BoneZ

My pathfinder has 3+3 lift I run no sway bars. I would say removing the sway bars made about the same amount of body roll increase that the 3" BL made, That is just my opinion though. Removing the rear sway bar make a big difference in offroad flex.

With the steering kit you mentioned above. a 3+3 lift trimming and my 33" swampers, i was going through at least 1 tree or ball-joint every time i went wheeling sometimes more then 1, along with needing a new alignment each time. I Then installed the hoohaa (grassroots.com) centerlink I have not went through 1 tree or ball joint sense it was installed. IF i was to build another pathfinder that was to stay IFS the centerlink would be my first upgrade. People may disagree with me on how the steering last stock, So i should note I wheel my pathfinder hard and run it through trails up to Double black diamonds.

There is going to be a NPORA group run at evens in October, You can read about it at My link This would give you a chance to meet other NPORA members from your area.

I Have not got all the parts for my SAS ready yet but i have most of them, I have been building allot of my own parts and rebuilding used parts to keep down cost, at this time I am just over 1000 dollars into the project. A IFS is much cheeper and if you look around you might find a used set for sale from someone that did a SAS.

I would Suggest Taking a look at the tube between the air filter box and the throttle body, Having a rip in this tube can cause the erratic idle and power loss you are explaining. The problem with when braking it loosing power and shuts down I am not sure if related but they do die allot easier with this problem. I found out about this problem when I blew apart my motor mounts while out 4x4ing and ripped that tube apart. Although We clamped the motor mounts back together then put the tube back together with spare rubber sheet and buck tape. I did see what a rip in the tube caused and it matches allot of you above statement.

The Colorado might have replaced the s10 but it is built on a different chase. Gm makes good engines and have for a long time. The newer gen 3 engines hold up unbelievably well in durability test. I know this because i am involved with testing GM engines for marine and industrial use. I have personally watched a LS3 gem 3 GM engine stay at 6000 RPM for 4 hours straight with significant load and live through it. Most engines give up by the 2nd or 3rd hour of this test. But after stating all that I drive a Dodge ram, and a Nissan pathfinder lol. I have to say I don't like most of the new trucks though as they have the same problem as a pathfinder, If you really want to use them hard offroad a sas is required to get ride of the IFS junk.

For the safety of everyone on the street do not drive that thing. From my point of view you have 4 options of what you can do with that pathfinder. 1. Like above stated find a pathfinder cheep that is short the engine or the transmission and swap that and any other parts you want from our current pathy. 2. Build a new rear 3rd frame from box tubbing cut out old frame weld in new. You must keep things square and true or it will never drive right. 3. Go Truggy style rip out hole frame do SAS while building a complete tube frame for pathfinder body. 4. Part out the rig and start with something else. If i could think of any more ways i would list them, That frame is way past its point of return. I think option 1 would be your best economical method and would leave you with a parts rig for when you have other problems down the road. Options 2 and 3 require a good welder, and great fabrication skills to make it all work in the end. option 4 isn't good because you end up with no pathfinder and these little rigs are worth more then anyone gives them credit for.

I have to say I bought my pathfinder to build for 1 run last summer thinking it would be dead by the time i made it home, I am now proud to say it gets used more offroad then my dodge i have fallen in love with the pathy. It out dose my and others expectations of the rig allot. It is not to build 3+3 lift trimming 33 swampers and steering upgrades. With just those mods still open front and rear it has ran some double black diamond trails. for those who don't know the trail rating system used here is it green=easy, blue=moderate, black=hard, black diamond=difficult, double black diamond= more difficult, and triple black diamond= most difficult. A note on triple black diamonds i only know of 1 in Oregon and that is crushers at browns camp with i have seen the truck that won TTC 2010 brake parts on. Granted My pathfinder isn't near done. working on a dana 44 sas, alteast a rear locker, then will be doing a 3.3 engine swap. I have to say a pathfinder can make a unbelievable trail rig. The one place i do prefer my dodge still is in the mud but thats all about the horsepower.

Cops in Oregon and Washington will wright you tickets for tires sticking out to far past fenders and no mud flaps if more the 24" tire is below the body. Although most of the time you can talk your way out of it. Wish I could dovenose my pathy and it still be street legal.

I thought I would give better info here The jeep grand wagoneer axles from 80-91 will all work but avoid the 84 and 85 model as they are the ones with vacuum disconnect. So you should really be looking for a 80-83 or a 86-91. Another option is the high pinion bronco dana 44. But you will have to swap from the knuckles out to keep the same lug pattern. I do not remember the years of this axle that you would need to use though. Here is a axle data on the wagoneers 1974-1979 Wagoneer, front and rear dana 44's (some 1974-1975 had drum brakes) (rear 44 is offset to clear the fuel tank) (front is passenger side drop) 1980-1983 Wagoneer, front dana 44 and rear AMC 20 (it is NOT the weak 2-piece axle type like the CJ's) (front is drivers drop and remains drivers drop until the end of production in 1991) 1984-1985 Grand Wagoneer, front dana 44 and rear AMC 20 (front 44 has a vacuum axle disconnect, try to stay away from this one, swapping it out or removing it and changing the axle shafts is an easy fix though) 1986-1991 Grand Wagoneer, front and rear dana 44 (rear dana 44 is mostly centered - just a little offset) Hope this helps.

The 3" body lift is not that hard to install, You can do it with a decent jack basic tools, a few jack stands. I did the process alone so its not that hard.

There are 5.13 available through a few places. You can also use the xterra 4.9 gears to go with 4.88 or 4.89 fronts if you are doing a SAS.

If you use the rig offroad or don't mind the look you could always just get some 3x2 rectangle tubing cut out all the rockers besides the top area the doors seal on. then cut the tubing to length and weld right onto the bottom, make sure to cap the ends so it dosn't rust from the inside out. Add a few braces to it and you have ultra high clearance rock sliders, and cancer is gone.

I drive both a auto and a stick, My dodge is a auto and my pathfinder is a stick. Both are good in different ways. I prefer the auto on long boring drives along the highway that i set cruse control and lean back and let the truck drive. With a stick in oregon the cruse control dosn't really work to well because of the hills. On short drives or country road driving I prefer the stick hands down for the control. Also in offroad situations I prefer the stick in almost all areas the one area I think a auto can be better then a manual is in the mud. I am not a big mud person though as I hate doing the cleanup. There is no better or worse it is all about balance for the drivers preference. I would try to list pros and cons of each but that would take all day.

Not to throw a wrench in your choices but i have been really happy with the rough country UCA's. Here is a link of another NPORA thread with more info. rough country UCA's

4x4 parts charged me more to ship me a 3"bl then a junkyard in Georgia charged me to ship a loaded rear diff. I live in Oregon. Sence I have bought parts i can find elsewhere at those locations.

I say have it on saturday so people that have a long drive can make it home.

I was wrong about where even creek is located thanks for setting me straight on that. Looked over some videos of the area. Is there a staging area that is safe to leave a tow rig and a trailer? I might trailer the pathy up there just in case I brake it up there.

Evens creek is really far north compared to manastash, Evens creek looks like a fun place but im most likely out if it is at even creek because of range.

I pick up spare cv shafts at the local pick and pull for 5 dollars for the hole unit less then a new boot and just swap them out.

I actually bought the gears when they were having a sale for 125. and it is not a typo they are 4.89 gears I have them installed in my dana 44 right now. Motive also sales a set of 4.89 gears. Aslso want to add you are right the 4.88 to 4.89 you will not notice any difference.

No they are not bolt in, The spline count is wrong they are for a 33 spline and the pathy is 31 spline. The way you get around this is ether take the side gears with the splines on them out of your pathy diff and put them in the xterra diff, or take the gears out of the xterra diff and put them in your pathy diff. The last option the route I went is put a 3220LR in the xterra diff and bolt it in. Side note If you want the ABS to work and you are going to use the xterra diff use the 2wd version, it is plug and play on the ABS the 4wd version is not.

If you are talking about he shocks that come in the RC lift kit for the hardbody they don't work in the pathfinder, you will find that the front shocks limit up and down travel slightly, and the rear shocks are not even close to long enough. The front shocks you can get away with but the rear shocks are a no go.

I just wanted to point out if you are using the xterra rear 4.90 gears like i am seting up for my sas the 4.89 dana 44 gears are a closer match then the 4.88. And i keep getting told they dont exist so here is a link for them 4.89 gears

I got them with the shocks but ended up getting longer ones as I was maxing the ones that came with kit out. They were almost 3/4" to short at full drop. Maybe that is just something with how i set things up though.