RainGoat

I did blue too but now I’m wonder if that was a great choice with all the recommendations against blue light at night. I’m not sure red would look as good & I can’t say I care for the green at all.

Looks good. $200 is definitely a fair price. The arguments of Smitybilt vs Warn are what you’d expect. I think Warn now has a built in China winch as well so even those arguments are cloudy. The Smitybilt X2O series has seen widespread adoption with almost no complaints - I’ve bought 2 - though neither is mounted yet. An advantage of the X2O in our climate is that it’s waterproof. All that said, $200 for any Warn is hard to beat. I’d seen that bumper on Craigslist, did the guy tell you why he was selling it - I think he said he’d just bought it a year ago? Also, consider the steel cable vs synthetic line debate. If you go synthetic, you really should change that fairlead to a Hawse.

Power Valve Evangelist Here We’re glad to have you and I think you’ll find this a very usefull and welcoming community. Unfortunately, let me start off by emphasizing @slartibarfast comment with a little bit of bad news in an effort to prevent catastrophe. It is an uncommon, but frequent enough occurrence, for the screws on the power valves on the automatic transmission models to come loose and be ingested by the engine. Sometimes this happens without effect, but it’s usually discovered when it kills the engine. Nissan had TSBs to repair this problem on the Altimas & sport Sentras with the same engine & lost a Class Action Lawsuit on it in California with the Pathfinders. Otherwise, Nissan sadly never acknowledged the problem in R50s & did not alert owners. I was a victim and I know of 3 others in the last 2 years. The fix takes about 2-3 hours and can be done with fairly basic mechanical skills or by a mechanic. I strongly urge you to address it as soon as possible to avoid this sad fate. Below is a link to the best thread available regarding the repair. POWER VALVES http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/17104-threadlocker-on-power-valve-screws-pics/page-1

My truck should be done soon & will have a similar setup. The purpose of the 3” over 4” is to add 1” additional ground clearance, whereas the 4” equals OEM CV joint geometry. My set up will have a much heavier front end with a Coastal Offroad Steel Bumper (~97#) + I’ll be mounting my Smittybilt X2O winch (~66#). Additionally, I’ll be starting with OEM tires size & upgrading later this year. FRONT Pines to Spines Offroad 3” SFD ARB Old Man Emu Struts N145S(L) & N146® ARB OME Heavy Load Spring (110-220#) [2928] REAR Land Rover Britpart NRC9448 Springs Bilstein 5100 Shocks to be replaced by 5165

Is this what we mean by snow pics?

Hmm, looks like my comment somehow ended up way down the line - I was referring to this pic by@RCWD21

The pictures are great but it looks even better in person. Possibly my favorite Pathfinder. So nicely done!!

Now available in small, medium & large [mention=40800]raingoat[/mention] @02_Pathy [mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention]

It sounded like you’d stay stock. I did just about all the major CO passes (except Black Bear) with only AirLift1000s to support the rear sag. It’s actually quite capable stock. On the strut top hats, the OEM has a welded on spacer whereas most (if not all) aftermarket do not. Several have made the mistake of mounting without the spacer to have it strip the bolt. Also, make sure you get the strut aligned correctly - shops screw that up all the time.

Looks nice! All of that sounds pretty doable. I haven’t done mine but it’s recommended to get CVs with a lifetime warranty, then you don’t have to worry too much. From my notes “People with good results with NAPA Maxdrive, made by A1 Cardona, limited lifetime warranty. NAPA is good about replacing them. $72 each if you reserve the axles online” Plenty of thread info on the ball joints. Struts/shocks/springs will depend on if you lift or not. KYB has a good reputation for struts but get the Nissan OEM strut bearing - pay close attention to the threads regarding mounting & the presence or absence of a spacer (just reuse the OEM top hat if you can. If you’re going to lift, look up the LR springs for the rear & most use Bilstein 5100s. And spring lift, don’t spacer lift, if you can avoid it (spacers should be Max 2”, 1” better & none preferable). You’ve come to the right place. Just search the threads on each topic. Beware the NPORA FB page, it’s the Wild West, essentially unrelated to the forum & advice there far less considered. Bumpers are limited to ARB Sahara Bar & Coastal Offroad. I have latter on my truck now @RainG0at on IG) but will likely switch out to a hybrid Pines to Spines Offroad (@PinesToSpines) when they become available (their design/engineering is currently the best in aftermarket R50 but, consequently, slow to market).

@TowndawgR50 & I just pulled a door & fender from a Sierra Silver ‘01 in Lynnwood last week.

Funny, I’m not a fan of that rack on the R50 but I think it looks pretty good on your truck!

Probably too late but here was the best deal I found in the U.S. OEM Replacement Parts Strut Bearing [54325-5V000] $48.54=$24.27x2 Spring Seat [54034-0W000] $45.42=$22.71x2 Bellows & Bump Stop [54050-0W002] $38.86=$19.43x2 Did NOT use: Upper Seat Rubber Bumper (NOT rubber) [54057-0W000] $22.50=$11.25x2 $173.17 ($155.32+$17.85s) infinitipartsdeal.com

Curious as to what those circular holes are on the front if your bumper? BTW, you might enjoy theblackpathfinder on IG (@02_Pathy on here)

I think that’s the right answer.

PM’d my contact info. Text or email me the general time frame you’re thinking & we’ll work something out. It would be nice to meet you & I’m happy to show you my truck & see yours.

Probably okay since it was enclosed but the rear calipers on my Maxima froze up when it sat for a couple years with rare use - but that was outside in the harsh & varied weather of Kansas City. Just inspect & be careful regarding the brakes.

Ditto on Spring Lift over spacers. Search up the LR Springs for the rear & either AC or OME for the front.@PathyDude17 did a nice little YouTube illustrating some of the suspension points.

Great write up! I’m curious, what would you say is the ballpark cost of the retrofit (if you had to buy the lights - I realize you didn’t)?

Ha, just yesterday I was just giving my $.02 on@TowndawgR50 trip & we settled on the area S of Oracle to camp the night before they go to Biosphere 2. My knowledge is largely 15+ yrs old now though.

Ditto on literally ALL of this post!

I’d grab a pair of X-Bull Recovery Boards on eBay. Right now they’re at a low of less than $60. Honestly, probably the single best gear innovation in 30 years.

Condolences on your Father. I’m sure he’d be happy to know the truck is getting a new life with you. Ditto on[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] comments. I’m just down the road from you between Kirkland, Redmond & Woodinville. Curious where you got those aftermarket headlights? [Found your excellent write up http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/45416-headlight-retrofit/] Have an offline conversation with @jzuniga before you put spacers on - I don’t think he’d recommend it & I’d agree. On bumpers, Coastal Offroad is just above us in Vancouver. There are pros & cons to his bumper. I have one that you can look at in person if you’d like. Good job getting the power valve screws fixed. Don’t be in a hurry to pull those running boards. They’re pretty sturdy & very handy. We have several damaged doors & rocker panels on trucks without them. I’m finally replacing mine with RRO sliders but I’ve had the truck 106K, mostly stock, over almost all the big CO passes with no problem. You can see my truck & some of the other local guys on IG: raing0at, jzuniga510, grizzlypath & the PDX guys theblackpathfinder, stpickens, thesilverpathfinder. I have an 8yo boy (&10yo daughter) as well. WABDR is very accessible & fun.

Christmas Tree Run!

Same as@TowndawgR50 as well & I believe both@hawairish & Myself have those with the OME struts.