offroad95pathy

The info is in the FSM under the PD section. If you're going to a higher ratio (4.375 to 4.625) you'll lose a few mpg's but I guess that's relative to how many miles/day you put on and whether they're mostly highway or city. The big one to me is if the front/rear diffs don't match in 4WD. That could put abnormal strain on the T-case and other components which would result in bad things happening. If you have an open front diff it wouldn't be quite as severe but not good nonetheless. I wouldn't have a warm fussy feeling doing it myself it the ratios don't match. If the swap is a temp fix and you know you won't need 4WD, then I don't see a problem doing it. I would think the ID plates would reveal the ratio (might have to call a Nissan dealer to decode) without pulling the carrier, I haven't found any reference info for that though, maybe someone else has a clue on that one. That's the problem with taking something to a shop, many times they take short cuts like gas-axing bearings and races off of axle shafts, they should always be pressed on and off. Guaranty or not, you're still looking at down time, who pays for that? Sure the shop will cover the parts and labor if they blew it, but they aren't going to cover down-time, lose of use of your vehicle.

There is one thing you might want to consider, A/T had the option of 4.375 or 4.625 ratios whether LSD or open, M/Ts I believe are mostly 4.375. The ABS sensor should be the same, which logically it shouldn't matter anyway, it's sensing pinion shaft speed not wheel speed. Compensation and adjustment is made in the ABS module not the sensor. It's an infant design compared to what Nissan uses currently. Like gillj said, I'd go for the complete swap, that way everything stays copesetic. Just a thought.

Yes, the dials on the shocks are the way you adjust the ride from soft-stiff, 1-9 on the dials.

If you don't want to do any drilling to mount the light bar, Carr and KC make bars that'll mount to pathys, not cheap though! http://www.pickupspecialties.com/light_bars-main.htm

Yeah, I want to put in a water temp, Voltmeter, and a oil pressure gauges. PVC? Doesn't that kinda give you the under-the-sink look? I don't want the inside of my pathy to look like a 4X4 porta-crapper! How do you stick a pod unto the pillar anyway? Don't they have bosses on the back side to screw them to the pillar. Those things, like most of the rest of the inside panels etc. are made of PE or PP, which is hard to glue or stick anything too really well, the only stuff I know that works half-way decent is that 3M double-sided stick tape. The stuff you get at the hardware store though is so-so, I can get the industrial/construction grade stuff which is awesome, it'll stick to almost anything, you have to use a primer with it though.

Thanks for the idea 88, I am going to get a single pod to dial in what I have to do to get it fit and mount correctly, before I do the final install.

If you go with the remote kit, it will fit below the radio area, if you're talking about attaching it to the bottom of the radio/dash bezel. You need about 2.5-2.75" for the bracket to clear, which there is like 3"+ below the center area and the hump in front of the shifter. I didn't use the bracket, I just mounted my gauges and valves as shown in the picture, the button for the pump is located behind the CD remote holder. I've had no problems with mine, although the installation is a little time consumming. You do have to watch out and make sure the lines don't get pinched, pulled, kinked, etc. Anchoring the lines is essential, I also epoxied all the connections.

Well, Lets say it seems highly suspicious, I would suggest you have the trans checked by someone that really knows manual transmissions and that you can depend on before I'd drop any money on that one. If it is the trans, you might still be able to cut a deal if they're will to negotiate.

Has anyone installed any gauge pods in their pathy, if so, what did you use/or modify for pods? Couldn't find any direct app. for pathys on the net, it seems that they make them for most everything else. Worst case, I could design to fit and rapid-prototype a pod, but that would be a few $$, would rather find something off the shelve or close enough I could use or modify. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

You might want to check out this sticky: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=2621 "Buzzing" or "Whine" in 1st-4th gears is not good on any pathy over 100K. Check the pass. side of the trans gearbox to see if it has a raised fill plug, if not, could be a sign of something bad coming on! The sticky explains everything very clearly.

In a case like this I would recommend you throughly degrease the whole area around and above the alternator, and watch it for a day or two, if it is a significant leak it should become obvious where the source is. Other possible sources: head gasket, or front cam seal. The alternator can still function as long as oil or whatever doesn't get to the commutator/brushes, in which case you'd have a dead alternator, or one that wasn't puttin out enough.

Thanks! There's all sorts of people on this forum with a variety of experiences, knowledge, contacts, sources, etc. I 've found it to be the most dependable for accurate info. Enjoy the Holidays!

AC= Automotive Customizers, 4x4parts.com http://www.4x4parts.com/public_html/shop/i...=shop/new_items UCA= Upper Control Arm FEA= Finite Element Analysis, an analysis method done through the use of a software program specifically for this type of analysis, I used COSMOS to do the analysis. It graphically and numerically depicts areas of stress/stain in a component. I used a modal analysis method: applied various loads to the UCA independently, (not interacting with other components). The weakest area was were the upper ball joint attaches to the UCA, the loads it would withstand would cause the BJ to fail before it got even close to causing any permanent bending which occurs when a material's yield is exceeded. There's any number of options depending on how fat your wallet is. Trail Master, Ruff Country, Super Lift make lifts from 2"-4" depending who you buy from. Do a search on this forum, there's been any number of conversations about different UCAs. There are also a number of options to the rear lift, which again, seaching this forum will reveal a plethora of information on that topic. I have the same truck as yours and have been able to find anything I needed up to this point, sometimes it takes a little time to find, but I've always been able to locate it.

A new frame: http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...t=1&catalogid=2 At the tune of $2500 and you still have to ship the thing, which will only go truck-freight, I would think you could find some one locally to box in the bad sections for a lot less than that! If your pathy has a BL it isn't that bad to do. I only had to do both rear horn sections and the front drops on both sides, the rest of my frame was solid in/out, my truck was born and raised in WI, they dump a gazillion tons of salt on the roads everytime a snow flake falls. You really don't want to fill the inside of the frame with foam, it will trap moisture, and rust from the inside out, the frame has to breathe, there's all kinds of products you can spray the inside of the frame to keep from rusting, take it to a undercoaters shop, or you could do it yourself as suggested.

AC sells a set of stainless lines for stock or lifted pathfinders $85-$87.50, includes the the 2 front lines and rear center line. AC also has cross-drilled rotors for $195 or Auto Parts Warehouse has slotted for $120, dimpled & slotted for $150. As far as the 3" Calmini SL, I strongly caution you on that one! From my own experience, $350 is a lot of jack to drop on something that you will have problems with and put you in a pertpetual maintaince plan with those UCAs. The structural design of the UCAs are super heavy duty, I ran a FEA on them a good while back, they are overkill as far as thats concerned, but it ends there! The plastic bushings are the wrong material choice, many a people have had problems with these, squeaks, noise, wear, etc. The bushing collars, plastic bushings, the inner bushing races, are all hosed up design wise. I took mine and had the bushings removed from the arm frames, and redesigned new bushing collars, bushings, and inner races. In order to do this rework in the easiest and simpliest fashion, a cnc bridgeport and lathe comes in real handy. Grease zerks alone with not solve the problems with this kit! All it will do for you at best will add a month or two to your maintaince period. The BJs they give you with the kit are crap, I replaced mine with NAPA gold series which are made by Moog. I am in the finishing process with mine, I will be putting together a complete write-up on the whats, hows and whys. I would recomend RC's UCAs for a good dependable design and easy install. In either case, if your UCA spindle shafts are corroded really bad, I would replace those right away, repack with Neo Synthetic grease, its nasty to work with but repells water and dirt like nothing else.

Thanks mws! The info was greatly appreciated, no one drives my pathy but me, its my toy, so everything I do is my personal pref. I'll probably buy the ARB compressor kit first, then the lockout unit, It'll be easier on my budget and my wife! Made a good point about controllability, that settled it for me. I don't mind spending the extra money, even if it takes a little longer to put together as long as it is well spent, I hate spending the money and the regretting it afterwards. Does installing the ARB lockout require resetting the pinion/ring gears? Not a prob, just curious. I just put a brand new LSD from AC in my front diff, added an extra disc on both sides. I think the ARB should compliment quite well.

It seems that AC is still listing Detroit lockers for H233B diffs at the tune of $450, so it could be carelessly assumed they still have some. Would it be worth the extra $171 over the Lock Right? Are the Detroits that much better or is it a name thing? I am considering of dropping a locker in my rear diff and was leaning toward the Lock Right, I just want to make sure I wasn't wasting my time or money. I don't want to start making a habit of having to tear into my rear diff on a regular basis. Any experience and/or comments appreciated!

Here's some info from Arb's app chart for spline counts for diffs on Nissan trucks: Also a link for info on diffs, trans, and final ratios on Nissan products: http://www.vibratesoftware.com/html_help/h....htm#Pathfinder

My remarks were based and assumed on normal conditions. The OEM LCA bushings are natural rubber vulcanized to the inner and outer sleeves. This in turn only allows a limited amount of controlled pivot of the LCA. When I pulled mine off, my spindles were completely removed; my truck is on supports high enough off the ground that I have at least 2’+ of clearance. I tried for over an hour to figure out how to get those bolts out and the only way I could figure was to force the LCA down and inboard as far as it could possibly go and then you could remove the bolts. I would have had to put a lever bar on it to force it into that position, but in doing so I would have sheared the bushings, not that it would have mattered in my case because all of that was junked anyway. So my thought is: you may possibly have sheared or torn bushings if you were able to easily pivot the LCA into a position it would allow you to get those bolts out. Or you are one very lucky guy and pivot shaft wasn't frose to the inner bushing sleeve like mine was, which made it impossible to pivot the LCA enough to get the clearance to get the bolts out.

Man! You’ve got like Rust Gone Wild! Like CD said, I’d be doing some serious searching of the bone-yards. If that was my Pathy I’d be looking for a complete lower cross-member assembly. If you can’t find donor parts, and you elect to piece it together, you can get the LCA’s and LCA pivot shafts, and the cross-member online: http://www.trademotion.com The T-bar anchors are dealer only , the hardware that holds them on are also dealer only, the large bolt is a special 14mm extra fine pitch shoulder bolt, and the 2 smaller ones are low profile head type bolts. From the looks of things, if you plan on doing it yourself, if you don’t have a gas-axe, you’ll be spending the rest of your life trying to get that stuff apart. :furious: I know from recent experience, I am rebuilding my entire front end and adding a 3.5”- 4” SL lift at the same time. When I stripped all the OEM crap off, my LCA pivot shafts were fused to the inner sleeves of the LCA bushings. You have to remove the pivot shaft before you will be able to remove the LCA. Trying to cut the shaft with a Sawzall is a waste of time, the shaft is case harden and unless you use cobalt blades you won’t even scratch it. Even if you got past that point, you still have to remove what’s left from the bushing, heat is the only way! My truck was only about 10 -15% of what yours is and getting mine apart with a gas-axe was still no walk in the park, getting the pivot shaft out is the peak of the experience. You must remove the LCA to replace the bolts , there is no other way or trick to do it. What I used to get to the head to keep it from turning is a flat blade screw driver that I jammed in the space, what little there is! Lots of PB and heat on the nut, it will come off!

Nearly all the high strength bolts on Nissans are 1.25 fine pitch, there are a hand full of 1.00 extra fine pitch (ex. the 2 bolts that hold the caliper to the mount bracket), if you come across 1.50 std. pitch, these are usually not high strength bolts, they’re medium strength. As I rework/restore on my Pathy I replace with high strength stainless hardware whenever I can. I get nearly all of it from: http://totallystainless.net I am in the process of a 3”- 4” SL, and they have been able to provide everything I’ve needed so far. Keep in mind, high strength stainless hardware is not cheap. Be careful not to use the stainless hardware sold at most hardware and home supply stores, it’s not the right type for high strength/high torque applications, and it will gall even using antiseize. High strength stainless hardware must be designated “ARP”, or use 17-4 PH grade stainless steel, this grade can also be used for high temp apps like headers and exhaust systems.

When talking about metric fasteners, medium strength is grade 8.8, and high strength is 10.9, preferably, you want high strength 10.9

I have a 95 Pathy MT with a 3” BL which had no affect on the install of the Thorley headers, in fact it made it a little easier, cause you have better access through the front wheel wells and the frame rails. Using high strength studs on the extreme front and back holes on the header flange and going with high strenght bolts for the rest makes it even easier. The studs make lining up the headers easier and those locations are easy to get too. Studs on the inner locations are a pain in the @ss to get too with washers and nuts and all. The TM 4” SL lift drops the front diff like a ½”-1” which changes the front axle angle and moves it into the crossover pipe. On the Thorley kit, they tuck the crossover pipe up a little higher toward the bell housing than it is OEM.

Technically they are the same boosters, but it’s an easy swap to just do the whole thing, besides you are putting a new one in anyway.

Yeah you can do it as long as you match things up correctly. The 300Z turbo uses a 250mm disk/fly setup whereas the non-turbo uses a 240mm setup. A Pathy V6 uses a 250mm disk/fly setup. From want I understand the disk pads are made of a different material and are slightly thicker than the stock OEM Pathy disk. If you go to any Nismo dealer you’re going to get a Centerforce dual friction kit if you request a Hi-Perf replacement. If you go that route I would suggest a little net searching to get a lower price deal than Nismo is going to give you. If you want to go heavy-duty Hi-Perf and you got a lot of extra coin, you can do a Fidanza aluminum fly w/alloy metal insert with an ACT disk/plate kit, that setup will run around $800 +/-.