Considering a Pathfinder

[Halfbreedinkc]

I'm looking for a new offroad rig and am considering an older Pathfinder (80's to mid-90's), and want to research the platform, get some input from current owners before commiting. I come from a Jeep XJ background (having owned 3) and as those are becoming scarcer, at least in decent condition in the KC area, thought I'd look at something similar (not considering the Toyota 4Runner simply because I consider them to be far over-valued by their owners).

 

I'm looking at building a mild expo rig of sorts, don't need a radical lift or such, just want to build it to be as reliable as humanly possible so I get out of the insanity of the city and tour some more remote back country.

 

Thanks for any input in advance,

 

HBinKC

[Slartibartfast]

Mine's needed a few things, and given me occasion to curse the designers a few times, but that's to be expected from a vehicle of its age. If you keep up on maintenance they'll go a long time. People on here have taken Pathfinders to some seriously hairy places on a regular basis and they seem to hold up pretty well. I haven't gotten too crazy with mine but it's handled just about everything I've thrown it at.

 

They have a few common problems (as do most older vehicles) but if you keep up on maintenance they'll do pretty well. There's a 'common problems' thread (IIRC it's in the Garage section) that'll tell you what to look out for. Check very closely for rust if the truck's from a salt state! My 95 looked alright, but its years in New York and then Idaho had eaten through the frame above the rear axle and the floor under the rear seats.

[Cory74700]

Good choice for the year range, these little SUVs will go through anything you throw at them except extremely deep mud and quicksand (both of which I have sunken mine in) but if you keep it to the dry terrain they will go further than almost any jeep, definitely further than any Chevy or ford pickup, and the heavier vehicles, your right about the 4runners being held at high values by their owners, but that's to expect for most of all foreign vehicles of that era. As slartibartfast said, general maintenance will keep them on the road and offroad for a very long time. If you go with an 87-89 with the vg30i throttlebody engine, just be careful with water as they're known for sucking water into the intake and leaving you stranded until you either let it dry out of immediately clean the MAF which will make your engine run super rich and spew out heaps of black smoke due to the buckets of fuel being burnt while running hydrolocked. I've had my pathfinder for over a year now, put just over 100,000 miles on it and it still is my daily driver/off-road toy with 316,xxx miles on it . The only issue I've come across is bushings tend to wear very fast if they're still original and its driven off-road a lot, and the sucking water in the intake, other than that, you should be very pleased with the power, handling on and off-road, and the fuel economy after some tuning to the motor. Also the motor is really easy to work on aside from changing the spark plugs. Hope you get a pathfinder and stay in the community, there's a lot of people on here that can assist you with literally any problem/issue you may have, and everyone if is full of respect and kind words to help assist you the whole way through your journey.

[92Path_68CJ]

Being a Jeep guy myself, I have no issues saying that my 92 Pathfinder was every bit as capable, and in some areas, even more capable.

 

For it's size, my 92 was nearly unstoppable in 4wd with chains on all four wheels (ice breaker off road only chains) in deep snow.

[wolkersdorfer2]

before i bought my pathfinder my brother got a 91 XJ, and as it did have a lot more power than my pathfinder, we are finding more and more that my "cheap" nissan is just as capable off road, and more capable on road. the only thing the jeep has going for it in my opinion is aftermarket support. i have found there really isnt much support for these, but there is a good amount, you just cant compete with how much there is for an XJ. besides, custom fab is bomb anyways!

 

(and i love these fender buldges! lol)

Edited January 21, 2013 by wolkersdorfer2

[teixeira]

Got to say that I'm not that big of a Jeep fan, although I kind a like their design.

[Cory74700]

As wolkersdorfer said yheres not much aftermarket support but there are many members here that either custom fab excellent aftermarket parts themselves that either can meet or exceed the top names or have good references

[nunya]

(not considering the Toyota 4Runner simply because I consider them to be far over-valued by their owners).

 

HBinKC

Hey, I had a 4runner for a little while and will NOT overvalue that thing! Bastage took more bites outa me in 2 years than all my Nissans of the past combined!

 

 

All seriousness though, comparing an XJ to a wd21 (87-95 Pathfinder) in my eyes:

Front suspensions: XJ has a solid axle up front, wd21 has a torsion bar independent front suspension. To some this is a win for the XJ, others may prefer the wd21 setup. A SAS is also an option if necessary in the long run on a wd21 as if you browse around the members rides section you can see a few people have ventured this route. The IFS can also be modified to be a little more robust as well (a couple different solutions to strengthening the steering, aftermarket torsion bars, upper control arms that allow a little more clearance etc)

Rear suspensions: both have solid rear axles, but where the XJ is leaf sprung a wd21 is coil sprung with a 5 link

Body/structure construction: your familiar with XJs so you are well aware it's unibody (I'm not gonna go bashing unibodys... right now ) where as a wd21 is full framed, be aware though that wd21s are known for frame rot as well so check it well before laying any money down! You say you want to build for expedition so I assume your looking for a 4 door preferred which will slim your wd21 year search to 90-95 model years (2 doors were 87-89 {with some strange rareish 1990s-US spec that is} but are actually the same size bodys as 4 door ones) both an XJ and a wd21 have the style and lines of a toaster too

Engine: where XJs have that 4.0 inline 6, wd21s have a 3.0l V six (87-89 have a vg30i which is a throttle body fed engine where 90-95s have a vg30e which is a multi port engine) while yes the 4.0 is a bit more peppy, there are ways to build our little 3.0s to be quite pleasing.

Aftermarket: XJ is a Jeep, you know it's loved where as we have a bit less in choices. We do have members here though even that help with this though as they develop stuff to keep our trucks on the road and improve them

Regular parts avalibility: on par either way really, normal big box parts stores carry many regular pieces without issue and we actually have a member here that is THE in for factory sourced parts and he is more than willing to help out

 

We do have some regular maintenance things that should stay addressed as any specific platform would have, the 3.0 is a timing belt driven engine and it has change intervals that shouldn't really be ignored, automatic equipped trucks should have the factory cooler bypassed with an external one as the factory one is prone to clogging, frame rot is a must to check before purchase (and depending on severity and ability/accommodations can be a good price point negotiator)

 

I probably have more I want to say but don't feel like thinking anymore at this very moment

[Alkorahil]

I have owned three! ( Does that make me an addict?)

As pointed out already it really is a good little truck; just be patient and hunt around for a good running well kept one!

Like and XJ, I think you will be impressed at what it can do and offers for its age and how durable it is. In many ways, IMHO nissan hasnt made anything as reliable and relatively ease to maintain and fix since. Sure they add more tech and comfort, etc over the years, but its supposed to be an SUV, not a luxury caddilac.

As I always say, if you want to know if something was made well, take a look at how many are still rolling around!

[Alkorahil]

Regular parts avalibility: on par either way really, normal big box parts stores carry many regular pieces without issue and we actually have a member here that is THE in for factory sourced parts and he is more than willing to help out

 

 

He sounds like a total jerk to me!