PDCCD

I'd like to point out, that there isn't a country in the world that pays more per gallon than the US. The amount of blood and tax money we've spent the last 60 years on our (and yours incidentally) "National Defense" and propping up third world dictators/regimes is fantastic. It's convenient to look at the price at the pump, but not completely accurate. Another example is diesel prices. Some speculate that diesel is being falsely inflated to subsidize the other fuels. Diesel costs much less to refine. Only a tiny amount of Americans use diesel for their commute, but commercial carriers do. Their transportation costs go up, and they pass it on to the customer (retailer). The retailer passes on the cost onto the retail customer. Then you get the inflation. We're not paying at the pump, we're paying EVERYWHERE else. I'd like to know what we're each paying for every gallon/barrel of oil.

Umm, is it a money thing? Hell, i'd be willing to donate, it's saved my butt enough times. Let me know if i can help.

Man that blows! Sorry for your trouble bud, just glad your OK, and no one was killed as others have said. Best of luck finding that replacement. Who knows, you may get more for it totaled than you would trying to trade it in during this gas crunch. Silver lining kinda stuff. You could pick up something more gas conservative, might help pay for your insurance premium increase...

I had one about 8 years back. I used it to commute, and hated my life for it. Now it wasn't it top shape to start with, but between the soft top, very weak engine, and no AC, it was awful. I had a hard time keeping it a 65mph on the highway it was so weak lol. But that being said, i wish i had it now. I can't believe the mods available for that thing. And it's so small, i used to be able to ride atv trails with it. If i had the room where i'm at now, it would be an awesome trail rig project. But i pray my life doesn't slide backwards to the point where i ever have to spend hours a day in one of those again LOL.

x2

Thanks Guys! I put allot into it so far. I couldn't wait to post it up here to see what you all thought. I cut the side pieces yesterday to flow better with the fender, looks much better I think. I plan to order the steel for the tire carrier tomorrow and hope to have that done by the end of next weekend. I only worry now that it will be just too heavy. I plan to build it, and if it doesn't feel right, i'll just cut it off and try something else.

Well, with allot of help from various people to include Arcano, Pezzy, Xplorx4, and some of my co-workers, here's how i spent my holiday weekend Arcano was a big help with his pics and google sketchup file, and you can see his influence in my design, but i've gone my own way on allot of details and didn't use his dimensions often, but his pics helped a ton. It's 1/4" thick mostly bent steel. It's too friggin heavy, but the steel was drop from work and free, so eh. I would advise anyone who finds a shop to make one for a grand or so, pay them and thank them. I can see how to do this perfectly it would take a shop of guys a week. I worked mostly alone so far, and it was a PITA! I keep finding little things that aren't perfect or i wish i might have done different. But for a first fab of this kind for me, i'm pretty happy so far. I usually work from engineered prints, not much of a concept guy. So anyway, i've got a bunch to do still, but most of the hard work is done...I hope LOL. On my to do list is to obviously decide on a swing away arm and fab it, figure out which style of clevis anchors i want to use and put them on, trim the side panels to flow with the fender flares better, and then i'll be done. Opinions welcome, and if anyone wants more pics, i've got tons, i can email them or if someone knows where i can host them let me know.

Try putting limited slip in quotes in the search box. Here's one: LSD

Well, I've been modifying my Pathfinder for a couple of years now, and while i'm not up to Xplorx4, Vengeful, or Pezzies ripping R50 status, i'm slowly working on it. Along the way, I've made some mistakes. I thought i'd share them in the hope that maybe someone in the future will read this and might avoid making the same ones. Perhaps some of you could add yours as well, and it'll save me and others down the road. -First, perhaps the hardest. To put it bluntly, i might have avoided buying a pathfinder or perhaps sold it for another vehicle as my interest in off roading developed. Now hear me out, when i bought it, I only gave off-roading it a passing thought. It was intended as reliable, flexible, roomy, mall crawler for the wife and our german shepherd. All things it has been and it has excelled. But our needs have changed, and Steph has passed the pathfinder on to me in exchange for a Golf TDI. So, I found you all, and began messing with what is essentially a four wheel drive station wagon. Now it's probably a good thing that i can't hardly buy any accessories for it or i'd be even more broke, but boy, it would be nice to have some options. Some folks see this as a plus because it's unique, but come on, models pre r50 and even post r50 have tons of stuff already, but nothing for us. I understand the business reasons for it and i don't want this thread to be a debate, just voicing an opinion. And honestly, no matter how much money i sink into it, it'll never be a Defender 90. I just pray i don't tweak the unibody or get it wet -Another big one i've made is the gear swap. I went from the 4:3 open to 4:6 LSD. Now i'm thrilled with the gearing so far, but i wasted alot of time and money trying to deal with the LSD. First, the bearings in the carrier i bought from a junk yard were shot, so i had to pay to have them replaced, and i installed a new LSD component while i was at it, but now looking back it, i should have installed the ARB locker while it was apart. I figured i didn't have the money at the time to set up on board air and all that a locker required, But i could have had the ARB put in for what i ended up paying for the rebuild and LSD, and installed the OBA at a later date when the money presented itself. So future reader, if your even half heartedly considering the gear swap and are paying someone to do it, skip the puny LSD and put the ARB in. If your serious enough to do the gear swap, you'll want the locker eventually, trust me. -Next, my tires. Again, when i made the decision, it was a good one, but if i could have seen into the future, i would have gone bigger. I decided on the 31's for a couple of reasons. First, i was traveling a bit for work, so gas mileage was a concern. Also, i wanted to avoid speedo and gearing problems. I never imagined the bug would bite and i'd do the gearing anyway. Also, i figured that flex was more important than the small difference in clearance bigger would buy me. Now, i'm 3 miles from work, and find myself wishing i went with 32's at least, and possibly 33's. So the suggestion here is consider your tire size carefully, and try to plan into the future if you can. If your on the fence future reader, i say go with 32's. I'll be with these BFG 31's for years now lol. Well, off the top of my head, that's all i can think of for now, but me being me, i reserve the right to add to the list as I continue to make mistakes LOL. Hope this helps someone out.

thanks for understanding. As for the lights, they're 6"x3"deep. The only issue with buying another brand might be the mounting interface. Here's a pic: From what i can gather from the instructions, those two franken-bolts sticking out mount inside some slots in the bumper. Not sure how other fogs would mount without them which is why they rape us over a barrel for them i'm guessing lol. I can't figure how they'd be worth the $300 i payed. Hope that helps. Pete

Good point that last one, thank you.

Thanks Guys! Yeah, i was just trying to be lazy, and minimize the excess wiring floating around the engine bay by using what was there. I understand now how that's not ideal, so i'll do it as suggested and use just the factory stalk switch and everything ARB/IPF from there. As for lucky son of a monkey , No luck, lots of overtime lol. It had to happen, i've been kicking it around for two years (since you guys got me hooked on NPORA) and with a lot of research and haggling i got a good deal. Now the LONG wait for it to arrive from Australia. I've got a M8000 warn that's been sitting around for a year waiting for a bumper, so get ready for more wiring questions, probably around July . That, and hopefully next week i'll start fabing a rear bumper/tire carrier to keep me busy while i wait. Oh, and if anyone else is shopping for one, pm me and i'll share my experience and sales guy with you. I contacted nearly all of the retailers that sold the ARB for our trucks in my research, and i might be able to save you some time/frustration/money. Thanks again. Pete

Alright, in anticipation of building my rear bumper this spring, i've finally sucked it up an ordered my ARB Sahara from 4Wparts (at a great price). Well, i'll be waiting a bit for it to arrive (4-6weeks) but my IPF light set arrived today. My question to those who have it already, or have installed other brands/types; can i wire this into the current OEM fog lights on my 02' SE? Just cut off the stock set when i do the bumper and wire these in their place. Then the factory switch on the blinker will work for the new lights. Nice and clean, or no? Will they fry the stock wiring? Will the Relay be effective? Arb claims in the kit, that the relay they include is unique to them, "special dual polarity unit with spike protection for prevention of damage to vehicle electronics", and "failure to use the correct relays will cause serious damage and failure of components." Can i just swap the OEM relay being used with this one? Plug and play so to speak? Sorry if these are silly NEWB questions, i just haven't done any wiring on my pathy (except for the CB) and my last vehicle was a bit older, and less electronics were involved. Thanks for any help or advice, as usual. Pete

thanks for the reply guys. Here's the quote from that post of vengence about the bosch sensors. I'll have to pm him for clarification. Here's a link too, maybe he's referring to the o2's prior to the cat? O2 sensor If it isn't in the engine loop, then frig it. I'll reset it and take 02silvers advice and stop using cheap gas (as if there's such a thing LOL) and see how long it stays off for. Still can't figure why the gas mileage is sooo bad. I know about winter blends and ethanol. I know i'm rolling AT 31's and 3:6 gearing. I've cleaned the MAF, and i even want to change the coolant temp sensor and bought the part, but in a 3.5 i can't figure out how to get to it. It's between the engine and the fire wall, near impossible to get to , i can barely see it! On the cheap gas issue, in the fall it tried all three octanes available to me, and tracked my mileage carefully, and noted no difference in mileage between the three. I know it's all city driving since my recent move, but i'm BARELY getting 200 miles to a tank. I've gotten no other CEL's. Thankfully i'll be riding my bicycle to work this summer. this is nuts...

I'm with RWC552. I did the swap alone in my driveway with basic hand tools. Like Tmorgan said, some of the studs just backed out, but never stripped. All in all, an amazingly strait forward task. I was marveling at the mass production efficiency of the design. I can't imagine how a shop that has a lift and all the right tools could take four hours, but hey, your not paying for it luckily .

Well, after pulling another 0158 code (second time) and getting sub 10mpg for a few weeks, i decided it's time to replace the 02 sensors. So i did what a good forum member should and performed a search. Found it's a common problem, and i had some options. I can go with Bosh universals off of ebay for $30 shipped, but in one of the threads, Vengeful advised using only OEM. Now Veng knows his stuff, and i also found mention of a TSB for my 2002 R50 sensors in another thread. So I call the dealer today to inquire as to how much to install new 02's and reprogram the ECM as per the TSB. The guy quoted me $755!! Just for the rear two sensors. Now of the 4, those two have got to be the easiest to get done/get at. So wtf am i missing? Does this sound crazy to anyone else? Does anyone know the Manufacturer of the OEM sensors? And does anyone have an online source for them? How about suggestions for doing it myself? I have no problem doing it myself, i just want to use the right parts, and i'm not sure what to do about the ECM re-programing. I'd also love to get some reasonable gas mileage again. I'm doing mostly city driving lately, but man, come on lol. thanks for any help. Pete

Do a search for Runnerman. He made some high quality ones. I'm not sure of his current status. Also a company called Automotive Customizers out of florida sell a set. I think the website is 4x4parts.com. good luck. lots of great posts here and people that will help you with any questions you have about them. Just hit that search and if you don't find what your looking for, feel free to ask again. Pete

did you receive the pm i sent you a couple of weeks ago? I'd love to get that plan you offered. Thanks for your time and a great write up.

No pain man, none at all. If it weren't for a TON of help from patient people here, i would be SOL for allot of what i've gotten done. I just wanted to point you in the right direction. My memory for numbers (years included) sucks and i couldn't give you the right info (thanks tmorgan) from memory. One tip, take advice i didn't, and don't waste the money on a LSD. Get and open and add a locker if you can. Good luck. Oh, and i don't know about the xterra, i do know you shouldn't have to go there, tons of available pathy bits for what your doing. I did the swap in my driveway by myself, and i'm no genius (obviously lol) But help is advised to save time and energy.

I imagine being in Panama helped with that price lol.

Not to be a dick, but a search on this will pay off for you. A few of us have gone over it alot in the past, and i don't want to give you the wrong info from memory, but yes, finding 4.636's should be no problem for you, the prior r50's will work for you fine. I can't remember the years exactly. good luck and keep us posted. edit. eh, couldn't leave you hanging. See: http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...92&hl=gears http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...73&hl=gears should help you out, or at least get you started...

Yeah, it does look awesome, and i'm curious too on how it's mounted. Also, hows your view out the back? Looks pretty low as not to block the view too bad, nice detail there. What does your design offer for expansion? I'm thinking along the lines of a hilift mount and gas can... thanks for any answers. Pete

http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/...9925.0/file.htm I bought a pair of these type at pep boys. They were pretty cheap, and they work AWESOME.

Yeah! eh, i figure with my AAA i'm good if it happens to fail me (in most cases). I've heard too many horror stories about reman starters and the bitch they cause, so the oem one is a bit pricier. hell, for all i know there's something else going on and i'll replace it and it'll still do it. I've got issues with belt slippage and who knows could be an alternator not charging the battery properly. So, i'll wait for now too. Like i've said, this has been going on for a long while now and it always starts...(jinxing myself )