zonianbrat

I would do a carfax on it before I bought it. I looks clean mainly because he/she had it professionally detailed before they took pics of it. It is almost exactly like mine. I would be concerned about the fact that the front and rear bumper have been hit or he/she is a poor driver and has hit alot of things with it. I find it odd about the badge too. Mine is an XE and I have more options that that thing does. It does not have a luggage rack, or rear wing/spoiler. It only has 3 of the XE rims and a spare. So I would look at the spare and see if it is the other chrome one. It does have pretty low miles though so if the carfax checks out then I would drive it, testing out everything and if all is well then talk them down a bit and jump on it. It will last along time

well I would do what Simon says and test your ebrake too. If they moved things around in the locker install maybe something isnt lined up right. Brakes are pretty important especially the e-brake on manual trannies.

Best hint for first time I can give is depending on how tall you are get a chair to stand on and lean as far towards the plug as possible, you still wont be able to see it but once you use the kit with the truck you will feel when you get on the plug, then look at the position it is in related to the firewall and try to remember that. That is what I did and it worked just fine.

think it's lubed up by it's own freon. but I am not positive

Yeah the side mirrors are hideous, but they are functional more than good looking.

I think both of the opinions stated up above are correct. The Compressor clutch usually just locks up i think or atleast that is what I have always seen. The fact that all 3 belts tore this time leads me to think unless the shrapnel from the ac belt tore the other belts that it is in fact either the crank pulley or the idler pulley. I would get the belts and put them on then watch the engine as it's running and see if either of the pulleys are wobbling and go from there.

They did offer Manual trannies but I think they are kinda rare around here (I am too in colorado). If you decide on a pathfinder then I do think you should go with the 96-99 or newer simply because if you want to tow then you need as much power as you can get. If you plan on towing your Miata then the 4-runner and pathfinder are about the same. You dont want to tow for real long distances. Your miata weighes like 2k plus a trailer weighes 1k give or take. My 97 is rated to tow 5000 lbs. I towed a dump trailer once with probably a bit more than that with drywall materials and it was struggling up hills but it managed. If you do get a pathy I would suggest an aftermarket tranny cooler since that is where the stress will be from towing. Just my .02 good luck. Oh and as far as off-roading, the pathfinder is a great vehicle. I have done alot of things with mine that I did not think it was capable of at first.

Well for Maintenance I would change ALL the fluids. Get a new battery if yours has some years on it. Basic Tune-up is never a bad idea either. Kinda depends on what kinda money you want to throw at it before you go. From what you have said about getting new tires, snorkel and warn hubs your already looking at 800 dollars or so unless you make the snorkel yourself and if your just wanting the snorkel for "ram air affect" then that's a waste of money. I would put that money towards tuning up and preventative maintanence before the long trip. As far as what to bring refer to the thread of "what do you carry with you". I always carry water,food,warm clothes/blankets, tools, shovel, tire chains, pull strap, duct tape, electrical tape, and toilet paper. Just think of what you would need to survive if god-forbid you got stranded. Sounds like a fun road trip.

Adam, if your dad's R50 is reving to 2800 at 65 then it might not be overdrive. When I am going 65 in my R50 I am right around 2400rpm give or take abit. I know that when I am doing 75 I am at or really close to 2700rpms

As far as auto and manual it is all about preferance. I had a fast camaro SS that was a 6 speed manual and I would not have it any other way. My pathy is slow anyway so I like the ease of an auto.

Well if you can have one fabbed up for cost, why not just fab up a complete rear tube bumper complete with hitch? Just my .02.

I want to but dont have the money to buy a new truck then another5-10G's to invest in my R50

My first guess would be timing. IF your timing is off it could cause the engine to "knock" hence throwing the knock sensor code. Alot of people think when the knock sensor code comes up it is the actual sensor. That is not usually the case, it means the knock sensor is detecting a knock in the engine so it throws a code. Somebody else should chime incase I am incorrect.

Yeah it's not safe anymore dude. Get another set of pads and before you take the new/old ones out spin your rotors by hand and see if you can tell where the sound is coming from. Then install the new ones and be sure to spin them by hand too. I just thought about this. You got those wheels not too long ago right? Could it be a clearence/backspacing issue. You old pads were probably pretty worn down but the new ones are nice and thick. Well after looking at your pic those wheels stick out a good bit so that might not be the problem.

I agree with Chevron gas being the best. I am a bit biased as I am working on a chevron oil rig right now.

It's personal preferance I think. Both have quality gasoline. I dont think you need to use premium though. I would try some lower octane rated gas to see if it pings. There has been a lot of discussions on whether to use premium or regular gas and the concensus I got was that it is fine to use regular. I use regular out here in Colorado but with the higher elevations I know you can use gas with less octane. The highest we have out here is 91 octane.

Wow that is cool. I hope to have something just like that one day.

I would assume timing also. Does it blow any smoke? Can you smell a strong gas smell from the exhaust? Have you changed plugs and wires? Have you changed the oil lately and if you have was it milky looking?

Good luck to you sounds like you have learned a ton already since all your previous experience was oil changes. Good job and find a way to take lots of pics.

Sounds like a perfect excuse to upgrade to me.

Yeah I get all excited about bumpers too. Hell I dont even have a lift or armor yet!! I think I need to get sliders and skids before a lift. Then I will think about a bumper.

I agree something is wrong for sure. Just a guess but it sounds like then you hit the t-bar on an obstacle it could have slightly bent it maybe. Making it technically shorter than it is supposed to be. This in turn could put alot more stress on the splines causing them to strip. If they didnt strip on the impact. I dont have torsion bars so I could be totally wrong. Let us know what you find.

Havent heard any news of new bumpers. There was talk of TJM mas producing more R50 bumpers but there was not enough people willing to commit. I think it was TJM? Anyway look at ARB, or KMA they make bumpers for R50's. Or atleast front ones. YOu might have to have a rear bumper made not sure.

I think the problem is since no one has ever done it, it is going to take alot of fabrication and money. Probably more money than most of these rigs are worth.

All I can say is good luck. I really hope you get it done as you would be if not "the first" one of the first to ever do it. Without a frame it is going to be alot of headaches. I am sure it can be done with the right smarts and $$. Just remember to document it becuase alot of other people will probably take on the job if they know it can be done and there is a write up about it.