hawairish

Is it correctable with welded patch and/or re-drill? That was one of my concerns when I put the KrF bracket on my buddy's truck...it's a little tricky figuring out the hole alignment. A small misalignment translates into a larger one at the upper PH mount.

Thanks man! I can absolutely share these dimensions...like nearly all of my projects, I end up sketching things first, then building from those. So, it's just a matter of putting dimensions to sketch. I'll see what I can do about getting those posted up. If anything I need to remeasure the bolt hole positions in the floor...it's an irregular pattern. But everything else stayed true dimensionally. My welding skillz still need improvementz before I go making things for others, but I'm working on it.

Specifically about gearing, you're already limited. Yours has 4.363 stock, and your only option is 4.636. Nissan has OE 4.90s from Xterras that will work, but the front gears don't fit an R50. With a Dana, the 4.88 will pair fine with those, and there are aftermarket 5.13/5.14 options. For what it's worth, I run a 3" SFD, worn OMEs, front and rear lockers, 4.636, and 32". My only gripe is ground clearance; my front skid has paid the price. But, I've had zero issues with the IFS on red trails; approach and departure angles might be my most limiting factors. Nothing about my current setup has given me any grief whatsoever, but a SAS has been on my mind to improve the aforementioned issues, and provide a proper front drivetrain needs to run 35". But, IFS is going to beat out SA in ride quality any day. All CVs on all IFS (and IRS, for that matter) are prone to failure when outside of their normal operating angle, which all lifts (except SFD) contribute to. Manual hubs don't contribute to CV failure at all; they're just a tool to reduce drivetrain load. The QX4 transfer case is probably ok (lower gears than the part-time unit), but just has electrical components that can fail. The rest of the drivetrain is stouter than any Toyota offering (not counting older front straight axles). We should probably try to dispel a few notions about your truck; it can be a quite capable truck even in stock form.

The SAS is going to be what you make of it. Modifying that 3-link setup is synonymous with custom SAS. You may do all that work and it rides and tracks poorly. Same probably can't be said about an SFD...there's no guesswork; it's basically a body lift for half of the vehicle and the geometries and characteristics remain unchanged. Your real question is, "how is the Pathfinder IFS?", and the answer is, "as good as you might expect from an IFS system." I think your real consideration should be based on how you intend to use the vehicle, off-roading wise. Forget the "overlanding" blanket term for a moment; an SAS doesn't help you boil water at the end of the day. At 35" tires, you're at the limit with the R50. Not saying you can't go bigger—and I know others have—but at that point, you've maxed or exceeded useful range on wheel travel, gearing, and steering and suspension component stress.

Gotcha. Yes, a plate with more surface area and mounting holes would beef it up. Perhaps I could provide an optional plate and nut strip for those willing to drill more holes.

Makes sense, but I'll have to see how yours differs. As shown, the outer plate is currently 2" wide, while the inner has 1.5" diameter pads where the weld nuts sit. I will probably pair the inner and outer pieces to be 1.5" uniformly (they were previously paired before considering 1/2" hardware). Adding material beyond that just adds weight that doesn't contribute significantly to clamping unless there's additional hardware. As is, this adds a pretty substantial chunk of supplemental steel to the equation. I intended to use 1/2" hardware there, but realized that's only achievable by enlarging the unthreaded holes...something I don't want to do to maintain a bolt-on/no-drill solution. That puts me down to 3/8" hardware instead...7/16" and M12 fits but is uncommon and cost ineffective, while M10 is just cost ineffective. For it's purpose, it's beyond adequate.

Here's how the nut plate that slips into the chassis will work, sorta: The finished piece will have weld-on nuts and a slight bend to avoid an indentation on the chassis. The tab at the bottom and tongue shape allows the strip to rest in there near the correct height and depth; simple installation aide.

Did a more complete mock-up yesterday, and here was that outcome: I haven't clocked the release lever yet, but that's what 8" of clearance looks like. I struggled to find a good place for the control box, though; there just wasn't a good place above the channel, and I'm not going to try to squeeze it into the engine bay. I will end up under-mounting it to the winch channel. I'm not a huge fan of the look, but it saves me the trouble of extending lines, and it'll probably be concealed anyway once there's a bumper around it. I made the following modifications, and I'm open to any feedback about them: 1. Removed the control box mounting plate. Without having various control boxes on hand, it's hard to know what provisions if any will work for all (most). I couldn't even get a suitable setup for mine. 2. Changed the upper and lower brackets to use four 1/2" hardware sets instead of six 3/8", and reduced the holes-per-plate to two. Less hardware, larger hardware, less material. 3. Changed the plate the winch attaches to by contouring a little closer to the mounting holes, and reverting to round holes instead of squares. I think more contact area around the plate will be better, and this sheds a little weight. I will have to eventually confirm if the GoPlus winch channel is identical to the Badlands one. 4. Removed square alignment holes from main bracket, and cleared out the opening where the control box mounting plate would have gone. I got the idea of square holes from installing the R50 ARB bumper, and it was a rather nice feature during installation to close up gaps. But, for this purpose, it makes mock-up a little more difficult because you can't center things up as easily. I considered making the squares tighter to accommodate carriage bolts, but then it's one more type of hardware to factor in. Current design: Nissan was odd about the tow hooks. I had only been mocking up on the LH side, figuring it mirrored RH, but not wanting to fuss with the washer bottle yet. Well, the pattern is slightly different. On top of that, my RH tow hook only has 3 holes, but it hides a 4th mounting position. The older tow hooks used it. Blows my mind why Nissan couldn't have been consistent on that one.

I remember seeing the JCR options a while ago, and I liked them. But that's the nice thing... could surely omit welding on the brackets, or perhaps modify them, and find a way to attach to these brackets. I've hopefully taken enough "custom" part of this into consideration. Still have to think about whether selling off the plans is viable for me, though.

Ah, I didn't realize they even did those pay-per-credit, vs. full curriculum, any more. Looks like that would be closer to $500. Something to consider!

Pretty much this. Thanks! I already have a deal with him to exchange a set of these for some side graphics work, so I'm hopeful for these to work out perfectly for his application. Good idea, but it might take some effort for me to branch out. There's a large community college presence in the valley here, and one school in particular focuses on technical education. But, they might be too structured for ad hoc work. In the short term, I'll probably stick with my local steel supply since I'll need other stuff from them anyway. I would love to take a welding class, but the same technical college wants almost $12K for the main course and a plate welding course. Probably justified if I was making a career from it, but for that money I could buy a good welder and plasma table, and then wing it. I did my first welding project the other month, a cargo rack for the truck, but am still green to the process. I'll get there eventually.

I was going to try a hidden mount at first. I want the winch more than the bumper. Admittedly, I found myself reading through onespiritbrain's write-up (http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/43065-stock-bumper-winch-mount/), which I particularly liked the results, and same approach of using an existing winch channel. I had been considering that approach for a while, too, so I was really happy to see that build. When mocking it up, the ideal channel height ended up being right under, or maybe a little overlap, of the crush can studs. To benefit the most, the studs would need to be cut, or the channel notched. However...the best mounting option I found for this would have actually been to mount the channel upside down, just below the bottom of the OE metal bumper. This wouldn't impact approach angle, would fit nicely behind the bumper cover, would not require cutting the bumper, and put the fairlead out of the top-middle opening with minimal plastic cutting. Of course, the winch would be upside, but that's not an issue. I decided to not take this approach because eventually I will make a rear bumper, so I might as well pair them. I still have the thought of kitting these for hidden bumper use, but there are too many subtle variations between the old and new R50s and QX4s. The bumper and bumper covers are all different in appearance (but similar in shape), and I don't know what mounting impact that would have. I don't think I could provide as universal of a solution without having all those vehicles and bumper variations handy. That is not to say I won't return to this idea, as it would take minimal effort to redesign these brackets. It's funny how projects evolve. My original original plan was to buy a weld-it-yourself bumper from Northwest Trail Innovations (http://nwtrailinnovations.com/) for a 3rd Gen 4Runner (96-02) or possibly 1st Gen Tacoma (96-04) and seeing if I could modify it to fit the R50. The R50 bumper frame width is 34.25", while those come in at 39.5", so there's real estate to replicate the frame horns. The fender-to-fender dimensions, including fender flares, and fender lead-in (I'm making up a term for that flat spot at the front of the fender between the headlight and the wheel arch) are basically identical to the R50 according to measurements I took at the JY for a 98 4Runner SR5 the other year. Both trucks have flat-top bumpers under the grille and headlights, too. I'd much rather go that direction than trying to adapt an XJ bumper. Although I plan to build my own bumper at this point, I'm not ruling out this approach down the road. It's just a costlier and riskier R&D process, but would open up a new level of aftermarket bumpers. I need to think about sharing the CAD files further. The thought has crossed my mind. It's more about the personal investment and controlling some information gained from it. I don't mind at all sharing content here, and it's great if someone sees my design and says, "man, that's how I'm going to do it!". Totally cool. You could even show a shop the pics and ask them to replicate it, that's fine. But handing over the files for replication is a bit different, you know? As for the skid, not sure what you mean by it bolting to a fender. However, these brackets won't interfere with any skid mounting at all, as the leave the bottom of the radiator support untouched. I'm redoing my skid plates because my front one is bashed up and dented, and because it's for non-SFD where I have a 3" SFD. My front skid will likely incorporate an angled lip protruding in front of the radiator support to protect the exposed (and ugly) power steering line. I hope to simplify the installation and removal process, too...kind of a pain getting mine down for oil changes. My mid skid is in much better shape, but I plan to redesign it and the probably the missing link, too. I'm exploring other options while I'm at it. Not sure if these will see daylight as products, since they're specific to my 3" SFD kit (unless I start selling those...[insert evil laugh here]).

Thanks! Mounting was something I went back and forth about. I originally planned to use the original 6 points (4x M10 holes + 2x M10 studs), plus only 1 of the unthreaded holes behind the bracket, since the bracket covered that hole. It was basically the bracket as shown in the 2nd pic. After chatting with TowndawgR50 a bit about his XJ bumper that shifted (and how he only has 2+1 bolts for his tow hooks), he convinced me to add the extension tongue. Although the metal in that area is only 2mm thick, it constructs part of the chassis "frame" tube, and is worth factoring in. Pricewise, not sure yet, but surely affordable. Right now, I don't have a remote idea on what material and labor/services will cost, and need to price out all the hardware as well. I'd love to get a plasma table (I currently have a CNC router), but my local steel supply store offers the service. I've limited the construction to only two metal thicknesses, and the LH and RH brackets assemble using the same parts, so I can give them two data files will all the parts tabbed together. That should simplify things for them. If the price is extraordinary for this shop, I'll surely shop around.

I posted a teaser pic about this on the 'What did you do...' thread the other day, but time to shed more light on the project. Long story short, I'm making a winch bumper for myself, but that idea has evolved into making a builder kit for others to build their own custom bumper around. This is the progress... I'm still iterating through some small tweaks, but here are the general features: Uses an off-the-shelf winch channel, such as the Badlands (Harbor Freight) or GoPlus (Amazon)—inexpensive, universal, and the 36" width is perfect. Weld-together kit, but entirely bolt-on to truck; no cutting, no drilling. (Well...maybe a little trimming on the windshield washer bottle's plastic lower mount, but that's it so far.) 3/4" shackle mount (eyelet is 1-1/8" thick, or 3 layers of 3/8") Retains factory tow hooks Attachment plates for building any bumper style By itself, a winch mount Uses 3/8" steel for the bracket, and 3/16" for all attachment pieces. Uses all existing tow hook and bumper attachment points, plus three existing unthreaded chassis holes (blue piece in sketch is a nut-strip that inserts into the chassis); 18 total chassis attachment points using M10 and 1/2" hardware. 8" of vertical winch clearance. A side plate (red piece in sketch) provides mounting surfaces for the control box. Slotted channel on the main bracket that allows for attaching things. Currently, working on a bracket that allows the 00-04 OE fog lights to be attached. The bumper attachment plates (green and purple pieces) are what the rest of the bumper is built around. This allows the bumper to be completely removable. The upper plate's shape allows for using up to 1/4" plate on the top and front edges. Of course, the plate can be cut, notched, or bored to use tubing, but is basically intended to be a blank canvas. The lower plates (one inside, one outside the bracket) allow for additional mounting points. The inner plates, in particular, can be used to build a receiver tube attachment, or mounting a skid plate (00-04 models have a power steering return line that is exposed). I may incorporate use of carriage bolts (think single-tool tightening) and make it so the bumper can be rotated up for easy installation, or rotated down for service, winch access, even a step for engine bay access, by pivoting on the lowest attachment bolt. I'm also designing new skid plates, and once that's done, I will be getting everything plasma cut. Hoping to do all that very soon. I guess the real question at this point is if anyone would be interested in something like this? We obviously have very little aftermarket options between ARB (is this still even available?) and TAG (I can't stand the mounting setup). There's been a bit more chat about using XJ bumpers lately, but I'm not convinced that's a better option. While this isn't a complete bumper, I think this tackles the toughest problems about starting one. Down the line, I might make some weld-it-yourself kits that use this as the backbone. Even if you can't weld, this would grossly simplify the process for a local shop that could make you one. Questions and feedback welcome!

Right on, 01Silvapathy! Glad to see there have been so many others able to do this. Snowboarder12345, this is what I used: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006SIRYGG (there are cheaper versions, but I think they have a grey housing?). Though, this one seems pretty cool...don't remember seeing it before: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B0083Y0WL2 Same as the last, except also has a 2nd bank of red LEDs that can be used as a brake light: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0764NCCJH

Pretty sure hes completing his SFD install, and his replacements are a bit longer.

Do you need all the brackets? There are three of them. Im due for a JY visit within the next month or so.

Thanks. Kitting is already at the front of my mind. I'm building it specifically to be the base for other bumper builds. And yep, I've got a CNC router. Been sitting on it for a while...it's time to use it!

Other brackets will attach to those square holes, and the actual bumper will be built off of those brackets. A square hole allows for a little more adjustment in any direction vs. round hole. I'll have more details in a separate post soon, but the real project is a winch bumper "builder" kit that supports both plate and tube bumper builds. I'll be taking a square and rectangular tube approach.

I started prototyping my winch bumper...

Excellent post! Want to switch to rear discs brakes while you're at it? I know a guy with a set...

Per Slart's video, that's a front shock stamped as 56110-88G00, listed as 56110-88G25, replaced by 56110-89P26. Rear is stamped 56210-88G00, listed as 56210-88G25, replaced by 56210-88G26. Looks like they're about $135/ea front and $150/ea rear, and CourtesyParts.com doesn't list them as being discontinued. Out of stock there, but seemingly available.

Yeah, no thanks! Bad timing on this sort of issue. Might need to pony up and take it to a mechanic for a diagnosis.

Are all the springs intact? Are rear springs still attached at both ends? Any other noises?

Sounds like ABS kicking in. Was the truck bouncing/bucking, or did it just feel like the brakes weren't doing much and pulsing rapidly? The cold shouldn't affect braking, in general. Was it doing that during each braking attempt?