pathybuilder

Been trying to start a build thread for a while and couldn't figure out how to post photos. See if this works. Background I bought this 1995 Pathfinder SE in 2005 with 114000 KM on it. Over the years it's been a competent daily driver and weekend wheeler. Unfortunately I don't have photos from when I first bought it, but I have a few from once I started wheeling it. I took it off the road last april to start a build. I got tired of piecing together aftermarket components and never addressing components like frame rust/timing belt/brakes and other issues. It just needed some love, and now that I have a different daily driver I have all the time I want to slowly dig into this thing. So prior to this build it had 220 000 km and I had already Installed ARB OME 3/4" lift coils, Sway Away T-bars, OME shocks on all 4 corners, 2" Body Lift, ARB front bumper, Mean Green 180A alternator, Pacesetter Headers with high flow cat and Gibson cat back exhaust, and 31 x 10.5 Procomp Extreme MT tires on factory 15" Chrome wheels. It has a bit of trail carnage but here's a few photos before I started tearing it down.

I installed mine with no problems. The Pulley is slightly smaller than OEM so the Alternator was at max adjustment just to keep tension on the belt. Mine failed about 13 months into service. Mean Green replaced it no questions asked (only 12 month warranty) I was blown away. I haven't re-installed it but when I do I'll use a slightly shorter belt to allow more adjustment.

Don't think it's your tires. I assume when you say 70mph you talking about what you're speedo is reading. You are going 75-80 but you won't know that unless your talking GPS speed or something. The speed on the speedo vs gear is related directly to your RPM. I don't think that 3500 RPM at 70mph is that out of the norm. It's been a while since I drove my truck but I'm pretty sure it revs close to 2900 or so at 60. 4.3 gears and a 5 speed.

I haven't seen a spacer specific to the WD21. I recently spent some time at the junk yard looking around at other vehicles trying to find something with more aftermarket support. I found that the front coils in a 97 Dodge 1500 2WD are very similar to the factory WD21 rear coils, or in my case the ARB OME 3/4" med duty coils. The Dodge coils are obviously shorter, but the Inside diameter is identical. The Dodge coils are thicker so the Outside Diameter is about 1/8" larger, however the dodge coil/isolator fit perfectly into the coil bucket on my WD21. I actually just ordered a 1 1/2" coil spacer for a 2WD 94-11 Dodge 1500-3500 from Daystar Part Number KC9013BK, and will certainly post here how it works with the Nissan coils. This is the "budget boost" spacer and cost me $45 CDN. They also make identical spacers in 1" and 2 1/2". Keep in mind that a spacer designed for 1 1/2" lift on the front IFS of the dodge isn't going to be a 1 1/2" spacer, the actual thickness of the spacer is going to be less as there is suspension geometry in the Dodge that Daystar has incorporated into the design. You could also order 1 1/2" lift springs from www.4x4parts.com, Install OME springs for 3/4" or install Jeep Cherokee coils for 3" lift. There's a ton of other threads on here that cover this. The front you can adjust / re-index your torsion bars. Again there's a ton of threads on here for this you'll just have to look around. Hope this helps

Maybe I'm missing the intent here but your R200A front is going to be geared to match the HG43 rear end you had. You're going to want to swap either a full JY axle or third member from an another HG43 truck. The gear ratio is important, don't pull an HG46 rear unless you plan to re-gear the front diff also. Unless your gears are good and you're just replacing the carrier even then not 100% sure. Best to have a look first.

Absolutely rotate it in, if it's close to the same tread depth as the others. As Fleurys said you'll get 20% more wear out of your tires. I wouldn't rotate a brand new spare into 4 already well worn tires. This will wear your spare out quicker and could wear out drive train components due to the different rolling distance front/back in 4WD, or side to side. At 6K I would rotate it in, tires are expensive, the more wear you can get out of them the better. I've always understood the best way to rotate is front Left to rear right, front right to rear left, then just randomly rotate the spare in.

Not sure if this will help at all. I believe this is mostly applicable to the 90-95 Pathfinder with the VG30E, but some might be the same. Help?

So I spend a lot of today shopping through rockauto.com. Great site, easy to navigate, good prices, they carry reputable brands ie Moog. Then press the checkout button and calculate shipping, now double that by the time it gets across the border. Is there a good Canadian based site that people use for basic items like brakes, tie rod ends etc. I've always just went to NAPA in the past, but I question the quality of their products (not that I've had a problem), and it's also way easier to shop online. Any suggestions.

I call it "My truck", Friends call it "Parts Finder" and the wife calls it "The POS that's tying up her parking stall in the Garage"

I apologize for bringing up an old thread again, but this seems like the most straight forward thread on backspacing here. My question is around how a 10" rim is not recommended. So...I just measured my stock chrome wheel, measures 15x7 with 4.75BS. I was running 31/10.50/15 with no frame rub. Now I want to upgrade to 33/12.50/15 or 33/13.50/15 Most 12.50 tires recommend a 10" rim. 13.50 definitely needs a 10" rim. So the difference between the rim and the original 10.5 tire is 2.5" divided by two, because the tire will sit evenly on both sides of the rim = 1.25". 1.25" tire offset + 4.75" BS gives me 6" So the inside of the tire sits 6" from the wheel mounting surface. This should be your critical measurement. Now, if I run a 33/12.50/15 on a 8" rim... 12.5"-8" = 4.5". 4.5"/2 = 2.25". Therefore 6"-2.25" = 3.75" which is why 3.75 is the recommended backspacing for running a 12.5" tire on an 8" rim. Now if I run the same 33/12.50/15 on a 10" rim....12.5"-10" = 2.5". 2.5"/2 = 1.25. Therefore 6"-1.25" = 4.75", I would think that running 4.75BS with a 12.5" tire on a 10" rim would be the same as the running 3.75"BS with a 12.5" tire on an 8" rim. The centre of the tire is still going to be in the centre of the rim which as long as the distance from the wheel mounting surface to the inside of the tire is 6", it should be the same. Now if I want to run a 13.50 tire, not considering fender trimming or steering components - which are being addressed BTW. 13.50"-10" = 3.5". 3.5"/2 = 1.75" Therefore 6"-1.75" = 4.25". I would need to run 4.25"BS with a 13.5" tire on a 10" rim. This is going to stick out 1" further than a 12.5" tire on 8" wheels with 3.75BS. Don't get me wrong, I understand that running a wider tire will be harder on your steering components and wheel bearings, but I don't think the rim width has anything to do with that, just the backspacing. I hope this doesn't make things more confusing for people. If it does I'll just delete it, I promise. Wheels and Tires are expensive. I'd hate to order something that isn't going to work.

Thanks for the links, been through them and they look to be very useful. I'm hoping to rent the tools I need either from one of the Nissan dealers or from parts source or something. I see there's a number of specialty tools that could be handy. I haven't received the locker or gears yet, but I'm sure they will come with some instructions as well. Just ordered the LSD from Calmini. The gears and locker were ordered from Rugged Rocks, This is my first time dealing with them, they seem really good, computers are down where they make the gears so I'm told I'm waiting on a set from Japan. Front and Rear. I plan on replacing all seals and bearings while I'm in there, my rear pinion seal is currently leaking so it needed to be done anyway. I really have to post up a build thread, trucks been sitting 8 months torn apart. The end result is 33s, upgraded steering, Detroit Locker / LSD, lower gears, T-case gears, replacing all bushings, Rough Country UCA's, prepping frame with POR-15, This is mostly in addition to what I've already done with OME rear coils/shocks, Sway Away T-bars, OME front shocks. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it, now I'm in a cast for the next 6-8 weeks so there won't be much progress, but I could post up what I've done so far.

I've looked around the forum for a thread on setting up gears for the H233B and the R200A differentials and am not finding anything. Does anybody have a good manual, or better yet a video that describes in detail how to do this. My 95 originally had the 4.3 gearset and 235/75/15 tires. I had upgraded to 31"s and am now upgrading to 33"s, a detroit locker, and an LSD up front. I went ahead and ordered 5.143 gears. I know a number of people on here are likely going to say this is too big of ratio and I should've went with 4.9s. This rig will only see street or highway on the way to the trail. It's not daily driven. I also want the ability to SAS and run 35"s at a later date if needed, without re-gearing the rear diff. Anyhow, any information out there on setting up pre-load, backlash, and any tips or tricks people have used would be appreciated. I probably sound like a newb to this and should take it to a shop, but I'm not afraid of taking my time to get it right.

This was still the case as of 2 weeks ago. I just received a set from AC. I like the idea of the Dana 300 doubler from Rugged rocks. The way I see it you could run the AC gears for anything other than heavy rock crawling, then add the doubler later if you SAS and want to get a little more hard core.

X3. Also, I would consider installing heatwrap down on the headers down to the Y pipe before you install. Even with a 2" BL, installing heatwrap after the fact is a PITA. It's really tight on the passenger side, clearance in minimal to all the fuel and brake lines. My pacesetter headers had two ports on the drivers side, one is for the EGR tube and the other (so I'm told) was for some environmental pump that was used on pathfinders in california (somebody please chime in if they know what it's called). It seems to me I needed a metric plug 24mm? to seal this port. The Y pipe on the pacesetters I found to be a problem. Wish it came with flanges instead of clamps. It's not bad the first time it's assembled, but if you have to remove it later to say change the tranny, it's tough to get sealed again without a welder. Mine eventually got beat up enough that I took it to and exhaust shop to build a new Y pipe. Good luck sounds like a good project. Oh yeah, put lots of penetrating oil on your manifold studs, I broke 2 off removing mine.

I'm a firm believer in running basic liability and build your truck to withstand a small fender bender. I've been rear ended 4 times, one of which would have written off my 95 pathfinder for sure, if it wasn't for my spare tire carrier. It was still $6500 damage. This was in 2005 when my truck was still worth $8000. Guy hit me at 50 mph while I was stopped dead at a light, his ram 1500 was without doubt a total loss. Now with a new build taking place and probably dumping 8K or so into my truck, I'm still going to run Liability only but, between my ARB front bumper, a custom built rear bumper / tire carrier, tube fenders (tied into rock sliders), the majority of the body should be able to stand up to a minor accident that would normally write off a $1500 vehicle in stock form. Don't ask me how I'm going to build tube fenders (I'm still figuring this out). The hassle of paying extra to the insurance company that's just going to blame an at fault accident on your mods isn't worth it. Of course you can't really protect yourself from the speeding drunk or uninsured driver that T-bones you at an intersection resulting in major damage and you getting a cheque for $1000. but the way I see it, If I walk away from an accident bad enough to write of my modified truck, I'm gonna say "thanks for the cheque, that's better than being 6 feet under."

I'm not sure about the steering assembly being a weak point but the CV's I thought would stand up better with the Trailmaster lift than with a SL, as they keep the factory geometry. Calmini makes an HD steering setup that I've heard is an excellent replacement if looking for added strength. I was looking into the TM kit as well. I've received e-mail from AC stating that TM MAY BE discontinuing the WD21 lift, but they may have been trying to convince me to "order now before it's too late"

My 95 5 Speed has 210,000 Km now. It's being replaced next weekend, then rebuilt for a spare

At least if the dealer isn't much help it forces you to look at other options. I replaced weather stripping around both front windows + the strips (wipes?) that go at the bottom of each window on all four and it cost me over $600 CAD. Thanks Nissan.

I know I'm affected by this as I have a 95 Pathfinder SE 3.0 V6. I have had tranny noise for about a year and a half now however it had previously only been a whine while accelerating in 5th gear. I had zero troubles in any other gear and there was no grinding or trouble getting in or out of them. The truck has just over 200,000 km on it. In the fall I swapped the oil out with Quaker State 75w90 GL4 Full Synthetic (available at NAPA), it didn't improve or make matters worse. Now I'm getting a wha wha wha wha sound while letting the clutch out gearing down for stop signs / lights. The wha wha wha I'm starting to hear but much more quite while accelerating in other gears. This has only been happening for a couple of weeks now. I've been told that this may be my throw out bearing. In somebody's opinion could this be two separate issues: 1 - the throw out bearing, 2 - chipped teeth on the 5th gear. Or..am I already looking at a transmission rebuild as I've been staving my tranny of lubrication for to long as it is.