malacandro

Interesting - I hadn't thought about the brake light housing. Good idea. Yeah, I should probably take the time to do it right...so hard to find the hours now, though. Thanks for the recommendation!

True – I did see there are some wireless options. Mine is one of the ones that has to run a cable from the rearview mirror to the rear of the car for the camera. Is yours wired? If so, I’m assuming you went under the paneling in the liftgate? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all - looked up, and it was already February! I’ve been putting off this safety upgrade but am finally getting around to installing my front and rear dash cam. Since I’m STILL carrying my spare inside the cargo area , visibility is pretty bad. It has a reverse camera to install, but I just realized that I am not sure what I’ll do about mounting it. I know several of you have installed cameras so I’m curious what you chose. Did you install inside the lift gate, inside the vehicle on the lift gate window, or drill a hole in the bumper? I’ll probably just run the wire through the cab as I don’t have the capacity to rip my interior apart right now, but I’m stuck on which approach to take. If anyone has suggestions based on their own experiences, I’m all ears! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats - we’ll see you out on some trails. Would be great to get an LA/OC outing going sometime this spring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Made it up to the snow after Thanksgiving. We just had a baby, so it was his first trip in the pathfinder. Definitely more stressful on the trails the first time! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I second that...at least one of my OEM bolts was damaged when removing them, so ordering the new bolts is a good idea. Burns to pay that shipping charge on them, though!

Welcome! This is a great group of knowledgeable people… Most of the questions anyone has have already been answered in the forums, so definitely spend a lot of time searching through. That being said, people are very friendly about giving advice and understanding about how difficult it can be to search a thread. As a fellow 97 XE owner, I can certainly say you’re in for a lot of fun, a few frustrations, and a number of second glances when you’re making your way down the trail. There’s a thread somewhere that lists out all the first repairs and changes you should make…when I’m in front of a computer I’ll see if I can find it.

My brake light on the lift gate popped off on one side. Now it is hanging awkwardly and banging around as I wait until it moves up to the top of my to-do list... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And, welcome! Also in SoCal... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I went with 31 x 10.5” tires on my 97 XE. Got aftermarket wheels (Trailmaster) to accommodate the width safely, but wish my OEM wheels would have worked (SE and LE had 7” width, while mine were 6.5”). Even with hub rings I still have some vibration in the steering wheel, which is fine but a bit annoying on long road trips. If you aren’t planning on going bigger than that, might be good to stick with OEM if it fits your tires safely. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah...I didn't want it to be true, but probably is. Not my best moment! Good advice...I'll check the transfer case and differentials as well when I get a chance,

Yeah - it didn't appear milky, but I only saw the top portion. I'll have to drain the whole thing to know since I assume the water would have settled at the bottom. Hopefully, I didn't leave it too long...

Hello all, I'm hoping someone has some insight into a problem that cropped up. Background: I recently did an ill-advised water crossing. The water was deeper than we estimated, but I made it through (i.e. I'm an idiot). The next day we did some more exploring, which included a lot of riding the clutch on a tricky section. I should have taken it easy and checked on things, but didn't. When driving home, I noticed some noises when shifting...kind of whining when I engaged the clutch and shifted some gears. When I got home, I left the car for a bit. When moving it the other day, I noticed the whining had gotten much worse. I figured that I either wore out the release bearing or was running low on transmission fluid. I have been working on taking out the fill plug on the transmission for the past week and finally got it to break today. To my surprise, transmission fluid started pouring out of the fill plug. I had assumed that at best I would be able to stick my finger in and assess the level. Luckily I had a bucket with me and saved the garage floor. My best guess at this time is that I got water into the transmission? I can't imagine what else would make the fluid be at such a high level...the car wasn't on at this time, but I wasn't planning a full change yet. I was planning on doing a transmission fluid change first, and if the whining continued, to suck it up and take it to a shop. Sadly, a DIY clutch replacement is a bit outside of my comfort level and ability, especially given my apartment garage situation (no repairs allowed). However, now I'm worried I could have messed things up more than I thought. Any advice or insight would be appreciated!

Yeah...not the smartest move. Codes finally cleared, but i need to figure out what is going on with clutch/transmission. Definitely a bit deeper than we heard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah...I probably should have turned around too. We had a mixed group with several cars, so I felt like we had to get back. I should have just chilled with my wife in the valley and met them the next day. Still...future repairs aside, that was a fun water crossing! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hahaha...Just got a suspension lift! Was definitely good enough until it wasn’t. Damn.

Took a 99% amazing trip to Afton Canyon, the Mojave Lava Tubes, Kelso Dunes, and the Calico Hills. Mostly wonderful, exploring the Mojave Road and other trails nearby. Did bite off a bit more than I could chew doing the water crossing at Afton (P0130 and P01325 codes came right up), and may have overdid it on the clutch trying a slightly too difficult section of road in Calico. Looks like I have some more work to do on Hermon!

That is very generous of you - I’ll definitely shoot you a message if I’ll be in town (or I can see if I can coordinate with Astrorami). I have some family in North Phoenix, so not too far from you. It would be fun to see what else you all have coming up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting - i suppose the lift gate geometry is different pre and post facelift. I have a pre-facelift XE (1997) and a JY swing gate with all of the latches ready for testing if you are looking for a subject. I’m planning on some trips to Phoenix and Seattle anyway... Looking forward to the launch of your business! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks great! I was jealous of all of you who got together. Mine is sitting in the garage until I have the time (and courage) to try to get it installed this summer. Spare in the cargo is no good... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks - it’s getting there. However, it is definitely a “good from far, far from good” situation! I did a pretty crappy job with the touch up paint...it does what it is supposed to do, though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Year: 1997 XE 4WDLift: OME MD Springs (after worn out factory springs, so I'm ~1.75-2")Wheels: Trail Master 15x8, 3.75" backspacingTires: Falken Wildpeak AT3W 31"x10.5"x15"Notes: 1) Rubbing when turning sharply, both forward and reverse. Will do some work with a heat gun in the next week or two to see if I can get rid of it. 2) Contrary to some people's experience, I cannot fit a spare 31" tire - it hits the panhard bar and the hitch. An extra 1/2" would probably do it, so perhaps if I swapped hitches it would work. *Edit: There seems to be some metal bracket that guides the spare. I don't see any purpose for it beyond that, so may try bending it back to see if I can get that 1/2"

Thanks for all of the responses. I ended up swapping in remanufactured Cardone axles (got a great price, and ordered just before I saw the Rockford recommendation), TRQ lower ball joints (the rubber on mine were all cracked), and Nissan OEM stabilizer bar links (same...rubber was completely shot, and found a good price on ebay). I was going to try to do the work with a friend, but he flaked and the tire shop gave me a good price for doing all of the work at the same time. I've been taking my time, mostly due to laziness, but think I have taken care of most of the problems with my pathfinder. The last major thing is to figure out the roof rack situation (need to pull the anchors from a vehicle in the junkyard, but haven't looked forward to pulling down TWO roof liners) so I can store the spare, which doesn't fit underneath anymore. Thanks to the forum for help through this process...through lurking and asking questions, I've learned a ton.

Ah - that is an interesting idea. I wonder if the remans are safer in that use scenario. I don't think I have the energy to wrangle those springs on the compressors again...really wish I had just paid to have the struts assembled!

I already have the Mile Markers installed...they have been good thus far, although I know most others have the Warn.