bushnut

I learn something new everyday.

A QX4 is just a Pathfinder in a fancy suit. As long as you loosen your tie and are fine with getting your hands dirty then you are alway welcome here! Some pics would be nice. You'll be impressed with the drive and off road abilities of your new ride. Just keep up with the maintenance and it will treat you right for years. By the milage it should be due for a timing belt and water pump.

I had was able to reach it but not turn it. I sprayed them (#5&6) with break free and I'll try again in a few days.

As an update...the whine has gone away since I replaced the oil in the rear diff!

thanks Oh exact one! ya I doused it in "break free" and I'll wait a few days to work on it again. I also thought about the warm engine trick. glade to know I'm not barking up the wrong tree. this is some what ironic in that while I grew up in an automotive shop (my old man is The crazy old german VW mechanic) I always swore I'd never fix cars, so I've been a bicycle mechanic for the past 11yrs. This Pathy is the first vehicle I've owned in almost 7yrs. I'd been car free until last August. I just couldn't face another Manitoba winter on my bike. at -30C the grease in the hubs freezes and the rolling resistance of the tires is awful, even when there is no wind you have to pedal downhill! it just don't coast, and sweating while freezing is no fun. no wonder my KPL (MPG) sucks in winter. The twisted part is that I kinda like working on the truck (don't tell my old man). Any ideas on the Tcase? does "stop leak" work? can I ignore this for a while? I just don't have the knowledge or equipment to tear out the Transfer case. from the amount of fluid leaking It doesn't look like its been going on for long. Since the Tcase uses ATF I figure a little Trany stop leak might work for a short time. I know its only a stop gap measure but will it make it though till summer? I use the 4X4 quite often as the city almost never plows my street. Thanks jon

first the good stuff... Managed to fix the radio, but I think I'll have to re-do all of the POs connections. Changed the front diff oil. it was probably 12years old. Crawled around under the Pathy and did a rust inspection. ALL GOOD! Reorganized my recovery gear/tools and Bug Out stuff. Did NOT manage to replace #5 and #6 spark plugs...they wouldn't budge. #5 would back out about 3-4 turns and then stop. couldn't get #6 to turn at all. didn't want to use to big a breaker bar as I was afraid of stripping the hole. Did Not replace Tcase fluid..seems like the seal at the front shaft is sweating....Has anybody used a "stop leak" type product in a Tcase? I am not looking forward to ripping that apart to change the seal. Realized that both front struts are seeping and will have to be replaced very soon. at which point I may as well do the rear. DOES IT EVER END?

I'm in the middle of changing my plugs out and #2 is giving me greef. can't seem to crack it loose. any hints? oh yea I can't even see #6 thanks

I used 80w90 GL5 with "lubeguard LSD supliment".... sounds like I'm giving vitamins to my truck. and 5w30 synthetic for the engine. As for not being in CANADA well count yourself lucky...3 days ago it was -32C...with wind chill it was -42C. Pathy still started though, only plugged the Block heater in for about 20min.

changed oil.....no more annoying "ticking sound" changed rear diff oil.....no longer goes "CLUNK" when shifting in to reverse, back to drive.... Yea!!! man it was BLACK don't think it's ever been done by POs Also quieter now and seems to have better traction while turning on slippery roads. next up.... front diff and Tcase.

the way the market is going with everyone driving station wagons (cross over sounds better) the question to be asked is what will the off road world look like in 10 years....there might still be a few "Yotas" kickin around but I think most of us will be driving Heaps . They are the only company at this time producing an off road worthy vehicle straight from factory with no to minimal modifications.(the wrangler) now that the coffee is kicking in I suppose we might be driving one of the domestic 4door pickup types, though they've always felt to big for my taste. On a side note I saw a decked out Chevy Tahoe yesterday with what looked like a 6 inch lift and 20 inch wheels with off roady looking tires. The dam thing was so tall the dudes wife needed a stepping stool to get in. the funny thing was that the rear axle didn't have any more clearance than my unmodified R50. What a joke.

you'll probably be able to pull it...........stopping once up to speed might be another matter.

and yet another horror story...I once had my oil changed in my VW Golf a the shop down the road the day before heading up north on a 2 week camping trip. I got about an hour out of town when my oil light started flashing and the buzzer sounding I quickly pulled off the road and shut her down, looked under the car to see oil gushing out the bottom of the engine. The drain plug had vibrated loose. I had to hitch hike to the next town find a oil plug, 4L of oil and an adjustable wrench go back and fix it, then continue on my trip. no lasting damage but when I went back to talk to the mechanic about it, he gave me attitude and a list of excuses. He never once asked how he could make it up to me. I told him never mind but have cautioned lots of people from going to that shop since.

does the hand brake work? and always shift to reverse while rolling backwards,this lets you use the engines compression to slow you down.

since nobody has addressed this yet I think it's time to be asked.....just how heavy is your right foot kyle? If I accelerate hard from a traffic light the gas gauge and speedometer needle move at about the same rate.

Is there anyway to fix an O2 sensor? will cleaning it help...kinda like a catalytic converter. or is it just plug out plug in.

Please tell me you are doing a portrait of a warrior princess riding a polar bear!

drove around in a blizzard last night just for the fun of it. Rusty handled like a champ, even with what I think are crapy Motomaster tires. even in drifts up to a foot deep no issues no pulling to one side just powered straight through. The longer I have this truck the more I like it.

I put in sylvainia silverstar ultras not long ago. I noticed an improvement over the stock set up. The light doesn't seem like it's shinning through a thick layer of mud anymore. After changing the bulbs I realized my headlights were not aligned properly the driver side was shinning up into space the right side was pointed at on coming traffic. now that I've set them up properly (lower and slightly to the right to avoid blinding on coming drivers) they are even better. And if they don't last as long I've kept the oems as spares.

I don't realy care about the lift height. So how did did it affect the ride? the OME springs and KYB over stock setup? how is the ride when loaded? How does it ride on corrogated road? like you I'm not into off road for the thrill. It just lets me get to where I want to camp.

After last weeks winter camping trip I realize I'll have to bite the bullet and upgrade my suspension. loaded down with 3 days winter kit for 2 guys and a big dog the Rusty was riding a little low and the ride was a little bagged. So a suspension upgrade is in order. Shocks/struts and springs. I don't do enough difficult off roading to need much of a lift, I'm more the overlander type. As always the budget is very important. this is the set up I'm thinking about. OME medium springs front and rear. OME rear shocks Firm. KYB GR-2 front struts. The question is ... Is there any issue mixing OME springs with KYB struts. I Thinking spring rates vs compression and rebound valving. I know enough about mountain bike suspension that this can be an issue. though there is usually some form of adjustability with bike suspension, unlike most vehicle shocks. thanks for any feedback.

very jealous!

speaking of those vents...what the hell do they vent?

do they really increase HP or is it hype? do they aid in fuel consumption? $105 for 5hp from 4x4parts. is it worth it?

new silvainia ultra head light bulbs. and a wash.

Thats what i normally do. It usually works out to about 100km/ line on the fuel gauge.@ half a tank I've usually traveled just over 200km but this last week I only managed about 55km to the first line. and 75km at the second. at around $70 per fill this just sucks.