tekazgtr1984

Yup, there is siginificant damage to the B-pillar. I wish it the damage was only surface... The guy hit me really hard, though. I'm hoping to just get bought out for the value of the vehicle plus certain aftermarket parts... At this point, I'm willing to start from scratch again. Regardless, I'm still choked this happened.

You made coilover mounts for your rig? Awesome! ...plus a gajillion!

Yeah, this is a VG33E to VG30---- swap. Best bet would be a Z31 engine, IIRC. But for the right amount of coin and with some time and effort, anything is possible. OP, keep us posted on your progress.

Yup, my rig's just a base model... Your wife's is a LE so of course it's got all the goodies. I don't read into things, especially when it's out of my control. I just have to deal with the is factors for now. And yes, I'm still choked the guy did what he did. I know for a fact no driving school teaches swerving into the oncoming lane as proper driving practice. I might be able to take him to court but will it be worth it in the end? I doubt it...

What B said. Up here, based on your driving record and other factors, your deductible may be reduced. They'll pay me the value of my truck plus the parts as a buyout if it's lower than $8,200 (the damage estimate). If it's more, they'll send it in to get repaired. The only downside to this is if the shop doing the repair work asseses more damage and varies from that of the insurance claims adjuster (real damage is often more than what the estimated damage is), I'll be bought outright for everything as is. I'm not sure about taking this route yet, mostly because I want to keep my parts and swap 'em over (TJM is a biggy for me) to the black '98 SE I found. Should I go that route, however, I'll be bought out for the vehicle total plus parts and that's that. I don't get to keep anything and the vehicle gets vultured by other people at the wrecker. Essentially, the safest route is to buy the '98 SE, swap over what parts I can and get a buyout of the value of the Pathfinder in OEM condition. All-Mode seems more like AWD to me, which is kinda cool. However, I've heard good and bad about it. I've got xenon projectors for my '98 so I'd be golden either way. The thought of heated leather on my arse in the dead of winter is pretty appealing... It's more a question of shouldn't be permitted to drive. This accident resulted in over $8,000 in vehicular damage as well as personal injury, the likes of which have resulted in missing work, not to mention physio, meds, etc. The driver who hit me should lose his license for at least six months. Or be decreed he becomes my butler.

I like the way you think, B. I'll definitely follow this advice. Luckily, physio includes massage therapy, along with other nice feel-good things. Went for my estimate this morning, and the damage has been assessed at about $8,200. Unfortunately, a '98 R50 is only worth $5,500 on a good day so it looks like she may be a write-off. However, I brought all my parts receipts and the adjuster said it may be possible to save the truck if the total value in parts puts the vehicle's worth above $8,200. We'll see how that goes, though. Right now, I'm looking at another '98, a black SE with only 126K km, so I may just swap the parts out and take the $5,500 buyout. I also found a crazy nice '01 QX4 with 129K km but the price is a bit higher. All-Mode and heated seats would be pretty sick, though. We'll see how this pans out... In the meantime, I gotta ice my back and load up Gran Turismo 5.

Are you sure? I thought the SE came with 4.636 gearing.

Thanks for the support everyone. I can't stress how happy I am to be a part of this forum. Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday in some slight discomfort in my lower back. As the day progressed, the discomfort turned to dull pain. When I woke up yesterday, the pain was much worse. I called in to work to let my supt. know what happened so I won't be working this week. I went to physio yesterday and learned I have a lower back injury, more specifically dural inflammation to my sciatic nerve. Not only do I get to deal with my insurance agency regarding the status of my truck, I have to go to physiotherapy three times a week. Life is good... Unfortunately, there are some bends/folds in the B-pillar... Not sure what that means in the long run. Thanks, Mike. Will do. What really irks me is that the guy who hit me didn't seem too concerned. In fact, after I yelled at him, he had a stupid smirk on his face like what occurred was funny or something. I'm okay but there's a footnote to that (read above). I'm not sure as to unibody damage but the B-pillar on the driver's side is damaged, so that could increase the likelihood of my truck being written off. I live in NK. The accident took place at the bus stop near the Rothesay and Gilmore intersection. Thanks but I found a '98 SE here in black with only 126K. I'm most likely going to scoop it up in the event mine is a total loss.

Awesome project. The best would be a removable top, like the first gen 4Runner/Hilux.

I'm hoping to get 3 matching stock-size tires and take off the Toyo's before I take it in. Until then, this truck doesn't move.

Yesterday has gone down in my books as a terrible one. My Pathfinder was the unfortunate victim of an idiot driver, the likes of which has become way too common in Winnipeg. We got quite the snowfall here on Thursday (somewhere around 10cm), so winter is here in full effect. I guess some people failed to adjust to this fact, and because of it, my wonderful rig has been put out of commission. I was driving southbound down a main residential street in my neighbourhood and had just left a very iced up and slippery intersection. As I'm acclerating, I see a silver Hyundai crossover going northbound, approaching the intersection way too fast. Sure enough, it begins to slide and will undoubtedly rear-end the beige Chevrolet sedan ahead of it. The driver, already well out of control, decides, in his infinite wisdom, to dodge the beige sedan by swerving into the oncoming lane (where I am) and side-swipe my truck. He hit me hard, ramming my truck into the curb and blowing out my passenger's side rear tire. Here's a diagram of what took place: I open my door, completely dumbfounded this guy decided to drive into oncoming traffic to avoid an accident. Epic fail. I checked the damage, and it was ugly. Both doors on the driver's side look like crushed tin foil, with some slight damage to the B-pillar. The rear tire on the driver's side also has some damage and will need to be replaced. The rear tire on the passenger's side is completely destroyed and useless. I don't remember much of what I said but I know it was peppered with profanity. I was livid to say the least. He told me to calm down several times; I told him to learn how to drive. I'll make sure MPI (insurance broker) knows this guy f*cked up big time. My friend came down and helped me put my spare on, which is smaller than my normal tires. I drove it home and that's that. It won't move until I can mount up matching tires. Now for side damage. Here are some pics I took last night: I'm not sure what's going to happen with regard to my insurance claim; the damage to the B-pillar has me pretty worried. If my truck is written off, I'm hoping to get another R50. But for now, everything's up in the air and the fate of my '98 remains unclear.

Sick... I love your R50.

You could easily go with 4" BS wheels but you'll just have to install 1/4" or 1/2" wheel spacers. The wheels I want will require me to do just that.

Or get wheel spacers. You'll want at most 3.75BS but to find wheels like it in a 16" might be a difficult task. Try American Racing or Cragar.

The VQ should be filled with mid-grade (89 AKI) or premium (91 AKI); it's a higher compression engine. The VG, on the other hand, is lower compression, and should run on regular (87 AKI). If your engine is running too lean, that could be a dirty MAF. Hopefully, that's what it is. Otherwise, there are other reasons for it. Start with the MAF and hope for the best.

Castrol Syntec 5W-30 since I got my R50 in spring '08 but my last oil change I went with Motul XCess 8100 5W-40, always with OEM Nissan filters. Engine runs quieter since switching to Motul and the oil on the dipstick is a whole lot cleaner. Love it.

Awesome! Does the intake move at all or is it pretty much stationary?

I've been running Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40 for the last 10,000km and it's treated my rig quite well. I check the dipstick every two weeks and after 8,000km, the colour's still lighter than when I was running Castrol Syntec 5W-30 at 5,000km intervals.

Quite a list! I'm going the one-time route with my install. I've learned piecing things together lead to problems so I'm going to get everything I need first, and then install it all at once. I'm hoping spring 2011.

Looks ridonkulous, Andrew! Nice work!

Think of the monoframe like any other frame. It's a similar box design like any other unibody vehicle. And what B said about the strut tower brace holds true in this regard. This link stiffens up the unibody "frame" (for lack of a better word) by linking together two parallel points, much like a strut tower brace on car applications. In effect, flex (albeit minimal) is reduced and torsional rigidity is increased. There's a noticeable improvement in overall control and much less body roll and mushiness when it comes to tight turns and bumpy and lumpy roads. For $40 plus shipping (if applicable), it feels like a whole new truck. Especially if you're running larger than OEM tires, which is the case for many of us.

Thanks for the link. That looks like it might work. The JDM headlights have xenon lamps as headlights, which can be levelled higher and lower depending on driving conditions (driving in the city vs. driving in the country).

Hell yeah! Looks killer bro!

It's a R50, just not a model ever sold on this side of the pond. Terrano R3m-R... RHD. With all the Japanese goodies we never saw. The top switch is the rear glass release actuator switch. The bottom switch is the HID leveler switch for the headlights.

You go first there, Andrew... One more of max's R50 on giant-ass tires: