01Pathmaker

If it doesn't work out with Xplor, I've got one from a 96, just pay the shipping and it's yours! I really need to clean up the garage! Lol

Rockauto.com has a nice kit that includes drums, shoes, cylinders and spring kit, but if your wheel cylinders are good and drums aren't trashed, just get shoes and spring/hardware kit and have your drums cut for a few bucks each, at a local shop.

Have you checked the steering rack bushings?

Congrats! That is a sweet Q!

Sounds like a solid plan! Enjoy the ride!

My contribution based upon the last 2 comments by Nova and saturn: I didn't go to college, I went to work, spent a majority of my free time wrenching on the rides that I had at the time, whatever time that was left I hung out with friends, and I don't have MANY regrets. I believe that you are the only one who can answer your question, take a little time and see where your priorities lie. Do you want more time to hang out? Do you have a passion for 'wheeling (typically that goes hand in hand with wrenching)? Can you keep your offroad adventures tame enough to not tear up a nicer and reliable dd, or do you like to take the tougher trails, or the trail less traveled? Finally, can your budget support both a dedicated wheeler and a nice dd? Those answers will point you in the right direction. Whatever you choose, enjoy the ride!

Yet another great idea you've come up with! Nice work!

Classic death wobble. The bushings on your rear track arms (also called control arms) are toast, usually it's easiest to replace all 4 with new as it can be a real bear to just change the bushings. These are 4 bars that run front-to-back, from the rear subfamily to the rear axle (2 short uppers, 2 long lowers). These can often be found as a fairly inexpensive set on ebay. Depending on the amount of rust/corrosion, they can be either a fairly simple swap, or a very time consuming, labor intensive chore. You'll also need all new hardware to go with them, as more often than not, the bolts like to become one with the sleeves, making removal impossible without cutting them. If you use the search function, search "R50 death wobble" you'll find plenty of info, and a good write-up or 2.

If you haven't already, clean all your grounds, especially the major ground points (battery to body, battery to "frame", alternator, engine, etc). I've seen some pretty wonky stuff go away after properly cleaning them up (disconnect, clean terminal ends, check terminal to wire connection for oxidation/corrosion and repair/replace anything looking questionable, clean grounding surface to bare metal, clean hardware, reconnect then seal after tightened), even if they "look good". This is something that is far too often, overlooked, but extremely vital to things working correctly.

BINGO! Lol

Those are your upper coil buckets (others have referred to them as top hats). IIRC, both have the same markings, just get positioned differently depending on which side they're mounted on. There is also a corresponding notch that denotes coil positioning. Unfortunately, without either laying eyes on mine, or looking it up in the FSM, I don't recall the exact position the marks should be in. If you have downloaded a copy of the FSM, take a look there, otherwise (if nobody else chimes in) I'll look into it for you. The FSM is a very resourceful tool to have.

Thanks rc, food for thought. I wouldn't be adding the additional 3 in the lower area and I don't climb any hills on the regular, just have to see if the temp climbs on the beach.

I would consider the road noise moderate. They're not what I consider loud, but they are quite a bit louder than typical AT's, but not obnoxious. I've had super swamped tsl's, up to 44" and thornbirds up to 35", those are loud. Lol. I had no issues with airing down, which since they are a full bead to bead remold, shouldn't be a problem. It's their older "retreads" that you'll have issues with from airing down, in fact it states in the warranty that airing down retreads voids the warranty.

Wow, don't everyone talk at once! Lol. Well, as it turns out, we're probably going to end up with a brand new 2017 Rogue SV for roughly the same payment (just a longer term) as the low mileage 2012 R51 we were looking at.

Good luck, hope that solves your issue. Yeah, start a build thread either in this section or the rides section. Look forward to seeing and hearing your progress.

I thoroughly agree, it's most likely a heat shield loose, they're notorious for that. Check the shields above the cats, they usually start first, you cure one and another starts soon after...

Or you could go the highly addictive route and lift via strut spacers (as mentioned above, from Steve "the man" @ sfcreations) or new coils, or both, or SFD, or all of it! Lol, yeah, it becomes an incurable disease...

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