herm

there was a good thread on ACs discussion boards about these. the link sells sensors from a variety of manufacturers. www.oxygensensors.com

I've rolled 100,000 miles on original wheel bearing grease with no problems. I'll repack or replace them this season along with new brake rotors (also original). Unless you spend a lot of time submerged I don't see the immediate need at 30k. Wheel bearings usually start to complain before they go completely bad.

Mine comes on in spurts. For a while, around 50,000 miles on it, it was on constantly. Dealer would reset it, and it would be on before I got home. It may have been a no fault code at the time, I don't recall - but must be since the dealer didn't try to sell me parts to fix it! It was on and off for a few months, then stayed off - no idea why. Now its back on, and code is O2 sensor, which I'm ignoring for now. It's been on for about a month, when we rest it it stays off for a week or so. Now it's just an annoying orange light on the dash... m.

So... does Steve at Off Road fab have a template to duplicate that bumper? At some point in the next few years there will be a growing demand for R50 bumpers. A small demand, certainly - but whoever puts one on the market first will probably find a few buyers. Can he make one without you actually having to offer your truck for measurements again?

AC sells a couple suspension packages - they are (i think) the only on-line source for 2 inch lift coils. Several importers carry Old Man Emu coils. Search the AC discussion boards for comprehensive threads on the 2 inch coils. They have some minor drawbacks, mainly 'topping out' at full extension, but overall are the most aggressive set up you can run. Emu coils (which i have on my 97) don't lift as much, but are taller than stock, and have no quirky drawbacks. Whichever way you go, consider installing rear shocks, KYB gas struts, strut towers, and strut bearings at the same time. There is some sentiment that the Nissan strut bearings are the best choice - a few problems have happenned with KYB bearings. But, I have the KYB bearings with no issues, so that may be random luck. Tirerack.com has that stuff, so does AC. If lift is the goal, some folks have fabricated a spacer for the top of the strut to gain another inch. Typically, the front sits a bit lower due to the engine weight, so the spacer levels out the unibody. Gotta fab that item, it isn't for sale. On both of these lists (NPORA and AC) you'll find a few very built R50s - look for screen names XPLORx4, burgpath and System-F, among others. Welcome to the world of Nissan!

what is the mileage interval for the bushing replacement? I did mine (all 4 links, Nissan rubber) at 65k, and it has been fine ever since (now I'm around 103k) I haven't heard of anyone having to replace them that often. m.

sweet! that looks great.

A vehicles weight capacity is based on a combination of things - such as coil springs and suspension parts, right thru to brake strength, wheel bearing and axle diameters. They determine the ratio of strongest to weakest parts, and formulate a number from that. Compare to a F150, F250 and F350 - the whole truck gets progressively beefier as the rating increases. It has less to do with a unibody vs frame construction. by replacing the stock suspension with an aftermarket (stiffer) suspension you don't technically (legally) increase the vehicles weight capacity. However, in my experience, that approach does allow carrying a very full load without compromising the suspension. meaning - with the stock suspension I was consistently bottoming out the rear coils, and the pathy was a handful to drive. With an Old Man Emu suspension, the same heavy load does not compress the coils to the axles, and the vehicle is much easier to drive. You have to be very aware of the increased load, just like trailering a heavy load, or driving an F250 with a full load of wood. You need to go slower, recognize increased braking distances and an increased chance of roll over in a high speed evasive move. On Pathys, the drivetrain is pretty beefy, the brakes are adequate (rear discs would be nice) and unless you're carrying steel plate the relatively small cargo size is self-limiting concerning just how much weight you can physically fit in it. A crapload of camping gear can certainly add up, but even a few 100 quart coolers packed with ice and...let's say 'energy drinks', shouldn't become a dangerously heavy load. In theory, you should be able stuff 5 250 pound adults and 2 100+ pound dogs in it. That would be 1450 pounds, which is a lot of camping gear. It also exceeds the vehicles weight limit, and on a stock suspension you would have a lowrider pathy. You would be at risk for increased chance of tire failure, suspension failuure, or any number of other problems. That would also be dependent, in part, to road conditions and driving styles. every holiday season we all see a few family trucksters squatted right down on the rear end because they are seriously overloaded, but most seem to survive. here's a link: www.edmunds.com/ownership/driving/articles/46586/article.html

I think the Pathys hold thier own with any SUV style 4x4 out there. There is less aftermarket support, true - but that has always been true with Nissan vs Jeep/Toyota. If you line up the basic qualifications/specs: such as IFS, unibody, true low transfer case, the pathy is equally capable. I've always been impressed with the clean undercarriage of the R50s - unlike so many US designs there just aren't alot of vulnerable parts hanging low, like shock mounts and such. 4x4parts.com sells most of the known aftermarket stuff, and yes, you can put ARB lockers in it, and lift it 2+ inches and run 32 in tires if you want. Independent fabricators make steel skid plates (black panther). Dean Thayer has run the Rubicon in his, and several other folks have pushed the pathy pretty deep. So you can feel confident that the truck is capable off road. Not invincible, but reasonably capable in factory trim. welcome to the pathy crowd! mike

My check engine light came on pretty often for about 4 months, a couple years ago, and finally went away. Dealer and local shop reset it - I forgot what the code was, but they all felt it was a false reading. m.

Weathertech makes a version that is fitted inside the door frame - no adhesive.

I have a gray retractable rear cover thing from my 97 that hasn't seen daylight since we bought it in 2000. I'm pretty sure it's in perfect condition, stored in a finished basement. Would gladly sell for $50. You can email me off list at cyberherm@verizon.net

You Canadians got all the cold weather tricks figured out! What is this secret spray? Although I like tkpaths reply - I mean, c'mon, a spray? This is fixing a complicated, mechanical door on an over-engineered truck.... not cleaning the shower...!

I don't have any experience with them, but check out this link: http://members.cox.net/mainpages/subPages/brakes.htm

The struts will leak, and this seepage should be visible around the seal. Just cut the front wheels far right or left, and take a look. Maybe wipe a rag around the strut and see if you get some gunk. Once they begin leaking, they can't do thier job very well. Another 'test' is to play around slamming on the brakes and see how much front end dive you get. But without another, newer, pathy to compare this test can be a bit abstract. You could ask your dealer or mechanic to take a look next time you're in for service, that inspection is usually a freebie. It seems most of the R50 struts die a slow death between 70-90k miles. The favorite replacement is a KYB G2 gas strut - this is a thicker strut, and has a firmer ride. And they cost a bit less than factory Nissan. I ordered them from tirerack.com, but any local shop can get them as well. I had the Nissan dealer do the install, it was about $200 labor, and the struts were about $160/pair. There are some other parts to consider replacing as well, there is a strut mount with a plastic bearing in it that wears out. Factory Nissan is a fine replacement, these are about $35 each, and KYB sells one too. If you live in a muck-weather region, there are aftermarket rubber boots for the struts also, AC sells these, which will help the seals last longer. They are about $30/pair, I think.

If you really feel the pathy is that loose it may be a suspension issue - I mean the tires are one thing, certainly - that makes a huge difference. But when the front struts get soft (actually, they leak) they wreck havoc on the whole set-up, and maybe something like that could be exagerating the rear end traction, or lack of. Suspension issues creep up on us that way, because we adjust our style to the slow demise of the handling, and don't realise how much we're over-compensating. When I replaced the front struts at 70k miles it felt like a whole new car. m.

It's hard to say for certain how much of a difference adding weight would make. It's a proven trick for snow, certainly a standard for 2wd trucks, so it can't hurt. But a full tank of gas adds significant wieght also, yet I can't 'feel' a difference between a full or an 1/8 tank. A few sand bags, or bird seed, wouldn't be a bad idea - but overall it might not be worth the effort. m.

I have 31x10.5 BFGs and they are great on snow, but in 2wd the rear is all over the place - that's not purely a tire issue, it's also a right-foot issue. Even in 4wd the Pathy will drift and slide under throttle, most vehicles will unless there is a computer controlled traction system. And what fun is that? Well, actually - my Subaru has that, and in many ways it is a LOT of fun. But in any driving condition it's key to know and respect both the vehicles driving limits, and the drivers. The Pathy will swap ends in a heartbeat on any slippery surface (dirt or snow) if you mash the throttle. That's not neccesarily a bad thing. The Suby has a zillion microprocessors which make it almost impossible to swap ends, but it's still just as easy to drift into a guardrail or worse. Snow is a great equalizer, and ice is the wildcard. Plus all those other idiots! skrillaguerilla - you run your tires at 13 psi on pavement? I rarely drop mine that low even on the beach. I'd be concerned driving over about 15 mph at that psi. For winter driving, on road, I never drop my pressure. Only for trail rides do I drop it, and even then I run at 18-20 psi. I save the 13 psi trick for getting (un)stuck as a last resort.

Yakima has been my favorite for a long time, but Thule is pretty much equivalent. The design philosophy differs in that Yaks use round crossbars and Thule square; they are pretty similar in price and quality. The way the yakima slides in the factory rail is really nice, totally adjustable, and allows multiple racks because they come off with a quick release lever. I have 2 set-ups, one is 2 crossbars, bike trays and a basketcase which stays on year round. The other is a set-up for our kayaks, which I mount during kayak season, at the far ends of the rail tracks (sea kayaks are looonng beasts) The 'foot' pieces stay in place year round. I suspect Thule has a very similar system, but I've never owned one. I also have a yakima bike rack for the reciever hitch, for those expeditions that include bikes and boats. For an expedition level basket, Yakima and Thule make a few, so do companies like Con-Fer. I don't have a monster basket, for those trips I just bolt on a 4x6 piece of 1/2 inch plywood which makes an upper deck you can lash all sorts of gear to, or stand/sleep on.

I don't have a suggestion for lighter grease - and in hindsight that may be problematic if it liquifies in summer temps. I don't know why the Pathy power windows are sluggish in cold temps - my Subaru's don't react that way. It may not be just grease, perhaps the rubber seals get stiffer in colder temps and affect it somehow - just a thought. As for the sluggish feeling of the shifter - that is normal, and is simply temp dependent. Both the Suby and Pathy feel the same in that area on cold days. It warms up just fine. We're about 10 miles north of Bangor, Maine, which had the record for coldest low temp one day last week at -26. Our cars are both outside (no garage) and not on block heaters, so they were also -26. Both started fine (slower than usual, but fired up) and drove fine, but that first time depressing the clutch and checking the shifter to insure it's in neutral feels like some extremely thick goop, and that is normal. It gets so cold the clutch pedal returns very slowly, on spring tension alone I think. But, - tkpath - the whine you mention isn't particularly normal or weather dependent - that points to a bearing starting to go. One suspect, anyway, would be a tranny bearing. There are also reports of a whine coming from the rear diff, but I haven't experienced that. My pathy has spent every winter outside, in very cold temps, and the only winter complaint I have is the power windows being slow or sticky to come back up. That's a minor issue considering how unbelievably reliable it is, and how well it handles snow and ice, and how fast the heater warms up - considering all the other issues that arise among my friends and colleauges cars, the Pathy is a proven winner.

my windows move very slowly, and may not close on thier own, in cold temps. By cold, I mean single digits or below. I need to stop the truck, open the door and help the window up by sandwiching it between my hands. It's no problem at all if it's warm (like above 10 degrees) Not sure if lube would solve that problem, I've never disassembled it. I suspect it would require cleaning the old, gummy grease out of the mechanism and putting in a lighter grease. m.

I have the Old Man Emu suspension (coils/shocks) with KYB struts on my 97XE. Very happy with it - much firmer than stock, but not at all harsh. Minimal lift - they say an inch or less. I don't notice the lift much when empty, but really notice that it doesn't droop in the rear when fully loaded. I suppose the lift aspect would be more noticeable if I didn't have EGR flares, those take up a lot of space in the wheelwells. My website has pics and the places I ordered the parts from www.purplelizard.com

could be as simple as a sway bar link?

The extended warranty I bought for my 97 (in 2000) wasn't useful at all. All my repairs were not covered: suspension issues, mainly, which is a 'wear and tear' clause, and a clutch. I should've banked it at $1400; the only warranty repair I had done was a cracked exhaust manifold covered under Nissan's 100,000 mile warranty. Not sure if a 2001 has any specific concerns that the $960 warranty may give you peace of mind for, but in my case it was money wasted and led to a frustrating relationship with the dealer. My guestimate is your SE will easily roll to 60k miles with little to no major repair service. m.

It is considered a good idea to replace the water pump with the timing belt. A few people have posted really high estimates for this - I'm not sure why it would fluxuate so much. I had my timing belt and water pump replaced in October 2004, at 100,000 miles, and it cost $550. at Darlings Nissan in Bangor, Maine. Same day repair service, no problems. Reciept was: Timing belt = 47.00 Water pump = 106. Rad hose = 21 seals = 15 gasket = 5 anti freeze = 7 labor = 350 note that my belts did not need to be replaced - that can add $200 or so. Suspension issues are fairly minimal on Pathfinders - usually you'll replace front struts and rear shocks at or before 100,0000 miles. Some Pathys have troubles with the control arm bushings wearing out. If you want aftermarket coils springs there a few options. For less than a thousand bucks, you can pretty much put a brand new factory or aftermarket suspension under the pathy, which is nice, since the rest of the truck seems to last forever. m.