dkpath96

Is it bad that my fuel filter is mounted with plastic zip-ties now? And if so, can a fuel filter bracket be bought or fabbed? If someone has a picture of one I'd appreciate it.

Hmmm... so I took out that airbox/snorkel-esque looking contraption (can't come up with it's name at the moment) that attaches to the air filter box in the driver's side front wheel well a while ago to get more airflow (a 'custom' intake). It did give a slight increase in performance, but... That was probably a dumb thing to do, reading these posts and watching these videos, and given my liking of big water holes and splashes. I thinks I will re-install the thing very soon...

The thing that worries me is that I had an alignment done the day the new 31s were installed (the first week of June). I looked up the warranty - any issues within 6 months or 6000 miles on alignment and I can have another done for 'free' (nothing is ever free...) so that'll be my next step. While they align I'll have them look for any other problems with the steering. So it is normal for the camber angle to increase as one steers, right? I can visually see positive camber when I park with the wheels turned. "Another reason for negative camber is that a rubber tire tends to roll on itself while cornering. If the tire had zero camber, the inside edge of the contact patch would begin to lift off of the ground, thereby reducing the contact patch. By applying negative camber, this effect is reduced, thereby maximizing the contact patch." -Wiki Thus positive camber makes the contact patch worse?? This doesn't make sense then, if SUVs and trucks have positive cambers - would this not reduce traction? OR is steering ease more important?

Yea, I did a pretty good search but was unable to come up with much, but that's because it's hard to choose a keyword to describe this issue - although 'mishandling issues' may work! Ok, yesterday I took the pathfinder for a spin and tried to duplicate the problem. Every time, all I got was tire rub at full lock, and nothing strange. It seems to only happen at the intersection to my drive, which has a bit of slope away from the center of the road which may be causing or amplifying the issue. I went under the front last night and did not notice anything unusual or loose, so I guess I'll have to wait and see with this - and do some more research. Hopefully nothing major breaks on the trails!

I put on 31's a month ago and have noticed something different about how the pathy turns when making sharp turns out of my driveway on pavement. It's hard to describe but when I make a hard left turn (haven't really tried a hard right turn because this worries me), it feels like the steering wheel wants to continue to rotate counterclockwise, which seems impossible. I have to really fight it to bring it back to center. It almost feels like the right-hand tire is going to fold in or something strange like that. I've felt this before but on a riding mower, when the wheels would turn completely backwards during a really sharp turn (it would end up taking off a front tire). Is this just something to be cautious of with the bigger tires? I know they have quite the positive camber and are most likely trying to roll on the outer edges... Or, do I have something broken? The tie-rods seem fine to me, but what might I look for?

I have the stock 15x7 chrome wheels. The 31's are just inside the wheel wells (almost flush). Here's a pic...

Your new MAF should last a long time. As for patience and asking questions, this forum is the absolute gem for troubleshooting and saving lots of $$ by fixing things the right way.

Well if it makes you feel any better, the first time my MAF went, I had no idea what it was, and the local garage charged me over $400 to replace it with a crappy replacement MAF. No idea where they got it but it lasted less than a year. When it conked out, I finally figured it out and did it RIGHT myself and got the remanufactured MAF from rockauto. In the long run, yours was less expensive!

If your MAF ever pukes out again, try to find a remanufactured one at rockauto.com - they are MUCH cheaper and you can send your old one in for a refund. All in all mine cost me like $175 to replace and it has run great. Wish I would have seen your topic sooner, sorry.

Also make sure you have 15x7 stock wheels (have them measured) and not 15x6.5's. I don't think you can put 31's on 15x6.5 wheels safely but since you aren't off-roading it might not be a big deal. I have a '96 with 15x7's and have minor rubbing at full lock both directions, forward and reverse, even with the OME coil springs. Makes tight parallel parking a bit noisy but who cares, the tires look much better. It might be possible to heat the inner wheel wells at the rub spots and bend them away from the tire instead of trimming - I saw that on here somewhere but am not sure it was for R50's... Good call on the gas mileage, xPLORx4. When I first calculated mine after new tires I was a bit disappointed, but never considered the effect on the odometer - only the speedo. duh.

Here's some of my '96...

Thanks, guys! Got it for $135 ASAP ($53 overnight shipping). Had it installed yesterday and so far so good!

Is this what I need? http://www2.partstrain.com/products/Engine...AT-4WD-004.html

I recharged my AC this afternoon and while I was inspecting the compressor I noticed that my crankshaft pulley was wobbling. Not just a little wobble, either - I'd say it wobbles 1/4 to 1/2 an inch in and out. I've read that the vibration dampener is part of (or is) this pulley, so is it compensating or is something going terribly wrong?? I've never seen it do this before...

Sounded like more than using just a press, so I thought I'd ask...

I just got my poly bushings in the mail this week and plan on installing them on the lower arms. I have access to a press so hopefully getting them on won't be the problem... Any reccommendations as to removing the old ones quickly and easily? Band saw, grinder, torch, etc??

Thanks for the link, Acey. If I were to determine whether my current wheels were truly only 15x6.5's, what would the measurement across the wheel be from the outer wheel edge to the inner wheel edge? Would it be about 7"? I know 6.5" would be the inside width but the guys at the shop said I'd have to take the tire off to find out for sure and I can't exactly do that easily...

Welcome to the forums! Go to the 96-2004 R50 Pathfinders page and look at the pinned links at the top. They will tell you all you want to know and then some. Good luck!

Anyone know what kind of setup this pathy has on the roof (sorry, I don't remember whose rig this is...) ? And what might be a ballpark cost for such a thing?

Since the wheel topic has come up here, I will ask... Right now I have 30x9.5x15 BFG's on my stock 15x6.5 rims. I want bigger tires (like 31's) to go with my OME lift. However, here is the catch: I don't have fender flares and don't want the tires to fling stones all along the side of the vehicle, so I don't want them to stick out too far past the wheel well. And I can't seem to find the right wheel width and offset/backspacing that would prevent this. I am chewing on the idea of finding some cheap/used/salvaged stock 15x7 rims off a Nissan or anything with the same bolt pattern that would fit. This way the 31's or metric equiv's would fit on the rims w/o sticking out too far. Would this be worth the $$ or should I just stick with 30's? The pic I'm including was the look I am trying to go for... my apologies for forgetting whose rig it is!!

In response to using loads of high-temp grease with the hubs... I tore them apart over the winter and de-greased them, then re-greased and re-assembled them. They are functioning perfectly and I noticed that all that grease that was near the seal actually kept dirt, dust, and salt out. They still turn easily and seem to engage/disengage with no issues. So far so good!

I only installed the coil springs. No spacers! While I was in there I installed new struts and strut mounts though. Consider doing that if you have lots of miles on yours yet. At first I thought the HDs up front would be too stiff but I really like them and don't think they ride rough at all. And they made my pathy sit fairly level - no dragster look. Now I don't have any custom bumper or winch or anything other than a metal skid plate up front so that could be why.

I put OME HD's in the front and OME mediums in the rear about a year ago. For the first 5-6 months I had a full 2 inches of lift in both the front and the rear. Today I measured and have 1.75 inches of lift all around. No spacers, Warns, KYB GR2s up front and el cheapo Monro shocks in the back. The ride is perfect - stiff offroad, handles great on pavement, and only tops out when I hit a really bad speed bump or ravine or a log at speed. I've been following a Jeep Cherokee with a 3" lift around the local trails, quad paths and mud holes all year with absolutely no fear of being outdone. Very pleased with the OME setup so far, and if you just need the coils, it's cheaper than AC's. Next time around (who knows when I'll wear these coils out) I might try AC's for comparison, though. I've attached a picture of my pathy pre- and post-OME install.

Thanks for the link, xplorx4. I tried the test and did not notice any movement in the control arms, at least not laterally. The one thing I did do was to grab the control arms and was able to move them - I could twist them forward and backward (as you face the side of the vehicle) and they moved rather easily, more than 1/8 an inch each way. I'd say the bushings are shot. I've had well-worn BFG's on my pathy before and never experienced this tramlining issue, so I'm not thinking it's the tires. I'm going to order two bushing kits from AC and have access to a hydraulic press. Anything else I need to know before I get involved with this repair, i.e. what bolt size is needed for the ones I might have to hack off?

This "tramlining" or "sashaying" you guys speak of - I think I am experiencing this now for some reason. Does it feel like the truck has gotten "loose" in the rear and wants to slip from side to side? I've been trying to figure this out for weeks now. I seem to experience it more when the road is wet but it has nothing to do with a windy day or following a tractor trailer or anything that would be air-buffeting related. And I do not feel this motion in the steering. My tires are pretty well worn - BFG ATs with less than 5 to 6/16 of an inch left. The tire pressures match, but I will now be looking into the lower control arm bushings. Anyone know a quick and easy way to check the status of the bushings?