RWC5S2

I like the wheel, especially in the QX4, which is supposed to be fancy anyway. Since it is the daily driver also, it should be comfortable. Even though I have done about everything possible to my 2003 Pathy to make it look like a dirt rig I still like it clean when not off-road. It is my daily driver also and I like it clean on the street. I think ya done good!

I made a decent and functional rack system from 2x4's and the appripriate hooks to hold down my boat. Bolted the 2x4's to the existing rack. The boat was around 200lbs and I had no problems. I did tie down the bow to the front bumper to avoid lifting problems while driving.

I like it a lot. But, will it fit the roof of the R50? If so I shall start looking for one like it.

Well, truth be told, I did put the Warn's on for that reason, as well as potential MPG. The guys I run with all have Jeeps and they are always breaking stuff. Mainly due to over building and trying to climb insane stuff. With the Warns I can just disengage the front and still drive home just fine. Or if the rear goes out I still have the front to limp in on. Since our axels do not come out even if broken there is still a way home. The angle on the CV's was not really an issue for me and I did have several shops look at them to see if they felt the angles were dangerous. None of the front end folks thought the angle was significantly altered. This was with the AC 2" lift. The really cool part of the R-50 is that we have 33 spline axels and the Jeeps all have to spend big bucks to get that strong. Do the 2" lift and be a happy camper.

I would spend the extra $80.00 and get the 2" lift coils. You don't have to put Warn's on. I ran mine for a long time before adding them and mainly did it to try and improve the MPG. It might have helped about 1 extra MPG.

Keep in mind that the BFG AT's will run quieter on the road and still provide good off road capabilities. The mud track tires will be LOUD on the road. Just depends on what type of wheeling you will be doing and if you can handle a noisy tire.

40psi on my BFG AT's for the road and 15-17 for off road.

Take me off the list for spacers. The guy that was going to make some for me actually did.

I love my AC lift. Yes, it does bottom out if you drive fast over speed bumps but, that is why they call them speed bumps. You're supposed to go slow. I got the Blistein shocks in back and Rancho's in front to soften the ride but still retain good offroad capabilities. If you are going to spend the bucks to lift the Pathfinder might as well lift it higher. My CV's have shown no abnormal wear. I did get the Warn hubs in front. Figured it might help the MPG plus, why have them turning unless you need them. Being able to put much larger tires on the rig really helps also plus, it looks very cool.

Did you check out the U-joints? They can cause that type of noise when accelerating after letting off the gas.

I am ready to buy...............I forgot how much they were but I would like 2 sets to level out the rig.

I did learn the need for patience. It would have helped me a lot if I had asked a few questions first. Could have bought one, install it in under 20 minutes as well as save some dough. Hopefully I will not need your info very soon.

I wish you had also. Oh well, at least I learned something useful. Thanks for the info.

I really did not have much of a rubbing problem with the stock 6 spoke alloy type 16" SE wheels and 31" tires unless I really got into a big off-camber hill or rut. Even then the only rubbing was to the inner wheel well and did no damage. The biggest thing is to make sure the tires are clear of the front struts. As long as they do not touch when installed they will never touch the strut mount. I later switched to 15" steel rims with 33x9.5 tires and had to trim off quite a bit of excess plastic in the wheel wells. It was no big deal and did no structural or comestic damage at all. When these wear out I will be looking for some 32x11.5 just to have a better off road foot print.

You might have to trim a little of the excess plastic from inside the wheel wells. It is nothing that will alter the outside appearance of the car at all. Just see where the tire is rubbing and trim it off. It's only excess overhang.

Do the full AC lift. You will be very happy with the results. Much better ride. You can choose to use softer or stiffer shocks and struts depending on how cushy you want the ride. AC will walk you thru which ones to get depending on your preferences.

Well, it was the MAF unit. Not having any better option I let the dealer do it. I figure I got hosed but they did drop the price from the normal $700 to only $500. Of course the warranty covers everything but the MAF. I thought I could fall under the California Emissions Law that makes the dealer cover it all for 7 years or 100,000 miles. Turns out the dang car originates in Mass so it was not an original Calif car...................hosed again. I did try and clean the old unit, thinking I really got hosed. Heck, it was only really dusty and dirty. Cleaned the heck out of it but it is fried. At least I learned, too late, how easy the job was so if it goes out again I can replace it easy. Ho hum, just another day in paradise I suppose. I need to learn patience I guess.

I plugged in the ole OBDII reader and got the following codes: P0506 P1102..........actually this one came up 2 times P1456.........This one was a previous problem and is supposed to be in the fuel tank hoses Just for the heck of it I erased the codes and tried out the vehicle. It ran for about 1 minute and puked out the codes again as it slowly gagged on its own flem. I changed out the fuel filter just for the sake of having something to do that I could actually do. The air filter was changed last week.

Went out wheeling today with some friends and had a great tiem. We stopped to have a bite to eat and when I started to fire up the rig it would not stay running. It would start, idle for 5-10 seconds and die. After much consternation and speaking a few colorful adjectives some one suggested to try the fuel filter. I found the rear one, removed and blew it out. The car started but died after 1-2 minutes and would not restart. I repeated the proceedure and got it to run but only below 2500rpm's. I managed to limp 50 miles home at about 35-45 mph. If I tried to run the engine over about 2250rpm's it would lurch, jump, make gasping sounds and try to roll over and die. I will obviously chang ethat filter tomorrow but have 2 questions. 1) Does that sound like just a fuel filter problem? 2) Does the 2003 Pathfinder have more than one fuel filter and, if so, where is the second or third or whatever one located? These new cars are not designed to be user friendly to find stuff. Thanks so much. Oh, by the way, we had great fun wheeling up to the point when my rig decided to play dead.

They are kinda skinny and not the best for mud or deep sand. I air them down to around 15PSI and they work great in our desert and the rocky areas. When these wear out I need to decide if I want to cut the wheel wells out to accommodate wider 33's. I went with these to maximize my over all lift. It has worked great so far. Every thing is a trade off of some kind. Looking forward to seeing your rig after you choose tires and rims.

Do a search for my postings and check out the "33's on my Pathfinder". You can see the steel rims and 33x9.5 tires. I can't seem to copy and paste the photo into this response. Another typical I'm too dang old to work a computer thing.

Ok, here's my 2cents. I switched from the stock 16" rims to steel 15" and then bought some BFG AT's. It was way cheaper than buying the 16" tires and your 17" will be even more. Also, if you are planning to actually go in the dirt, rocks etc. you will be much better off with the 15" tires. You have much more sidewall rubber and will get a larger footprint when you air down. You will also most likely get a better overall ride with the 15" tires as there is more rubber to cushion the ride. That's my storey and I'm sticking to it. It worked well on my 2003 R50.

My 03 R-50 with the 3.5 runs great. No problems, tows my small (1000lb) tent trailer just fine and does any thing I have asked it to do.

Woo Hoo! After much frustration and a few set-backs I finally got the 4:66 LSD rear and 4:66 front gears installed today. They were worth the wait. Much better low with the 33" tires and the 2 wheel drive seems much more peppy. Not exactly the most fun lifting all the heavy metal into place but over all not that hard a job.

HOLY PENGUIN POOP, BATMAN! I took the Pathfinder out today for the first run after installing the LSD. Some friends and I ran the Lockwood/Jeep Miller Trail in Gorman, Calif. In all, there were 7 rigs and 10 people. All Jeeps except for me. The Jeep Miller Trail is basically an uphill 7 mile struggle for survival. Well, that was how it felt the first time I ran it. It beat my Pathfinder like a red-headed step-child. Can you say "STRAP"? I got so tired of having to use the wretched thing I just left it attached to the front of my rig for the whole day. The trail seemed to be a little more beat up this time but I took a deep breath and pressed on. This with constant taunts over the CB of the Jeeps getting the strap ready for the lowly Pathfinder. Well sports fans, that LSD worked like nothing I could ever have imagined. I could feel the right and left rear tires grabbing traction and pushing me onward. It was friggen incredible. I must admit that I did manage to stuff my rig 2 times due to pilot error by picking a bad line. Each time I merely backed out of the trouble, repositioned my rig and breezed right on through. After finishing the run I jumped out of the Pathfinder, screamed something about being "invincible" and offered to Fart in the general direction of every Jeep on the Planet. It was a thing of beauty. But, it gets better. The folks that sold me the wrong LSD, a 4:33, made good and sent the right parts. A 4:66 LSD rear and a 4:66 front. I will be installing these later this week and can only anticipate how much better it will be with the higher gearing. The Jeep folks were completely blown away by the nimble prowess and just plain nasty, down and dirty, capabilities of the humble Pathfinder. Life is Good!