Jiro Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) Hey!Hopefully I learn a few things here and there. Just picked up my Pathfinder last month and its been pretty solid. It's a 1997 klondike edition pathfinder.This is my first time buying a SUV. Before this I owned a 2+0 yellow twinturbo 300zx 1990, then a black 2+0 N/A 300zx 1990 and now I own a cherry red 2+0 TT 300zx along side the pathfinder. The reason why I bought this vehicle in the first place (the R50) was it was the best deal at the time and I was looking for a 4x4 when I go up to the far north (dawson creek, fort st john and fort nelson) in the upcoming few months for work. It needs new tires... I am eyeing up on General Tires Grabber AT-2 on tire rack right now. I think this should be a good tire that will be good for the environment it will be in... march - early june... I expect to see snow (possibly deep snow) and when spring hits it will be mud season so I believe these will do. I picked up a set of frontier wheels they are 15x7 i believe and im not sure what the offset is but they have near bald nokian M+S 235s on them now. I planned to put the Grabber AT-2 on them (265/70/15) but im not sure if it will actually fit as i assumed the rims were the same as my stockers at the time of sale... I actually don't know the dimension of the stock rims and offset... i am not sure if the frontier rims (i think they are S/C?) will even clear the brakes.Issues I've found so far is that transfer case isn't very good. It seems when i try shifting it out of 2wd to 4h its fine but i put it back into N and when im parked (and running) and try to put it back into 2wd it starts grinding... I also can't put the car in 4L when its in park (and running)... I thought i broke the suv when i couldnt shift back. Its fine when I turn off the SUV and then I shift it... doesn't grind anymore... then start the engine and its in whatever gear i put the transfer case in... I'm not sure how it works... im not sure if im doing it right... i have nobody i know who knows anything about SUV transfer case selection... I have a feeling that its not suppose to operate this way however. Another issue i found was that the passenger fender looks like its rusting out. The front bumper looks like its been in a small accident from the previous owner and kind of caved in the fender a bit but its nothing serious.I brought the SUV in to Nissan and apparently there was a recall on the SUV. It needed a front strut housing inspection and repair if required. Anyway it passed. they just put some undercoating in those areas.Also I asked them to check if the SUV had a block heater and it does not.Do you think i might need a block heater? (temperatures up there have been recently like -40C (-40F)) will probably warm up by the time i get there a bit. I have some Rotella T6 5w 40 kicking around I think that should do.After I am done up north... I hope to set this baby up with a decent tow package, bigger brakes, and some good transmission cooler... and add some more umphf to the motor (aggressive cams, some breather mods)... I want to be able to carry out everyday day to day tasks and also be able to tow my 300zx whenever it needs to be towed.I'll post some pictures soon! Edited January 8, 2014 by Jiro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 First off, when shifting from 2hi-4hi, when in N on the transmission gear selector, there is no need to pause in N on the transfer case selector. That's why you;re getting a grind. And as far as shifting into 4lo with the car in park, it wont. The case has to be able to move some. A block heater would sure help it start at those temps... I to had to have the strut recall inspected and then coated. All pathfinders should have this done. As some REALLY rot out. Welcome to the forums and have fun seaching around... don't get lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Also can't seem to figure out why the hazard light doesnt turn on and the cabin lights dont work and there is no "the key is in the ignition jingle" when the ignition is in the off position... Checked all the fuses and they seemed good(i think)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 good to see another brother from canukistan! Other than the sticker I've never figured out just what the Klondike or Chilcoot edition signifies. your wheel size will be on the drivers door fame sticker.l shifting the transfer case will get better with use. most SUV drivers never use it. there should be a how to card on the drivers sun visor. if not, shifting from 2HI to 4HI can be done on the fly up to about 50km/h. Shifting to 4Lo requires the transmission to be in N. I get some grinding as well and have resorted to shutting the truck down before switching to 4LO. gotta say though I've only had to use it a couple of times in the 2years I've had my truck, mostly to negotiate a steep,wet slippery decent and one gnarly climb. 4x4fourm.com has some great off road driving skill videos if you are new to off road driving. things like when to use 4hi or 4lo, driving in mud, snow ,sand you have to pay a membership but it's a great learning tool. A block heater would be a good thing, I've just learned about glue on heater pads that you can attach to the oil pan or transmission. they use them in the heavy truck industry. I'll be looking into them for next winter. Before doing any Mods I'd make sure things like the water pump and timing belt have been changed recently. they have a very specific replacement schedule. After that I'd replace all the fluids, (synthetics in the diffs help in the cold) spark plugs don't forget #6 its a bitch. Have the transmission flushed. just the routine stuff that the PVO probably didn't do. A bigger tranny cooler is a very good idea. More HP is not an easy thing with the VG33 engine or at least not cheep. My front fenders are rusty as well but if your into it replacements are not expensive and quite easy to replace. all this info is here on NPORA you just have to look for it. I'm sure your gonna be happy with your R50, it has it's quarks, but its reliable and quite capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Welcome to NPORA Jiro! Looks like most things have been covered already, but I'll pitch in a few. Put the tranny in neutral when shifting, that should get rid of the grind. Check/replace the fluids in the tranny/T case and diffs. Your timing belt should be changed every 105k miles. Do you know when it was last done? If not, how many miles on it? 265/70/15 is the stock size on our 1999.0 on stock rims (basically 30x10") so the tires will fit. You just have to try the rims to see... Installing manual locking hubs will net you a little better mileage on the highway, but you loose the shift on the fly ability unless you prelock them. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 thanks guys for all the input so far. I just took some quick pics with my ipod touch (not the best quality) today just so you can see ^ you can see a little bit of the rust in the corner there and the turn signal light housing is a bit busted up there on the passenger side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Welcome to NPORA Jiro! Looks like most things have been covered already, but I'll pitch in a few. Put the tranny in neutral when shifting, that should get rid of the grind. Check/replace the fluids in the tranny/T case and diffs. Your timing belt should be changed every 105k miles. Do you know when it was last done? If not, how many miles on it? 265/70/15 is the stock size on our 1999.0 on stock rims (basically 30x10") so the tires will fit. You just have to try the rims to see... Installing manual locking hubs will net you a little better mileage on the highway, but you loose the shift on the fly ability unless you prelock them. B 30x10? Closest i can find is 30X9.5R15LT Will this work then 30x9.5r15? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+AT+2&sidewall=Outlined%20White%20Letters&partnum=095SR5GRAT2OWL&tab=Sizes Or should I get these ones 265/70/15? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+AT+2&sidewall=Outlined%20White%20Letters&partnum=67SR5GRAT2OWL&tab=Sizes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbley11 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 IIRC you can fit 31's on a stock r50. They look better then the smaller tires, as you are looking at a 29 and 30 inch tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) i have 31's on my truck. 31x10.50x15's to be exact. ANd yes, they fit without rubbing before i lifted it lol Edited January 16, 2014 by Kyle94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hmm did you have to remove your fender flares for the 31s to fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Nope, still running flares and flaps. I have 3.25" back spacing wheels now as well. but before i was running wd21 lego style wheels, 15x7 with 4,25" bs i think. and they still didn't rub with no lift.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 30x10? Closest i can find is 30X9.5R15LT Will this work then 30x9.5r15? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+AT+2&sidewall=Outlined%20White%20Letters&partnum=095SR5GRAT2OWL&tab=Sizes Or should I get these ones 265/70/15? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+AT+2&sidewall=Outlined%20White%20Letters&partnum=67SR5GRAT2OWL&tab=Sizes Sorry, I was rounding... the only real difference between those tires is the 265/70/15 are about an inch wider at 10.5". Take a look... http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-calculator/ Either one should serve you fine, and yes, 31" should fit with the proper back spacing and as long as the suspension hasn't sagged. I put some 31" tires on steel rims on our R50 (3.75" BS IIRC) and it rubbed a bit backing up and full lock turning. I took them back off as the gas mileage went down and the tires I already had were in great shape and rode much nicer than the BFG AT KO. 1" diameter difference isn't that big of a deal... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 SO I Bought these for pretty good deal. Any clue which frontier these rims came from?Just trying to figure out which ones these are from so i can track down the offset and width of them.Anybody know the offset and width of the stock alloy 97 rims? Just want to make a few calculations see how different they'd look on paper... Other clues are that these tires look to be 265/70/15s on the side... the pattern looks all season/wintery... The tread looks pretty low... do you think they are usable?I'm moving soon and space is a virtue... what would you do? I initially planned to have one set on dedicated winter tires like the michelin Xice and keep my current all seasons on the other set but now im not sure how im suppose to carry 2 sets of wheels plus my whole life im taking with me in the back.. It seems like when i move up north i wont have any space or storage to keep a set of wheels so im gonna have to choose my stockers or these ones...and sell a set... I hear it gets pretty muddy up there also so I think my best bet would be A/T tires as a single all around tire (instead of M/T as i heard they arent good for snow).Should i sell these or do you think they would look good on the pathfinder? Will i lessen the value of the pathfinder by putting these rims on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now