XPLORx4

You have the wrong part. You need a strut insulator from an earlier model year. The earlier model year strut insulators don't have that extra collar in the center. The struts you are using are probably for earlier models, so the threaded portion of the shaft is longer to accommodate the collar on the insulator. This is what the older insulator part number looks like (the one on the right). Unfortunately, I doubt you will have much success with a grinder:

Cool, I use my Pathy for the same purpose! I have a Waeco cooler as well. It's great for extended camping trips where there is no access to ice! All of my Pathy's electrical systems are powered via the main battery, and the use of the cooler has drained the main battery during multiday camping trips before. A couple of years ago I installed a dual-battery setup to prevent this from happening again. The second battery is ONLY an emergency backup battery for starting the truck and is normally completely isolated from the rest of the electrical system. I use a Hellroaring battery isolator/combiner, and I have mounted a switch on the dash which connects the backup battery to the main battery to provide enough juice to start the truck. The battery isolator is mounted to the strut tower underneath the fuse/relay box Because I use the small Odyssey battery as my backup, I was able to use the stock battery tie-down points. Here's my setup:

If you're in the middle of nowhere and you kill your main battery, you can use the second one to start the engine.

The mount may have had a defect to begin with, and probably failed due to "a few days of bombing fire/logging roads". You're lucky it was the rubber mount, not the metal plate in the rubber mount, which partially disintegrated (along with the strut shaft) when I was doing similar off-road driving in Death Valley a few years ago. The strut shaft had eroded down to only 1/4" diameter, and the hole in the plate had widened to 5/8". When I tried to loosen the nut, the shaft sheared right off. Fortunately, the maintenance dude at the Death Valley (Furnace Creek) gas station had a TIG welder and welded the strut mount to the broken strut shaft so I could drive home.

I voted for the lift. If the Pathy had more stock ground clearance, I would say get the locker. Having 3 wheels putting power to the ground doesn't help if the tires can't reach it because you're hung up on the chassis. How you drive and over what type of terrain you drive sorta affects which option makes the most sense for you. For the type of 'wheeling I do, the lift is far more useful. Few trails I run require the locker (and then only briefly), but all trails I run require a lift. What kind of wheeling do you do? Got some pics of your favorite terrain?

Read this post for details on how to replace the CV axle: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19764

That would be KMA.

And delete/ban that other user while you're at it!

I knew he was always an R50 guy at heart! Congrats on the new ride.

No. #74 bulbs are only about 3/16" in diameter and 3/8" long. #194 bulbs are about 5/16" in diameter and 5/8" long. #194 bulbs are also used in the front corner marker lamps.

That looks very nice, fueler. I also replaced my gauge cluster lights and center dash console lights with LEDs, although I went with cool white LEDs, not blue, for the greatest light output. The gauge cluster lamps are 168/194 bulbs, and there are 4 of them. If you have mechanical A/C controls, there are two #74 bulbs behind the faceplate. Removing the gauge cluster isn't that hard. You need to lower the steering wheel all the way down, remove the cluster shroud (secured 2 screws in the top), and then remove the screws holding the cluster in place. I did not fully remove the gauge cluster, but I could pull it out enough to access the bulb holders on the circuit board on the back side of the cluster. There are several places you can get replacement LED's for all of your truck's lighting needs. The ones I'm most familiar with are: oznium.com autolumination.com superbrightleds.com The LEDs I installed in the dash cluster are the 4-star SMT 194's and the Tri-Power 3 LED #74 Bulb from autolumination.com. I installed oznium's large flexible 5mm led warm white dome lights in the front and rear, and autolumination's 36-led array for ba9s bulbs. The map lights are wicked bright, and the dome lights have the same warm color as the stock 194 bulbs, but they draw much less power.

Not necessarily, because finding an H233B rear axle with disc brakes could be hard to find. I would choose an axle that has the best diff and gears first, and which has disc brakes already. Ford 9" or Dana60 come to mind, but I'm no expert on axle swaps. I've done virtually no research on what would fit.

Year: 1997 LE lift : AC 2" coils Wheels : Pro-Comp Series 97 wheels (97-5883; 15x8; 6x5.5; BS:3.75") Tires : Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 32x11.50R15 Notes: removed front and rear mud flaps, trimmed fender liners, rolled the upper lip of the rear fender. Inside shoulder of right tire rubs at full right lock. Photo : pic1 pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5

A foot?!?! That's not even hub-deep! This is about the deepest water I've crossed. If I had a "I will not cross water deeper than 1 foot" rule, I would be missing out on some of the finest wheeling enjoyment out there!

Axle swaps are always possible. Like many other things, what's "possible" boils down to either time or money or both. Sure, you can swap in a similarly-sized donor axle that has disc brakes, but is it worth it? That's up to you, and you alone. It's your money.

That's my guess. Maybe 1.25 hours. An hour is what it took me to do it.

If you bought the CV axle at Autozone, isn't it still covered under warranty?

Yes, the driveshaft can take the angle. See the photos in Rinat's posts for ideas about how to lengthen the steering.

BTW, he also swapped in the 4.5L V8. Yeah, that's one helluva spendy R50.

A SAS will be far more custom work, as you would have to decide on the suspension type (leaf springs or coilovers with 3 or 4-link geometry), reinforce or build bracketry to hold the suspension to the body, find a donor axle with the right gear ratio, figure out how to make it steer, accept the loss of your ABS, etc. You could probably have the fab work for a drop-lift kit done for under $3K, especially if you provide the fabricator with the pics from Kinat's URL's. That being said, tmorgan over at roninwheelers has been doing a SAS conversion on his 2000 R50. Check it out.

When you buy a CV axle, it comes completely assembled with boots and everything. It's plug and play. If you had to fuss with installing boots and grease, OMG, I would never recommend this as a DIY to a novice. You can try your local auto parts stores. Pep Boys, Kragen, Autozone should carry them, or be able to order them. Prices vary. You can also reference this thread for places to buy CV axles. Also, a cheap pair of snap ring pliers shouldn't cost you any more than about 10 bucks. You can spend more, but unless you're doing this full-time, it's probably not necessary.

Seriously, it's a really easy job, even easier than doing a bearing repack. When I say "an hour" it means a shop shouldn't charge you more than about 1 hour labor to do the job. $225 is too high if the labor rates are only $70/hr. At the worst it should only cost ~$175, and that's if the CV axle costs $100! 6 12mm bolts hold the axle to the diff. 3 17mm nuts hold the lower ball joint to the A-arm. CV is held in the hub with a snap ring snap ring is accessed by pulling/prying off the little dust cap if you have stock drive flanges. Otherwise, it's 6 allen head screws. You remove those 11 pieces, separate the ball joint from the A-arm, push the A-arm downwards and slide the CV axle down and out through the gap formed by the dropped A-arm. Probably the hardest part about it all will be jacking up the truck high enough to give you enough clearance to drop the A-arm. But if you really don't want to do it yourself, at least get a few more quotes from other places. Ask how much the part costs when you get quotes, so you can tell if you're getting charged the same amount for labor at various places.

Got 'em at a junkyard when I was on vacation in New Zealand. I've never seen 'em for sale anywhere in North America. They're the single most expensive mod on my truck, even more than my rear bumper. The installation was pretty easy, but there was a little bit of sheetmetal trimming that was needed. Nothing too major though. For the wiriing, I tapped into the existing headlamp wires, but I used new relays directly connected to the battery for my power.

What are the labor rates in your locale? It sounds a little on the high side to me. It should only take about an hour to do the job. It's actually quite easy. The tools you need to replace the CV axle are: 12mm socket 3/8" drive 8" extension 17mm socket snap-ring pliers floor jack jack stands How much is your time worth? You can probably buy a new axle and all of the tools for under $225 if you want to do it yourself.

I just thought of another possibility. If the steering wheel has ever been removed, it may not have been indexed properly when it was reinstalled. If the wheel was reinstalled off by one spline, it would not be centered, and it would be natural for an alignment shop to try to center the wheel by adjusting the tie rods, not by reindexing the steering wheel. Just an idea.