SixGuns

The fact that there is paraffin in said oils has no relation to sludge buildup. Low oil levels, too long between oil changes and excessive heat will contribute but just because the word "paraffin" is used in conjunction with motor oil, don't mistake that for straight up wax. Not the same thing. No sense to run scared from the oils. Check out pretty much any oil company's MSDS. Probably all read mostly the same.

Is it just me or is your rear axle shifted toward the driver's side? Look at the picture in the parking lot from almost directly behind. Angle of the shock on pass. side is nearly straight up & down; driver's is angled toward center of vehicle. Is that because you didn't drop the panhard yet? Or is it just how the picture makes it look? Rig's a beast, man. Good job.

Too much oil is definately not an issue....being savvy on the marine side of the house, I've come to never fill past the half-way mark on a dipstick...you don't know the nightmares of "making oil" till it happens in an outboard motor and have no idea where it's coming from. Catch-can's not a bad idea, but I've love to remedy the actual issue behind it, rather than just slap a bandaid on it. I'll have to pull the cover, I guess, and see what kind of shape it's in. Sealing the baffles isn't a bad idea. Just didn't know if anyone had encountered the drain-clogging issue that I've seen in a few write-ups. PCV seems to be the general concensus, but I could be wrong. Thanks, guys.

Ok, I've seen several things about the valve covers having terribly designed baffles and causing sludge that screws the PCV valve and then we burn oil..all I know is every time I take my '04 over 4k RPM and look in the mirror, oops, there's blue smoke. My wife started my truck today and it belched blue for about 3-4 seconds. If it's in fact an issue with the valve covers, what's the fix here? Replace the PCV every 20k miles or so, or does anything else with the 3.5 have the same bolt pattern for the covers as our motors? I figure the 350Z wouldn't have the same covers, as the heads are different, but what about the Murrano? Is it the same get-up as ours? Same crap baffles? Has anyone addressed this? I searched, couldn't come up with anything useful. I would just plan on swapping in a bigger motor, but moving back to Cali soon....don't want to play the smog game. Need to make this one last for a while. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, guys.

It's dark here in NC now, but if no one has posted something by tomorrow, I'll take the best pics I can of the setup. I figured it was something along the lines of "I threw my entire front end away and now have no idea how it was supposed to go back together"...How's that whole SAS coming, man? Haven't checked out Ronin lately..got any new stuff up? Last I saw you went to the whole tubular front end..perfected the design yet? How long till she's on the road? Hopefully I'll have my SAS project started by the end of the year...Gotta get back to Cali first.

Pretty much no reason you couldn't add the supercharger, so long as you swap in the heads and intake manifold from the Z. Not sure how much boost the stock internals on the 3.5 can take though...I'm kinda surprised no one's tried it yet...maybe another project to tackle once I get back to Cali.

Well, unfortunately, there are virtually no true "bolt on" mods made for the pathfinder specifically. Most people looking for a couple extra horses will go the route of a K&N filter and a custom exhaust set up (custom cause pretty much no one makes a bolt on kit)...there's been talk before of swapping in the heads and intake manifold from a 350Z, but no one's done it. Headers, you're SOL unless you can fab your own or know someone who could. One of the members on Nico has been trying to get some light weight underdrive pulleys made up, but so far no dice...he's working on it, though. Electric fan would free up a couple ponies...That's about it...

I usually set mine to kick on at 180, off at 160..that's how I had my Nova set up.

Unless they spun the crank 180 while doing the seals...I did that on my old Eclipse when doing the timing belt..don't remember HOW, but we got 180 off, had #1 on top dead center, but, it was on the wrong stroke...Somehow it ran, but had absolutely NO power...spun the cam around, slapped it back together, ran like a champ.

Could be worse! Seen the pictures of Fueler's ride when his strut ripped open the mounting point in the engine bay? Shouldn't be an issue if you just droop the suspension and compress the spring - toss it back where it's supposed to be...should fix your problem. Hope it works out.

I'd have to say the axle would go before the hub...but I doubt it would be the half shaft itself that would die...it would probably be the CV joint itself, more than likely on the diff side than the hub, since the hub-side joint is meant for higher angles than the other. With the lift and 32's, you're pretty much at the safe working limit of that anyway, so I doubt it would take much torque to sheer off that joint. On the other hand, having them custom built isn't necessarily a sane, cheap way to go either...I mean, if money is no issue, by all means. But for a set of CV axles capable of running 45 degrees, I got quoted at $2k for the pair. 2 grand on axles alone, plus the other parts and time into the R50....or 3 grand for a 5" lifted, 35" tire-running Suzuki Samurai with a 1.6 swapped in...I dunno, it doesn't make sense to me to lift and bash the Pathy anymore....

Fueler, you should jump on that spacer deal...free set? Take the Q to them stock, let them have it for a couple days, and then you got a set of spacers to toss on your new lift. Unless you still have the set you had....

Figures, 4 months after I left So Cal. We got a couple guys down there...someone will bite.

colinnwn, you go 20k miles on an oil change? Dude....just 'cause it's synthetic doesn't make it super oil. I'll run 6k on Penzoil Platnum 10w-30. But even then, man..at 6k, it's READY to be changed.

Allignment is probably your ticket...mine is the same way...I just haven't taken it into a shop yet..you can do it yourself, but it's not exact, more of an estimation. Just a matter of a couple turns on the tie rods. I doubt your subframe is bent unless you've gone balls-out with no skids on some nasty stuff. Mine has been off since I took a nose dive off a small rock cliff...slow, but put alot of weight on the driver's side front and tweaked something...but I had the skid on at the time and that holds everything in place nicely.

Don't count me out, b*tches!

Add to the awesomeness the fact that if your state has smog testing, such as California, you can only swap in an engine that was available in the same platform (SUV, pickup, sedan, etc.), same make, same year or newer. Plus the fact that that engine wasn't available in the states would make that vehicle unregisterable, depending on what state you reside in.

Looks good, though. Was the white intentional? Is that the same material they were trying to make skid plates out of?

Why take off the flares? They contour to the bumpers.....doesn't it look kinda retarded without them on?

NICE!! For the 90's I'd wait till you get the kit, take the fittings into NAPA, and I'll bet they can find something...I've found napa better than autozone, advance auto parts, etc. when it comes to stuff like that. Btw, Amsoil includes the elbows in their kit...maybe you can get some from them as "replacement" parts or something.

Ok, wait...before you guys get to each other's throats...adding a tb spacer is a means to an end...basically the equvalent of a poor man's high rise intake manifold. Which, does increase airflow through the throttle body because of a more effective venturi effect. Your MAS should catch this, but there are exceptions. So the engine runs a little on the lean side. Bigger injectors are a solution, and as a result, you will see a small power increase. And I know someone's gonna say it, so I'll head it off - no, it's not the same as the engine detecting colder air (denser) and accomodating with more fuel..that's the job of the AIT sensor (air intake temp), just like you have a barometric pressure sensor which performs a similar task.

So I was scooting around under the Pathfinder this morning, contemplating my project, and I noticed my skid was oily...So, jacked it up, took off the skid plate, pulled out the creeper and took a look...Damned if my whole passenger side of the front axle wasn't covered with and dripping oil...my pass. tie rod was soaked, too...upon inspection, the bolt on the side of my oil pump had loosened and backed out a few threads, allowing oil to pass and cover everything...this is a new development, though, 'cause when I changed the oil about 4 weeks ago, everything was bone dry. Anyone else encounter this? I just cranked the sh*t out of the bolt, (only so much you can do with a 17mm wrench..too small of a space for a socket and cheater bar) and cleaned everything up. It's the only place it could be leaking from, though it's hard to tell with everything equally oily. Gasket between pump and block was dry, all around, hoses were clean. Hopefully, that fixes it, if not, I'll get a new gasket for the cap that the bolt holds down.

Glad to hear it worked out in the end, DJ..unfortunate that you had to deal with all the crap in the first place. For those of you talking about weapons, double taps, etc...first, I don't condone offing a dude over something as menial as material possessions. Can he take it with him when he's dead? Maybe? Cool, 'cause I can't. Whatever. When it comes to family, however, I will defend that to his or my death, whichever comes first. Double taps are dangerous, unless you're very well trained and practice constantly. Miss a head shot, and what will you hit behind the head? In a moment of anger and fear, I doubt you will take your backstop into consideration. Center mass is the way to go. Greatest chance of hitting vital organs that will imobilize, and ulitmately lead to death. Warning shots are a big no-no. Say you shoot one over his shoulder into a wall...but he doesn't stop. So you shoot him in the face. He dies, cops show up. You get arrested for manslaughter. See, warning shots are a way of saying, "I'm in control of this situation and if you advance farther, I will f*ck you up"...but guess what, it only works in the military. And even then you're only allowed to do it with crew-served weapons or rifles. As a civilian, a warning shot still says you were in control, but by taking the 2nd shot and his life, it tells the cops that you were not acting out of self-defense, the primortal instinct to save your own ass at any cost necessary, but instead knew exactly what you were doing when you killed him. So it's manslaughter. Kill him right off, self-defense. Funny how that works. And he'd better damn well have had a gun pointed at you...3 things have to line up - oportunity, intent, and capability...if one is missing, you can't use deadly force, and it can't be considered self-defense. Not exactly sure how it works in the civilian world, but when I was on the security reaction teams on the ship, if there was a hostage situation, and someone had a gun pointed at someone's head....you couldn't shoot them. Unless the captain gave you permission. But AS SOON as that weapon was pointed at you or a team member...game on, bitch.

After 3 years of living in San Diego, and wheeling in places like Big Bear and Calico....I can tell you not no...but definately probably not. The oval stickers thing is big out in Cali, too, but for crap like "PB", "OB" (pacific & ocean beaches)...it's usually the trendy metrosexuals who place them on the back window of their Dodge Calibers. Closest thing to it I've seen is the Big Bear paw print...which is pretty neat, I must say...I need one. The ghost town in calico sells stickers, but I dunno if you can get the ovals...if you find some, though, let me know! I want a Calico one...one of my favorite places in California.

Wait, you can have flex and traction in a Pathfinder? ...yeah, definately a locker...that's usually were I wind up turning around, when I can't push any further. But being on 3 or 2 wheels is half the fun. Screw flex. I prefer travel over flex...Which, I guess if you put a trophy truck on a black diamond trail, it would do pretty well...but no one does.