matty91se Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Hi! I'm new to the forum, even though I've had my Pathfinder for quite awhile. I'm in Seattle, and while I've mostly used my Pathfinder for skiing/snowboarding and very light and occasional off road driving, I'm ready to get a bit more aggressive with it and do some more of the wrenching myself. I'm a rookie/newb in many senses (I just changed my own brake pads for the first time), and am excited that a forum like this is available! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Where abouts in seattle are you? I'm in the Burien/Boulevard Park area. Have any pics of your beast? We love pics. I go wheeling quite often, and you're welcome to tag along. My schedule is a little weird though, I don't get many weekend days off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 I'm in Greenwood and work at the University Medical Center. No pics yet, but I think we're going to try some of the "easier" trails in Evan's Creek this weekend. Hopefully that will give some good pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneZ Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Evans creek is pretty boring unless you like body damage, it's pretty much guaranteed if you run on any of the trails that AREN'T easy. The 120 trail is pretty tame. Need to take another crack at the 520 trail, and 311 is ridiculous. There is one gravel/rock steep climb where I just gritted my teeth, pinned the throttle, and held on! You might have more fun at Tahuya, I'll be going there soon, possibly Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 Thanks for the advice! As my pathfinder is still stock (and twenty years old), I'm guessing that the "easy" trails will be my best options. The NPORA meet-up sounds interesting. It'd be interesting to see what people have done with lifts and other mods and what that allows them to do on the trails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 (edited) Howdy and welcome!! BoneZ's suggestion is a good one if you are interested in meeting some of the crowd. B Edited July 15, 2010 by Precise1 oops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 And again I kick myself for leaving Seattle...yet ANOTHER Pathfinder owner that lives there.... Welcome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Hi! I'm new to the forum, even though I've had my Pathfinder for quite awhile. I'm in Seattle, and while I've mostly used my Pathfinder for skiing/snowboarding and very light and occasional off road driving, I'm ready to get a bit more aggressive with it and do some more of the wrenching myself. I'm a rookie/newb in many senses (I just changed my own brake pads for the first time), and am excited that a forum like this is available! Welcome to NPORA! Everyone was a newb as some point, we'll fix that for you! I'm in Greenwood and work at the University Medical Center. No pics yet, but I think we're going to try some of the "easier" trails in Evan's Creek this weekend. Hopefully that will give some good pics! As in UW? I have likely seen your truck then I was working in the MC and Hospital a lot a couple months ago. And am currently working all around the UW campus. Howdy and welcome!! MY1PATH's suggestion is a good one if you are interested in meeting some of the crowd. B And again I kick myself for leaving Seattle...yet ANOTHER Pathfinder owner that lives there.... Welcome!! Well get back here then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Welcome to the insanity! IM a little further south, but working in Fife. The MR.JIM run would be a great oppertunity to meet other members! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Thanks for the advice! As my pathfinder is still stock (and twenty years old), I'm guessing that the "easy" trails will be my best options. The NPORA meet-up sounds interesting. It'd be interesting to see what people have done with lifts and other mods and what that allows them to do on the trails. You'd be surprised at what even a stock truck could do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teixeira Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Wanna see some pics, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 I think we're switching it up and heading to Tahuya this Saturday instead of Evan's Creek. I'll make sure to get some pics. I saw some of the videos that Silverton and (can't remember who the other guy was!) posted from Tahuya, and hopefully we'll have as much fun! My buddy's running a TRD Tacoma with 32" BFG KM-2's, and I'll be in my pathfinder with 31" Yokohama A/T-S's. We're both newbs to the off-road scene, so I'm sure we'll be taking it pretty easy! Oh yeah, I noticed that the guys in the videos were running with out center covers on their Legos. Is it standard practice to pop those off before going off road so that they don't get cracked or lost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Yes, the center caps are pretty weak. I would take them off before doing any major off roading, as you'll most likely destroy them the first time they take a hit to a dirt wall or boulder. Mister510 just doesn't run them at all, except for on his spare. I work 2-8 on saturday or else I would join you. Hopefully you have some fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 That's right! It was Mister510 who was the other person in the videos. Yeah. We're both excited to go down there, but hoping to go super slow and steady so that we don't dent up our daily drivers! Some of those muddy, rutted hill climbs may be a bit more than I want to wallop through until I get a bit more comfortable. My risk tolerance threshold isn't all that high yet. If you get a weekend off anytime soon, we should definitely try to get out there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneZ Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 That's right! It was Mister510 who was the other person in the videos. Yeah. We're both excited to go down there, but hoping to go super slow and steady so that we don't dent up our daily drivers! Some of those muddy, rutted hill climbs may be a bit more than I want to wallop through until I get a bit more comfortable. My risk tolerance threshold isn't all that high yet. If you get a weekend off anytime soon, we should definitely try to get out there! Warning Proceed with caution offroad driving is addictive and unlike other addictions it is one that can keep growing and growing. On a real note all of use that offroad originally started as a noob at some point. The best thing to do is start small and work your way up. As you get more comfortable with it you will try harder things and find the limits for you and your rig. Then comes the fun part of improving your pathfinder to make it more capable and at the same time every trip you will learn something that makes it so you know how to react to trails and situations So the growth of you and your 4x4 is truly only limited by how far you are willing to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Not this saturday, but next saturday I am off. I haven't gone wheeling on a weekend yet so I'm not sure how crowded places get, but I'd be willing to go out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Oh yeah, I noticed that the guys in the videos were running with out center covers on their Legos. Is it standard practice to pop those off before going off road so that they don't get cracked or lost? It just looks cool without them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 Ha! We did most of the loop and mud lake (pretty dry compared to the videos and photos that I've seen). No damage, although the Tacoma's ECU had to be reset by pulling and replacing the fuse after it got wet (we think). Here are some pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 You'll be buying aftermarket parts in no time... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 Ha! I absolutely will be! Probably almost identical to yours, from what I can see. A couple more inches on the suspension, a couple on the body. It's my daily driver for the foreseeable future, so I can't get too far out there with it! It's also my snowboarding truck in the winters, so it needs to have good highway manners (Whistler is a five hour drive from Seattle), and I'll probably always be running more heavily siped/smaller tread blocked tires rather than the larger cleated mud terrains or crawlers. I need the snow and ice traction! One thing that was funny when we were leaving Tahuya was that we talked a Subaru wagon out of going into the trailhead, and he was trying to say that if my truck had been in there, his car could probably do it. He seemed to think that my Pathfinder had more in common with his Outback than it did with my buddy's Toyota. I guess in his mind, the TRD Tacoma on 32's was a whole different, more capable class of "real" 4x4. Who wants to guess which truck took the tougher lines all day? It wasn't the Toyota ... As you can see, he had to follow me: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Why did you talk him out of it? I would have followed him in! Are you available Monday for a return trip to Tahuya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 Why did you talk him out of it? I would have followed him in! Are you available Monday for a return trip to Tahuya? Unfortunately, I have a Mon-Fri schedule! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty91se Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 And I may have some of the dreaded Lower A Arm Compression Rod issues. It looks like the washer that is on the forward side of the frame bracket on the driver's side is missing, and the bushings are pretty shot. No wonder it was so squeaky. I wonder how oval-ed out it's gonna be? I wonder where that washer went, and whether I'm going to have to replace the whole assembly, or just the bushings and hopefully find a new washer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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