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QuasarDecimari

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QuasarDecimari last won the day on January 14 2019

QuasarDecimari had the most liked content!

About QuasarDecimari

  • Birthday 09/11/1998

Previous Fields

  • Your Pathfinder Info
    2001 LE R50 3.5L, 6.5" lift and 4" SFD, LT285/75R16 MT. Custom XJ Steel Bumper, "Missing Link", Manual Hubs. OME & AC Springs, KYB Shocks and Struts. A whole lotta lights too XD
  • Mechanical Skill Level
    Standalone Tool Chest Mechanic
  • Your Age
    16-21
  • What do you consider yourself?
    Weekend Warrior
  • Model
    LE
  • Year
    2001.5

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://www.depthdetailing.com

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Colorado
  • Country
    United States

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QuasarDecimari's Achievements

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  1. I’m currently in the middle of building my second VQ, converting a 2004 VQ so it can be used in my 2001 pathy. I can say I’ve gotten pretty personal with these engines haha. If your engine is eating enough oil through the PCV to actually consume it, you’ve got much bigger problems than anything a catch will fix. Have you or the mechanic replaced the PCV valve itself, or tested that it functions? If not, for $5 and a couple hours of work you can do it yourself pretty easy. Can you see any visible oil leaks? If so, where from? Is there lots of blue/black smoke from the exhaust? Where does the smell seem to originate from? We have a lot of options to test this.
  2. There are two coolant lines running to the throttle body. One of them comes from the coolant rail on the back of the heads, located behind the Bank 2 head (Driver Side). As for size, I’m fairly certain it’s 1/4”. The other hose to the throttle body extends down under the intake boot, running along the heater core pipe along the side of the engine above the exhaust manifold. There are two sections to the PCV System. The valve itself is located on the intake side of the Bank 1 valve covers, on the back of the valve cover. It is a small plastic piece that is inserted into a rubber grommet, on the 2001 VQ. The valve itself is rather fragile, and if the hose back there has dry-rotted, you’ll have some difficulty removing it. This valve feeds the crankcase gases into a tube under the lower intake manifold, and exits into the intake near the butterfly valves above cylinder 4. The secondary part of the PCV is an extension of the chambers within the valve covers. The valve covers on the 2001 VQ are large and typically made of aluminum, having chambers at the top for the gases to collect. On the Bank 1 side, there is a large outlet (about 1/2”) that utilizes a hose along the top of the timing cover to reach the other valve cover. The inlet on that side is roughly the same position as the Bank 1 side, but mirrored. There is then a large outlet on the back of the Bank 2 valve cover, on the exhaust side, which feeds directly into the intake boot, before the throttle body. It is a rather efficient PCV system, and I don’t recommend tampering with it. The VQ is quite sensitive to crankcase pressure, and will often react with oil seepage, misfires, or moisture buildup in the oil. It’s cumbersome, but it works. Above is a picture of my engine stripped down to the heads. I highlighted the PCV path along the valve covers with yellow.
  3. I don’t have any pictures currently but I’ll get some as soon as I can. Really, I just used 2x2 inch square tube and cut them to 6” lengths, measured the bolt spacing for the transmission mount and crossmember mounts, and used a drill press to do the drilling (the bolts are rather large). Unfortunately I didn’t document this, but it’s easily obtainable with a caliper/micrometer. You’ll need to make sure you get your math correct for lengthening the steering linkage. Most information available is for the 4” SFD, so calculate accordingly with simple trigonometry. Unless the angles of the strut spacers are corrected, be prepared for excessive camber without proper suspension geometry. Make sure you unbolt the power steering lines from the subframe before moving it down, so that you can reposition them and drill new holes to bolt onto later, otherwise you’ll have a fun mess to clean up. You probably already know. But the engine must remain in its factory position, so 6” spacers will be needed to support the engine. I STRONGLY advise swapping the engine and transmission mounts while you’re in there, since they’ll be exposed and easily accessible.
  4. If you’re doing a 6” SFD you will need to drop the transmission crossmember. I dropped mine 2” with the 6” SFD.
  5. I believe it’s because some of us at NPORA forget that other people with Pathfinders may have not yet discovered their vehicle’s true potential. They haven’t been awakened yet. Soon.
  6. Finally finished mine, from Coastal. I think it’s a fantastic build. It’s very heavy but very sturdy. There ARE some flaws in the design that they don’t account for, such as the dinky little power steering line that runs across the front of the frame, so that was a huge pain to bend and move out of the way... resulting in some crushed fins on my condenser, but oh well, more reason to install an aftermarket cooler eventually. I really took my time welding the kit, made sure it was solid throughout, but I also have a pretty decent set of welding machines at work. It’s not going to be easy with a smaller welder, so be prepared to either have a decent one at your expense, or someone that can weld it. The total time it took me to bevel the edges, tack it together, weld, grind, stitch-weld the inside, etch, prime, and paint was a little over 36 hours, and I was definitely taking my time. All in all, it’s a fantastic kit, the piece quality was actually great, and the metal was very clean and ready to weld, minus the edges that all had to be beveled. For the price and availability, I strongly recommend their service.
  7. I think that’s the thing here, you get what you pay for. I got my AVS rain guards and they’ve held up really well against some harsh weather, trails, and I’m on the highway pretty much every day.
  8. Seen em on quite a few pathfinders, they make some nice ones for Xterras and others too. They’re also currently working on a design for a rear pathfinder bumper with a swing-out tire carrier. It’s definitely great quality for the price too, if you don’t mind the lead time and shipping from Canada. I’ve had good experiences with them.
  9. Whelp, too late for me now I guess. I got the AVS ones a while back, they’re still on strong but hopefully I don’t see this same fate...
  10. And such a force would likely crumble the little link anyway. It does fantastic for helping maintain flex and separation in the subframe but I wouldn’t even try and lift the vehicle with the link.
  11. Well that’s terrifying. Glad I built a missing link when I did then... it may not be a perfect link, but a quarter-inch steel square tube is plenty robust. I’ve always wanted to find any more ways to reinforce the subframe after such a large drop, this might have motivated me to do so...
  12. A 2” lift is perfect for that sort of thing! It likely would have, and I’ve seen plenty of people who have done so with little issues aside from misalignment of the suspension and so on. I would say 2” is still within the comfort zone before you really start causing additional wear. Just understand, at 2” and beyond, without a SFD, you do operate your CV axles at more dramatic operating angles, which increases wear. I cannot stress enough how great of a solution manual locking hubs are for that issue. On the trails, though, you’ll wanna take it nice and slow when going into deep areas where the front suspension might droop to its max extension, because at that point you’ll be within the binding range of the CVs. And you’ll know, too, when it isn’t spinning anymore. If you take it nice and slow, you’ll just notice you can’t get traction or move, and should back off and retry with a different approach. If you go flooring it or cruising through a drop, you’ll likely snap your CV joint, but I haven’t had any experience doing so, as I’m rather careful to reduce any additional cost on every trail!
  13. Additionally, if I would have known how much work it would be to maintain as a daily, I wouldn’t have lifted my pathfinder the way I have. At this point it really should just be a toy and trail rig, but I don’t have space for another vehicle at the moment. Just food for thought.
  14. I ran a 2.5” lift for a while, no issues except for CV wear on the trails due to binding. Then I did a 4” SFD, still no problems really. It’s when I threw on bigger tires that I started seeing a bit more wear and a difference in performance. After that, I went on to build my 7” SFD and lift, which of course has been a pain on its own, but it’s been holding sturdy and still stays nice and smooth on the highways as a daily. Is it a luxurious ride when lifted? Absolutely not. Lifting the Pathfinder pretty much removes all comfort in the suspension, makes it a little less stable to drive, but if you get used to it, you’re fine. That aside, I’ve done a lot of rework to my suspension and such over time due to general wear and tear, at almost 200,000 miles, so it’s hard for me to gauge properly. I would say, however, to expect to go through CV axles and U-Joints more frequently, ESPECIALLY if you don’t get manual locking hubs. They’re your saving grace when it comes to lifting these, and promoting drivetrain longevity in general. I know I’m bouncing around a bit, but to summarize, your mechanic is right. A lift will devalue the vehicle, unless someone really wants a lifted pathfinder. Lifts are usually accompanied by bigger tires, which puts additional stress on the transmission, engine, driveline, and so on. Really, anything you do to modify the suspension and such will cause additional wear, because you’re making it do things it was not “designed” to do. The R50 is built well though. I’ve put mine through hell and back and I know what to expect. If you know you’ll need to do a bit more maintenance, and understand the risks of things breaking more frequently or when unexpected, you’re set. If you aren’t ready for that expense, there ARE easier/less expensive vehicles to lift and maintain. These are, of course, opinions from my experience.
  15. Oh, I didn’t notice that the vent flaps themselves were also there, my apologies. That’d be a bit more difficult.
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