Pendraig

That sounds like an idea. Friend Dave has sawzalled-off the end of the frame from a mid-90's Hardbody that he found in a junkyard. I've looked at a couple of junked Pathys, but they all either look like mine, or show signs of becoming so. I measured the cross-sectional dimenions as 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" (the surface has the texture of a burnt log, so hard to be exact). Doesn't quite look or sound like the rear body mounts on the Hardbody are the same, or in the same location, but he's a pretty good welder/ says we'll either cut off and reweld the mounting lug we've got (which is comparatively whole) or just fabricate a new one where it needs to be. Anyhow, the work should commence sometime this week and, as I remove the bumper, gas tank, and other extraneous parts in order to give him unimpaired access to the places he needs to be, I will be doing a thorough probe of the frame, and find out what can be inserted where. Guess It would be a good idea to wait till the welding's done to start spraying things with oil. I'll try to photograph everything as we go, although people snapping pix while he's working puts old Dave in a nasty mood, so don't need to tick him off and have him walk as my welding skills quite frankly suck. Thanks everybody for the advice here. Bill

Anybody know the answer here??? A friend has found a (94 or 95) Nissan pickup that looks like a suitable doner for the frame ends. Do the pickup and the Pathfinder have the same frame? (Can't tell from the Haynes manual) Thanks, Bill

I just found out that I need to replace the right rear frame section on my Pathy, and read some pretty discouraging posts. Then I remembered my dear old Land Rover (SeriesII 88"), and am now determined to save my Pathfinder. I am happy to have found this thread now, as I believe you guys are on the right track here. first of all, let me say that I am not here to shower the Landy with praise, or to put down the Pathy, the Nissan is by far the better on-road vehicle and the rest is like comparing apples to oranges. I will say, however, that Land Rover dealers have a better attitude toward helping their customers with problems. Land Rover dealers know, confess, admit, provide help for, AND MAKE MONEY FROM problems related to the REALLY crappy box frames that they put under their older vehicles. Check out the sites of places like Atlantic British and Rovers North. You can buy any piece of the frame (or a whole new frame {$2000.00}---for an early 1960's vehicle). The attitude is typically British and is this: "Oh, the rear crossmember has rusted itself to pieces? Well, old boy, modern science HAS found the cause of this malady. You've simply neglected to spray enough no.2 fuel-oil mixed with your used engine oil onto the bloody thing. You ARE changing your oil every 5,000 miles aren't you? well then what are you doing with it, saving it up for your Guy Fawkes bonfire? Anyhow, not to worry, we have a nice new one for you on the shelf. Just cut the old one off and weld the new one on. Use the cab mounts and what's left of the frame as your jig. There's a good chap!" Nissan dealer's attitude: "Ah, rusty frame? Yes, frame rusts, so sorry, go away!" Anyhow, treating the inside of the box frame has been done by Land Rover owners for years. Reading your posts about this gives me new faith, especially now that I am in the Nissan camp. I have used POR 15, I love it, but I think that I will go with the enivironmentally-friendly fish-oil stuff. Reason being that POR-15, while it will be more permanent than oil, does not spead like oil. It only coats the area where you put it. Oil spreads (to some extent, anyhow) to areas that you might not have hit. Landy owners often use the jet nozzles from oil furnaces (get the ones with the biggest orifices and widest spread patterns) on the end of the frame-sprayers. The use of phosphoric acid prior to the rinse-out may get rid of some of the really bad rust, and drying with heated air or with nitrogen (available in cylinders from your local welding supply) between the rinse and the oiling will help. Thanks all for being here, Bill

I rented (or 'hired') a Nissan Micra-S in Wales 2 yrs ago, and it ran great, plenty of room and enough power to haul 3 large people around the Welsh mountains and all over SW England, no trouble keeping up in traffic, and it got 40-50 mpg. The Brits that seemed to anything about them considered them inexpensive but boring. I was so impressed with the little gem that I decided that I would buy one as my first-ever new car as soon as we got home but, alas, Nissan doesn't sell 'em here in the US.