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Once everything came down we put in place the new arms. The zirc fittings aligned perfectly for easy grease points Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1 to what the others have said. Sounds like the rear wheel on the other side was spinning. When you're in 4x, the front and rear driveshafts spin at the same rate. There's no differential in the transfer case to bias torque front or rear, so the front and rear diffs turn at the exact same rate. Each diff applies the same torque to both wheels on its axle--but if one wheel doesn't have enough traction, it spins and the other doesn't (the torque it takes to spin the wheel without traction is not enough to spin the wheel that does have traction and is trying to move the truck). If the truck is on uneven ground, it'll have less force on two wheels diagonal from each other (think of a four-legged bar stool on an uneven floor). If the suspension can't keep the wheels in good contact with the ground, those two unloaded wheels spin while the truck goes nowhere. Look where your tires are in your wheel wells, your driver's front is drooped way down (unloaded) and your driver's rear is stuffed into the wheel well. The passenger's front and driver's rear were supporting most of the truck's weight, so the other two had bugger-all traction and the truck wouldn't climb. If you don't have one already, you might try and track down a limited slip rear end (identified by an orange sticker next to the fill port that says LSD OIL ONLY). I like the limited slip in my '93, though it does have its limitations. IIRC the R50 LSD was toned down a little (probably because LSD makes it easier to make the rear end step out if you drive like a maniac. The LSD can be repacked to tighten it up. It's not as good as a locker but it's much better than an open diff IMO.

Install went well but slow because of the torqued up bolts. Took about an hour per two arms to come off Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm curious about the noise. The LSD doesn't quite "engage" per se...whether straight-ahead or turning, the clutch pack is always under compression, but there is a change from no-friction to friction when making turns. Because there are also spider gears in the diff, any engagement sounds are might be attributed to those, and not so much the clutch pack (i.e., the "limited slip" part of LSD). I assembled this chart from FSM data when I repacked some LSDs a while ago: Pretty clear the R50 never got what other trucks got, and then Nissan dumbed everything down 03-04. Re-packing does require some work...and homework. Not so much adding shims but just increasing the friction for the clutch packs. This can be done by thickening the stack (replacing thinner pieces with thicker ones, or shims), by replacing pieces of one type with another, particularly in the case where similar parts are next to each other. For example, on 01-02 R50, a 2:9 ratio means that, those 2 friction discs are only in contact with 3 friction plates, at max, and the rest are just used for spacing (FP-FD-FP-FD-FP-FP-FP-FP-FP-FP-FP); all of the breakaway torque comes from the friction on those 10 pieces (5 per side). The 5:6 models had more than double the friction area, and consequently higher breakaway torques. However, you'd expect the 6:6 to have higher numbers, too, but the breakaway torque is also controlled by the nominal thickness of the pieces, plus any compression added by spring plates. That is to say the R50 LSDs used more thinner pieces, which would reduce stack compression and ultimately friction. In your real-world scenario, if you have an LSD and the tire is still spinning, that means the ground resistance on the tire that has traction is higher than the breakaway torque of the LSD. In that case, it behaves like an open diff because it's defeating the clutch pack and the spider gears (the "differential" of LSD) are allowing the excess torque to rotate the wheel with less traction.

One other note. That play can also be caused by bad ball joints. Have someone wiggle the tire while you watch the ball joints. If they don't have slack, then it is wheel bearings. Just an extra check to make sure you have the right parts on hand.

Judging by the angle of the pic and wheel well gap front vs. rear, that seems normal operation to me. The hill seems more gradual on the passenger side, so it shifted the truck's weight over to the driver's side, mostly towards the rear. The passenger rear tire would have the least amount of traction, and a rear open diff would allow that tire to spin freely. Since both front tires would have traction, they would also spin.

In 4Lo the power should be split evenly between the front and rear axles, although I supposed it's possible if you have the AUTO mode transfer case the clutch packs inside could be toast. Are you sure the rear wheel on the other side from where she was standing wasn't spinning? Because the rear diff isn't locked and that's exactly what should happen when struggling; one wheel up front and one wheel out back turning.

Also, depending on your year, you may either have a hall effect sensor or an inductive pickup sensor. One looks like a magnet, similar to a crankshaft position sensor, the other is like a tiny gear. Both are fragile and expensive to replace, so use caution when removing, and always be sure to gently clean them off before reinstalling. If it is the magnetic pickup sensor, avoid putting it near anything else magnetic while it is off the vehicle, to avoid damaging the sensor in case it isn’t really your problem. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s a huge pain to get to, if I remember correctly. Look at your transmission/transfer case, and follow it to the driveshaft. On the top side of the transfer case, right before the output shaft (connecting to the driveshaft), should be the VSS. However, there’s some controversy and I’m not entirely sure that one is it, as I could never remove it to do what I wanted with it. There are diagrams in the factory service manual, but they’re very vague. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent description and analogy. I totally agree with Slart about the LSD. Even a weak LSD is going to be better than an open diff.

Also worth noting that the bearings don't necessarily need to be replaced. Mine were a little loose when I got the truck, but still looked fine, so I just repacked them and they were fine. (I did have to adjust tension again a while after, apparently they can settle in with time.) Mine weren't loose enough to make noise, though.

I agree with the above posters, I think you've just cross-axled it and are getting diagonal wheelspin. I would be very surprised if there were only one wheel spinning, as there is no way of getting power to only 1 front wheel in any of these vehicles, being primarily rear-wheel drive.

There's actually 2 relays in the in-line fusebox. I only took a picture of one as they're identical.

I second MJO. I bet that rear passenger wheel is spinning. If not then there may be a problem inside the tcase. Was the little center lock indicator on the dash on?

You have 2002 LE right? That’s comes with the RE4R01A transmission... are you feeling hard shifting in every gear or 1-2? To me it sounds 100% a bad fan clutch. I would replace that either way because that has had been said to have a big impact on gas mileage. I’ll be low on gas as well and only put 16 gallons in idk... The fuel lines must hold a lot on these trucks.

Wow its been 2 years and I never brought anyone up to date, hope I can be forgiven ?. I’ve done quite a lot since then but still feel as if I’ve made not much headway. As for the O2 sensor I cant say i remember what the mechanics said but I know I had it replaced. In reference of what I’ve done since, switched back to conventional, had the leak fixed but recently found I had a new tiny one coming from the oil pan gasket while changing oil. Had the tranny drained and filled because flushing is rough on an older auto trans from what ive been told. Still have some rough shifts, worse in the winter I’ll say but thats to be expected im sure. In recent months I’ve found that my mpg is in the toilet with an average of about 12mpg if im lucky but I feel as if my gas guage is not accurate because after having the fuel light come on I only fill up about 16 gallons! I highly doubt the engineers would have 5 gallons in reserve?! Still havent addressed the fan clutch issue but it still roars and now the belt squeals fairly loud when the rpms reach over about 4500 which is also another sign of the clutch going bad ive heard. Had the belt replaced around a year and a half ago. Still losing about a quart every 1000 miles that has not changed. Finally something I’ve always been curious in is the temp guage being just below the halfway mark which I’m wondering is normal. Ill attach an image of it showing the needle at operating temp where it pretty much never goes above what’s shown. It would make sense if it is slightly below if my fan is never disengaging but you tell me. If anyone has some advice on any subject or where I should look next I’d love it. Just shoot me a response and lets get talkin! Edit: Couldn’t figure out how to attach image because it’s size was too big

I had a 2002 QX4 as well, there's nothing like offroading in the lap of luxury!

Lots of specific quirks that come with Pathfinders, but that's why we like em so much here!

Thanks for that link to the service manuals. Definitely a ton of good info there. I did some more experimenting, and it seems like giving my terminals a thorough cleaning helped with most of the heat. I've installed the new switch for now, and while it gets a little warm, it is nowhere near the temps it was reaching before. Certainly not melting the plug now. The harness runs through the fender and then to both fuse/relay boxes under the hood, so should be pretty easy to keep an eye on things downstream. So for now, I'm hoping the problem was just old wires and bad connections. Thanks again for the input! If the truck goes up in smoke, I'll be sure to post pictures.

The turn only condition seems like the wheel bearings. The pulsing is a pretty standard symptom of warped rotors. To check the wheel bearings jack up the front to get the tires off the ground, place it on stands and alternate pulling/pushing on the 12 and 6 o'clock positions of the tires. If you feel any play or clunking its likely a wheel bearing If the rotors still have enough material to be turned that can be the cheapest option to cure pulses but I believe (not entirely sure) the pads need to be replaced at the same time becuase they will have worn to fit the irregular rotors

Drove her home from work late last night, felt like I was boxing the cab with how bad the fuel smell was lmao. Checked her out this morning and discovered the clamps on the small hose between the fuel rails came loose again. Tightened them down and it seems we're good again for the time being. Damn this WD21 and the cold weather sometimes! Lol

I got my first welding machine today!! Super excited. And yes, I know how to weld, just never had my own machine before. Going to school for it in a few months as well so thats a big plus