Brush Guard & Winch

[shawngs]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and have found quite a bit of useful information so far. Presently, I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive brush guard for my 2002 Nissan Pathfinder LE. Preferably with the option to later add a winch when I can afford it. Do you have any recommendations?I am very new to car repairs/add-ons so please speak slowly. Thanks!!

[mjotrainbrain]

For off-the-shelf options that you can put a winch on, you're pretty much limited to ARB which is about $1300. Very high quality and looks fantastic, but also very expensive. You may also be able to find a used bumper from another manufacturer, but that's pretty rare. There's also a couple of threads showing how to adapt an aftermarket Jeep Cherokee XJ winch bumper to fit. If you're willing to give up winch compatibility, you can find a stock brush guard at a junk yard or I believe Westin makes one, but it's a few hundred dollars for something that really offers nothing more than some good looks. I just had a local 4x4 fabricator build a custom winch bumper for mine, which ended up being only $500, and I think it looks really good. I would suggest seeking out local fabrication shops and getting estimates. It helps if you find a couple of examples of what you'd like on the forum and print them off to show the fabricator. Here's a link to mine and links to a few other examples I'd been looking at for inspiration.

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/41925-mjotrainbrains-build-thread/?p=788308

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/33458-hybrid-bumper-tubeplate

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/16069-new-bumper/

http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-xj-winch-bumper-1057.html

 

I know there's more out there, just can't find it. theexbrit has a great guide and CDN_S4 has some useful stuff in his build thread for the XJ bumper mod if you want to go that route. Good luck and welcome to the community! Feel free to post up some pics of your ride.

[shawngs]

Oh, thank you! I only spent $2700 to purchase the Pathfinder and don't want to spend a ton on "upgrades" that I won't be able to transfer to another vehicle later.

[mjotrainbrain]

Yup, sure thing! Although don't think you won't catch the Pathfinder bug and buy another one... If you're looking for cheap but high quality upgrades, check out sfcreation.com for lift spacers. I've had mine for over a year and they've been great. The owner is fleurys on the forum.