hawairish

They are welded in, so not an easy replacement. Though I think Nissan does in fact have a parts number for the entire cross-members, but it's hard to tell by the diagrams which one it is (and who knows if it's still available). You may want to attempt clean up as Rebelord suggested. While in there, you could have a steel disc with a nut welded on-center, and then weld that disc to the bottom of the perch. This would give you a flat surface for bumpstops, like the OE setup (in your RH pic, the bolt that's there is holding what's left from the OE bumpstop, so that should give you an idea of how it mounts). My guess is there was some mud inside the perch that never got cleaned out and promoted rust whenever it got wet. There's not really any amount of impact that could have caused the problem (even without a bumpstop, the spring would have to compress more than 100% for the perches to make contact).

Nice! Nothing like progress. But yeah, clean that stuff! The most bell-like sounding thing in the rear that I can think of is the metal boot on the shocks.

Bummer, glad it didn't end up worse. You can buy remanufactured OEM wheels on Rock Auto, check the Wheels section for your model. Every now and then you can what you need on eBay...just be sure to use at least "OEM" in the search otherwise you get a bunch of crap results back.

Yes, if you're talking about rear spacers. The spacer will consume an equal amount of shock travel (i.e., the difference between the extended and compressed lengths of the shock). If the OE shock travel is, say, about 9" (which it is), it'll reduce to 6.5" after spacers. You'll bottom and/or top out easier, which is harsh on the shock and can cause it to fail. There are numerous threads with parts info, particularly Bilstein and Ford F-250 2wd options. DarekG's answer isn't wrong, but it answers the question for front spacers. You won't need longer struts...which is good because they don't exist. But I don't recommend 2.5" of strut spacers without an SFD. Sometimes wheels will require different lug nuts due to the thickness of the mounting surface. Aftermarket steel wheels tend to have a thinner surface than OE, which means they'll need a taller/deeper lug nut; OE steel wheels have a boss around each hole that makes it thicker. Aluminum mounting surfaces are thicker than steel. You'll need to confirm what style (acorn, mag, etc.) the wheel requires. R50s use M12x1.25 (or 12mm x 1.25mm) wheel studs and acorn-style nuts. If in doubt of the length to get, just pull off a nut, measure it's height, and get something a little longer. eBay has no shortage of size and color options.

Yeah, it does take effort to mess up, no doubt...but, if the bumpstop is on the strut rod already and blocking the view, and maybe not watching the keyed part and quickly getting the nut on...who knows. The threaded part may actually be too short to allow this, too. Just throwing it out there, though since it'd be a bad scenario.

Great job!

XPLORx4 may be onto something. Trying torquing the strut rod nut to spec (43-58 ft-lbs) now that the truck is resting on the spring. I can see that if that's loose (perhaps the spring compressors weren't compressing the spring enough during reinstall?), it would create a small gap that would only be exposed during a bump. Was the strut mount 'keyed' to the strut rod? There's a flat spot on the rod to correspond with the flat spot on the integrated bushing of the strut mount.

BTW, about the sway bar...not really advocating one approach over the other. After all, it's just another one of those personal things. I liked how it cornered before taking it off with an open diff...after the LSD swap, it was great...it just hooked up and stayed straight. After taking it off, it was just a bit more difficult to finish turns in the closest lane. The on ramps near me are long, gradual, curved ramps, and sometimes I need to tip-toe which leaves less time to get up to freeway speeds. Took it off-road a few times, but doubt I'd have noticed an real articulation loss there (besides, the lack of a PHB drop probably already limits droop).

I noticed a difference when removing mine. It's too loose around corners for my liking, even with OMEs. My articulation was fine with it on, and I'll probably put it back on soon. Had a recent freeway event that puckered me up a bit. Guy came into my lane pretty hard at 70mph, I hit brakes and did a minor swerve, but the truck sway and countersteer almost took me back into the lane rather viciously. Close call to clipping another vehicle. I don't think it would have behaved like that with the bar still on.

Awesome, thanks!

Well, you make a point. But I'm interested in seeing the exposed area where the trailer hitch mounts, if you don't mind. Can only see so much on mine with everything still mounted.

Think you could put up a couple more pics of everything being removed? Gets me thinking about a new bumper that integrates the hitch

Wouldn't disconnect it...the ends are just going to hit the strut or LCA. You could remove it, but I think you'd be fine just tightening up the links. If you remove it, it's a good time to check out the sway bar bushings...mine also wore thin and caused a little screech and tap at times, but also allowed the bar to shift a little to one side and allow metal-metal contact.

I'm with XPLORx4; sway bar end link(s). I had a pop on mine from a loose nut. Torque to 61-76 ft-lbs.

The R50's have a bumper and bumper cover. You can remove the bumper cover and leave the bumper and it offers about the same impact protection.

Thought about it, the few times I've removed the bumper cover. The cover is just for aesthetics, of course...it'd free up some ground clearance behind the tires, but wouldn't be worth it unless I also removed my hitch.

They look exactly like mine, so I'd assume them to just be some generic set that 4wd Pros, RR, and a couple others just slap stickers on (that eventually just fall off anyway). No shortage of some on AliExpress that come without stickers.

I think all the write-ups are now lacking pics, and MY1PATH and I might be the only ones around with firsthand knowledge of the process. We took slightly different routes...he machined down an extra disc/plate as basically a half-disc, and I rearranged the stacks so that I could use one additional piece. I took this approach on two LSDs, and both have done well. I don't have a write per se, but FWIW: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/40280-was-the-factory-lsds-breakaway-torque-any-good/

I can deny it. All 33-spline.

I have the RR's and have not had any problems with them.

About the hood...might seem counter-intuitive, but did you try pressing down first? Maybe a little WD40 on the latch if visible through the grille?

Put two V8s on your pathy.

There's no factory front locking diff or LSD for the QX4 or R50. Perhaps you're talking about locking hubs?

Can't help you with your actual problem, but you should be able to get all the info you need from these links: http://parts.nissanusa.com -- just key in your VIN and search. The 5-6 digit number you referenced above (21305) is just the part code. The part number is the 10-digit one with the hyphen. The part code is usually the first 5 digits of the part number, but not always. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/2006_Pathfinder -- this is the Factory Service Manual (FSM). Indispensable resource. Refer to the "fwd.pdf" for the breakdown of sections. The most likely section for your problem is in to Engine Cooling System ("CO"). I use courtesyparts.com for most of my OEM part purchases ("nis10" for a discount). You can also reference part numbers there. Some of the time you can reference OEM part numbers at Rock Auto, but it depends. Some guys here have mixed emotions about RA, but I've never had a problem with them.

Whoa. So, um, yeah...you do know you'll need to provide a root-cause analysis to us on that one, someday, right? No skirting that discussion with these folks here...(welcome to the forum!). Well...I'd probably first determine which fuses are related to the All-Mode system you have and pull them. Not sure if disconnecting the switch is sufficient. I'd be disconnecting any harness that connect to the t-case (like solenoids), too, for safe measure. The front driveshaft is...obviously out of the picture already. Bottom line is that as long as nothing starts spinning that chain, it should be as 2wd as you can get it. But otherwise, I'm with Cuong regarding DIY replacement if the budget affords it. I'd guess that a local P&P has it for $100-$200, and there are plenty on eBay. Not sure how common the All-Mode TCs were in late-model PFs, but all QX4s had them (some older ones were a little different, I believe, judging by the fact they had a switch and lever before being switch-only).