Things I would have done different...

[PDCCD]

Well, I've been modifying my Pathfinder for a couple of years now, and while i'm not up to Xplorx4, Vengeful, or Pezzies ripping R50 status, i'm slowly working on it. Along the way, I've made some mistakes. I thought i'd share them in the hope that maybe someone in the future will read this and might avoid making the same ones. Perhaps some of you could add yours as well, and it'll save me and others down the road.

 

 

-First, perhaps the hardest. To put it bluntly, i might have avoided buying a pathfinder or perhaps sold it for another vehicle as my interest in off roading developed. Now hear me out, when i bought it, I only gave off-roading it a passing thought. It was intended as reliable, flexible, roomy, mall crawler for the wife and our german shepherd. All things it has been and it has excelled. But our needs have changed, and Steph has passed the pathfinder on to me in exchange for a Golf TDI. So, I found you all, and began messing with what is essentially a four wheel drive station wagon. Now it's probably a good thing that i can't hardly buy any accessories for it or i'd be even more broke, but boy, it would be nice to have some options. Some folks see this as a plus because it's unique, but come on, models pre r50 and even post r50 have tons of stuff already, but nothing for us. I understand the business reasons for it and i don't want this thread to be a debate, just voicing an opinion. And honestly, no matter how much money i sink into it, it'll never be a Defender 90. I just pray i don't tweak the unibody or get it wet

 

-Another big one i've made is the gear swap. I went from the 4:3 open to 4:6 LSD. Now i'm thrilled with the gearing so far, but i wasted alot of time and money trying to deal with the LSD. First, the bearings in the carrier i bought from a junk yard were shot, so i had to pay to have them replaced, and i installed a new LSD component while i was at it, but now looking back it, i should have installed the ARB locker while it was apart. I figured i didn't have the money at the time to set up on board air and all that a locker required, But i could have had the ARB put in for what i ended up paying for the rebuild and LSD, and installed the OBA at a later date when the money presented itself. So future reader, if your even half heartedly considering the gear swap and are paying someone to do it, skip the puny LSD and put the ARB in. If your serious enough to do the gear swap, you'll want the locker eventually, trust me.

 

-Next, my tires. Again, when i made the decision, it was a good one, but if i could have seen into the future, i would have gone bigger. I decided on the 31's for a couple of reasons. First, i was traveling a bit for work, so gas mileage was a concern. Also, i wanted to avoid speedo and gearing problems. I never imagined the bug would bite and i'd do the gearing anyway. Also, i figured that flex was more important than the small difference in clearance bigger would buy me. Now, i'm 3 miles from work, and find myself wishing i went with 32's at least, and possibly 33's. So the suggestion here is consider your tire size carefully, and try to plan into the future if you can. If your on the fence future reader, i say go with 32's. I'll be with these BFG 31's for years now lol.

 

Well, off the top of my head, that's all i can think of for now, but me being me, i reserve the right to add to the list as I continue to make mistakes LOL. Hope this helps someone out.

[MY1PATH]

It neat to see you look back on your experience. Hopefully I don't look back and have too many regrets with my WD21. In 19 yrs I only have a few;

Dad getting hit hit the day he bought it in 89 (a life of alignment challenges)

Hitting a quad jump from the landing side instead of the launch shide ( I hit the launch the first time and it was awesome!) altho I think it did help the alignement issue even tho it messed up allot more lol.

...But I guess so far my list only includes errors not mods mainly because for 18 yrs its been a mostly stock toy. now that its mine the mod list has been getting put together and I'll try to choose carefully.

[Zibi]

I've got to agree with you on the first point. I bought my R50 because I needed something reliable and capable for a winter working up in the mountains, and also in large part because a family friend happened to be selling one. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my pathy, but in hindsight for the type of terrain up here and the small budget I have I'd really rather have something on frame thats a bit cheaper to modify. Oh well, ambitions are always larger than reality.

[jj big shoe]

I would have to agree with you about choosing a Pathfinder as a platform for heavy offroading. Don't get me wrong, it is a well-built tough little truck, but the IFS lack of aftermarket support makes it a challenge to modify for hardcore use.

I remember reading on another forum where a guy was asking what to do to make his Wrangler more trail ready. Everyone responded with things like axle swaps, engine swaps, lower gears, etc. exept one guy. He said why start with a vehicle that needs so many of its major parts swapped out when you could just start with an early Bronco. Short wheelbase, V8, 9" rear, good aftermarket support, etc. Makes sense.

The reality for me is I usually end up playing with what I already have, not purchasing something with a specific purpose in mind. I didn't buy my Integra for Autocross, but I started to bend it that direction. I didn't get my CBR 900 RR with a project goal in mind, it just ended up with new paint and graphics, fairing mods and polished frame and swing arm. Same goes for the Pathfinder. for me its just something I have and I'm going to play with it and try to make it work well for what it is plus make it look good while doing it.