squam1

Is it a question of quantity or quality?

Just to clear up some confusion about Pathfinder AWD... it is SELECTABLE - as in - in normal operation it is in 2WD high - turn the knob and you shift into AWD... shift the knob again and you are in 4WD HI... throw the tranny into neuteral and turn the knob again and you are in 4WD LO... Consequently, Manual hubs will not harm a thing!!! The hubs are locked ALL THE TIME for Pathfinders with All Mode 4WD, so there is no problem installing manual hubs... see pics for All Mode 4WD settings...

if it's true, what is he asking for them??? Doesn't sound likely to me at all...

:type: 97SE - if you drive over 10k miles per year, then you should have built that into the lease... All a lease does is pay for the depreciation of the vehicle while you have it. You shouldn't be paying more than 350 or so per month for a brand new SE with an MSRP of 29k or so... and that is with no more than 1500 or so out of pocket... now, figure a loan for 5 years for the same vehicle with the same 1500 down, you would be paying 550+ per month... and that's not even figuring the sale price at sicker... if you figure the truck sells for 27k - that's still going to be about 540/mo... now - where would you be after 3years with a lease? you could walk away from the vehicle and get something else or you can buy the vehicle for the residual price... either way - you've had a vehicle with a FULL warranty for the entire time you've had the car... where would you be after 3yrs of a 5 year note? You'd be upside down - you'd owe more than the vehicle is worth... you'd have to pay for at least another 8 months or so before you'd even break even and now that there is a new bodystyle for the Pathfinder... good luck getting a good trade in value or fair market value on a private sale... I've leased and bought... Ideally, what I recommend to folks that ask is - go find a dealer demo with less than 10k miles on it, make sure it was never registered (truly a dealer demo!) and have them extend the factory warranty with a Nissan extended warranty... at their expense... that's the way to do it. With any car really, buy a 1yr old used or dealer demo vehicle for the best value (good warranty left and good sale price...) I bought my 2002 $35000 LE Pathfinder with 7400 miles on it for less than $27k... and that's before trade and cash down... There was a $2500 rebate and I also got 2.9% financing. I suppose that is the other thing to consider - what sort of financing can you get... low % is like free money and in that case, why lease? The argument can be made both ways. I have about 10 years of professional experience in the automotive industry, both on the sales and marketing side (Mitsubishi and Nissan) as well as the consumer side (autosite.com), so I can honestly say: it is totally dependent upon the situation.... And in the end - "it's not the deal you got - it's the deal you THINK you got..."

I've had 2 exhaust systems installed by Quality in Worcester and I've sent countless people to him - he's is by far the best quality I have seen for exhaust systems, bar none!!! And I've ALWAYS been impressed with the $$ he charges - more than reasonable for the quality you get!

88 you're right about 4th being overdrive in an auto - but the Nissan automatic IS a 4 speed - it just happens to have an over drive ratio for the 4th gear (unlike bmw 5 spds that have a 1:1 final drive ratio that ISN'T overdrive)... it also is a lock-up not to be a pain in the behind, but felt like clarifying...

88 - you must have been reading my mind cause I was on that site for about 20 minutes before I posted last night - he's got some great pics of all the stuff he has done. I spose you're right about the cv joints/boots... worst thing that can happen is that I don't put manual hubs in and the joints wear out and need to be replaced prematurely... I can always wait for that to happen... then all I would have to do is get the lift as well as the wheels and tires I want for when I head off road... (but still want a tjm t17 bumper, eventually a winch and a whole slew of other do-dads). Thanks again for the great advice. I'll let you know how it goes... gonna order the lift as soon as the tax refund comes in...

here's a better pic of the wheel center in question - if it ever dries up outside I'll take my own pic with a ruler maybe, then it will be a little more clear as to how tight the center hole is...

here's the wheel... (took the pic from ebay - it's pouring outside!) - now that I am wondering about the whole manual hub thing, I'm a little obsessed about the issue... I may just have to buy the things to see if they fit just to satisfy my curiosity... I'm a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to my truck!

88 - that's the kind of info I didn't have before - much appreciated... from what others have posted in the past, it sounded like one wouldn't be able to get more than about 6 months before the boots started to let go cause the fins would rub... if I can get to 80 or 100k with a lift and no manual hubs without replacing stuff, then it's a no brainer... Diesel - I have the All-Mode 4WD, which is 2WD, AWD, 4HI and 4LO... so no worries about messing with a fulltime 4WD... Thanks for the info! guess the only other question in my mind is - what is the strength of the factory hubs/flanges as compared to warn or mile marker hubs...??

I know I don't "have" to get the hubs, but in the end, they are the intelligent choice instead of making frequent cv repairs... my understanding, from what I've read here and on other forums is that without the manual hubs, I'm likely to tear the boots in short order after installing the lift. This is my daily driver as well and will be seeing 65 mile round trip commutes every day... The boost in mileage would be nice too, but I guess the only way to find out is to buy them and see if I can fit them through the wheel center prior to installation on the truck. The hubs on the 99+ pathys are full time - no auto locking - they are permenantly engaged, so if I don't swap them out, the front axles will alway be spinning and with the 2" lift, my guess is the cv boots will be rubbing on themselves... If someone said to me, you can run the lift without manual hubs, keep your perm hubs, and you'll get 40,000 miles out of the cv joints/boots (I only have 30k on the truck now...) - then I'd just skip it... point is - if it will save me $$ and headaches down the road - AND the hubs will fit my stock 17" rims, then why not do it?? If I can still have somewhat decent longevity out of the cv boots and joints without the hubs, then I'm content to wait... then I can just spend the dough on something else!!

posted in the 96 up area already, but just wondering if anyone knows if the warn manual hubs will work with the 2002+ LE 17inch wheels - I just popped the center cap off and it looks as though the wheel opening is too small in diameter to allow the hub through - but that is just a guess - I have no idea how large the hubs are in reality... I'll have to get the hubs at some point so that I can get and install a lift of some sort (along with a tjm bumper, larger tires... etc etc...)

I was outside looking at the wheel centers to see if the hubs would fit through there... hard to tell - anyone out there have experience with installing the manual hubs with the stock 17inch rims? If I can keep them when I get the lift and bumper and tires and... and... and... perhaps that will keep my wife in a better mood...

the quest and villager in question were assembled by ford int he U.S. and most of the parts are in fact Ford... check body panels, interior bits, etc and they are all stamped with teeny, tiny ford emblems... the drivetrains are Nissan however... just thought I'd throw in my .02 on those vans...

When I was a sales guy at a Nissan dealer, I got my hitch for me LE for free (some dude leasing a loaded up LE didn't want the hitch on it so my mgr gave it to me for free and made that guy pay for the removal...). I got the wiring harness as well! It doesn't take 5 hours, but the techs need to remove some sort of evap canister and some other stuff to get at the wiring... the hitch install takes a little while too, even with two guys. Fortunately, all it cost me for hitch, wiring and installation was $50 and a 12 pack! That and the deal I got on my 02 pathy almost made up for the 9 months of hell I spent at that dealership

that's why you have to negotiate the selling $$ in the first place... that way, you don't pay more in the end... when someone tells me that leasing is a waste of money, it makes me think that either they really don't understand leasing, or they tend to keep their vehicles for 6yrs or more... leasing all depends on the situation!

when I wired up my piaa 520s I used the light for the ashtray to trigger the switch/relay instead of tapping into a high or low beam positive lead. Don't think my 92 pathy had an ashtray ligght, but my 02 does! This way, I can turn on the 520s with just the marker lights and not the head lights. The other benefit to this is that apart from the manual control, they will also turn on and off with the "auto" headlight setting... I have run batteries down in other vehicles after leaving fog lights on, so I'm content to only be able to run them when at least the marker lights are on - that way, I'll always be assured that I have a warning chime for lights left on. -oh, also, your point about the piaa switch? don't have to use it... I used a factory Nissan fog light switch for an xterra, but have since changed that to a heavy duty, ruberized/sealed switch - just think it looks better...

I have some lights mounted that I haven't gotten around to running wires for. Just curious how some of you folks out there in Pathfinder land have gone about this... I have a trailer wiring harness that I have soldered extensions onto and have shrink-tubed the lengths to keep everything neat... we've have like 5 days of rain without a break, so I'm hopefully gonna have a chance to get out there and set these lights up with a tidy wiring job, relays, custom switch panel and heavy duty, waterproof/sealed/lighted rocker switches... (just got laid off on thursday, so I got nuthin but time at this point... ) pics to come, but I will anxiously await your stories, advice, descriptions etc... Currently, my plan is to run the wiring towards the back of the truck and through the tailgate and CHMSL grommet to the inside of the truck. Anyone have any pics of their install?? Thanks in advance! -chris

my 2002 owner's man recommends 5w-30 for the 3.5 VQ

what's the dealer using for a sale price to figure the lease? What people often forget is that in addition to the miles per year, the money down and the term of the lease - THE BIGGEST FACTOR for determining a monthly payment is what the dealer uses as a sale price of the vehicle. Yes, you can negotiate that part as well... in fact, when going for a lease: 1) have a set $$ amount you will put down and stick to it, 2) as accurately as possible, estimate your miles per year and add a little to it - you don't want to be a slave to the mileage allowance, nor do you want to pay mileage penalties at the end cause they are always more expensive than buliding into the lease, 3) don't go for a really long term lease - 48 months is pushing it - 4 years? on a 5 yr note, with the same cash down as on a 48 month lease, you will have some equity to apply to a new vehicle - on a 4yr lease - no equity and in fact, for most vehicles, you'd be hard pressed to get out of it early, even if it's after 42 months..., 4) finally, NEGOTIATE the sale price of the vehicle, not just the payment!! The lower the sale price, the less depreciation you have to pay for over the course of the lease!! Figure it this way - if your leased vehicle is to be valued at a 50% residual after 36 months, take the MSRP and cut it in half. A 30k vehicle is worth 15k on paper at the end of the lease (or at least the leasing company hopes so...). If the dealer figures the lease on a sale price of 27k - you would only pay for 12k spread out over the 3 yr lease - with a little interest thrown in there... (27k sale price less 50% residual equalling $15k = 12k) If the dealer uses the MSRP of 30k to figure the lease, that's an extra 3,000 bones worth of depreciation you have to pay for over the course of the lease. And don't get me started about trading in a vehicle on a lease... whole nother can of worms there... Does this make sense? or help in any way? -chris (5 yrs worth of automotive sales and finance office experience... sly )

thought I'd put up a reply so my post doesn't look so lonely all by itself...

Just wanted to say hello to the folks on the board. Happy to see so many Pathfinder and other Nissan folks sharing such good information... -Chris