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Thanks again @gamellott and @adamzan - agreed that timing belt is priority. I was able to get all OEM timing parts (belt, tensioner, water pump, front crank and cam seals) fortunately, but have yet to install. Been using this as my "daily" driver (but I only drive about 50 miles/week, at most) and so it's been hard to find time for it. Also had the starter motor go out, which I ended up spending a full day fighting to replace, and did a tune up/oil change while I was at it. Old filter was installed in 2023, but only about 2k miles ago. My goal is to do timing belt asap, then front end parts after, and finally figure out screeching after that. I ended up buying all Mevotech "supreme" parts on RockAuto - they seem to be not the worst quality, but obviously time will tell once they're on. All greaseable with zerks included - they even had a replacement centerlink by Mevotech which I was pleasantly surprised to see, as I've read those are/were hard to find on the forums. Wheel screeching is also still unresolved - I've been able to pinpoint that it is coming from only the passenger side front wheel, and only when moving in reverse or turning left (anything off of dead straight - if I turn right at all it stops, and if I press the brakes it stops too). Maybe a loose pad or hardware? The rotors look a little worn, but I honestly don't know enough to say whether its abnormal wear or just typical for their (unknown) age. I need to inspect pads more closely, but at this point I plan to replace all 4 wheels' pads/rotors/bearings all at once and figure I'll find the cause during that process. Next time I have the wheels off I'll take some pics.

4x4parts.com has a good selection of shocks with and without lifts.

After a good wash. The paint is pretty bad, I think it's been rattle can touched up a few times. But the body is remarkably straight, one dent in the rear bumper and a simple in the front if the hood. Removed the bent up roof rack and took this picture so we could noodle on a design for a custom roof rack. It's sloped down in the front pretty good, we've since adjusted the rotation bars to sit close to level. Well... An unknown server error limits my upload to 51kb so I'll try to get this and the next pic uploaded another time...

Figured I'd post a couple pics and try to chart what's happening with the Pathfinder. Here's the day we brought it home late last summer. The drivers door was the only functional door at the time. Lots of little things to do and a few big things!

Well, this weekend was very productive. Wasn't able to roll it out, but we're getting close. Last update I mentioned the axle was being done. It's officially done and back on the truck. The bulk of the weekend was getting the axle back under the truck and slowly completing the final assembly. Right now, everything's torqued down and ready to go. Axle's centered, thing's aligned as best as I can get them with my eyechrometers. Got it to the point where the truck is resting on the axle, and tires were slapped on for a while. Still needed to tweak the steering stabilizer a bit. I finished up the mount v3 today and it's finally in a position where I don't think it's going to contact anything. Also figured I'd work on the center caps while some parts baked (powder coating). Limit straps, driveshaft adapter, and custom brake lines delivering tomorrow, among other small goodies. Been waiting on the brake lines to start the ring and pinion swap in the rear, so hopefully I get started on that mid-week.

The noise could also be slight play in the bearings allowing the rotor to move just enough that it is contacting the backing plate. I have had that happen before. @gamellott They didn't have zerks but had a bolt that you removed to install a zerk. I agree it is hard to find good chassis parts these days. I usually just buy the cheap stuff because the lifetime warranty stuff seems to be 3x the price for 0x the quality. The best TRE, ball joints etc for these were/are the "three five" brand, you could get them at napa at some point, and rock auto under beck/arnley.

Thanks fellas! Yeah, it's a big push right now and I'm stressing about it a bit. My next "Brodeo" trip with the guys is coming up early April and we're off to Moab again, so this has to be on the road ASAP, particularly to get it through emissions, registration renewed, and of course, at least one shakedown run...hopefully two. Current goal is to have it able to roll under power by the end of this weekend, but it won't be streetable quite yet. I still need to do the bump stop pads, limit straps, steering stabilizer, and a front driveshaft, but I can at least move it out of the garage without those. More to come soon!

Timing belt, especially if it's unknown when it was last done, is almost a Must!! There are places out there that make kits for these that include a water pump and tensioner pulley that are typically worth getting. Squealing or grinding when turning coming from the brakes is more indicative of badly worn bearings. I haven't seen a hose be a cause of that, but then, I've heard of stranger things. If it's happening all of the time, more than likely it's the wear sensor on your brake pads. Maybe a combination of brake pads and lose bearings? Or maybe it's metal to metal and the brake sensor is still attached? Get the wheel off and have a look.... One thing about these when turning, and I experienced this on my D21 as well, When the wheel is turned into the stops, it makes a hideous noise if you hit uneven pavement or a curb. That's entirely because the stops hit a bolt on the spindle and they grind. Could that be your problem with the grinding noise? Good Chassis parts are becoming harder to find. The typical auto parts store will only have stuff made in China and the quality is typically pretty poor IMHO. I really don't think these things had zirk fittings installed from the factory. Even the New Drag Link I got from NAPA didn't have them. And Yes, I paid the higher dollar price at NAPA because I didn't want the cheap Chinese part. The Lower Ball joints, even new, will feel bad, unless they changed the design. I didn't take it apart, but I think the ball sits in a cone that is not captured like I've seen on others. Its really wonky when it's not under tension.

checked my codes today so I decidced to make a quick video as well for those may get a little confused what they are watching for first part is the mode selection part, I let it cycle 2 full times first just to see the 'full cycle' (1-2-3-4-5) on the 3rd cycle I switched to mode 3 and let it cycle my codes twice. Watching the flashes you will see I have a code 13 (coolant temp sensor), a code 21 (ignition signal), and a code 11 (crank angle/cam position sensor) Hope it helps someone a little