RainGoat

I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty nice - here were two of our stops before coming back to the lake up the street. And its a Douglas Fir - Redwoods are California, it’s pretty much all Doug fir here.

My son’s first fishing attempt - it was what he asked for on his 9th Birthday

Sadly, I’d say the problem is with Nissan not acknowledging problems & fixing them in an effort to take care of their customers (i.e., power valve screws). Toyota is much better at managing its customers & making sure they feel safe & well cared for. While I can’t speak to the pickup market, I’d never buy a Nissan these days & that’s all I’ve personally owned in 36 years (meaning not my wife’s or parent’s vehicles).

Some PNW Trail Time

Another skid plate option is Coastal Offroad though I’d check to be sure it fits an OEM bumper. https://www.coastaloffroad.com/product-page/r50-nissan-pathfinder-high-clearance-front-bumper-kit

Yeah, be very careful with the clips, especially the “chrome” surround - almost impossible to bot break some due to old plastic. Understand that the “grill” includes the paint matched side pieces so it may require painting if you want it to match - that was my main stumbling block for changing it out.[mention=41900]pathydude17[/mention] pics demonstrate this pretty clearly. Also, it’s worth noting that there are slight differences between the 2001 & 2002-4 grill emblems which may translate into a different mount.

Ah, I’d edit that initial post as it sounds like you’re parting it out. What part of Canada are you in?

Ditto

Wow! That’s an ‘01? I take it the beach you’re on is an ocean beach? No matter how careful you are, that salt just gets in there. I was recently working on my Mom’s 2018 4Runner & was shocked to see it was more rusty than my ‘02 Path. I think it must have been just her rare winter use in KC (also, I’ve become progressively more convinced that Toyota just doesn’t do a great job with rust prevention.

For what it’s worth, my wife has been along for most of my trucks 18yrs & >100K. On the very first drive with the OME fronts & LR/Bilstein rears, my wife spontaneously asked about 10 minutes into the drive what I’d done to make it drive so much better. Ride is very subjective & your sense of it may be much finer than the average owner. Alot of the younger & newer guys just don’t have the seat time or are going from worn out OEM setups to something new so anything is better. Given your age & experience, I think you’ll notice the differences more than you might realize. I’ve found that I’ve driven other owners R50s & can feel something “off” that they just don’t have the experience to identify yet. To be honest, the nearly imperceptible new drivetrain hum from my lift is a constant annoyance to both my wife and myself. After 2 decades without it, it hits our subconscious “somethings not right” sense. I’ve had it checked over several times by[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] who assures me it’s okay. Unfortunately, it’s just ingrained in us & almost impossible to ignore.

Yeah, damn Covid. Another member said Desert Rat told them were on back order too.

Oops, 9448s, they are the same 225# spring rate as the 9449s, only taller (for my SFD).

You, like me, have driven your truck for a LONG time. I suspect you will be bothered by the harshness of the AC springs compared to OEM & OME. That is why I went with OME, I knew that after 2 decades & >100K of driving that truck, I would be unhappy with a harsh ride. That said, I’ve never driven one with AC springs so I can’t tell you if that’s actually true but it does seem to be the consensus of those who have driven both. The LR Springs, on the other hand, drive wonderfully. I have the 9448 & couldn’t be happier. I don’t know of anyone with complaints. They are less than $100 to your door so I really don’t see any reason why anyone would use anything but them now. I think the real question will become, is there an LR spring upgrade we should be considering....

Correct, that’s consistent with what I said.[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] LE does NOT have it, my ‘02 LE does. In ‘02 it was standard on the LE, 100% sure of that as I bought mine new & only option mine came with was the floor mats. Mounting system changed from ‘01 to ‘02 as well. I looked in ‘01 but held off a year for the brighter silver - though I’ve always loved the SE grill & the ‘01 SE charcoal fenders & bumper.

Actually, I believe they were standard on LE, at least as of ‘02 (mine had it when I bought it new & it wasn’t an option, whereas@TowndawgR50 is an LE & does not have it). The attachment design changed from ‘01 to ‘02-‘04. As of ‘02 it is 2 units that are the hinge & the pylon, before that (at least in the U.S., the hing & spoiler pylon were separate units - I believe the pylon/riser was outboard of the hatch hinge.

Totally, it’s like it’s made to fit there in the most efficient fashion. It would also then be a weatherproof container for other car parts. Sadly, no room for it.

The funny thing is that I actually don’t need any of it. Figuring out how to store it is a bit of a task.

A couple weeks ago I was able to strip down an R50 bought as a parts truck that was headed off to the JY that afternoon. Since I expect to have my truck another 10-15 years, some of this will be replacement parts if needed. I plan to use some of the trim pieces to experiment on where & how to place mounts & to attempt to reclaim some of wasted space in the body walls. Finally, it was a great opportunity to just dissect the interior & see what was under everything. I took a ton of reference photos for the future. You can imagine how excited my wife was when I came home....

The strut bearing is the one piece most people have gone OEM on. (Strut Bearing [54325-5V000] $48.54=$24.27x2). This is primarily because of some bad experiences with other aftermarket brands, particularly Moog. I would do the spring install & drive it for a couple months to let it settle before even considering any cutting. Once it settles, try hauling a bit & see how much rear compression you get. The last thing I’d buy would be the spacer. If you do cut the springs (personally, I wouldn’t), just level it that way. A half inch spacer usually is the most that the majority of people have needed & are not problematic but I’d put that in months down the road, if at all. You may find you want a half inch or inch of rake to avoid reverse rake under load - though generally this has not been a problem with the LR springs.

This is my general understanding & use. Currently, I have an ARB Front Locker & an LS rear differential repacked by[mention=36148]hawairish[/mention] sitting in my garage awaiting install - along with my @pinestospines 3”SFD. Since I’ll be finally increasing my tire size and I now use the truck as either a weekend toy or a hauler instead of an overlanding grand tourer, I’m planning to regear while I have those diffs open but I just haven’t gotten around to acquiring the gears yet. Realistically, this will probably get done with[mention=37543]towndawgr50[/mention] this winter.

Looks great! Love the Halo DRLs & Switchback functionality

A version of this has been in my ToDo list for over a decade. I look forward to copying your final results.

Coastal Offroad. I like it better than the ARB but it has its issues too. I wish it had slightly more lip up front to more cleanly mount driving lights. The winch tray drains poorly & I’ve drilled my own drain holes. I wish the connections to the unibody were a little more extensive. All that said, I like it.

The Yakima River Valley, a nice start to our day trip.

Here in the PNW, where it is wet all the time, it’s a big bonus to have AWD. I also prefer it for gravel, packed sand & snow as I get 4 wheel grip without the plowing understeer of a licked center. I often forget to put it into 4Hi until I come across something truly challenging & then it’s usually because I actually need 4Lo. The lack of that option is one of my biggest complaints on our 5th Gen 4Runner (Limited models do have it but that’s a whole different story).