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New guy here, been studying the forum for a couple months and finally have all of the pieces lined up for a 2 inch lift. The plan is to get everything done on Monday, I rented out a bay at a local shop that has a two post lift and an assortment of tools. My apartment garage is tiny and not heated, not to mention my only jack currently is the Nissan scissor jack from the truck, so needless to say, it would have taken a week to try and do everything at home. First things first, I’d like to list out the parts I have gathered and make sure that there is nothing I’m missing before tearing into the suspension. Please chime in if you notice anything that was overlooked/ or might be problematic. I am looking for 2” of lift all around with an emphasis on minimizing the possibility of CV damage due to binding, which is why I opted to forego the spacers. I also picked the tire size based on a desire to avoid using wheel spacers. I understand fender rub will likely still be a problem in the front, but I don’t mind doing a bit of cutting. Right now I have: -KYB Gr-2 struts left and right -OEM strut mounts and bearings -Two camber bolts for help with alignment -New set of boots and bumpstops for the struts -AC 2” lift front coils -Land Rover nrc9447 rear coils -Gabriel Ultra shocks for the rear (will upgrade to longer Bilsteins in the future when I can afford them) -235/85R16 M/Ts If all goes according to plan I should be able to post pics by Tuesday, and update this thread whenever future mods are done. I’m planning on installing manual hubs and a front LOKKA when I have the money for it, along with a coastal off-road bumper and winch. It would also be nice to do some seat covers and floor mats to spruce up the aging and worn interior. Rock sliders aren’t out of the question, but the price is a bit prohibitive when you think that the truck has over 260K in the clock and probably isn’t worth more than 2 grand. The engine is still solid as far as I can tell, but who knows how long till the tranny goes or the power valve screws work themselves loose? I do have a couple of questions before diving into this first phase of the build. I have searched and searched and can’t seem to figure out whether it’s possible to use a standard McPherson strut compressor to install the AC front coils on the new struts? Every post I have seen has either said it’s totally doable if you spread the compressor arms as far apart as possible, or that it’s impossible because they are too strong and too dangerous. Can someone who has done it please confirm that it’s possible? I need to know whether I should plan to visit a pep boys on Monday once I have the old struts removed. The goal is to be as fast as possible because Im only going to have about 8 hours in the shop. And the next day I need my truck to go to work. Also, speaking of the struts, I know that the mounts and bearings must be changed. But what about the top coil seats? Do I just reuse the old ones? I’ve already put on the shocks when I went to replace the panhard and lower trailing arms, so it’s just going to be a matter of getting the front done and slipping the rear coils on. Hopefully it’s doable within the timeframe but the more I can plan ahead, the less messing around I‘ll need to do when the day comes, so any tips and tricks would be helpful. I’m familiar with the process for the struts but I’ve heard varying reports on the difficulty of getting the old ones out because of the clearance issues, especially the driver side one. What needs to be removed to get at the bolts? Also, If I have a spare hour or two, I’ll probably try wiring up the undercarriage camera and dash mounted monitor I bought for visibility off-road. And possibly making a little dohicky that senses water submersion. Like a homemade flood sensor but for 5 dollars instead of 20, and wired to the cabin for instant alarm in the event that water is approaching the level of the airbox intake Let me know what you guys think. Any comments, advice, tips, etc would be appreciated. I’m really excited for this to get done.

Hi guys, I've had this Pathfinder for a few weeks now and I'm really impressed. I got a pretty good deal on this 97 with 191k miles. It's a base model with 4x4 and a 5 speed manual transmission. I'm the 3rd owner. The 2nd owner got the truck at around 50k miles and has kept a bunch of records since. I found a Nissan FSM in the trunk and the original owners manual in the glove. Inside the owners manual I found receipts for a complete drivetrain rebuild minus the engine. The rebuild was done at a reputable shop in 2010 at 150k miles. Inside the FSM, I found lots of different notes regarding the various things he's done to the truck. Since I've had the truck I changed the timing belt, water pump, cam seals, front main seal, radiator, hoses and all the associated gaskets. I replaced all the gear oils with Redline Synthetic. As for the lift, I threw on AC coils w/ KYB's in the front and Land Rover Defender 9447 springs w/ Bilstein 5100's in the rear. For wheels I went with Pro Comp Rock Crawlers in 15x8 w/ 3.75 BS and Falken Wildpeaks in 32x11.5r15. I even followed the previous owners example and recorded all the maintenance performed in the logbook. Just like at work. I live in SoCal. Because of the recent fires all our surrounding National forests and its roads are closed to the public. I haven't been able to off road locally for weeks! I'm getting tired of driving so far just to do beginner things. If anyone reading this is in the area and has experience with the local trails please let me know. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I recently bought a 2011 pathfinder St-L. I fell in love with the look of the car and got a pretty good price for it. I had done a bit of research before buying and the mechanic said it was in great condition. But after some deeper digging I started reading more into the R51's and their potential problems and it got me worrying. I found this incredible forum and thought I might be able to get some advice on here. My wife and I are moving to a fairly remote area with a lot of sand tracks and dirt roads so would like to do everything possible to keep it running as smoothly as possible. I have read up on the problems such as SMOD, rusty back wheel thingies and the timing belt and am doing what I can to prevent these issues. So essentially what I am asking is; What issues do I need to watch out for and what can I do to make sure these don't arise? Also I am looking at getting a roof basket/storage of some sort so if anyone has any affordable suggestions in Australia, that would be hugely appreciated. I had a look and couldn't find a similar question but apologise if there is. thanks in advance, Joe

The R51 is pretty reliable. My main recommendation would be to bypass the in radiator transmission lines. I've done this with mine. Took about ten minutes to reroute the trans fluid lines to bypass the radiator and only run through the factory external trans cooler. If yours doesn't have an external trans cooler I would also recommend fitting one at the same time. I believe both the petrol and diesel engines used have timing chains not belts so shouldn't hav any problems there. Just use high quality oil and service religiously. When purchasing any secondhand vehicle I always like to get all the fluids changed (coolant, brakes, diffs, gearbox and transfer) to ensure I know exactly what's in there. Personally I run Penrite oils in my r51. The penrite ATF covers both Nismatic D and J standards. The transfer case takes D standard ATF and the trans takes J standard. Other than requiring a couple of O2 sensors and catalytic converters, and one exhaust manifold cracking, my r51 VQ40DE has been totally reliable from brand new (my father bought it new in 2007) to its current 200,000 kms. A lot of what you hear online is disgruntled owners who've had problems. When maintained properly a Japanese vehicle should be very reliable.

Once you have some experience under your belt, there’s Anza Borrego & the Mojave Road

The real ones will remember this spot [emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey man, I’m not a super active member here, but... I parked next to you at the Y the other day. That thing is a beast!

27/5000 testing the flex ?

Went to Peters mill run again today. She did great as always. She always shows up.(brothers friend took these awesome pics) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lake mead top White rocks BLM camp western Utah. This 97 just finished off a 1676 mile road trip. Stockton CA - Winnemucca NV - Stockton UT - Lake Mead - Stockton CA.

An alpine lake evening!

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finally some daylight pictures! I went ahead and sprayed the OE wheels black. Bear in mind I’m a horrible painter, but they are indeed no longer silver. So I count it as a success I loved the look of the black wheels on everyone else’s rigs so I figured I’d like mine better in black as well. Makes the tires look bigger and the truck more aggressive. Next up is probably removing the running boards for more clearance on the sides