dududuckling

I agree... for 60 bucks, you can't ask for more and its still a nice functional skid plate...

Thanks for all the advice, guys... Gonna take it to the shop tomorrow, get the tranny fluid replaced and see what comes out of the plug. If there's no chunky metal, I guess I'm gonna leave it for now till the transmission fails me. With the same amount of money that I spend on a transmission, I can probably trade my car in for newer model or for snorkel, lift, skid or an SFD... lol...

What happened to your dad's pathy in the end? Did they replace something? I paid $50.00 for diagnostic at Nissan today. When they told me its with the transmission, I asked them to take it apart and they refused. I even offered to pay them to open up the transmission and see if there's anything wrong inside... I'd rather spend a few hundred dollars and be sure that it is the problem rather than shelling thousand of dollars and guessing it might be the problem. But again, they refused my offer... I'm gonna ask around for more second opinions before deciding what to do with it. Thanks a lot, though...

I asked if they can open up the transmission and replace the faulty parts, they said it will add up to longer labor hours and the overall cost is gonna be more expensive than to replace the transmission itself. I asked about a used transmission, Nissan said its bound to fail in the near future. I don't know how true this is... There are times when I wanna sell the pathy for a cheap Civic, lol...

Got the word back from Nissan, its definitely coming from the transmission. They want ~CA$3400.00 for a brand new transmission (Parts = $2400.00 + Labor = $1000.00 approximately). Is it making sense at all? Do you think its possible to get them open up the transmission and replace the specific parts only? Can you please share your thoughts on this, please? Thanks in advanced... Andrew

It was about 164,000 km as well, when I did a clutch bearing with Nissan. I intend to all the fluids at the end of the wheeling season...

@160,000 km... I should get it changed soon. But I did change something back in April, brought it to the shop and the guy filled 75w90 synthetic... i think its just for differential. How often should this fluid be changed? Can it be the problem as well?

Hey all, I'm driving a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder with a standard transmission. For the past one year, I find it tight to engage the first and reverse gears. You can shift into those gears, but you have to add a little more force on the stick and depress the clutch to its fullest extent. Over the past two months or so, sometime (and its just once in a while) I shift to the first gear, the stick will vibrate, produce a loud grinding noise, and jerk back into neutral. Last night, when I was driving around city at approximately 60 km/h, there's a noise that only appears when the gas pedal is depressed with the gear engaged. So, for instance, if I go on gear 1 or 2 or 3 and I hit the gas pedal, the noise will appear. When the car is moving on a downhill and with the gear shifted to neutral, engaging the gas pedal and revving the engine will not produce the noise. When the car is stationary and with the gear shifted to neutral, engaging the gas pedal and revving the engine will also not produce the noise. The noise is kinda soft and barely noticable. I have to turn off the a/c (because my a/c compressor also makes similar noise) in order to hear that noise. With the assumption that it would be a transmission-related problem, this morning I brought it to the local garage that specialized in transmission. The guy told me that my initial problem (its hard to engage the gears, etc) might be due to my clutch plate/ pressure plate, etc running low. I replaced the clutch disc/ cover and release bearing at 164,000 km (I had noise when I shift into gears and release the clutch, but it was fixed). I drive a lot on stop-and-go traffic. Do you think its time to get a new clutch again? As for the noise, he wasn't sure where its coming from... he said its certainly not from the transmission because its neither grinding nor bearing noise. And based on his experience, he never heard of it before. He said its probably coming from the engine, etc. I'm bringing it to Nissan for diagnostic tomorrow. Does anyone have a clue to my problem? I know Nissan will say something tomorrow. But I'd like to hear your opinions... I wanna know the severity of the problem I'm having on the pathy. Thanks for the help in advanced, Andrew

For those who would like to read more, I think he might be referring to this article: http://www.motortrend.com/features/archive...nder/index.html

I heard only good stuff about the BFG/AT. One more thing... If I'm not mistaken, a strut spacer might give you a little more room, but will not change the tire to strut clearance as you mount the spacer on top of the strut. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

In my opinion, you don't need strut spacer to clear 255/70/16, unless your spring is sagging by a lot. My pathy has 217,000 km with stock spring, and even though people think I have a lowered pathfinder, I can still clear 255/70/16 BFG/MT KM2 just fine. But again, your truck might be a little different than mine and I'm pretty sure that strut spacer will become useful to level your rig once you lift it up. Are you getting the one from NX industry? Also, what kind of tire do you intend to run?

Lol.. I thought so too. I think you should be good up to 31" - someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Or can you go to a tire shop and test fit a tire? That might give you peace of mind knowing that what you buy will work for sure.

I don't know the answer to those questions, but I shall check it out when I have the time. I've never paid much attention to the rubbing issue since it never rubs at all. 255/70/16 is pretty much ~30" tire, maybe 0.5" different than the stock. If I were to guess, I'd think the front mud guard in the inner wheel well is the one that you should be concerned of. I broke one recently while reversing at full lock. Prior to this, the screws holding it were loose and I was on the highway for six hours going at 120 km/h, which further loosened the mud guard. When I reversed at full lock, it broke the bottom edge of the mud guard. But if your pathy is nothing like mine, I don't think you should be worried about rubbing at all.

255/70/R16

Does full lock in reverse mean turning one side completely, and then try reversing? If that's the case, I've not noticed any rubbing at all while reversing in the carpark. Maybe I should listen harder... In my opinion, the BFG/MT/KM2 tires are great on the rock, but aren't that great in the mud. My friend with a MT Baja Claw was doing much better and seemed to get more traction in the mud than the KM2. These are the pictures: Rear 3/4 shot: An old picture of the Front 3/4: I hope that helps.

I've got the BFG/MT/KM2 255/70/16 mounted on a OEM Nissan wheel. I have a stock (no lift), 2000 pathy that comes with fender flares as well - no rubbing at all. In my opinion, the stock R50 comes with 255/65/16 tires and 255/70/16 is only ~1cm taller. I'm still using my 255/65/16 tires as spare. If that's what you want, I THINK you should be alright.

OHhh.... you were right.

Oh my God... you found it!!! Just wondering... I think it says: R50 L/H Headlamp for $800 and R50 R/H Headlamp for $1250... So total would be in the region of $2000 plus shipping. But I'm not gonna get it anyway... its too ridiculously expensive. Nice pathy, Laxman... Its lifted, isn't it? Yeah... I got the same headlight housing as urs... I think the reflector is made out of aluminium foil. Installed a HID conversion to it and I think my halogen fog lights still disperse much better. Prior to this, I didn't know that R50 in Japan was so advanced. I mean... the ones in Japan had adjustable HID beam with projector housing whereas what we've got in the States only comes with halogen beam. But I still like my pathy nonetheless... never failed me to this day.

Thanks for your help, Tekaz. I was looking for the headlights simply to satisfy my curiosity. Not long ago, I installed the black Anzo headlights housing from ebay. I think this is the one mentioned by 01silvapathy. In my opinion, the reflector from the factory housing still works better at dispersing lights from halogen bulbs as compared to Anzo's ones. Then I installed HID kit on the pathy. With the current housing, there's simply too much glare for oncoming drivers and I had to aim the beam slightly downward. Currently, people aren't flashing me anymore, except those who drive lowered civics/acura. They sit so low that my lights are aimed at them. In the picture, it seems that JDM housing contains projector headlights. Seeing how halo projector headlights for civic only cost around US$300 + shipping, I thought these ones would cost around the same price. The HID serves its purpose really well in the dark, but it would be even better if coupled with projector headlights. If the price ranges in the thousands, there's no way I'm gonna get them. Just be happy with what I have and I'd rather save all that money for a lift or other mods.

Thanks, guys... Terr, is there like an accessories shop in Aussie that sells the JDM headlights? If yes, can I get a website? I've been trying the search engine, but had no luck. If its JDM factory, I assume any local nissan dealer in Japan should have the parts, right? Just like how I search for pathy headlights and lotsa parts are available from local nissan shops. But I read no Japanese...

I saw this headlight housing on someone's 2000 R50/Terrano on the website. I think it is a JDM accessories. I've been trying to look for it, but it was to no avail. http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images...20005_large.jpg Does anyone know where to find that item? I believe it must be an aftermarket... but I might be wrong.

I'll up my donation from 20 to 100 bucks... Just let me know how to donate. I hope by this time we are in the range of around 2500 bucks... then probably 300 bucks can be made through selling of shirts/calendar/stickers, etc...

Thanks, Red and Beavis... Yeah, I was reading the entire topic and I thought this is where I can donate tonight. But the polling idea is cool as it gives rough estimate how much people are willing to donate. With the deadline already set by the junkyard, I sincerely hope that we have enough time to raise the required amount and that Mr. Jim gets his truck back!!! Andrew

Jim, I'm a newbie here and I don't know you at all. But this site, which you helped to build, has provided me with so much information and experience. Without it, my pathy would remain stock for the rest of her life and I'd never even step foot in the mud. I'll be willing to chip in for the donation (does anyone know how to donate? all I see is just the pole). I sincerely hope you'll be able to bring her back... its a seriously awesome WD21. Andrew

sorry for the topic hijack...