hawairish

Yeah, jump on that. The style alone is hard to find. As for the lock...there's an integrated slot on the mount to put a padlock through it and one of the wheel stud holes. It was Nissan's way of locking it, as opposed to a simpler lug-nut lock. Given the design, you'll need to remove the "carrier" (tire mounts to it) from the "frame" (carrier mounts to it) in order to access the backside of the padlock to cut it off. Presuming the carrier didn't change much from the prior design, 4 nuts hold the carrier to the frame but you might have to get crafty reaching them around the tire. Edit: pic below of prior carrier model. Sorry I don't have the means to mark-up the image, but you can see the 4 nuts on the carrier between the vertical tubes of the frame. That oval-ish hole on the carrier is where the padlock inserts and comes through the little hole to the right, which lines up with a wheel stud hole. For anyone wanting a lock, I used a Rugged Ridge 16715.22 M12x1.25 wheel lock (http://a.co/d/1BPsRfC). If I could've found a set with 5 wheel locks, I would've gone that route.

Well done! I was telling @Astrorami the other week about taking a very similar approach. Definitely good use for that axle shaft...I'm sitting on a few WD21 shafts right now and I'm thinking one or two would be perfect for something similar. I was already thinking about using the splined ends for maybe making a test tool for rebuilding LSDs, that would give me use for the other end.

They used to have Aisin hubs for Nissans. Some of the ones for W/D21 will fit the R50, as long as the spline counts are the same (they changed counts at some point). I had a pair that I pulled from the JY, but they were 27-spline IIRC. Really solid units, wish I could've used them. Aisin also made (makes?) a lot of other Japanese OEM parts.

By looking? Experience I guess. Otherwise the diameter of the wire (excluding insulation) corresponds to a gauge; they’ve got some handy gauge tools available for quick determination, otherwise calipers and a chart can be used.

No problem. There tends to be a lot of variance and opinion when it comes to wire selection, but it really depends on usage/application. A chart like this is a lot closer to my wiring preference for most 12V electrical... ...except when wiring up a stereos/amplifiers, other high-draw lighting/accessories (compressors, winches); I'll almost always increase to the next gauge. You'll never hurt a system with wire that's too thick (keeping it reasonable), but at some point cost exceeds benefits. On the other hand, wire that's too thin will affect performance and is also a hazard. If unsure, jump a gauge. I'll usually choose a wire gauge based on 50%-100% of my expected nominal draw with the circuit loaded...this gives me some circuit overhead for any overdraw conditions, plus some wiggle room if I want/need to put another accessory on the circuit.

Welcome aboard! I'd presume the Geo Tracker hubs to not fit...spline count is one thing, but you need shaft diameter, clip-depth, hub bolt pattern, and other alignment of the stars to catch a break there. It's a long shot. However, any hubs for your Xterra will fit the Pathfinder just fine.

For your setup, 18awg is perfectly fine. Much of your factory wiring is around that, including radio, interior lighting, etc. You could jump to 16awg if you want a thicker wire potentially more suitable for exterior runs, but not necessary if the wire is properly protected (exterior wire should be sheathed/protected to some degree anyway to resist elements, heat, chafing, etc.). The leads coming from those LED pods are probably even smaller than 18awg.

PathyDude17 is correct, assuming you tap into the lead before the dome light switch. Technically, you could trigger off the ground side of the switch, if you wanted the lights controlled by the switch, but that's unorthodox. This is exactly my approach, and for the same reasons. There are some places where it's impractical, though, like when there are short leads to work with; as Slartibartfast noted, it shortens the wire. I usually only consider the 2nd option (peeling insulation, looping wire, solder) if I can pull one of the terminals out of the harness to slip heat shrink onto the splice. I won't use the liquid or electrical tape for that splice unless it's the only option. I will, however, resort to taps if I need something quick, basic, or potentially temporary. There are good and bad options. I like the Posi-Taps the most, but they're a bit expensive and bulky. However, they provide a solid connection without crimping, and just put a little pinhole into the wire insulation: T-Taps/Scotchloks tend to be pretty reliable, but they get a bad rap that I think comes from people who don't match wire gauge thickness to the tap, and the internal blade cuts into the wire and not just the insulation, or doesn't get through the insulation correctly. I've never had a problem with them, but like the Posi-Taps, they come off the wire at 90° which sometimes prevents looming wires nicely. I like these inline Scotchloks, but they're a pain to remove and can allow for the added wire to slip out. None of these options are exactly pretty, but if you lack the soldering skills, tools, and/or patience, they're perfect for you. Just don't use electrical wire nuts; that's ghetto.

You need all numbers, though, to determine diameter; 265/75-16 and 265/75-17 differ by 1". They're a great resource. Specifically check out their tire calculators: https://tiresize.com/calculator/

Good deal. One more thing to keep in mind about LEDs is that there is a polarity...don't go cut-happy on wiring until you're sure of +/- leads. If you plan to do the reverse light bypass I described, you'll need the FSM to locate the harnesses and wiring colors.

That'd be the case. And for these lights, I don't run any relays or additional fuses; not necessary for this application.

18W ea.

Mine are wired for reverse only, and I don't intend on changing that (I'll be wiring additional exterior lighting and separate controls eventually), but adding a switch wouldn't be difficult. My backup lights have a fairly low current draw, so I would just bypass the signal for the park/neutral position sensor (AT) or back-up switch (MT) through another switch. Rather than tap wires at those switches (they're installed on the transmission), the wires are in the harnesses in the front passenger footwell. This saves the trouble of having to run wires to the back of the truck. There are a few ways of doing this, though, and if your backup lights have higher current demands, you may need to run a dedicated wire to them and use a relay to get both reverse and manual modes.

Reverse lights are easy, no drilling required. Just pop off the taillight and tap into the wire to the reverse bulb. There's enough clearance space back there.

Right on. Easy test is just pull the dome light down and rig up the connections. Should light up fine. My pod installs are in the liftgate, there are some details in the link mjotrainbrain posted earlier. Your access point will depend on your placement of the pods and length of wire. There are few grommets on under seats, trying to run through those might be an option to save from drilling new holes.

Ha, yeah, those specs must've gotten lost in the shuffle while everyone had these grand visions of undercarriage lighting. If you're just talking about a pair of these, tapping off the line shouldn't be a problem at all.

Doubt that'd be a problem. I've added 3 LED pods to the dome light wiring without issue. The relay approach is if you plan to add a fair amount of extra lights. I interpreted rock lights to be a few LED strips mounted all around the vehicle, and in that case, it'd probably work just tapped off the wire, but a relay would be the better approach.

Yeah, mine’s lit when I’m driving sometimes. That wouldn’t be a good lead to use if it means your ground lights staying on. But, I think there are ways to work around that issue.

It's in the BRake chapter, under Parking Brake Control. There's a nut under the parking brake lever; lift it up, pop a cap, adjust nut. Lever specs 44lbs of force after 6-8 notches. Adjusted mine as part of the disc brake swap.

As others have noted, a relay off the dome light circuit is probably the best bet. In my FSM (04), it's listed as pin 50, red w/ white wire, coming off the smart entrance control unit located to the right of the interior fuse panel. One notable is that I think the circuit provides a low-level voltage even when "off". Can't recall if I read this in the FSM, or simply experienced it, but sometimes the LED in my dome light stays dimly lit when it should just be off. I want to say I measured it once and got something like 3V-5 when I expected nothing.

Thanks @mjotrainbrain. I feel like that one ought to be stickied. Not sure the current count of people who've followed my approach, but I think it's somewhere around 6-8 so far. Mine has held up fine, noting a minor indent on the quarter panel where I allowed the carrier to open too quickly/hard, and the need to reinforce the latch attachment area with an aluminum angle piece riveted in. It's been on several trails and washboards, has held up well. In a few weeks I'll be taking off for bedlining and I'll see how the bracket rivnuts have held up. I've also reinforced the same latch area on @Jax99's truck, though we needed to replace one of the rivnuts the other week, too. I know @TowndawgR50's carrier took damage coming down on the trail, but I suspect even an OE-braced truck may have taken similar damage in that scenario. All things considered, it works. This one isn't perfect, but there's not really any other better option, short of a custom bumper, in my opinion.

I've known of the part, but haven't seen it. The OME strut has a tab with a nut on it instead of a slot for the line. I imagine it was just OME's way of squeezing a couple more bucks out of Nissan owners. A cable clamp and bolt sufficed. I can get you some OME vs. KYB pics if you'd like.

It's still available from their site: https://view.publitas.com/arb-4x4-accessories-1/old-man-emu-international-application-catalogue-edition-36/page/1

They're definitely not fun to compress. I've done it twice with rental compressors, and dread the thought of doing it again.

Neither of those are 33’s, though 275 and 265 by themselves don’t tell you anything about the diameter, only width. The need to trim is also dependent on the wheel offset.