01Pathmaker

Gotcha, where the yellow mark is? 2 options: 1) look for the contact point (should be easy to find by either turning the wheels, or look for the "clean" spot), heat them up a bit and just "massage" them until you've got ample clearance. 2) unscrew the front of the inner well, push it forward a bit, redrill mounting holes, replace screws, done.

2005 (R51) has a smaller bolt pattern than the R50 (96-04), therefore unless you're running adapters (which would double as wheel spacers), your wheels must be from either a R50 or gen 1 xterra/Frontier. With that said, if you're that close to the coil bucket on the strut, with that size tire, they very well might be from a xterra or Frontier, as the have a different backspace then the pathfinder. My 01 has about 3/8" clearance (close, but not uncomfortably) with stock SE wheels and 265/70/16's. Post up some pics of your wheel and clearance, that'll help point you in the right direction.

When you say it's rubbing the middle of the splash guard in front, do you mean the splash guard that's on the rear of the front wheel opening, or the plastic inner in front of the wheel? If it's the former, you could just remove the splash guards, if it's the latter, a heat gun or really hot hair dryer is all you'll need, just heat up where it's rubbing and reshape it a bit.

96-99 (pre-facelift) are typically able to fit larger tires easier than 99.5-04 (facelift) due to different flares and bumpers. Cleared 31's with a little room to spare on my 96, had to do medium-duty springs (~3/4" lift) to clear 265/70/16 (metric 31's) on my 01.

Sweet rides! Love that ARB bumper, just can't justify the price tag. Lol. Give your friend props on that clean looking K5 Jimmy, those are my favorite 2 door suv, I had several before I addicted to nissan

Excellent point! Don't want to suck any water in! Lots of good "food for thought" here.

He was probably referring to the 96-99's as the front turn signals are mounted in the bumper. Others have successfully used XJ jeep bumpers, but I haven't found one I've liked, your design looks good. As for mounting points, it's best to use a combination of the stock upper mounting point and lower tow hook mounts. That'll give you enough strength for winching and such.

Hmm, I'm interested to see how this turns out. Similar to the style I've been eyeballing, was looking to get some measurements of a WJ (seems similar to the R50 in width) and relocate the mounting points. Have been looking at this one: http://m.ebay.com/itm/222454119632

Loved the tires actually, and so does the new owner. Very good road manners for an aggressive mud tire, balanced well and are wearing well also. I wouldn't hesitate to get them again.

Nothing pansy about not wanting to wheel with a brand new ride, hell, my Titan was 5 years old before I took it in the woods, but the beach, now that's another story. Lol

Umm, sounds like you're having a rough time! Lol. Good luck, keep calm and get 'er done.

Wow, completely forgot about this thread! What can I say, life got crazy for a while. So, to bring this thread up to speed, the old 96 was in fact a great find. I installed the audio equipment that I had accumulated and just kept up with maintenance, while using it as my DD. In March of '16, someone offered me a 99 GMC Suburban, 4x4, 135k-ish, clean and well-kept, so I thought "yeah, why not". The price was very fair, so I pulled the trigger, then sold the 96 for $2k. I later figured out that this was not my smartest move. I've dumped that $2k into the 'burb, transfer case, intake & vc gaskets, power steering pump & lines, front-end parts, complete brake overhaul, tires, the list goes on. About a month ago it started consuming coolant, this time it the head gaskets, which I am not getting involved in. These heads are known to be prone to cracking, wouldn't surprise me if that's the root of the hg issue, and I'm not sinking another dime into this pig. Yes, having all that room was great, came in very handy, but I'm done with it. Going to get what I can for it,as-is and walk away. As for the 96, I sold it to a guy that lives 2 blocks away, he loves it, has done nothing but maintain it. I REALLY should have kept it, but live and learn. Now I'm looking for a 08-12 R51 for the Mrs and I'll reclaim the 01 as mine. Once that happens I'll be throwing a few more mods on, and be happily living the R50 life again...

I'm the original owner of my 01 SE 4x4 R50 and even @ 170k, she's still running and driving great (despite my wife's efforts, crashed it twice...). Other than 2 collision repairs, I've really just kept up on maintenence. I'm not giving her up until she's near death, but we are currently looking for a newer 3rd row suv. I'm aware of the main issues of the early run R51's, so far walked away from a few 07-08's, just found a really nice 2012 SE 4x4 for a fair price, but I would like a few questions answered before I pull the trigger. 1) Has the rad/trans cooler issue been fixed in the later years? I'd still probably do the bypass just for peace of mind. 2) Have they upgraded the timing chain guides in the later models? Other than those issues, is there anything major that the 10-12's are plaqued with? Any of the other "nuisance" issues that I've read about I think I can deal with. Thanks in advance.

What size bar is that? I might have to steal your idea!

Hahaha! Some good stuff here, surprised I've only stumbled upon it now. Guess I'll add a few: Damn Old Dodge Goes Everywhere Damn Oil Damn Gas Eater F'd Over Rebuilt Dodge Driver Returns On Foot (FORD in the mirror) Can't Have Every Vagina Yo Greatest Machine Created Italian Retard Out Cruising All in good fun!

The only physical difference is the bracket for the brakeline, doubtful that there is any difference in valving or pressure.

Thanks! I'm mainly looking for the extra width of the tires, for better flotation, as I spend a lot of time on the beach from April thru October. I'm currently running the metric equivalent to 31's and it does well, but I know first hand how much difference even an inch makes (insert the old "that's what she said" joke). When I went from 285/70's to 295/70's on my Titan, I rarely even needed to engage the 4wd on the beach, after airing down. Looking forward to seeing pics of the mounting points of your bumper. Only thing that I'd change on your rig, I'd get rid of the factory crossbars and mount the roof basket right to the tracks (Food for thought).

Wow! I'm not typically a fan of tube style bumpers, but that one looks really good! Can't wait for more detailed pics of the mounting points. Could you please clarify what suspension setup you're running? I know you've changed it up a few times, I lost track. I'm really digging the look with the 32's, I'm thinking I can get away with adding Steve's 1" spacers all around to my MD springs. Keep up the awesome work!

Looking good! Curious about your decision to remove the fender flares, was it because of a rubbing issue, or just personal preference?

I've been running General AT2'S for over 3 years (~35k miles) now, on my 01, still have more than half tread, noise is about on par with an aggressive AT tire, traction has been and continues to be great. Dry pavement, deep snow, soft sand and slushy snot, they really shine. Good on wet pavement, hard packed dirt, gravel and better than most AT'S in mud. I love em and apparently won't be wearing them out anytime soon.

Hmmm, thanks for the research! Sounds like I just have to replace the power source into the fog relay by sending a new trigger from the parking light circuit. Now I just have to find the time to do it! Lol

Awesome! I'll have to get this done asap. Quick question though, any idea on how to have the fog switch power on by the parking lights? There was a way to do it on my Titan utilizing a jumper wire but it rendered the switch useless. I'd really like to have the ability to run the fogs with any combination of lights on.

One word: slick...

Looking good, what tire/wheel combo did you go with?

If only it didn't have useless and ugly 22" rims...