Which Generation?

[Guest djohnstone]

I'm looking at buying my first pathfinder after spending a fair bit of time in a buddy's '94. There are a few 95's for sale around here as well as a few nice 98's and a 2000 that I've been looking at.

 

I'm going to be using this for driving to and from work every day (5 miles of gravel, 10 miles highway) and lots of hunting and fishing trips. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada so I drive lots of snow and ice in the winter and lots of gravel roads all summer and fall. I want this vehicle to be reliable, tough and take whatever I throw at it. I'm not planning on doing any heavy off-roading aside from some of the places I try to drive in and out of when we hunt and fish.

 

Which generation of pathfinder (like a 94-95 or 98-2000) would better suit my needs? Which will be the tougher off-road vehicle? What about reliability?

 

Comfort and price are not much of a consideration for me. Reliability and overall toughness are more important.

 

Thanks.

 

(if there's a discussion elsewhere in the forums on this, point me there please.)

[zonianbrat]

You might be opening up a can of worms there buddy. People who own wd's (94or95) are going to be partial to their own rigs. While people who own R50's will also be partial. I own a 97 and love it. It has taken everything I have thrown at it and more. I have a buddy who has a 95 pathy I must admit it is pretty sweet. I know there is limited after-market items for the 96+ pathy's although this is changing as we speak. As long as you go with a pathy your headed in the right direction.

 

And welcome to NPORA!!

Edited October 31, 2006 by zonianbrat

[navygz19]

You might be opening up a can of worms there buddy. People who own wd's (94or95) are going to be partial to their own rigs. While people who own R50's will also be partial. I own a 97 and love it. It has taken everything I have thrown at it and more. I have a buddy who has a 95 pathy I must admit it is pretty sweet. I know there is limited after-market items for the 96+ pathy's although this is changing as we speak. As long as you go with a pathy your headed in the right direction.

 

And welcome to NPORA!!

An excellent reply, and exactly what I was going to say

[Pezzy]

I'd say both have pros and cons... both are great, relable trucks...

 

The 96+ might be more reliable, simply because of age.

They also provide a more comfortable ride, where the older pathys are more 'trucklike'

Both are great offroad, but you have more room to mod the older trucks because there is more out there, and also because of their suspension set up and b/c they are body on frame, as opposed to the unibody R50's.

[mws]

I concur.

 

I chose to go pre-90 as they are incredibly cheap and I am capable of doing all my own repairs. I could buy the truck AND a whole slew of brand new nice parts for less than $5K.... I would not hesitate to try anything with my rig now...

[88pathoffroad]

I'd go with a good 92-95 over a R50. Just for the frame and cause I know most of the ins-and-outs of working on 'em.

[GrimGreg]

Which generation of pathfinder (like a 94-95 or 98-2000) would better suit my needs? Which will be the tougher off-road vehicle? What about reliability?

 

Comfort and price are not much of a consideration for me. Reliability and overall toughness are more important.

Get a WD (87-95) they are more rugged.

[94extreme]

1 post and it's a stink bomb.. nice..

 

welcome.. get the 94 my man. :D 4 DOORS RULE!!!!

[nige]

the r50's have a larger interior if you plan on moving lots of stuff around with you. Of course you could always get a roof basket for a wd21 and throw an extra stuff on top. I personally like how my dad's 2001 handles the road better than my 1995. Plus it has the VQ35 engine which is waaay more powerful

[vengeful]

I like how the R50 owners in this thread have tried to maintain a level of objectivity, but the WD owners are screaming to get a WD. I'm not saying they're biased...but then again, I'm not saying they're not!

 

I'm not going to say one is better than the other, because it's not so. Comparing a WD to an R50 is like comparing apples to oranges. They are very different animals. They both excel in certain areas, and they both falter in certain areas.

 

Define what you are looking for more specificially, and we can provide you with further guidance on which generation of Pathfinder will more aptly suit your needs.

[Pezzy]

Apples are way better, I hate peeling oranges... way too much work!!

[vengeful]

Fruit sucks. I should have said Beef and Pork. LOL.

[mws]

Or steak and salad...

 

 

PS - I didn't intend to scream that he should get a WD. I was just sharing my decision.

 

You and Pezzy have clearly proven the R50 can do pretty much do anything a WD21 can. Just requires different things to be done.

Edited November 1, 2006 by mws

[zonianbrat]

Thanks Dan for sounding so professional, It is true though both wd's and R50's excel in certain areas. My 97 kicks as$ but one day I hope to get a Wd mainly for off-roading ( once I can find another job closer to home so I can sell the accord.)

[vengeful]

Since this is an off-road based forum, I'm going to base much of my criteria on that...

 

They are both excellent platforms for a vehicle.

 

I feel that the R50 is better suited for higher-speed off-roading. The front suspension is more forgiving going over washboarded roads and such. That's not to say you can't to some pretty insane things with them, they will never have the potential of an SUV with a proper frame.

 

In stock form, in terms of off-road capability, assuming the same specs, it's a wash. A stock open-diff'd R50 will go everywhere a stock open-diff'd WD21 will.

 

The R50 makes a much more comfortable on-road vehicle, because of the coil-over-strut front suspension and the plusher interior. The WD21 makes an easier platform to build a hardcore 4wheeler from.

 

They both are great in moderately difficult, overland conditions. Hardcore rock crawling and such will require very extensive modifications to either platform. Hardcore rock crawling pretty much requires either a very, very, very highly modified independent suspension with lenthened control arms, or a solid axle. The front suspension design and the unibody construction of the R50 does not really lend itself well to very extreme suspension modifications. With my AC ~2" suspension lift, I have done 3.5 rated trails in Moab and Arizona with very little assistance required. A 3" lifted WD21 on 32" tires and open diffs would have had to stack rocks where I stacked rocks to get over the obstacles.

 

I'll repeat my previous suggestion. Think hard about what you're primary use for this Pathfinder is going to be, and then make a decision based on that. However, don't let the "unibody" construction of the R50 scare you. It actually has a fully boxed 3/16" steel "frame" integrated into the main portion of the body, and a 3/16" box steel frame extension going forward from the firewall, as well as a pretty serious subframe. It is much more rigid than the Jeep Cherokee. If you're familiar with the XJs, you'll know that if you get the suspension tweaked out, you can't open the doors because the body has flexed so much it's pinching them shut. On my R50, I've tweaked out the suspension as far as it will go, with two tires off the ground, and opened the drivers door and liftgate to grab some stuff, and was able to close them fine with no misalignment. I do have sliders and skidplates, which help tie the body together a little bit and stiffen it up a little, though.

 

Whichever route you take, you can't go wrong.

[mws]

[94extreme]

Thanks Dan for sounding so professional, It is true though both wd's and R50's excel in certain areas. My 97 kicks as$ but one day I hope to get a WD mainly for off-roading ( once I can find another job closer to home so I can sell the accord.)

 

[fordsho90]

Us wd owners are just a bit more agressive then the r50 owners. But we all love our trucks no matter what we got, so you cant go wrong with either.

[vengeful]

Possible Problem areas to watch out for:

 

All Pathfinders:

Timing Belts - If the Timing belt lets go, kiss your motor goodbye. It's an interference engine, so, it will interfere.

Automatic transmissions - They like to run warm, and heat kills transmissions. Put a large external transmission cooler and change the fluid frequently to keep yours running forever.

Rear Control Arm bushings - they wear out over time and cause a very unstable ride. Bushings are hard to come by.

 

WD21 Specific:

Frame Rot - The frames like to rot out and leave big nasty gaping holes and break. Be sure you keep it clean and protected with POR-15 or something similar or you'll be having to replace/repair it.

Steering - If you run up-sized tires, be prepared for steering woes. The centerlink is weak, and the idler and pitman arms have no reinforcement.

 

R50 Specific:

Strut bearings - The strut bearings wear out over time and create grinding/popping noises while turning. Also makes turning more difficult.

EVAP System - The EVAP system is far from foolproof. I've been battling mine for ages.

 

 

There are others, but these are the main ones.

[John Boy]

Honestly I would stay away from the WD 21. There's nothing worst then dumping money into a truck and watching the frame detoriate at a very fast pace. Sure you could spend all your time on this high maintenance frame and hope it doesn't rust out on you. There have been to many reports that even people who kept up with frame maintenance experienced significant rust.

[Harbinger]

Honestly I would stay away from the WD 21. There's nothing worst then dumping money into a truck and watching the frame detoriate at a very fast pace. Sure you could spend all your time on this high maintenance frame and hope it doesn't rust out on you. There have been to many reports that even people who kept up with frame maintenance experienced significant rust.

AFAIK not all the WD frames share the same weakness. It seems to be most prevalent on the 94-95's.

 

Also if you get a WD from a salt-free state/region then you should be fine.

 

As an example my 87's frame is virtually rust free with almost 275,000 miles on it.

[John Boy]

AFAIK not all the WD frames share the same weakness. It seems to be most prevalent on the 94-95's.

 

Also if you get a WD from a salt-free state/region then you should be fine.

 

As an example my 87's frame is virtually rust free with almost 275,000 miles on it.

I agree on the 94-95 thing but problem is if you live in a area they may encounter any salt then I would stay away. Don't get me wrong I love my Pathy but the rust thing is just ridiclious.

[mws]

Stay away or just inspect before you buy.

 

My '87 and '88 are both 100% rust free. I know the '87 was 100% California owned and driven, and I think the '88 was as well.

[89_trailboss]

R50's are great on the sity and gravel roads.

 

I would argue about the stock R50 and Stock WD21 offroad tho.

 

I love my WD21 to the bone. It has cost me right around $110 for 6" of lift, and upgraded steering. IMO thats not bad at all. it just takes some time and tools.I couldnt wheel an R50. to me its like beating up a good truck. my WD21 I beat the snot outa, and so far the only things that have bust are steering(stock, IA shaft bent and a bent TRE) and CV's(on rocks and got wheel hop are usually what kills me. gone threw 3 of them.). obviously

 

if its a daily driver, and used for fishing and hunting get a R50. there nice trucks. if you looking to spend a whole weekend in the middle of no wear jsut to explore/test the limits of your truck, purly for fun, get a WD21.

 

oh, and some missed informed you, 2 doors are better then 4!!!

[vengeful]

I would argue about the stock R50 and Stock WD21 offroad tho.

On what grounds?