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Quick pic of the R50 getting some work done! It’s dirty, but honestly that’s how it lives most of it’s life...she’s more function than form! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s worth noting, there are a million ways to build your truck & your build should suit you. This forum is great for avoiding mistakes but there’s half a dozen trucks that are my favorites for different reasons. Usage is HUGE in determining what you do. Budget is also HUGE. I lived in an apartment & had virtually no disposable income for the first handful of years I had my truck. My only mods were ones I found I needed (WAAG bars protected truck, auxiliary lights to see in the desert at night, rear back up lights, AirLifts to correct for sagging under load, a tiny Yakima basketcase that gave me functionality but still let me use my load bars, better headlights & decent AT tires). When I did have cash, I spent it exploring & getting the outdoor gear I needed. One of the main reasons I bought the Pathfinder in ‘02 was that it was a great “touring” vehicle. I did alot of long distance travel & what would be called Overlanding now. I camped primitively & just wanted a reliable, capable, comfortable, off-road truck.

Today mama got some new shoes! Replaced the almost worn out General AT2's with Falken Wildpeak AT3W's. Oddly enough had to step down to 255/70's, as the 265/70 Falkens hit the coil bucket, whereas the Generals were a tight fit when new, but never touched. The new 255's have just slightly more clearance than the 265 Generals had when they were new. Luckily the shop was cool about it. Certainly demonstrates the differences between manufacturers. I'll get some pics in the daylight and should be able to give a full review within a week, as we're expecting everything, sun, heavy rain, sleet, snow & ice, over the next 5 days.

Whose wife did this ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have never seen this before but posting it for anyone else who ever has this problem. The right side tail/brake light bulb blows a day or two after replacing it. I thought it had to be a short somewhere but the left side never had a problem. Thinking maybe it was in the light socket I pulled the tail light assembly to check it out. When the assembly was in hand I kept hearing a rattle that sounded like something loose in the assembly. I couldn't find it on the exterior so proceeded to pull the tail/brake light socket out of the assembly and found that the lower cavity was half full of water. For some reason the water could get in but could not drain out. As the water would slosh around and hit the hot lit tail light it would blow the bulb. SOLUTION: I drained the water from the cavity through the light socket hole then drilled an 1/8 inch hole in the bottom of the tail light assembly that will allow water to drain if it gets there in the future. I don't like to drill holes where they don't belong but sometimes it is a good solution to an expensive or unsightly alternative. I hope this can help someone having this problem in the future. Good luck & happy wheeling. BTW the 3.3 engine swap is successful and running great.

I really really wish they had that option for the Pathfinder. Heated Rear seats would be a deal breaker!

I think what is notable about @RainGoat‘s bumper is that it covers his entire front bumper cover. It’s got more surface area and is less likely to collapse on one point (think getting hit with a nail vs a a flat paddle at the same speed). Most aftermarket bull bars collapse over a section smaller than the bumper cover behind it. Raingoat’s covered his entire front bumper cover, which is probably part of why his held together so well. It was spreading damage in the same way a normal bumper cover does (low and wide), unlike many aftermarket bars. Just speculation, but worth noting

Right, the tall ones are nearly worthless-mostly aesthetic, though the push bars could theoretically be helpful, you could mount lights & I guess it might protect your upper hood corners from light scratching (while the lower bumper was trashed). WAAG was the manufacturer. The front was really not a very sturdy mount since it was not a single piece but instead went underneath with a second support running in from the front. I always thought the bolts at the connection were what would give in an impact-turned out it was the tube. It definitely negatively effected approach angle but I was an Overlander (though that category didn’t exist then) not a Crawler. I also couldn’t afford damage that I would need to pay to repair so I was always very careful & thoughtful about my lines (I was often remote & solo so getting stuck wasn’t an option). I can’t remember the front ever being a problem & I’ve done pretty much all the CO passes except Black Bear with a suspension that was stock except for rear airlifts (which I’d inflate to bring my tail up if needed). Departure angle was no worse in the rear since I have an OEM hitch which goes lower & longer. The rear bolts right into the frame & is nice & sturdy - it’s saved my rear from countless taps, campsite brush & the time a trailer came unhitched while underway & that bar was the point of contact to slow it down. I actually intend to keep it as it makes it easier to stand on the rear bumper & I’ve commonly found myself hanging stuff on the front & rear while in camp.

I’m 99% sure it is and it also pushes more heat when it’s on the high position

I agree, I think that little bar on the bumper looked great. If I had still had a stock bumper I would have definitely grabbed that part when that QX4 was at the junkyard (it was mega rusty, and for the record although the rear bumper and rock sliders looked beefy, they were attached with thin bits of strapping and sheet metal screws; very disappointing). It's really amazing how your bar bend things in such a way to save the front end! Hard to say from this angle, but if you had one of those bars that goes over the headlights too do you think it would have damaged more stuff?

Holy Sh1t!! I was just thinking the same thing & I’ve had that truck 16 years!!

Okay, I'll be the contrary opinion on this point. Full bumper replacements are awesome but cost alot of money, take time to do, were VERY hard to find until the last 6 months and may not visually appeal to you. For all of these reasons I ran a PreRunner bar on my truck for 16 years. On the financial aspect alone bumper replacement was a no go for me for years after I bought my truck. It allowed me to protect my bumper (not a damage multiplier), mount auxilliary lights, absorbed damage in a front end collision & I like the aesthetics. The PreRunner was low and pushed brush & small saplings down saving my OEM bumper when I was simply off road in brush, etc. Upper brush guards are worthless as brush hits your lower bumper first & if you are going a slow, reasonable speed, the lower bumper should push the brush down & out of the way. Also, the PreRunner had vertical rubber bump bars that saved me from countless bumper taps over the years. My bumper looked as good as the day I bought it until my front end collision. Additionally, when I was in a front end collision, the WAAG bar absorbed some of the energy of the impact and saved damage to my truck itself. (I do believe the upper front end brush bars cause more damage but I've already listed why I think they are worthless anyway). All of that was irrelevant as I turned it into insurance and they paid out for the damage to my vehicle plus all of my lights (even though not all were damaged) and my WAAG bar to boot. Overall, the PreRunner saved me tons in bumper repair, probably decreased collision damage and was compensated for by insurance when it was damaged. The second benefit of a PreRunner or Stinger is as an anchor for auxiliary lights. This was the primary reason I mounted mine as I was living in Phoenix at the time and often ended up in the backcountry at night. The desert just requires ALOT of light. I used the lower lateral hoops to mount 2 130w KC Slimlight Flood Lights just inboard of the stock fog lights (which are worthless for anything except seeing potholes right in front of your truck or running a lower light in a campground at night) and I used the upper bar to mount 2 130w KD Slimlight Driving Lights. My Driving Lights punched forward way better than my highs (even with 4100K PIAA Halogens in them) and I had the lateral floods just overlap with the driving lights so that I had about 200* of forward facing light. I think if you just want a stinger bar for aesthetics and to mount some auxiliary lights, go for it. It's cheap if you can do it yourself and it might give you some functionality. Admittedly, the new light bars these days make this less necessary than in the past. Look at @02_Pathy (NPORA) / theblackpathfidner (IG) for a nice LED bar integration. I've seen his truck and I think it is one of the most elegant, simple but functional builds out there. (I console myself that they just didn't have light bars, or LEDs when I was doing my build out). See my Avatar on IG for my front end in its prime. My avatar here is a little worse & below is a recent pic but I’ve pulled the grill to play with an SE grill & Raptor light mod-so it looks terrible-but you can see to some degree how the bar collapsed decreasing overall damage & saved all my lights (though I pulled one off in the pic). I also posted the black Pathfinder to show a great alternative (he’s just showing off by beating me to the Raptor mod-JK). BTW, I think the stinger bar in that pic next to[mention=39321]mjotrainbrain[/mention] looks nice (thanks for the pic).

Weird? Mine takes about 2-3 minutes from a cold start to warm up and usually have from change it from back and the bottom to just the bottom because it gets so waem and it always makes me and passengers sweat

I have to agree, the heated seats in my QX4 took absolutely forever to warm up, but once they did they were nice. Mine heated the lower back a bit, not sure about the rear seats though. My drive to school is about 20 minutes and by the time I got there I was nice and comfortable, but not a minute sooner. I always wondered if they were better new, as well as if maybe the seat being leather slowed the heating? Because cloth seats don't get as cold as leather, so the heater doesn't have to warm the seat surface first as much I guess...all I know is the heated seats in my parent's cars (Tacoma and Escape) work way better, perhaps too well. If I left my Infiniti's heated seats on low once they got warmed up they never really got to be too warm and were comfortable for a long day in the woods. As much as I'd like some from the junkyard, I'm growing to enjoy the simplicity of manual cloth seats, and I think heated was only offered for leather. Plus in 6 or so months I've only seen 2 in junkyards. Must be worth too much to sell the parts that way.

The Limited 4th Gens had them & maybe some premium models. You might be able to harvest some from a 4thGen in a JY. While I’m glad I have them, the Pathy’s are the worst of any car I’ve owned or driven. Very slow, very cyclic & minimally adjustable. Also, I can’t remember if it does my back or not-I think not.

That's probably the linkage behind the transmission on the left side. There is a ball and spring arrangement that "indexes" inside the transfer case that never seems to get serviced. I would give a shot of some spray grease or other lube on the linkage joints, that should be a big help.

In my opinion, I’m not the biggest fan of them only because it really has no real life application

I think this picture will help give a better idea

YOU GOT HEATED SEATS LUCKY

Jealous, this looks so fun!

Alright. I wish someone who has gone the 1” route would shed some light on their method. I really only want/need an inch, and I don’t want to relocate anything if I can help it

You've got it. The clutch pack can only hold so much before it slips. The breakaway numbers in Hawairish's table above are how much torque the diff is supposed to hold when bench-tested (one axle held, torque wrench on the other). That number may improve a little under load as the spider gears push out against the clutches, but if you've got a wheel off the ground, you probably won't have enough load to make a difference. Apparently you can use the parking brake to add load and make the clutches grab a little better if you're struggling. I knew the later models were de-tuned, but I didn't realize it was that bad! '03-'04 got screwed! I'm guessing the limited slip didn't play nice with stability control. I've heard of the LSD making chattering noises if it was refilled with the wrong fluid. It's supposed to run oil with a friction modifier to keep the clutches happy (that's why it says LSD oil only on the sticker). Without that, the clutches bind up, make noise, and have a bad time in general. The only noise I've noted from my rear end was a faint hiss that I thought might be the sound of the clutches slipping, but I'm not certain it wasn't just the wheels slipping in the snow that I was stuck in at the time. If you're looking for an easy swap to a better LSD, the early Xterra rear third member is supposed to bolt right in. CJ Franger on the NPORA facebook page (probably on here as well, not sure what his screen name is) put one in his R50 a while ago. Because it's a 3rd member style rear end, it's completely bolt-on without having to mess with gear lash or clutches, and it looks like it gives you more than double the breakaway torque of what you've got.

So it's dirty and partly sanded but it's lifted. Also bench seat update it's nice and comfy and less claustrophobic than the buckets Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk