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So use 15x8 wheels with 4" or 3.75" BS to safely fit 32x11.50R15 tires.

Backspacing to prevent rubbing is not the only concern when fitting larger tires to stock wheels. IIRC, the stock 15" steel wheels are 7" wide. If you check the "Rim Width Range" for a particular tire (more info here), you will see that nearly all 32x11.50R15 tires do not recommend anything less than an 8.0" rim width. While it may be technically possible to install an 11.5" wide tire on a 7" wide rim, the tire will take a shape that may adversely affect its performance and handling characteristics. A wide tire on a narrow rim may distort the tread, and the sidewalls may flex more than it's been designed for.

Before I bought my hydraulic scissors lift, I jacked my truck with a floor jack under the front subframe crossmember or under the rear diff, in combination with jack stands. I have also placed the floor jack beneath the ball joint before. If I needed to use the stock jacking location (just behind the front wheel well) I placed a couple of short 4x4 blocks of wood on top of the jack. For emergency use now, I use a high-lift jack, placed under my sliders.

If you're using the stock steel rims, you shouldn't put 32" tires on them. The rims are too narrow.

Here's a great how-to for getting the right tire pressure: http://www.jeepfan.com/tech/tire-pressure-chalk.php

You might also check the radiator cap. If its spring is too weak, it won't allow the system to pressurize.

When you overheated, the water boiled out the overflow tank.

If you're in a torrential downpour and you're sliding all over, slow down! Remember, using 4WD does not mean that you'll be able to stop any better. If wet weather performance is important, consider using tires with good wet weather traction.

For the past couple of years the rear mail seal of my Pathy has been leaving small spots (1" diameter) in my garage, and recently the dripping has gotten a little worse. It's finally time to replace it, I'm afraid. What's involved with replacing the RMS? What has to be disconnected/moved/removed to do this? I want to know if any aftermarket stuff I've installed will interfere with a shop doing the work. I don't want them to screw up anything I've put on that's not "OEM". Crossmembers removed? Tranny needs to be drained? I've got some $9/qt Amsoil ATF in the tranny now, so if the fluid will need topping off or replacing, I want to be sure to give the shop the good stuff. If anyone has done this before, your advice would be appreciated!

Part-time 4WD systems (like the Pathfinder uses) should not be used on high-traction surfaces, or generally anywhere a 2-wheel-drive car can drive without any problems. (Therefore, wet pavement is considered a high-traction surface.) Even wet pavement is "sticky" enough to cause drivetrain binding because the front and rear axles are prevented from rotating at different speeds during cornering. More info: http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/def_turnpart.html A basic rule of thumb for part-time 4WD systems is: If you can safely drive a 2WD car on it, you don't need 4H.

It could be thefuel pump and related wiring. You can check to see if the fuel pump is getting power by checking for voltage at the fuel pump wiring connector (under the left rear passenger seat). If your carpet is damp, you may want to remove the driver's seat, door sill and kick panel so that you can pull up the carpet. Beneath the carpet are a bunch of wires. If you have corrosion or a short there, that could be it. Then again, if your fuel pump is working OK, it could be the ignition switch. You might be getting power to the ignition circuit at ON, but not at START.

Yeah, always wear eye protection while you're under the car! If not, this could happen to you! Corneal Foreign Body A few years ago, while grinding off a bolt under my truck, I had neglected to wear eye protection, and I got a microscopically small (1mm long, thinner than a human hair) sliver of steel in my eye (not nearly as severe as the photos in the link above), which after about 10 hours, resulted in a visit to the ER, and a subsequent visit to an opthalmologist, who used a Dremel-like tool to remove off the "rust ring" which had developed on my cornea. Learn from my negligence! Wear eye protection! Believe me, you don't want anyone dremeling your eye!

On the R50, the "adjustable" suspension changes the valving in the front struts. It was only available on the 96 and discontinued, presumably because it had little actual benefit, or the cost to build the struts was too high. I don't know much about how it worked on the WD21.

If the noise is too irritating, you could just completely remove the front swaybar until you can get some new links and bushings. You will have more body lean around corners, but just corner slower and you'll be OK. (I've been driving without any swaybars for 7 years now.) You shouldn't drive with the swaybar disconnected and still in place, because it will bang around on top of the axles while you drive. If you disconnect only one side, the same thing will happen when one wheel goes up and the other goes down.

Yes, an older Pathfinder wheel will fit. No, you cannot install an OEM tire carrier on any R50 that was not originally equipped with it from the factory. There are additional gussets behind the sheetmetal at the rear corner where the carrier mounts, but those gussets are not there on models that don't have the carrier. The only option for adding an tire carrier to an R50 is to attach it to a custom rear bumper or use a tire carrier that fits in the receiver hitch. One drawback of a hitch-mounted carrier is of course, that you have to remove it every time you want to open the tailgate.

Is there a particular reason why you chose to go with a 2" intake? That pipe diameter, combined with the length of pipe, seems pretty restrictive for performance.

You insert the tool between the plastic trim and the door sheetmetal and do exactly what you said: wedge/force it off. If you don't have a door trim tool, you can use a putty knife. Do not use a screwdriver, because the tip is usually not wide enough to prevent damage to the trim. Fortunately, the rear panel is unlikely to break, since it's made of relatively sturdy plastic, instead of the weak pressed cardboard used in the door panels.

Oops! I forgot to add the link! http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=door+trim+tool&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Yes, as already stated, you need to remove the interior door trim plastic. First, flip open the little plastic covers on the door handle, then remove the bolts holding the handle to the trim piece. Then, using a door trim removal tool, such as the one shown below, pop off the clips holding the trim to the sheetmetal. Once the trim is removed, it's pretty easy to see how to access the license plate lamps. Be careful, though; the sheetmetal openings are sharp!

Here's my 2 cents. Some years ago, I replaced the stock rotors with cross-drilled/slotted Powerstop rotors and Akebono pads. Maybe I don't need them, maybe I could have gone with blanks. All I know is this: 1) With my 32" Goodyear MTRs, the stock brakes refused to engage the ABS on dry pavement, no matter how hard I stomped on the pedal. With the new brakes, that's no longer an issue. 2) When I purchased them, the cross-drilled/slotted rotors were actually CHEAPER than blanks. 3) They look cool. Do what you wish.

The slotted rotors should work fine for you. Do this only if your current rotors are in need of replacement or resurfacing/turning. Otherwise, just replace the pads.

Interestingly, I still have the original sales brochure for my '97. It says: Turning diameter - curb-to-curb XE 35.4 ft (37.4 ft with XE Sport Package) SE 37.4 ft LE 35.4 ft Turns - lock-to-lock: XE 3.2 turns SE 3.0 turns LE 3.2 turns So, I guess to test this, you start with the wheel straight, turn full left. If the wheel is exactly upside-down (1.5 turns or 540° rotated) at full lock, then you have an SE steering rack. If the wheel is slightly MORE than 1.5 turns, you have an XE or LE rack.

BTW, one of the other interesting things about the XE and LE (vs the SE) is that because they came with smaller tires from the factory, the steering rack on the XE/LE is different than the SE. Because of this, the XE/LE have a smaller turning radius than the SE, and when large tires are installed, the XE/LE will have more pronounced rubbing when at full steering lock (especially full right) than the SE.

This info is for early-model (96-99) R50's only. You definitely have an XE with some extra options that make it nearly the same as an SE. The tire carrier, fender flares, step rails, and rear window deflector are not standard on most XE's. You basically have a fully-loaded XE model. LE and SE are badged as such and have alloy wheels, and all XE's have steel wheels. LE has fake woodgrain interior trim pieces and chrome bumpers SE have chrome bumpers Stock SE has 265/70R15 tires, LE and XE have 235/70R15 tires. SE has has 4.636:1 axle gears, LE and XE have 4.363:1 axle gears So, in order to turn your XE into an SE you would need: an SE badge 4.636:1 axle gears alloy wheels bigger tires

My 97 has had the same lightly audible diff whine sound for many tens of thousands of miles. (My R50 has 165K miles.) If it's just a lightly audible whine, it's probably not that big a deal, and much more of a headache/expense to fix. If it's really loud, then that indicates a much more serious problem.