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Junk yard scores! Found a silver hatch from an SE in great shape that even has the spoiler that I’ve always wanted. Paint still looks awesome except for one tiny rust spot. It came off of a 97 I believe, so I’m hoping the pre and post facelift hatches are interchangeable. They look to be, but I guess I’ll find out when I put it on. The spoiler will probably require relocation of the axe I have on the back of the rack, but that’s alright I also found another donor truck with the same interior trim color that had the overhead dome light assembly, so I swapped mine out. No more ugly holes from the previous switches. The same truck had two Yakima crossbars with ski clamps so I grabbed them as well, for $20 you can’t beat it. I’ll clean them up and they’ll be awesome for next season. The bars fit in the tracks and between the bars of my rack and hold the skis high enough that they clear the rack bars I won’t be able to install the hatch for a while since I’ll need to enlist a friend to help me lift it into position. In the mean time I’m putting a set of round rally lights on the front of the rack since I can’t get the original light bar to stop whistling and I’m not content with the output from just the smaller pods I’ve got on there right now. Plus I think the round styling will go better with the aesthetic of the rack. They’re off of Amazon and they aren’t a big name brand but supposedly they’re very focused beams so theyll reach further and won’t scatter the light a bunch. I can then move the pods to the side of the rack for lighting the surroundings if necessary

What it'll need depends on mileage and how well it's been kept up. Check the fluids, make sure the timing belt has been done or do it yourself. I did mine when I got the truck because I had no record of when it had been done last. Cam and crank seals, tensioner, water pump, and bypass hose should be done at the same time, and I replaced a rad hose while I was in there because I didn't like the look of it. While you're looking at the engine, if the vacuum lines are original/cracking/brittle, might as well replace those before they're a problem. Vac line is cheap. Valve cover gaskets, again, if they're original, they're probably rock hard and leaking. Check for cracks in the tube from the throttle body to the MAF sensor, and if it's torn, check your engine mounts. Check the front wheel bearings, they may need adjustment and/or repacking (you have to take the bearings apart to replace the rotors, so if it needs those, plan for both at once). If it's still got automatic locking hubs on it, consider upgrading to manual hubs. Also check for corrosion issues. These like to rot in the left side floorboard where the gasket for the Y pipe fails and blasts exhaust right at the floor (which can set fire to the carpet), and under the back seat. Mine also had rust in the right rear floor (wasn't expecting that) and the left rear wheel well, in front of the wheel. And of course the frames like to rot in the back, over the axle. And speaking of things that catch fire, check/clean out the heater box. On left hand drive trucks (not sure if you're RHD or LHD in NZ, and I've never been into a RHD dash), you remove the glove box and the plate behind it, remove the blower motor resistor, and then you can clean out the pine needles and leaves that accumulate between the fan and the aircon evaporator. It's not super common but I have heard of hot blower resistors setting that stuff on fire. I glued a screen over the intake to my blower motor to keep the mice out, and it keeps the leaves out too. Check for play in the front suspension joints, including the steering linkage. If the strut rod bushings (rear of the LCAs) are original, plan to replace them--they usually look fine and they're usually trashed. Oh, and the manual trans needs to be overfilled to keep it happy. Make sure you use the correct fluid.

When I picked up my 92 with 285Kmiles on it, it leaked from every single seal. Look for leaks, fix them if you're capable of doing it and keep an eye on the fluids. I also noticed within the past year, I was consuming coolant/antifreeze. It turned out to be a leaking head gasket into one of the cylinders. With anything as old as these are getting, you're going to be looking at long haul issues like leaks and head gaskets.... etc... Cam Belt/Timing Belt being changed on a regular basis is a necessity. Whenever that's done, it's also a good idea to replace the water pump and belt tensioner Aside from age issues, they're pretty solid. The one big problem I have observed, some parts are no longer available anywhere unless you go to a salvage yard. You may have better luck on your side of the pond though. Good Luck!!

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!

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.

“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.

Finally found an open trail and a place to camp. It’s called “Matchless”, and the camping area is called “Gordon gulch” if anyone is interested. Entirely passable despite some snow and deep ruts, but we didn’t drive the whole loop, just went until we found a good site Shes definitely not the cleanest rig, I’m sure a lot of people might even say shes ugly. Couldn’t care less. Everything was built with a purpose and not much time was spent on polishing. I didn’t bother with making the rear bumper look pretty, just like I didn’t bother making the tubing in the front look like a factory option. The rear can be used for towing, and holding up the tire carrier, and the front can deflect branches on the trail, and offer recovery points that otherwise weren’t available. That’s all I need them to do. Im very happy with both the looks and functionality at this point. Shes not an Instagram overlander, shes here to take me to cool places and allow me to do cool @!*%. At 280,000 miles, she’s already done her fair share, but unlike some other brands she is still capable of much more. I enjoy sharing things on this site and participating in the community because we all love wheeling our pathfinders and this place has the best info in the world when it comes to this platform. Next up is the front Lokka and roof basket. The basket is already on the way, I just need to wait till things settle down with the whole pandemic thing before I go dropping cash on the lokka