vengeful

The only real issues in the front driveline occur when the CVs are at an extreme angle and stressed heavily. They tend to fail catastrophically. Ask Keith (system-f) about his CV issues on AZ Run 4, I think he blew 2. Other than CVs, the front R200 diff is a VERY stout diff for an IFS setup (it's actually slightly larger (read: stronger) than a Dana35 which is the common REAR axle on many Jeeps). Nissan knew what they were doing building these trucks, don't ever doubt that!

A Frontier or another Pathy gets my vote.

No, not the same company, very similar product though. The one's on the Ebay Desert Rally R50 are made by Donerre and they've got Eibach springs installed. Not sure how they managed that one. I'm going to try to get quotes on shocks from Proflex sometime soon. Thursday and Friday is considered the weekend in Dubai, so they will be closed for a couple days after they close this evening. I tried calling them earlier tonight (Dubai is 8 hours ahead of us here on the east coast), but got cut off. I'll send them an email. I would imagine they ship to the US, but I'm not sure. I know some people in Dubai who could always pick up the parts from them and ship them out, too. I've also got another little trick up my sleeve, but I'm not ready to discuss that one just yet.

On a somewhat related note...I've found a suspension company based out of the UAE that makes dual-reservoir multi-valve shocks for Pathfinders. It looks like they're for the newer generation R50s, however. Trainman, could you get me a couple of detailed pictures of how the shocks mount up, and where? And one of the whole rear end? I'd very much appreciate it.

$44/ea!!! Wow, that's an AMAZING price! I can't imagine that those are the cross drilled ones at that price?! AC charges $275 for the cross drilled ones. How reputable is the company? Have you had any experience with them?

Checked the Nissan FAST Parts software, and for all VG30e Pathfinders, the MAF sensor shows the same Part Number: 22680-88G00 As long as it has the same motor, it should interchange.

I think stock 4-door WD21s look too, blah. There's nothing there. Give them a slight lift and some 32s, a brush guard and a roof rack...and you got yourself one sexy beast! I'm personally partial to the R50s, only because I own one....so far... I've come within inches of buying several 2-door WD21s in the past several months though....one of these days I'll find the right one...

Oh...that sucks Dathan. They must've been pretty damn stuck to blow up your tranny, though! Good call on the warranteed one!

Is your clutch original? I have heard that Nissan clutches can go either way...either lasting for an incredibly long time, or hardly lasting very long at all. At 95k miles, if you're moderately hard on the truck, it is very feasible that your clutch is on its way out. I do not have a 5-speed, so I really can't comment on whether to resurface the flywheel or not... As far as your suspension sag goes, your rear springs are worn out. Changing the shocks/struts will not do anything to improve your ride height. One approach would be to get a set of Airlift airbags, and inflate them so your truck goes back to the desired height. My roommate has a 94 4Runner (they ALL sag in the rear), and he's got the Airlift bags and they level out his truck quite well. Another option would be to get a set of the OME Medium Duty springs for the rear of your truck. They will give you a slight amount of lift (1" or less), and make the ride more truck like, but it will be more level.

5, 6, 7: http://www.lpperformance.com Centerlink - $250 - Core required Double Sheer Pitman Arm - $60 - Core required Double Sheer Idler Arm - $60 - Core required 8: http://www.purenissan.com (Calmini) The TRE on the Centerlink goes for $18.50 The TRE on the Adjuster goes for $26.95 Calmini also sells Heavy Duty Tie Rod Adjusters: They run $56.00 a set.

I'm going to partly play Devil's Advocate here, because I have had nothing but outstandin service and experiences in my dealings with AC. I am not going to comment either way on 88's ordeal with the control arms. I've heard the stories, from several different angles, and I'm just not going to get involved. That said, AC has had it's share of problems, but name one company that hasn't. I would go with AC 100% of the time over Calmini. I have never actually bought anything that AC made in house, so I cannot say for sure on the quality of their brand merchandise. I have always purchased other manufacturers merchandise, or outsourced merchandise from them. When I purchased my lift from them, they were still having Valley Springs make the springs for it. I have gotten to know Jane fairly well over the years of dealing with the company and my membership on their message boards, and I can say that she is incredibly nice, if not one of the busiest people I have ever talked with. That said, AC is run by people. People are human. People make mistakes. Stuff happens, that's life. However, I have heard recently, more stories about how ACs customer service end has gone downhill. Snide comments on the phone, etc. However, based on my recent experiences with them, and how Jane treated our sponsorship and a few of our requests, I am a bit leery of them as a company. I have immense amounts of respect for what they've done insofar as the Nissan Aftermarket is concerned, but I fear that if they continue their downward service spiral, they are in for a very rude awakening. I think one of their biggest issues is that they do not have enough people working there. Even one person full time just answering the phones for $9/hr would make a world of difference in the image they project to the consumer. However, they really do not make that much money and have trouble making all the ends meet come payday. Jane and Mike are overworked, overtired, and super stressed out all the time, and this projects through their service as well. It is unfortunate, but it happens all the time.

Measuring tape works, too. :idea:

I can't help but laugh hysterically at your post! But your problem seems irritating at best.... The only help I can offer is to try to hard reset the alarm. It is possible that the switch isn't engaged fully, or that the switch is crossed or not connected at all. Disconnect your battery. Then unplug the alarm brain. Leave both disconnected for a couple hours, then reconnect, turn on the alarm switch, and see what happens. If that doesnt work, there might be a short, or a burnt connection somewhere in the brain itself. My truck want's to be possessed. Every time a car drives by on the street or someone walks past it it goes chirpy. Although, I think that might be the radar field sensor....

Justin, Are you planning on lifting at all? 32s do fit stock, I've seen it done, although, they WILL rub, and rub a lot. You'll have no problems with having a 32x11.50 on your 15x7" rim. You'll be able to air down and all that. In fact, the narrower wheel will keep some residual tension on the bead from the sidewall pulling out on the tire and make it harder to blow a bead. The only problems you might have is finding a place to mount the tires on your wheels, but you could always do it at your dad's work.

Static: I get this, too. It typically happens in the fall and lasts through the winter when the air is dryer and more prone to static electric activity. Have you started wearing jeans more often lately? I find that it is more frequent when I wear jeans than Khakis....Shouldn't be anything to get all worried about. Fogs: I have had BAD experiences with PIAA bulbs in factory light housings. I have not yet had a single set of PIAA bulbs last me more than 5 months. The factory fog lights are rated at 55W, so you're fine there. In my estimation, there isn't enough resistance in the factory fog light circuitry and it causes the PIAA bulbs to burn too hot, causing them to blow out. PIAA bulbs also seem to be hyper-sensitive to vibrations, and fog lights seem to have an awful lot of that. When I still had my factory fog lights, bulbs would typically last me 3-4 months. The set of PIAA Ion Crystal H3s I had in there lasted me 6 weeks before blowing out...WASTE OF MONEY! If you really want to have the yellow illumination from fog lights, maybe try getting some aftermarket fog light housings with the amber fog already installed. I have had a set of cheapo Walmart Amber fog lights installed on my truck for almost 6 months now with no problems. Spare Tire Carrier Ajar Light, Hatch Glass Lock, and Parking Lot Idiot: These seem to me to be related. I'm guessing that when the brainchild hit your truck, he may have knocked something loose in the circuitry for the ajar light. This may have also caused something to shift in the liftgate creating the resistance you're feeling in the lock. Another possible cause for the lock problem could be that some sort of debris got into it. Try squirting some lock grease into it, see if that helps at all. How often to you open and close the rear window? Are you particularly tough on it? Metallic Grinding in Engine: This DEFINITELY sounds like a pulley to me. When you got the Timing Belt changed, did they also change the Water Pump? The bearings could be going bad in the water pump causing that noise. Other possible culprits include, TB Tensioner pulley, harmoic balancer pulley, alternator pulley, alternator (could be defective), power steering pulley. My suggestion: pop the hood and start the truck, listen around your engine bay with an automotive stethoscope (stethoscope with a long rod on it) and poke around your pulleys. When you find the bad one, you'll know it....if the bearings are good in a pulley, it should be very quiet on a stethoscope with only a slight whirring. If you hear a loud grinding or rubbing noise, there's your culprit. You may not even need the stethoscope to find the bad pulley if you've got a good ear. Other Stuff: Don't you just love idiotic drunk people?

Agreed. The Doug Thorley brand headers are Ceramic coated and provide the best fitment available. They also provide the best performance of any available header for a VG30 (your motor) Pathfinder. The Pacesetters (*cough* B *cough*) are considerably cheaper, but if you search the board, you will find several horror stories in dealing with them. There are extreme fitment issues with them. Pipes that are supposed to overlap are 6"+ apart, poor construction quality, etc. I would steer very far away from these (especially with that new L&P Steering you're going to get ) and drive straight towards a set of Thorleys (Also available from AC http://www.4x4parts.com under Performance). For those of you wondering why I am touting L&Ps product so much over Calminis, just search on any Xterra board (XOC, XterraFirma, NEXterra, etc) for Calmini Problems. Even though L&P can be slow to turnaround product, their quality and durability is FAR superior to that of Calmini. Another alternative to Calmini would be SLR, but they have had problems with customer service and incorrect product shipments in the past as well. Also, they are more expensive than L&P on the steering upgrade. Oh, and L&P is a sponsor of NIORA.

Allow me to bring my $0.03 into this (I gotta make up for these high gas prices somehow!).... Automotive Customizers (http://www.4x4parts.com) makes and sells a 3" control arm lift (~$400) for the Pathfinders. They also sell the Trailmaster 4" lift (~$900). These lifts are stackable, and compatible with eachother for a total of 7" of suspension lift. They also sell the Performance Accessories 3" body lift kit (~$100). Any time you change the height of the vehicle you will change the characteristics of it. If you perform a body lift, you will have to extend the steering shaft. The steering angles will be less affected by a 3" Body lift than a 3" suspension lift, but they WILL change. Any time you alter the suspension of the vehicle, an alignment is needed, sometimes you will have to buy aftermarket parts to get the alignment in spec. If you perform a suspension lift, and you wheel your truck at all, you WILL destroy the factory Nissan centerlink, idler arm, and/or pitman arm. As the saying goes NISSANS = Nothing Is So Sh*tty As Nissan Steering. As far as steering upgrades go, the Calmini stuff is decent, but their centerlink bushings only seem to last a few months at best, at least in the Xterras, which have the same steering setup as a WD21 (your chassis code) Pathfinder. I recommend checking out L&P Performance (http://www.lpperformance.com) for their steering upgrade. They can be a little slow on turnaround, because the guys running it are doing it on the side in addition to their normal full-time jobs as a way to help out the Nissan aftermarket. Their complete Steering Upgrade kit costs a little bit more than $300, with core, as opposed to Calminis which will set you back $800+ and create more headaches than it's worth. Good luck with your truck, and I'm sure you'll have tons of fun. Don't hesitate to ask questions because you think they are "dumb," these kinds of posts help everyone!

I caught one guy peering into my drivers window with a slim-jim down my door as I walked outside to grab something out of the truck....I damn near put a hole through his head. He's lucky the safety was on. :furious:

DO NOT top off your Brake Fluid. The braking system is designed to have the fluid level drop as the pads wear out as a rough indicator of how much pad life is left. If you do top-off the system, when the pads are changed, you will spill brake fluid all over the place.

It works WONDERS....will smoke out your neighborhood though....

Its the big black thing with the brake fluid reservoir on top of it mounted to the firewall.

It'll be between your brake master cylinder and your intake manifold, running through a bracket thinger on the firewall. Hmm...it's been about 50,000 miles since I SeaFoamed my truck...I should probably do that sometime soon.

Seafam recommends using the Brake Booster Line, though the EVAP line works just as well....basically any of the vac lines that get the stuff straight into the manifold (not through the airbox), will be fine. Here's a diagram from the FSM that should hopefully help out:

The likelihood of breaking a Diff on a Pathfinder is extremely minimal. The H233b is substantially larger and stronger than a Dana44. The torque required to break the R&P or even half-shafts in an H233b rear end would be comparable to a built V8. You are 99,999,999x more likely to burn up a clutch than break a gearbox, too. If he feels more comfortable pulling out a vehicle while it is in neutral, the more power to him. In his experiences, that's what's worked best for him. Your experiences may be different. You also have to remember that the terrain in Australia is very different from that here in the states.

Mine were that way...I reversed them...lol