XPLORx4

Haha, lots of people cringed many times (including myself!) as my truck ground its way over obstacles. That dropoff was just one of dozens that I basically "slid" down. Good thing Nissan built the Pathy with a flat undercarriage! But, hey, that's what armor is for!

Before my trip to Moab in 2003, I knew I'd be attempting to cross the Golden Crack. After looking at hundreds of photos of various rigs crossing the crack, I was reasonably sure that unless I either replaced or strengthened the rear bumper, it would get ripped from the truck and left for dead in Utah, since many obstacles there require departure angles that exceed the Pathy's rear overhang clearance. One day, I happened to be following a big RV out of a steep driveway and I noticed little wheels near its trailer hitch, and I got the gears turning in my head, so I googled a bunch of sites looking for "RV skid wheels". A few weeks before the trip, I contacted 4crawler (who lives about 8 miles from me) and had him weld reinforcements onto my trailer hitch. I described to him what I wanted, spec'ing where I wanted the wheels placed and how I wanted the structure reinforced. I dropped off my hitch and 3 weld-on steel rollers. A few days and 80 bucks later, I had this. I also had my tailpipe repositioned closer to the mudflap so it wouldn't get crushed between the ground and the new bracketry when dropping off steep obstacles. I intended for this mod to be temporary until I could afford to have a true full-steel rear bumper built.

See what I mean about exaggeration? The angle of the truck is more like 45, possibly 50. True the actual cliff is steeper, but it is short. Good thing, too, because at 80 degrees, you'd probably roll end over end and land flat on the roof.

Uh, yeah, sorta. The bumper and hitch didn't scrape, per se... Click here. Click to see Quicktime vid PS- sorry for the post-hijack!

Hello, welcome [back] to the forum, and welcome to being a licensed driver! Be careful out there. Driving your vehicle off-road is a lot safer than driving on the highway! And, for the record, you probably did not climb a 50-degree incline, unless it was shorter than the length of your truck. Many slopes, even up to only 25 degrees, feel much steeper than they really are, even more so when you're new to off-roading. Take this trail report about the very-difficult Dusy-Ershim 4WD trail in California, for example: And here is what angle it really is: only 25 degrees!! Click to see proof. Here's a photo from the side. This hill on Moab's slickrock was less than 45°, and it was a beotch to climb, even with a locker! Needless to say, whenever all you can see is the sky, it always feels STEEP! :eek:

Ah, I understand your position. But... does your wife want the "hand-me-down" QX4?

The wiper intermittent relay is located near the wiper just behind the passenger-side front strut mount. It's a brown plastic box.

Unfortunately, there's not enough room in front of the A/C condenser to mount the #210. I did try running the #210 as a puller in combination with the engine-driven fan, but without a shroud, the engine fan didn't pull air through the radiator efficiently. Result: overheating. I have a 180-amp alternator already, so power supply isn't an issue for a high-current motor. I think the bigger issue is not having enough radiator surface cooled by a small-diameter fan in low-speed conditions. Even if the fan could pull 200,000cfm, the radiator surface area-to-void-ratio itself won't allow more than a certain amount of air through. And if only 60% of the radiator is covered, the maximum benefit will only be 60% of total possible cooling capacity. My big concern is high load and low speed where natural air velocity isn't present and the fan has to do ALL of the cooling.

I'm astonished that an e-fan that doesn't cover the radiator can cool the truck in high temperatures at low speeds and high engine loads. The reason why I'm asking is because I've experimented so far with 2 different electric fans, and I'm still not 100% confident in an e-fan's ability to adequately cool my truck. The first was a Flex-a-Lite #210 low-profile fan (2500cfm). It left about 20% of the radiator surface unshrouded. On a 4-wheeling trip in the mountains a couple of summers ago, the truck overheated big-time. It was only about 78°F outside, but apparently 5mph in 4LO up a 20-degree slope for 5 minutes required more cooling than the fan could deliver. So, I last summer, I installed a Flex-a-Lite #295 fan (up to 4600cfm) which covers nearly the entire radiator. However, the engine ran hot a few times (over 230°F) while ascending into the mountains on a 95°F day. Above 4000' altitude, at times it was necessary to keep the pedal nearly mashed, shift into 2nd gear and maintain revs at 5000+ just to drive 50mph as we ascended towards the summit. Later, I spoke with a rep at Flex-a-Lite regarding this and his response was that the bull-bar and winch installed on my truck created a vacuum in front of the radiator, preventing adequate airflow to the radiator, ergo overheating. With the engine-driven fan installed, the truck never ran hot, even in 125°F temps with the AC running full-blast. However, above 95°F, the AC usually blew warm at idle. (That's partially why I installed the e-fan.)

Interesting. The fan must pull a lot of CFM if it still cools the engine despite covering only 60% of the radiator. How long have you had it installed, and what's the hottest outside temperature you've driven in since then?

No offense, dude, but I think it's gonna be just as "bloody" or even more if you wait until you pay off the truck before switching. It's not like your truck is gonna get any younger. By waiting, all you'll have succeeded in doing is putting more miles and age on a truck you don't really want, further decreasing its potential value to another buyer. Unless you're severely upside-down on the loan, or you can absolutely not afford to replace it with a 4WD, I would say cut your losses now and get in a rig you intend to KEEP. Just my 2 cents.

Holy crapp! Wow, that's not a trail, that's a LAKE!!! Any deeper and it would've floated away! That Pathy must have the amphibious mod... Whew!

Why finish paying off a vehicle that you don't really want, only to sell it again for a 4WD that will be older and have more miles by the time you pay off your current QX4? Dude, cut your losses now, trade it in! It's only going to lose more value the longer you keep it. Or at least find out what you could get for it on a trade for a 4WD... that is, if you really want a 4WD... Just my 2 cents.

Hey, do you have pics of the Taurus fan installed in your Pathy?

A CB radio is useful for communicating with others who have CB radios, does not require a permit, has a higher range than FRS radio, and is free. Hard-mounting a CB in the vehicle, rather than using a hand-held (aka "walkie-talkie") usually results in better reception and transmission. CB can also be used in situations where cell-phone service is unavailable. It is also quite common among truckers as well, and you can sometimes communicate with them to inquire about road conditions. It can also be quite entertaining to listen to their babbling while traveling. Here's my CB:

Actually, I've discovered that ziplock sandwich bags work even better to limit the mess.

There are really only a few possible solutions: 1) cut a hole in the skidplate to allow access to the drain plug and filter 2) remove and replace the skidplate for every change 3) install a remote oil filter kit (not sure if there's one available though). I don't know if anyone's done it yet. Short of those options, the next best thing you can do is use an oil that offers extended change intervals, such as Amsoil or other synthetics.

Yeah, pretty easy to install. Here are some pics: http://www.xplorx4.com/pathfinder/upgrades/warnhubs/

To install the inverter in your '02, just repeat the steps you took to install it in your '90. (Pretty much what lowrider said.)

ProClip has a wide variety of mounts as well.

If it won't start, it's either not getting fuel or not getting spark. To verify whether you're getting fuel, immediately after cranking, pull a spark plug and check to see if it's wet with gas. Another way to tell is to smell the tailpipe after/during cranking. If it smells strongly of gas, then you're getting fuel. That means the problem is ignition. The ignition coil (embedded in the distributor) may have failed. If you're not getting fuel, then it could be a failed fuel pump or its electrical circuit.

Uh, I don't know. You posted "do a search". I posted a useful link.

What did you do with the coolant reservoir and the washer fluid reservoir?

The swaying is caused by rotted bushings in the rear lower control arms. Click here for more info Re: the BDS lift, I wouldn't trust buying a product from a company that can't get the model years consistent. The unibody-style (R50) Pathfinder that uses 4 coil springs was available from 96-04, not 95-03, as stated on their site. (Later, they state 95-02.) Go with the Old-man-emu or 4x4parts.com lifts if you want a reputable lift kit.

The reason you heard the grinding is because you paused the t-case in "N" while shifting between 4HI and 4LO. Shifting between 4HI and 4LO needs to be done quickly, firmly, and fluidly. Pretty much I've learned that there aren't any really normal circumstances that call for placing the t-case in Neutral. I'm not sure what kind of damage might be done when you hear the grinding, but when this has happened to me in the past, I usually shut the truck off, then shift into 4HI or 2HI before restarting the engine.