88pathoffroad

If you don't do much offroading, leave it at 31's and a 2-3" lift. 33's need at least 6" of lift to run reliably without rubbing on everything and they will take a death toll on your steering and front end parts within a short time, which means more $$$ for something you're not going to use offroad. Not to mention that 33's will kill your power levels and gas mileage. Crank up the torsion bars if it's sagging. Google it or search the forum for more, it's a simple procedure detailed in MANY places.

Well, good luck on that one. Tried going to a junkyard?

Well, good luck on that one. If the problems were only on newer vehicles I could see it going somewhere, but on a 13-year-old vehicle you're on your own. Regular inspections and maintenance should prevent rust of the type we're seeing. It's just that nobody checks or does anything preventative to stop it from happening until it's too late, then they all yell about how Nissan makes shxtty frames, etc... If they had only checked the frame once a year instead of once every ten years...!

Regardless of what it may seem like to *you*, it IS maintenance. It just requires a good deal of time and attention to detail, as well as some dedicated tools to ensure that everything gets put back together properly. The timing belt is an ESSENTIAL part of the engine, just like spark plugs and oil changes are. Things wear out and break over time, this is no different. The timing belt and everything involved with changing it are also maintenance jobs, it just involves more parts and is touchier and easier to screw up. That said, I did mine the first time with a Chilton's manual and some fairly cheap hand tools from Harbor Freight, and it cost me nowhere near what the dealership would charge to do the job. I've also done a belt change on a friend's VG30E with no problems.

*goes outside to measure* Disc rear axles are approximately... 25.5 inches from the top of the bearing locknut to the end of the shaft. Just for reference purposes.

H233B rears changed in the WD21 lineup somewhere, they went from a 9-bolt 3rd member to an 11-bolt 3rd member IIRC. Count the mounting bolts to make sure. The axles on a disc-equipped rear are a skosh longer than the axles on a drum-equipped rear and there is a thrust block spacer INSIDE the diff to make up for it, so if you originally had a drum-equipped rear, the axles from a disc-equipped rear wouldn't be a direct swap unless you tore apart the diff itself and removed the thrust block inside first. I've not measured to make sure of that yet cause I don't have the axles out of my drum rear to compare to the axles from my disc rear from the 89, but I'm FAIRLY sure that's the case, and I'm absolutely sure about the thrust block. You wouldn't want to change gearing on one end and not the other unless you want drivetrain bind and quite possibly t-case damage when 4WD is used. If you left it in 2WD, it would be fine for the time being. Gear ratios appear to be a total mix-and-match from auto to manual transmissions, I've seen manuals with 4.6 gearing and autos with 4.3. Wierd, huh?

Any NISMO kit that Nissan put out would probably be priced way above what it's worth in the first place. I can imagine them only selling the kit if you buy a brand-new 4.0...and who wants the headache of re-fitting all the new electronics and emissions system into an older vehicle that'll be smog-exempt in a few years anyway? Aside from that, dreaming is cool, but this idea is never going to happen. Nissan won't revert to old-school manufacturing methods just cause a few Pathy owners like their WD21's...

Hi. Firstly, I didn't write the FAQ section, it was copy/pasted from Jim's old forum. It contains a lot of accurate info and some inaccuracies that have really gone unfixed for a long time. Sorry about that. After watching the videos, it sounds to me like it has a lifter ticking. That's all I can say from over here in Oregon. I'm not next to the vehicle in question nor can I diagnose it's problems from over the internet. That said, some engines do have lifter noise problems and some do have manifold stud or collector gasket problems. The majority of the manifold stud problems are experienced in 87-95 WD21 Pathfinders. Exhaust noise tends to be harsher and snappier than the noise I observed in the videos, but then again it could just be a very very small leak. I have no way to tell from here. I would try to find some Seafoam, add some to the engine oil, the gas tank and then run some though the intake via the brake booster hose to see if that helps. After adding the Seafoam to the engine oil, I would run it for a bit to let it clean the system up internally, then change the oil and filter. I'd go with 5-30 or 5-20 oil for the wintertime and see how that affects the noise. It may be a "bad" lifter, or it may simply be crud built up in a single lifter that may come out after the Seafoam. The idea here is KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. (No, I didn't make that up, and no, it's not meant to disparage anyone in this thread.)

I find that a lot of shops are quite leery of taking on Nissan jobs due to the complexity of the engine and associated systems, so many develop attitudes or assume that any job on a Nissan is going to be "a pain in the ass" or "not worth working on", etc. Those are the sort of places you should probably avoid... All shops aside, does your ticking problem have any specific conditions you'd care to describe?

It is a belt, not a chain from 87-95, and no, they don't keep universal records of every vehicle. Individual dealerships may keep those records, though. It couldn't hurt to call and ask if you know that the Pathy has been housed in your area all it's life. Check for a foil sticker under the hood with the t-belt change date on it. Otherwise you may as well assume that it's never been done and is about to break, with 119K on it. A t-belt change isn't a major alteration, or even major repair, it's simply maintenance.

BTW, OH NOES! MESSY!!! Wouldn't want to get dirt on your driving gloves, eh Cuthbert? (j/k)

The shocks go on big-end down, so they're at the bottom, not the top.

Mine has Yak racks on top with a bar bolted crosswise on top for the lights.

I'll be getting some myself for a trans temp gauge and a voltmeter or something. Should work fine, but damn are they spendy.

I think what the deal is, is that Warn doesn't want to be responsible for any warranty or drivetrain damage issues arising from people installing manual hubs and then using them improperly with their electronic 4WD system and traction control and whatnot. Having a center differential viscous clutch (I haven't read up on newer Pathy drivetrains, so I'm guessing at terms here) is a lot different from a straight trans-to-t-case setup, it's more of an all-wheel-drive or full-time-4WD system. See, if you were rolling around with the hubs unlocked and happened to poke the 4WD button while moving, (which in stock form you should be able to do without any problem) the front diff and driveshaft(NOT spinning with the rest of the drivetrain) would probably grind and make for a real nasty noise and possible damage to the t-case or center diff system. You would have to be very careful about stopping to engage 4WD and making sure your hubs are locked to prevent that sort of scenario. Unless I'm totally off my rocker, I dunno. I seem to remember hearing this argument before and that was how it went.

Properly, they should probably have the grease changed every 30K or so, I believe. Usually they never do, but if you REALLY want to get all precise about it...there you go.

Do some reading around the forum, there are a TON of posts about it. Search for info on Rough Country UCA's or Superlift UCA's. Short and simple, Rough Country sells the Superlift UCA's for cheaper than most other lift kits out there and they're rock-solid pieces.

Simply replacing the weak struts often solves your problem and most auto parts stores carry them, or they can order them for you. They generally run about $20-40 per strut, yep. I've heard other people talk about the E-spec lights, but was there a problem with their legality in the US? I seem to remember problems ordering them into the US from Japan because of legality issues. In any case, I don't think I've ever seen any or heard of anyone having them in the US.

*facepalm* Where are the lights? Derrr

Mine has a single screw holding it on and then it pulls out. Have you pulled the rubber boot off it to look underneath?

Minimally, perhaps. The shock absorbers and springs have a much larger effect on controlling ride quality. All the arms do is stay put and pivot on the bolts.

I believe it was the "E" models with no rear seats, vinyl floors and the 4-cylinder. One of the rarest models ever, besides the '90 2-door with the VG30E. HB trucks came with manual hubs and they fit a 87-89 Pathfinder fine. Just make sure they're 27 splines before buying them. I'm not too sure about HB trucks with manual hubs and the 28 spline CV's, is all.

*snort* Get yer mind out the gutter!

Look for a 3.3 and swap your heads and intake onto it. Voila, .3L extra displacement and more power.

The onboard ride control kit is optional, not standard and it's not the most wonderful thing in the world anyway, the air lines tend to kink or pull out over time. I'd just use the regular dial-adjustable shocks and go that route.