RainGoat

It’s worth noting, there are a million ways to build your truck & your build should suit you. This forum is great for avoiding mistakes but there’s half a dozen trucks that are my favorites for different reasons. Usage is HUGE in determining what you do. Budget is also HUGE. I lived in an apartment & had virtually no disposable income for the first handful of years I had my truck. My only mods were ones I found I needed (WAAG bars protected truck, auxiliary lights to see in the desert at night, rear back up lights, AirLifts to correct for sagging under load, a tiny Yakima basketcase that gave me functionality but still let me use my load bars, better headlights & decent AT tires). When I did have cash, I spent it exploring & getting the outdoor gear I needed. One of the main reasons I bought the Pathfinder in ‘02 was that it was a great “touring” vehicle. I did alot of long distance travel & what would be called Overlanding now. I camped primitively & just wanted a reliable, capable, comfortable, off-road truck.

Right, the tall ones are nearly worthless-mostly aesthetic, though the push bars could theoretically be helpful, you could mount lights & I guess it might protect your upper hood corners from light scratching (while the lower bumper was trashed). WAAG was the manufacturer. The front was really not a very sturdy mount since it was not a single piece but instead went underneath with a second support running in from the front. I always thought the bolts at the connection were what would give in an impact-turned out it was the tube. It definitely negatively effected approach angle but I was an Overlander (though that category didn’t exist then) not a Crawler. I also couldn’t afford damage that I would need to pay to repair so I was always very careful & thoughtful about my lines (I was often remote & solo so getting stuck wasn’t an option). I can’t remember the front ever being a problem & I’ve done pretty much all the CO passes except Black Bear with a suspension that was stock except for rear airlifts (which I’d inflate to bring my tail up if needed). Departure angle was no worse in the rear since I have an OEM hitch which goes lower & longer. The rear bolts right into the frame & is nice & sturdy - it’s saved my rear from countless taps, campsite brush & the time a trailer came unhitched while underway & that bar was the point of contact to slow it down. I actually intend to keep it as it makes it easier to stand on the rear bumper & I’ve commonly found myself hanging stuff on the front & rear while in camp.

Holy Sh1t!! I was just thinking the same thing & I’ve had that truck 16 years!!

Okay, I'll be the contrary opinion on this point. Full bumper replacements are awesome but cost alot of money, take time to do, were VERY hard to find until the last 6 months and may not visually appeal to you. For all of these reasons I ran a PreRunner bar on my truck for 16 years. On the financial aspect alone bumper replacement was a no go for me for years after I bought my truck. It allowed me to protect my bumper (not a damage multiplier), mount auxilliary lights, absorbed damage in a front end collision & I like the aesthetics. The PreRunner was low and pushed brush & small saplings down saving my OEM bumper when I was simply off road in brush, etc. Upper brush guards are worthless as brush hits your lower bumper first & if you are going a slow, reasonable speed, the lower bumper should push the brush down & out of the way. Also, the PreRunner had vertical rubber bump bars that saved me from countless bumper taps over the years. My bumper looked as good as the day I bought it until my front end collision. Additionally, when I was in a front end collision, the WAAG bar absorbed some of the energy of the impact and saved damage to my truck itself. (I do believe the upper front end brush bars cause more damage but I've already listed why I think they are worthless anyway). All of that was irrelevant as I turned it into insurance and they paid out for the damage to my vehicle plus all of my lights (even though not all were damaged) and my WAAG bar to boot. Overall, the PreRunner saved me tons in bumper repair, probably decreased collision damage and was compensated for by insurance when it was damaged. The second benefit of a PreRunner or Stinger is as an anchor for auxiliary lights. This was the primary reason I mounted mine as I was living in Phoenix at the time and often ended up in the backcountry at night. The desert just requires ALOT of light. I used the lower lateral hoops to mount 2 130w KC Slimlight Flood Lights just inboard of the stock fog lights (which are worthless for anything except seeing potholes right in front of your truck or running a lower light in a campground at night) and I used the upper bar to mount 2 130w KD Slimlight Driving Lights. My Driving Lights punched forward way better than my highs (even with 4100K PIAA Halogens in them) and I had the lateral floods just overlap with the driving lights so that I had about 200* of forward facing light. I think if you just want a stinger bar for aesthetics and to mount some auxiliary lights, go for it. It's cheap if you can do it yourself and it might give you some functionality. Admittedly, the new light bars these days make this less necessary than in the past. Look at @02_Pathy (NPORA) / theblackpathfidner (IG) for a nice LED bar integration. I've seen his truck and I think it is one of the most elegant, simple but functional builds out there. (I console myself that they just didn't have light bars, or LEDs when I was doing my build out). See my Avatar on IG for my front end in its prime. My avatar here is a little worse & below is a recent pic but I’ve pulled the grill to play with an SE grill & Raptor light mod-so it looks terrible-but you can see to some degree how the bar collapsed decreasing overall damage & saved all my lights (though I pulled one off in the pic). I also posted the black Pathfinder to show a great alternative (he’s just showing off by beating me to the Raptor mod-JK). BTW, I think the stinger bar in that pic next to[mention=39321]mjotrainbrain[/mention] looks nice (thanks for the pic).

Yep, I want to paint the silver bars on our white 5th Gen or change over to the 2010-13 Trail Edition Black Bars

The Limited 4th Gens had them & maybe some premium models. You might be able to harvest some from a 4thGen in a JY. While I’m glad I have them, the Pathy’s are the worst of any car I’ve owned or driven. Very slow, very cyclic & minimally adjustable. Also, I can’t remember if it does my back or not-I think not.

Looks good but I think you need to add another set of undercarriage lights to light the front if the front wheels. Overall fantastic project!!

Search Rockford CV Boots for the recommended boot replacement on the CVs. I haven’t done it yet but it gets rave reviews. Rockfordcv.com Pt#166-21 & 166-23 (2 of each) per prior posters

Amazes me that people are allowed to drive their car without knowing at least the basic differences between the caps under the hood... At least it’s a somewhat self correcting problem

Thanks for the update. Everybody overlooks things now & then. Thanks for letting your experience be a reminder to us all. I just bit the bullet & purchased OME struts. I could totally make the same error & would be less capable to fix it - so thanks for the forewarning!

Welcome! Make sure you follow on NPORA as well, it’s the primary forum for Nissan Pathfinder/Terrano/QX4 (collectively the Nissan R50) owners.

17&32 Working. I’m on Tapatalk. Thx!!

Couldn’t agree more. I laughed at the thread title & intro as well. @mjotrainbrain You have contributed a ton to this forum & continue to even though you’ve moved on to a Toyota. You have plenty of Pathy experience & general truck knowledge that are a welcome addition to this forum (as well as still running the TOTEM thread). You have one of only 2 4G T4Rs I follow on IG. I live on T4R.org as well (mostly in the 5th Gen areas) but there’s no comparison to NPORA. I do have a nice MDXers.org forum I follow but it’s content is obviously different-though behaviors are good. NPORA has a great community. Personally, I think it’s a selection bias of the kind of people who are willing to invest time & effort into a decade & a half old truck. You’re definitely part of our community & we’re glad to have you stick around.

My current Nav setup. Will likely drop the Nuvi, especially once the new head unit goes in with Waze. Add my phone to that magnet mount with Google Maps & I could have 4 maps running at once - probably too much!

Are these the cargo floor ones you’re talking about or something else? I thought you meant something like this

It’s worth noting that it may compromise safety in a front impact as it likely inhibits ejecting the drivetrain components down & away from the passenger compartment. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, just pointing out pros & cons.

Doesn’t it strike anyone as ironic that the emissions inspector is failing you because you have too MANY catalytic converters? He understands the goal is LESS emissions right?

Like not working

@TowndawgR50 Check out that Rally Z up above. Love it!!

@TowndawgR50 just helped me install some front trailing arm skids on my Mom’s T4R. It gave him ideas..... I think this pic should only serve to reinforce them. Boy those new links he made look nice!

Yep, that’s why my truck has been sitting untouched in the garage for a month. Why the flex seal? I just did mine in stainless. REALLY interested in your idea of a fold down table on the tire carrier. Please post a write up. We are about to do 4 post facelift swingate retrofits up here in the PNW &!I would LOVE to put a fold down table on more mine!

PM@TowndawgR50 He &@hawairish are ramping up an aftermarket business for R50s. I’m not sure they’re up to full time production yet but you can put yourself on their list & start a conversation. I believe this is just the beginning of good things to come (SFD kits, bumper brackets, sliders or slider adapters, maybe eventually MOLLE panels & skids. You may decide against it now or later, or it may be just what you want. I already have a heavy duty set but I just figured better to be in the know & make a conscious decision rather than find out about it later.

AC has the poly sway bar bushings. I think there may be sway bar links with bushings back there as well. With regard to rear upper & lower control arms, be aware that this is something[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] is starting to produce. See@Jax99 build thread.

Hmmm, very interesting insights. It is these little things that often get overlooked & can have real impact on drivability & safety. Regardless of what we choose to do with them, better to understand the consequences than not. Sway bar deletes, CV angles, driveshaft lengths & missing links come to mind. I am very interested in having the group puzzle this out more.[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] observations definitely trouble me a little.@QuasarDecimari seems to have a fix & possibly something that should be recommended on all lifted R50s. I’d like to hear more of our knowledgeable members chime in!

Wow, that’s a lot of light. You’ve done a good job with aiming & the bars output angles look tight enough that I only really see hood reflection in that last picture.