Just curious if you had any problems with your hubs? The instructions say they are assembled with the appropriate amount of grease. And the service instructions say to not pack the hubs with grease or they will not function properly.
Also I notice several posts talk about Pathfinders with "automatic hubs." Is this correct? It is my understanding they ALL have solid drive flanges, which are quite different to auto hubs, and NO one has made auto hubs for Pathfinders. A few people may have retrofitted Xterra auto hubs to Pathfinders.
Solid drive flanges permanently connect the wheels to the axles and therefore spin the front differential constantly, increasing wear. The 4x4 shifter controls whether the diff is connected to the transmission for power. But they act just like a locked manual hub and are almost bulletproof, being immediately solidly engaged without delay or "hunting" like an auto hub.
Auto hubs automatically disconnect the wheels from the axles when there is no power being transmitted by the diff to the axles. This stops the rotation and reduces wear on the CV joints, axles, and diff, just like a manual hub would, but they have the drawbacks previously mentioned.
