Mark

It was never an option on the Australian R50s. That's why I'm trying to get one 2nd hand from the States / Canada.

From '96 onward they got 2 hooks at the front. Unfortunately, dealers often removed one or both of these hooks when fitting nudge bars / brush guards etc...Easy to fabricate replacements. If ya still got them, The manual says the LH one is "tie-down only" and the RH one is for towing/snatching. Having said that, the two hooks are mirror-image identical. SO: What most guys I know have done is upgrade the bolts on both hooks (just in case) and when they go 'wheeling they shackle an equaliser strap between them. Then they'll tow / snatch from the equaliser strap. Anything to reduce the risk of damage.

If you get it in your mind to put it up on axle stands - DON'T. You're right, it's a danger to life, limb and sheet metal. If you have to do this, take it to a mechanic and get him to put it up on his hoist with you in the car. Then put it in gear and roll the wheels with him standing underneath listening. It's his neck, his workshop, his insurance and his responsibility. A good mechanic will have a go, though. I did exactly this recently to diagnose a different kind of sound. Worked perfectly. Took the guy 5 minutes to correctly diagnose what half a dozen "specialists" couldn't find in the previous 6 months... Oh, yeah, also: Don't bother trying to put the truck on a dyno to replicate the sound in a workshop. The rollers make too d@mned much noise.

Awesome. I'm getting one. I carry my jack on the roof, anyway.

I reckon if it were your brakes they'd do it either when you were braking or when you're not braking. Not both ways. Have you checked out the wheel bearings? Usually, old bearings will make an audible humming sound for a few weeks or months before they start to squeal. BUT, sometimes not. And sometimes you won't notice the humming sound over the hum from A/T or M/T tires. A quick test: Get on a nice, smooth, uncrowded piece of road somewhere, crank it up to about 40 MPH (or whatever works best for you) and slip the gearbox into neutral. Just coast and see if the sound is still there. If the squeal is there when you're rolling in neutral, It's definitely your wheel bearings. If the squeal is NOT there when you're rolling in neutral, It's definitely in the driveline (gearbox / diff) etc....

I'm not a brake specialist either but I follow a similar theory...

There's a thread in General Forums called "Brush guard for sale" There's a couple of guys with them there for sale. Maybe wrong year but may be worth a try.

Is the squeal there all the time? or just when you brake? or just when you're not braking and it stops when you brake? Is the squeal there in 2WD and 4WD? On any particular road surface? Just curious...

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW :cool2: I found the rattle. The exhaust dude said it was engine (I thought it was the exhaust) The dyno guy said it was transmission pssd The transmission fella said it was exhaust... Finally went to ANOTHER exhaust dude and guess what: The LH cat was vibrating against the crossmember at certain RPMs when the engine was torque'ing just so on it's mounts. :o It took him 5 minutes to find, 5 minutes to fix and cost me 30 bucks. After all that drama. Of course I'm still gonna replace the factory exhaust with something better but now I can wait awhile.

Snosnk, Awesome pics. I reckon this is the carrier I'll start looking for. I'll try and find one from a wrecking yard in the US or Canada. Nissan Australia never gave us these after 95. B@$tards.:oops: I think I can get into that panel by pulling the taillight out. I'll get some sort of reinforcement in there. sly Just curious, does your flip-glass (not the tailgate-just the window) open without swinging the carrier? or is a 31" spare too big? I ask 'cuz I have 31" as well (how many blokes would love to say that?) Cheers for the pics, mate.

How about a 3.0-Liter Turbo-Diesel with manual gearbox from a Nissan Navara/Frontier? Maybe diesel from a Japanese Terrano?

I've got a couple ideas. I'll let you know.

Here's a scoop, There's a couple of threads on this issue in the Pathfinders' Club of Australia (PCoA) forum. Some folks have done a fair bit of research on this and here's the state-of-play: 1. Various Safari / Airtec and other manufacturers' snorkels have been considered and are not suitable. 2. The snorkel for the XTerra is actually designed for the Navara (which is the Aussie version of the Frontier) and apparently is a real pain in the @$$ to fit to the XTerra. Nissan says it's compatible but ask someone who's tried it. :oops: Surf the XTerra forums awhile and you'll see that they're having the same kinda snorkel-anguish we are. 3. Apparently, the auto engineers reckon cutting a hole through the R50's fender is a strucural problem due to the monocoque/unibody construction. I don't know, I'm just repeating what I've heard here. 4. I'm working on a prototype snorkel for the R50 at the moment. It doesn't require cutting the fender, either. If successful (and I don't know why I wouldn't be) I'll sell them as kits with instructions and all parts included. Or just as instructions with a parts list. I hope to start shipping these bad boys in a couple months. Sorry for the delay. It's due to my currently undergoing a change in career, home, workshop and state of residence. (Otherwise, my life's in order!!! ) I'll keep the prices down, too. I'm not really taking orders yet (until I have a working prototype) but feel free to PM me if you just can't wait. By the way, check out the Pathfinders' Club of Australia site at Pathfinders' Club of Australia Cheers,

Snosnk, I just noticed your thumbnail pic. You have an R50 with a factory spare wheel carrier, don't you? If it's not any trouble, could you post a pic of your carrier? Depending on price, I may get one shipped to Australia, as we never got the swing-carrier offered for R50 in Oz.

did you get this sorted? If so, what was it?

Two Updates: 1. I've just been told by a couple of people that their kaymar carriers allowed their flip-glass to open without swinging the spare. Not sure about their tire size though. 2. I just got a copy of the (US/Canada) Nissan Owners manual for '96-'99 Pathfinders and it shows pictures of a factory carrier like the earlier models had and discusses it in the text. Has anybody seen one of these on an R50?

Have a look at your phone charger. See if it says anywhere how much current (Amps) it draws, as SW asks above. Then take a look at the Amps number on the fuses you're trying to use. Have a look at the fuse diagram, if you have one. The charger may draw too much, OR you may have the wrong size fuse in there. I've blown a 5Amp fuse before and replaced it with another 5Amp and blown that one and done this three times before I discovered that the original fuse should have been 10Amp... -thnkboutit- If it were a short in the truck, it would probably be blown all the time. SW is right. Try plugging something else in. Just don't use a fuse rated higher than it should be, for that circuit. And whatever you do, don't bridge across the fuse holder with anything other than a fuse. Unless you want to claim on your fire insurance. sly Hope you have a win..

Dude, I feel your pain. Your description sounds just like a Trans Am I recently sold at an enormous loss. :sniff:

dkpath96, Thanks for the pic mate. I already removed all my heat shielding, though. Maybe the shielding around the manifolds? The hunt continues...

Just a pic to freak some of you out...

Hey, dkpath96, You said: "I had a similar noise coming from my Pathfinder, sounded like paper in a fan. It only happened at 1800 and 3600 RPM, which threw me for a loop for a bit. I took a stainless steel 3.5 inch PVC pipe clamp to both of my exhaust guards, and bingo, no more noise." PLEASE...PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE go into more detail. It sounds just like my prob (only I'm getting it at 1350 & 2200 RPM). What do you mean by "stainless steel 3.5 inch PVC pipe clamp"? and "exhaust guards"? (y'mean heat shields? If so: Where? etc etc...) :help:

Cool. Would you be able to post a couple of pics? I'd love to see it. Cheers

Local exhaust guy says my cats are fine. I'm getting desperate... :help:

I just want everyone reading this to know that in my last post I didn't use the word "hiney". I used another term for the posterior portion of a person... It would appear that the computer software censored me. I would never deliberately use the word "hiney"...

Thanks Squam1, your tastes run close to mine here... I've looked at dozens of different versions of these and so far the Kaymar is the best I've found. Problem is: 1) It holds the wheel a couple of inches too high for the flipper glass to open. :o I don't mind swinging the spare to open the tailgate and haul cargo in and out of the trunk when I'm in the woods. BUT it's a pain in the hiney when you've got armsful of shopping bags in the grocery store carpark and you just need to open the flipper glass. ...and... 2) These things are like $1300 here in Sydney... :oops: I'll keep looking and update this thread over time for other R50 owners... Others feel free too... Cheers,