hawairish

I feel like I've read this post a dozen times and I'm still totally baffled. But, I'll throw some ideas and other questions out there anyway... You changed the t-case fluid...what fluid did you use, and presumably it got filled to the bottom of the fill hole? How are your motor mounts, or transmission mount? Are the motor mount spacers secured properly? Do you have a missing link? If not, entertain me by carefully inspecting the subframe just above the rear LCA bushings. How are the bushings on the front differential brackets? Might be hard to see all of them, but give them a look. I had similar thoughts about the front diff as onespiritbrain. His procedure would check for broken teeth on gears, but you probably would have found bits when changing the fluids. But, still worth checking. It's easier to just lock the hub, leave in 2wd, and lift the wheel off the ground. Spin the tire very slowly and watch the front driveshaft. Could also try locking the hubs, engaging 4H, unlocking the hubs, then take it for a spin. Can also engage one hub at time (i.e., 3wd) and see if anything changes. As for the t-case not disengaging, that seems independent of the shakes, and more likely to be fluid dependent. System won't know if the truck is turning left or right, just needs a moment to de-couple. You can test the disengagement sensitivity by leaving the truck in 4H when the lever is in 2H and then rotating a tire (hubs locked) or the front driveshaft (hubs unlocked) and seeing how little rotation in one direction will disengage the coupling sleeve in the t-case. Couple ways to get there, but basically, put it in 4H, drive straight forward until 4wd dash light is on, come to stop, then shift into 2H (yes, normally you wouldn't do this, but make an exception). At that point, the lever is in 2H, but truck is 4H...you can shut off the truck and return to the ON position, not-started. Don't forget there's also a switch that controls that light, so might be worth checking its signal (i.e., remove and check continuity).

Yes, he did have a hitch-mount carrier at one point, then eventually did the tire carrier mod. This particular carrier Ive always been a fan of. Its the reason I had he link handy. Just used it the other week, actually, to reference some dimensions on his skid plate (though, we seem to have different dimensions). His bumper wouldnt suit me due to the departure angle losses, but its an excellent solution nonetheless. Move everything up to replace the OE bumper and itd be killer.

All good! You can pay the community back by posting up your version of the project. The owner's email is at the bottom of the main page.

Free$: https://sites.google.com/site/r50projects4free/home Specifically for your request: https://sites.google.com/site/r50projects4free/EDDMS_REAR_WHEEL_CARRIER.pdf

Oh...and can I get show of virtual hands of those with interest in these? I have a quote for a small batch (5) and hope to start talking prices soon.

Parts are finally real... They turned out well, but admittedly, I'm not over the moon about them. Not at all bad for a first pass, but I expected some parts to come out a little more precise. However...I think part of it is inherent and unavoidable due to the plasma cutting process, but the shop also had some issues with my files. Basically some weird ghosting where all vectors were being overlaid by some crappy segmented version of the shape, and it was confusing their pathing application. They didn't catch it until after the first cuts, and said rounded corners basically came out looking like saw blades. Yikes! For whatever reason I couldn't detect the lines in 3 different CAD applications, but after chatting with TowndawgR50 a bit (he knows how frustrating this really was!), he gave me a suggestion to try. The shop corrected parts where necessary, but probably didn't give as much detail to all parts as I would have if I could see the problem. But, I'm not complaining because they were willing to fix the files for free this time around. Some close ups... Everything is totally usable though. I can fix some things, but I feel like the only true workaround is waterjet, and you don't want to know what I was quoted for that! Tacked up...fit as expected. Look ma, no jack stands! Haven't done anything with the front skid yet. I got two of the Pathfinder plates cut, bent this one to 90° and might see what 75° looks like, but haven't welded up the slit. Thinking I will paint the PS line and area black, but paint the plate silver or something vivid. Since I'm losing my sleeper status with this project, might as well make it known I proudly use this thing. Side story about my local club's kick-off run the other week...buddy of mine (the guy with the red Frontier) was standing amongst the crowd as I was picking my obstacle path. I opted for a tougher route than what everyone else had taken (I've taken this route before without issue...well, except bending my trailing arms...and bent them even more on this particular pass...I bought the steel to make new ones). Some guys I hadn't met yet were asking him, "That guy thinks his stock Pathfinder will make that?" and I'm told there was even a "I'll get my winch ready." He was like, "Yeah, stock Pathfinder. He'll be fine." I surprised a lot of people that day. Really hope some videos or pics surface. Anway, was only able to get the LH bracket welded up. RH tomorrow, and maybe skids. Bumper next weekend hopefully.

Ooops, sorry, I missed that.

Ok, so I can't attest to any of the Spicer p/ns. BTW, have you seen this post before? http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/25609-spicer-u-joints-vs-oem-nissan/. Per Fleurys' note, the FSM does indicate the clip type. Just checked the 2002 FSM, and 4WD MTs are outer for rear driveshaft, everything else inners. The PDQ 1-0029 joints I referenced in that post, and the GMB 215-0029 I carry as spares won't help you. But for reference for anyone else, the GMBs are listed as the Brute Force series, made in Japan, use inner clips, and have a long zerk fitting on the cross between the caps. Neapco specs the 1-0029 at 1.103" cap diameter and 2.205" lock-up (max gap on the yoke for the clips). For the fronts, Neapco 1-0449 are made in US, use inner clips, and have a short zerk on a cap end. Neapco specs at 1.063" cap and 1.93" lock-up.

I keep spares, so I can get you some dimensions later. I want to say I tried one of those rear p/ns and it wasnt a proper fit. Was off maybe 1-2mm in a dimension and made it difficult to get the snap rings on.

Agreed. I like the handling as-is, too. I only removed it this time around because of the trail I was running, but in reality, didn't seem any profound effect.

You and I are in the same boat. I've got two young kids and there's no shortage of gear to haul (both of which were factors for my cargo rack...I still owe you some dimensions). I mentioned my pucker moment earlier in the post...I put it back on today. I don't think there are gobs of articulation to be had by removing the sway bar...or at least not enough to really warrant removal for me personally, all things considered. I think at this point, it's more important to get the panhard bar down to the right level to maximize articulation when I get the LR springs (hint: I'm making a bracket...in fact, I just glued together a wooden version 15 minutes ago.) I think you mean just end links and not disconnects, but yeah, it would be great if those work. I was planning to cut up some OE ones and extend them, but this seems like a much easier option if it's the right length. I kept hoping to find some 4Runners versions that were longer, since they have pretty much the exact same design as ours.

Funny you should ask. I removed the sway bar and links for an off-road trip just last week, and that might have been the only time since my last post. The hang-up for me was just not coming up with a good way to pin the sway bar up. I liked the idea of some sort of secondary bungee or spring that allowed the ends of the sway to 'float' when the links were disconnected. A bracket on the axle side would be annoying to reach with the tires in the way. It was also evident that over time, dirt got into the joints I used, which made it a little difficult to remove. Add to the fact my complaints about the spring density making one side tougher to compress. I will note that the joints have otherwise held up well over the years without any maintenance, but there was always some chatter to them. Lastly, street driving to and from the trail without the sway bar was just too noticeable for me...and not having it while on the trail was not noticeable enough (except when I was bombing through the trail and kind of wished it was still attached). My springs are worn, so that's probably a factor. I'll be going the LR spring route soon, and will probably put the bar back on today actually (have some highway driving tomorrow). I'm also going to see about using these front sway bar end links for a 05-09 LR3 to replace the disconnects: They look longer than the stock links, and instead of a fixed shaft at the top (RH side in the pic), there's a joint on them. Not sure the stud sizes, but I'll make it work. No plans to do the fronts, pretty much for the same reasons. Because of the angle of the bar ends, there's no good place to pin them up without contact from some other component.

You can find them a couple bucks cheaper as "14mm camber bolts". I use these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJFOVR2 As for tires, I've been running the Cooper Adventurer AT, which are the Pep Boys clone of the Discoverer AT3, for maybe 2.5 years and 12K miles (yes, I don't drive it much) over 5 tires. They've been a superb highway tire, and have done very well off-road. I'll usually take them down to 15 psi. Tread life seems fine, some tiny concerns about some cuts to the sidewall and lugs chunking at the edge of the tread, but I feel this is to be expected because my off-road usage. I've been pleased with them.

I have those ones. They were on the truck when I bought it used a few years ago. I know that the previous owner and I have put them to work. No issues whatsoever.

Minor update on this... So the past two weeks have been pretty lame. I found a few shops around with cutting services and requested quotes for my initial parts, and for a larger follow-up order. It's pretty discouraging that these "no job too small" companies couldn't even reply in a remotely timely fashion. Very disappointing, to say the least. On the bright side, the company that gave me the most attention—my local steel supply—has also produced the best quotes. And after waiting as long as I could for other companies to reply, I finally put in an order today. So, I'm pretty stoked this finally moving forward. First pass at parts should be ready in a week. More details to follow...

That RPM sounds about right. But, the AT RPM range has always been a bit high in my opinion...really wish we had at least one more gear. Not sure it has much of an impact on mileage though...while the gearing makes it easier to turn the tires, it also requires more revs to do so. My mileage has never been that great (14-15), even on freeway.

It's been a long time since I really dug into an engine, or a conversion, for that matter. It involved a 91 240SX coupe and an RB20DET. There was also a 96 240SX that went from AT to MT along the way. The 98 Frontier might become KA24DET this year... As for gearing, I'm an advocate of it. In fact, when I swapped in the gears, that was perhaps the most notable difference on the first test drive. It was just more responsive. The VQ can surely support larger tires without a gear change, but anything that you can recoup after increasing tire size is worth it, particularly if you plan to wheel it. Improves crawl ratio, easier on drivetrain, more efficient, recovers torque, among other things. I mean, I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to change gears if I wasn't installing lockers, but used differentials are relatively inexpensive (I paid $300 for front and rear diffs).

And maybe with your busted engine, spare transmission and t-case...I'll VQ swap and SAS my 2WD Frontier! I would love to do a 5MT swap on the R50, too, though...hmmm.....

So are the 1988 ones different from the disc brake cables from trucks up to 95? Maybe I misread a post above.

Probably too late to use "Nis10" as a discount for Courtesy parts?

Well, I found a few JDM Pathfinder engines on eBay that have that different passenger motor mount plate. This one seemed to have some good pics: https://www.ebay.com/itm/253387604846

Excellent! Yes, looks like it was found.

Kent, I really hate to mention this, but I'm a bit curious about that engine. For one, it's got the aluminum valve covers...looks like a 2001 engine. Two, those motor mounts...I don't recognize that. Ours are taller, the two studs are oriented 90° from shown, and that plate would prevent it from mounting to the subframe. However...I would be fairly confident that the upper motor mount bracket from your engine would carry over to the block and your motor mounts re-used. The upper oil pan looks the same, at least. And man, your upper pan is pristine compared to the donor!

Works for me! I get the sentimental value part. While I don't care for my car from high school (86 Mazda 323 sedan), my 98 Frontier from college is still around. Well, be mindful that converting to 4wd will require far more than just the drivetrain, and for everything you'll have to remove, you'll have to do it twice. Center console, gauge cluster possibly for the 4wd lights (they might only need bulbs, not sure...but consider any issues with the differences in miles on the gauge if you have to swap them), TCU, ECU possibly, all wiring harnesses, etc. The drivetrain stuff is probably the easiest, it'll be all the little things that might wear someone down.

Just curious, by why swap vs. buying a used 4WD? Seems like a massive undertaking, even with a full donor. I'm inclined to think everything up to 04 will suffice.