooks. The trim matches up nicely with the fenders & running boards. Personally, I’d leave those low profile running boards on as well - taking them off pushes it back towards that unfinished look. In a lifetime with the truck, mostly at stock height & in CO, AZ & UT, I never found them problematic.

 

Curious why you’d run your ATX14a with the hubs front hubs unlocked except maybe for a long highway trip. I know people quote mileage but the effect is minimal. Being able to run in AWD is one of the distinct advantages of that TF case. If you are unlikely to get stuck, having the open center also eliminates the front end plowing & makes the truck much more sure footed in wet, sand & snow. I’m putting manual hubs on just to make an in field CV change easier but I expect I’ll keep them locked most of the time - admittedly I live where it’s slippery, even on roads, most if the time.

 

BTW, I see you’ve got the CO bumper. I’d recommend drilling 1/4” holes in the front lateral winch mount plate- you can get to it from below. If you don’t, it tends to pool water there all the time. I’ve chatted with Brandon about it & there may be a design change there in future versions.

 

Curious to see how you hood mounted your HiLift. I think you’re the only one to ever do that on a R50.

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“Curious” being the nicest way of saying you’re not a fan? ?

 

When it comes to the hood mounted high lift, I’m pretty sure you’re right that I’m the only R50 that has it, and I’ve been shocked at how long it’s taken anyone to bring it up. Does it look a BIT poser-ish? Sure. But I took steps to reduce the douche level by mounting it super low profile to the hood and not buying a flaming red one like you see on a lot of jeeps. It doesn’t block the view out of the windshield or block the fluid sprayers, and gives me another option for emergency recovery, which is always good to have when you don’t have a proper winch. The main reason I mounted it on the hood as opposed to the roof or tire carrier was for the weight balance. My rear is loaded down with tools, water, camping gear and spare parts most of the time, so bringing the 40lbs of jack further towards the front wheels helps even things out a bit. Of course it matters less with the 9449s now, but still a good idea 

 

When it comes to the hubs, the whole point of using the unlocked position is to save CV boots from tearing over a short time because of the increased angle. The mileage benefits are minimal like you said, but keeping the boots intact is a pretty good reason to use them. Ive also found that it’s not too difficult to plan out when you need to lock them to use AUTO mode and 4WD. If there is any sort of bad whether or I’m getting off of a paved road, then I lock them and put the truck in AUTO. I leave them unlocked when I’m doing 70 on dry highways for hundreds of miles because there’s no need to wear out the boots when I won’t need AUTO mode.

 

The running boards were a pretty easy call for me, I did like the extra bit of protection they offered, but I never find myself doing any serious rock crawling and I don’t even use them to stand on. If I’m going for the roof rack I just stand on the rear tire, so honestly I just saw them as dead weight and something to detract from the overall height. I haven’t really felt that it makes anything look “unfinished” either
 

I do however agree with you about the charcoal metallic trim going well with the red shackles! ?
In all seriousness, I appreciate the detailed breakdown and constructive criticism, it’s a whole lot better than a vague “like”. The whole reason I’m on this site is to get new ideas and hear new opinions about modding R50s, so its great having passionate people to engage with. Lord knows there are very few of us out there. I think I’ve seen maybe two lifted R50s in the past 5 years?

 

Anyway, the main thing I want to do now is figure out this vibration issue in the front shaft and make sure the truck is ready for the summer wheeling season. I’m planning on making trips to Yankee boy basin, Imogene, and a handful of other trails in July but before then the truck needs another oil change and the rear diff oil should be swapped as well, it’s been 4 years since that was done last. I also want to change the fuel filter and open up the intake to clean the throttle body, MAF, and IAC valve.
 

I have this uneasy feeling that I’m on borrowed time with the kind mileage that this truck has. I’m kind of shocked that the OEM injectors, fuel pump, and O2 sensors haven’t started causing issues, so I’ve been looking around for spares to just about everything that is likely to fail soon. My dad found an old junkyard pick-apart LE in Vegas and grabbed the alternator and fuel pump for me since the guy was selling everything for less than 15 bucks a piece. I’m also keeping an eye on eBay for sensors that might come in handy.

 

 


 

 

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I always felt a bit sketchy just putting my HiLift on the load bars (just waiting for the day I popped the cargo glass); so I expect I’d be worried about trying to mount it over the hood without accidentally hitting my hood. That’s just me being a worrier though as it’s done on alot of vehicles. My HiLift is red so that would have been me - I think red would look good. As for the location, as you pointed out, it’s a totally legitimate mounting spot with countless Jeeps & other vehicles doing it. I really do think you should do a mini write-up as I believe you are the first to tackle it and it’s always good to have options. It would be a genuine contribution to the community.

 

Yeah, regionally our roads are wet, slick & even growing the vast majority of the year in the PNW - very different than for you. Also, manual hubs will allow you to do a field CV replacement without removing the wheel - it’s why I’m doing it.

 

You should hit the Alpine Loop area over around Lake City while your doing Yankee Boy. You can do a loop over to Telluride no problem via Imogene & Ophir. I did that whole area as largely stock. I did not do Black Bear as I was always told you needed a short wheelbase and this was the early 2000s where there was no YouTube to show me differently. On your drive go & fro I highly recommend Medano & Stony Pass. If you look towards the beginning of my IG (RainG0at), you’ll see some pics. I was basing out of CO Springs for that trip.

 

Also, as I’ve now said elsewhere more than once, put a winter Big Bend trip on your ToDo. That’s a great trip. I think you’ll be the only other Pathfinder I’ve seen there (actually my first trip was circa ‘92 in a base 2 door Trooper.

 

Oh yeah, O2 sensors are a given. I’ve done at least 4 in 110K. Buy them cheap & they’re easy to switch out.

 

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Whoops, should have clarified a bit on the red HiLift..... I was referencing the sky high mall crawler wranglers with “salt life” stickers that have never even seen a fire road and always seem to have the bright red one mounted at least a foot off of the hood so that it’s literally blocking their windshield. We get lots of those guys here, I used to see tons parked at my school 

 

Anyway, I thought about posting a bit of a description of how I mounted it, but honestly it’s just not that interesting. I just measured equal distance from the side of the sprayer nozzles and drilled holes to bolt through to the other side. Then I filled the bolt holes with gasket sealant before dropping the bolts in so that it wouldn’t collect water. If I could do it over again I would probably have put a rubber spacer between the hood top and mounts so that the vibration doesn’t wiggle it around and damage the paint. Otherwise it works great and has been solid since it went on. I’ve taken it down a couple times to lift up the rear and it’s actually pretty easy to take off and put back on. 
 

I’ll definitely check out big bend NP next time winter sets in, thanks for the tip. And I’d love to do the full alpine loop here in CO, but we’ll see what I can reasonably put together this summer. My dad will likely come along for some of the trails so we can wheel our pathfinders together. He’s got an old WD that’s still kicking despite no major parts replacement. 
 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 4/18/2020 at 1:46 AM, PathyGig12 said:

Roof basket just went on. I also relocated the LED pods to the back so that they would work better, and I’m debating moving the main light bar so that it’s mounted to the rack itself rather than leaving it in front of the rack on the OEM crossbar. I’ll probably get to it eventually but it’s not a priority. First I need to finish hiding the LED pod wires properly and find a cleaner solution for mounting the tools. 

 

eFXU16f.jpg
 


I also ordered some generic eBay traction boards and a set of the 9449 springs because the extra weight in the back has basically negated my lift at this point. Hopefully the extra stiffness will help. Once I have the cash, I’ll spring for some bilsteins to compete the rear

 


HELLO! I really love this setup you have and I believe that I have the same vehicle. I am specifically extremely interested in your ROOF RACK system. I love the front light bars and rear back up lights as well. Could you please share more information about your custom rack build,  please?

I am curious if it would hold my weight to shoot photos from the roof as shown in your photos? I'm about 250 pounds and it would be nice to fabricate something my sweetie and I could get on top to view wildlife and/or pitch a tent similar to the GOBI RACKS. Ideally a small passenger-side ladder would be fun, too.

If you can you point me in the right direction to buy the basic Roof Rack and Light setup online you would be my hero!

THANKS SO MUCH!

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I got those 9447s you sent me put on and I’m real happy with them. Combined with the longer f250 shocks in the back the ride quality is nice and it definitely performs better over hilly terrain 

FB65D1B1-B4D3-4BB3-BA4D-BD93CE008628.jpeg

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I got those 9447s you sent me put on and I’m real happy with them. Combined with the longer f250 shocks in the back the ride quality is nice and it definitely performs better over hilly terrain 
FB65D1B1-B4D3-4BB3-BA4D-BD93CE008628.jpeg.3d688fff47c9c7f8b410a0f9a80d4913.jpeg

You should install lockers front and back.


Sent from my Pathfinder
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7 hours ago, BrettNature said:


HELLO! I really love this setup you have and I believe that I have the same vehicle. I am specifically extremely interested in your ROOF RACK system. I love the front light bars and rear back up lights as well. Could you please share more information about your custom rack build,  please?

I am curious if it would hold my weight to shoot photos from the roof as shown in your photos? I'm about 250 pounds and it would be nice to fabricate something my sweetie and I could get on top to view wildlife and/or pitch a tent similar to the GOBI RACKS. Ideally a small passenger-side ladder would be fun, too.

If you can you point me in the right direction to buy the basic Roof Rack and Light setup online you would be my hero!

THANKS SO MUCH!


I’d love to help but I don’t think I could recommend this roof basket for standing on your roof. It’s not very strong.

 

Your best bet will be making your own out of steel or aluminum tubing

 

Maybe ask this guy for a guide? He custom built one and it looks super strong
 

 

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2 hours ago, Sjackson2 said:

I got those 9447s you sent me put on and I’m real happy with them. Combined with the longer f250 shocks in the back the ride quality is nice and it definitely performs better over hilly terrain 

FB65D1B1-B4D3-4BB3-BA4D-BD93CE008628.jpeg

Hell yeah dude, looks great!

 

Also I kind of agree with R50JR, even without 4WD a rear locker can get you pretty damn far so it’s worth considering. 

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Hell yeah dude, looks great!
 
Also I kind of agree with R50JR, even without 4WD a rear locker can get you pretty damn far so it’s worth considering. 

The LSD in my 2WD 01 Frontier was able to get me places my QX4 can’t get to without being in 4WD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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4 hours ago, PathyGig12 said:

Hell yeah dude, looks great!

 

Also I kind of agree with R50JR, even without 4WD a rear locker can get you pretty damn far so it’s worth considering. 

Oh a rear locker yes. Just mentioning that I don’t need the front one. I was looking into pulling the heavier duty xterra diff, or even super packing the frontier one like the thread on here 

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4 hours ago, PathyGig12 said:

Hell yeah dude, looks great!

 

Also I kind of agree with R50JR, even without 4WD a rear locker can get you pretty damn far so it’s worth considering. 

And yeah this thing has definitely taken me further than I thought a 2wd could 

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5 hours ago, PathyGig12 said:


I’d love to help but I don’t think I could recommend this roof basket for standing on your roof. It’s not very strong.

 

Your best bet will be making your own out of steel or aluminum tubing

 

Maybe ask this guy for a guide? He custom built one and it looks super strong
 

 


Thanks so much for getting back to me! I do have someone local fabricating the roof rack for me. However, I am still curious if you recall the brand name or part number to share my ideas. I seem to be finding more designs for the Xterra for some reason?  

 

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