Terrano

Vengeful, it's good to hear that insurance covers your losses. It would be much better if it was that Jeep-owner who fell into the pit, not you )))

I don't know if it's too late and you've alerady left, but I will do it anyway. So good luck to you, may the sea be calm and fish jumping out of the water into your nets ;-))) And may the Force be with you I used to work for a fishing company, though not in the sea, but in the office ))) But I at least have some understanding of how hard the work is. Good luck to you again! See ya

yeah, this is one of the best mods to forums!!

By the way, Mako, where are you located? I see that you drive a Terrano, not Pathfinder. I thought Terrano was a Japan-only model. We have a lot of used Japanese cars here in Russia, especially in the Far East region close to Japan... so we do not drive pathies, only Terrano (which I think could be called Terry ) But I am curious where they are driven as Terrano besides Japan.

1. It's correct, no belt. Moreover, no chain. There are gears that function as a timing belt. Thus, no headache))) This is eternal. Or so close to being eternal that it makes no difference ))) 2. I used to have 5spd manual... I don't know about any extra fluid. I just looked up the capacity in the manual, and the service station poured in exactly the amount that was indicated in the manual. 3. *What's manifold... have to look in the dictionary* Ah, I see what it is ))) But have no idea about the bolts, sorry. 4. Can't help, either. 5. I never had tires of this size...but I guess they will not rub. Oh, in case of worn suspension, they might. But in case everything's ok, they won't 6. I hate manual hubs ))) I don't fancy going out of the car, dive in the mud to switch them on. I really hate them)) Maybe there is some great idea behind manual hubs, but I don't see it. People here said auto hubs might unlock by themselves... I had 89' Pathy, Vitara, now I own Pathy again, all with auto hubs, and I've NEVER had any problem with them. Hope I helped you a bit )))

I have 2.7L turbo-diesel. It rulez! I prefer diesel engines on SUVs.

Happy birthday!!!!!!!

I cannot tell you about 05 X-Trail, never even actually seen it)) But I can tell you about 00 X-Trail. A good car, more off-road-oriented than CR-V or RAV4. These two are actually rather weak cars.... city-only, as I'd call them. If you are looking for a small SUV with decent off-road capabilities, I'd recommend X-trail or Suzuki Escudo. Wait, I guess it is called Vitara in U.S. I used to drive Escudo for two years, and I can tell it is a monster, a small one, but still a monster in its heart ))) I am not sure about 05 year models... but I guess they are not worse )))

4WD rulez! You never know when you'll need it. It's better to have it and drive in 2H, than not have it and in certain situations want to give up anything for several minutes of 4WD))))))

Another story..another stupid story)) My friend drives a Toyota LandCruiser Prado. I don't know if you have them in U.S., it is probably a Japan-only car. The image is attached to this post to get a better feel of the story Winter, no snow, clear roads. Night again. There was some snow during the day, but due to strong wind there was none of it on the road. He was going on a narrow road between the houses, and there was a bit lower thatn bumper-high pile of snow about 15 m in length gathered by the wind. Nothing serious, and it was fresh snow, easy to go through... He goes into 4H, dives into this snow.... and gets stuck.))) LOL! No snow around, clear roads... and he manages to find a place to get stuck. The problem was there was ice under the snow :furious: He spends a couple of hours trying everything... he jacked the car to place some gravel under wheels... it did not help... There was a tiny slope.... well it was not so steep... just a really tiny bit of it, but combined with snow and ice under it, it was a serious obstacle ))) My friend called me, I went to rescue him on my pathy. As I approached him, the first question I asked was "how did you manage to get stuck on it??? He pointed under the wheel, so I could see the ice. OK, I got back into the car, got closer to tie the rope... than a though struck me! "What if there's ice everywhere under this snow?" I switch to R, try to go backwards... yep, can't move either ))) darn, we laughed like crazy))) Two SUV's stuck in the snow without snow anywhere besides this spot. Somehow we took my car off the ice. I don't know how, probably I was lucky to stop before that tiny slope began. Than we took my rope, it was longer than his, tied it.. and I pulled him out. It was about 4 a.m., we did not sleep during that night, as we had some 4 hours before our working day started... But it was a great andventure. -thnkboutit- Though it would be even more funny if we wouldn't be able to get out, and somebody'd have to save us)))) People would have the laugh of the century)))

My worst time was when ... well, here is the deal. A very narrow road, it makes a sharp turn and goes up a hill. No place to accelerate, you just enter the turn, then when you come out of it you step on the go, and you accelerate from almost zero speed. It was winter, a lot of snow... about 1 a.m., very cold and windy winter night ))) I could've avoided that hill, but it was my first winter on a pathy (I owned a 89' 2-door pathy then), so of course I decided to try))) I went to 4H, flew almost to the top, and there I found that those who tried it before me, polished the top with their tires into ice... so my wheels slipped... a couple of seconds the pathy was fighting, and then it was flying back to the beginning of the hill)) Remember the shapr turn I told you about? Well, in its corner it was a huge pile of snow that was before taken off the road. So in a couple of seconds my pathy is roof-deep in this snow. I got out of the car, took the shovel (I always have a shovel in the car during winter) and started digging. It took me FOUR HOURS before I dug the car out ))) darn, it was so cold... and I even had no gloves, I managed to leave them at home ))) I could've called a friend to help me, but you know this feeling when you are stuck because of your own stupidity, so you want to get out by yourself? I frantically dug and dug and dug... for four hours. In the morning all my muscles were telling me what an idiot I was ))))

Yep, looks great!! As a Metallica fan, I also admire the sticker )))

Congratulations!!! I envy you))) In a friendly positive way, of course))

OK, thanks for the explanations ;-)

Actually, this tire carrier is quite useful. It is convenient, as you have more space inside. Getting the tire off the roof will be something not really pleasant, especially if you are dressed in a white shirt, a suit, and so on. Moreover, I had several occasions in my life to understand that it is good for safety in car-crashes. Once a drunk guy crashed his car into my Pathy peacefully parked near the road... He hit with his left front corner into my right rear one. So he hit exactly the tire carrier. As a result, he had a mess, and I only had a scratch on the carrier ))) I once saw a van hit a pathy in the rear. Right in the spare tire. When I was passing by, I could not understand where all the shattered glass came from, as I could clearly see the Pathy undamaged. Then I looked at the van... god, it was wrecked real good. It is better to get a hit in the carrier, than directly into the rear door. Another very useful thing about it is that when you park to the wall, you can just drive slowly until the spare touches the wall ))) Yes, having to "open" the tire carrier before opening the rear door is not really convenient. But I like it, it is useful and it makes the car look better. I don't know, maybe it is because 99% of Pathies here are with the tire carrier... but I like the looks )))

Yes, it would be a great pleasure to say that )))) We have all kinds of insurance, and even insurance companies that will not use all possible backdoors in laws they can find in order to avoid paying a compensation to you)) The insurance costs about 10% of the car's market value. Well, if I had USD80,000 to spend on a car, I would certainly be able to find USD8,000 on insurance. Though people are greedy here))) The insurance business is not as developed as in States, for example, where people can insure everyhing... actually, everything in Russia is still young and undeveloped. I mean, spending eight thousand dollars on insurance (and if your car does not get stolen, you just waste these thousands of dollars ) ... many people do not like this idea. I would never own a car that cost me some so much money as a new LandCruiser without insurance.

yep, they look cool! I like ))

Will you travel to Russia to get it? I can find one for you here

Sad but true (( I guess all of this will exist until this period of shifting from soviet economy to a normal one;-) You know, if you were in Russia in the beginning of 90s... that was a bad time. Total anarchy, organized crime ruling every business... when you read about another businessmen exploded in his car you did not even as much as pause over that article, since it was just a usual thing ;-) Now the situation is improving, and many things disappear. But corruption will be hard to eliminate. You know, if it happens in China, where a official person caught on bribery will be executed through being shot.... what can you expect from a country where laws are not that strict?)) Corruption is a normal thing for all developing countries. The crooked cops you described is part of this "normality")) There actually are some good things in Russia, good people, and even good cops)))) Though all these scary stories spoil the impression somewhat

Oh, yeah! Not a boring day, that's for sure))) Probably even too much of entertainment )))

I also have never heard of anybody going 4WD at those speeds. IMHO, if you drive that fast with 4H on frequently, it will end up in a costly break-down. It is the same with using tires of different size. It will not hurt using 4WD with such tires from time to time, for short periods of time. But if you do it frequently, it will end up with the transfer box fallin apart ;-)

That's why I don't like manual hubs))))) I don't like having to literally dive into mud in order to switch them on)) But on the other side, you had fun, right? )) So I guess manual hubs are not that bad after all)))

Looks good!! I like ))) By the way, I used to own a Pathy like yours some time ago. I just love black Pathies. This color looks so good on this cars.

))))) DSM_guy, you are probably right about ex-soviet countries))) This business of "returning" stolen documents is very common in Russia. You see, the process of re-issuing lost passports and driver's licences is VERY complicated in Russia. You have to waste time in lines, get uncountable confirming papers from different municipal organizations.... it really sucks... and if you are busy at work, it is nearly impossible for you to get a new passport. So many busy people have to pay, they just do not have a choice. In addition, you have to get the passport back as soon as you can. The problem is that somebody could register a company on this passport, for example, get a credit in the bank, and disappear. Who will be blamed in the end? Exactly, the person on whose name the company is registered. So people prefer to just quickly pay, so that nothing bad happens )))

That's right ))))) You can do that. But it depends on who you know, and if your thugs will be better than their thugs, and if anybody will agree to mess with those who stole the car, as they can have some serious friends ))) Many "buts" an "ifs" here )))) This kind of crime does not occur every day, but it happens rather regularly. Yeah, come over and make a business))) If you give me a share I will help you overcome the cultural shock and get familiar with Russia ))))))))))