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mjotrainbrain's Forbidden Build Thread


mjotrainbrain
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"Anything off-topic, not necessarily about Pathfinders. Keep it clean!"

 

Uh oh, sounds like a loophole to let in 4Runners has been left!

 

I've found all the Toyota forums to be a great resource for information about mods and repairs, but as far as a place to host a build thread they don't seem very inviting, not to mention that the one I had been using the most (t4r.org) seems to be quite outdated and has had some sketchy things going on lately making me concerned that it may disappear if the owners don't do something; the new NPORA seems like a much more secure (and of course inviting) place.  Now don't worry, I won't be flooding NPORA with Toyota hubba-bubba, but seeing as I lurk around so often I was feeling kind of strange having no content to let you guys know what's going on with me in terms of vehicles right now, as that is the general topic of the forum after all.

 

For anybody who's newer and wants to know what in the world I have to do with Pathfinders, here's a link to my build thread from when I had an R50:

And for additional details about my QX4 and 4Runner (since I'm going to try not to post here a lot; it is a Pathfinder forum after all), you can check out my Instagram profile in my signature as well as @projectrustyrunner.

 

Not sure what you guys would want to know about the vehicle, so I guess I'll just list the most significant modifications and leave a pic or two.

 

The previous owner put on some basic American Racing wheels which are beginning to corrode so I'm hoping to replace them with some Level 8 MK6 wheels along with new, larger tires.  I have also put on Bilstein 5100 series adjustable front shocks to level the ride, as well as some Monroe rear shocks for a quick fix after one of the 180k mile old original shocks had the mounting stud snap off.  I've got my CB mounted in a way that I am very happy with (although I intend to improve it further by running separate wires directly to an accessory fuse box I want to add under the hood).  Being a Toyota the frame is quite rusty and I plan to replace it sometime in the next 2 or 3 years, which means I'm beginning to gather parts now.  Should be a fun project.  On the interior I've swapped almost all the lights to LED (just the HVAC screen and instrument cluster left), added OEM and WeatherTech floor mats in the passenger area and trunk respectively, installed a Jensen double din head unit with built in navigation, and just generally done my best to clean things up and replace little missing/damaged parts.  This summer's big project will be gutting the interior, addressing whatever rust I can find on the body, and putting in new carpet.  In a few minutes I'm going to go outside and hopefully figure out what's loose in the front end, because I'm going offroading on Saturday.  Anyways that's about all there is to say about that, so onto the pics:

 

HmjZQoo.jpg

 

A17HfDY.jpg

 

AIchAek.jpg

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11 minutes ago, PathyDude17 said:

Awesome! I love seeing what other people do to their trucks, so I’m all for this thread!

 

Hopefully you won't be dissapointed, as I intend to do a lot to it.  May take some time though, as I'm trying to save and do a major chunk of it all at once with the frame swap.  Ideally I'll have a rolling chassis with all kinds of goodies ready to accept my body and drivetrain.

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Lol love the name of this thread

 

Also I’m all for this build thread. You can take the Nissan away from the man but you can never take the Nissan out of him! Really though it’s the people of this forum that make it what it is and the way we treat each other. For instance, most places you can’t ask a freakin question without someone chastising you about using the search button. I swear, this forum is 50%(my entire suspension is in a mountain of boxes waiting to be replaced and I have to buy a shop press freakin never ends or it’s more like 25%) of why I like owning a Pathfinder.

 

Anyway said all that to say that you’ve proved yourself a true part of this group of people and I’m excited to see your new venture!

 

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Lol love the name of this thread

 

Also I’m all for this build thread. You can take the Nissan away from the man but you can never take the Nissan out of him! Really though it’s the people of this forum that make it what it is and the way we treat each other. For instance, most places you can’t ask a freakin question without someone chastising you about using the search button.

 

Anyway said all that to say that you’ve proved yourself a true part of this group of people and I’m excited to see your new venture!

Couldn’t agree more. I laughed at the thread title & intro as well.

@mjotrainbrain You have contributed a ton to this forum & continue to even though you’ve moved on to a Toyota. You have plenty of Pathy experience & general truck knowledge that are a welcome addition to this forum (as well as still running the TOTEM thread). You have one of only 2 4G T4Rs I follow on IG. I live on T4R.org as well (mostly in the 5th Gen areas) but there’s no comparison to NPORA. I do have a nice MDXers.org forum I follow but it’s content is obviously different-though behaviors are good. NPORA has a great community. Personally, I think it’s a selection bias of the kind of people who are willing to invest time & effort into a decade & a half old truck. You’re definitely part of our community & we’re glad to have you stick around.

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44 minutes ago, RainGoat said:

Couldn’t agree more. I laughed at the thread title & intro as well.

@mjotrainbrain You have contributed a ton to this forum & continue to even though you’ve moved on to a Toyota. You have plenty of Pathy experience & general truck knowledge that are a welcome addition to this forum (as well as still running the TOTEM thread). You have one of only 2 4G T4Rs I follow on IG. I live on T4R.org as well (mostly in the 5th Gen areas) but there’s no comparison to NPORA. I do have a nice MDXers.org forum I follow but it’s content is obviously different-though behaviors are good. NPORA has a great community. Personally, I think it’s a selection bias of the kind of people who are willing to invest time & effort into a decade & a half old truck. You’re definitely part of our community & we’re glad to have you stick around.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words!  I hope I can continue to help this forum even if I have moved to Toyota (although once my T4R is all sorted out there's nothing saying I won't double dip :new576:).

 

...You know, I suppose that emoji isn't holding up the number 2. ;) :lol:

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On 1/16/2019 at 12:13 AM, Slartibartfast said:

Frame swap should keep you busy! I'm interested to see how you pull that off. I remember somebody a while back built a couple of timber A-frames in their backyard to body-swap a rolled WD21.

 

Yeah, should keep me busy for sure!  Not exactly sure how I'm going to pull it off, but I'm suspecting a wooden frame to set it on temporarily, lots of pizzas, lots of friends, and maybe some moving straps will be used.  I plan to remove the seats and all removable body panels to make it as light as possible; a couple extra hours of work will be worth it I think.

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2 hours ago, joshrichard said:

I like your black roof rack so much more than the color matched rails and grey bars on the limited ones.

 

You know, I actually considered painting them silver but once I saw it on a white 4Runner in the junkyard I decided I didn't like the look.  Sticking with black for the time being with no plans to change it.

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You know, I actually considered painting them silver but once I saw it on a white 4Runner in the junkyard I decided I didn't like the look.  Sticking with black for the time being with no plans to change it.

Yep, I want to paint the silver bars on our white 5th Gen or change over to the 2010-13 Trail Edition Black Bars
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22 minutes ago, RainGoat said:


Yep, I want to paint the silver bars on our white 5th Gen or change over to the 2010-13 Trail Edition Black Bars

 

I do like the TE roof rack.  Being situated towards the back like that reminds me of an Xterra.

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Unfortunately the Trail bars aren’t parallel & taper towards the rear. In general, I find the roof rail system on my Pathfinder much better. There’s no roof anchor point forward of the rear passenger compartment on the 5th Gens.

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47 minutes ago, RainGoat said:

Unfortunately the Trail bars aren’t parallel & taper towards the rear. In general, I find the roof rail system on my Pathfinder much better. There’s no roof anchor point forward of the rear passenger compartment on the 5th Gens.

 

I was unaware of the limitations of that setup, sounds inconvenient.  I've found my 4th gen to be adequately similar to an R50 up there which I like.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ordered some new tires, they'll be put on next Friday.  Falken Wildpeak AT3/W in 265/75R16 load E.  Can't wait to actually have traction in the snow; my current old Cooper's are pathetic in the slippery stuff and the deep stuff.  18/32" tread depth is gonna be cool too.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Couple of updates worth noting (other things too, but going to *try* and keep this brief-ish).

 

Figured out how I'm going to get the body off the frame when the time comes; somebody who I know through the 4x4 club I'm in who has a pretty nice FJ Cruiser is getting a 2 post lift installed in his garage and offered to let me use it/help me with my frame swap.  I also put on some front recovery points, although only one is useful, since the one on the driver's side is hardly bolted to anything due to rust...it's only installed for emergency purposes.  Strangely enough, the passenger side is rock solid.  Also got some new tires as I said in the previous post, but not Falkens.  Due to a screw up on the tire shop's end I wound up with KO2's.  Loved em on my Infiniti and love em on my Toyota.  Looks much better too, the stock tires were far too small and the lack of sidewall tread on those Coopers made me sad.  Pic for your time.

 

Fdu97bs.jpg

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Great tire choice! You really can’t go wrong with KO2’s in my opinion. I had them on my R50 for one winter and they were fantastic. Only reason I got rid of them was because decided I wanted more lift and bigger tires. When I increased the lift and went up to 285/75/16’s I sold the KO2’s and went with mud tires. I love the aggressive look of my mud terrains, but they are definitely not as good in the snow and ice as the K02 was. They’re a lot better now that I added some sipes to the center tread blocks. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Made and priced out a list of all the things I want to replace when I do the frame swap (pretty much everything).  If I do aftermarket LCA's instead of OEM and don't count exhaust/headers and the frame itself, it's actually not terribly expensive.  Still not 100% sure I want to do headers over getting stock manifolds, but it's about $150 cheaper so I think I can deal with a little more bark out of the V8, if I really have to.  ;)

 

Almost had a frame figured out, 70k miles on it, from Las Vegas, basically perfect, but they wanted over $3k to ship!!  Talked to a different shipping company and they would do it for about $360.  Asked the junkyard if they could package the frame how the shipping company wanted (literally just on pallets or skids) and they have stopped returning my emails and calls...crap.  Back on the hunt.  I'd like to get it done between my summer and fall semesters this year, but we'll see.

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Finally got a hold of the junkyard this evening.  As it turns out they weren't avoiding me, they were trying to get a good answer for me.  Apparently company policy doesn't allow them to ship things through other shipping companies (even if I found the company and am willing to relieve the junkyard of any liability once the shipping company takes over), and the lady I was in contact with was trying to pull strings to make it happen for a couple of days with no luck.  Really appreciate the effort, but unfortunately no deal.

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  • 2 months later...

Once again, I am doing a great job of keeping things updated.  What have I done in the last few months?  Well, not a lot really.  Made a new overview video on my YouTube channel going over everything if you're interested (shameless self plug).

 

I've now got a Rago molle panel in the trunk, unfortunately it does rattle a bit even with some foam added in key areas.  Also got 5100's in the rear now and it flexes pretty nice.  Swapped in some heated leather seats from a junkyard Limited model too (along with heated mirrors and some interior trim).  Got the seats moving with minimal wiring, but getting the heated function going is gonna be more work for sure.  Made a dune flag mount because I plan to get rad this summer.  Also got a new windshield because I'm impatient and broke the original putting on a auto-dimming mirror.  Set up an accessory fuse box to power the mirror, my CB, and anything else I may add, but it cut out before and now it's totally dead and I haven't tracked down the issue yet.  I like having the wiring done properly, but realistically idk what else I'll add so maybe I'll just tap these two accessories in some place simple just so it works reliably.  Last but now least, removed the exhaust after the y pipe over a month ago.  Yeah it's ghetto and obnoxious, but it's fun and rumbly.  (V8 baby ?) Probably going to get a Gibson stainless cat-back.

 

That's all for now.

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  • 2 months later...

I may get around to posting more details and a pic or two later, but just wrapping up a frame swap. Finally started it up last night with virtually no issues, 14 days after I started the whole project. Not too bad in my opinion. Just gotta wait for a couple new body mounts then put the interior in, then I can take it on a test drive.

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  • 2 months later...

Since the frame swap it's driven GREAT. I love the combination of 5100's and poly bushings, can definitely feel every bump in the road but on the flip side I can absolutely fly down trails up until I bottom out. (Fancy-ish bump stops are on the to-do list once stuff stops breaking.) Not missing the rear sway bar either; if anything I corner harder than ever now because the lean is fun. :bounce:

 

Seems like everything I didn't replace is coming around to kick my butt. Had the driver's side CV completely fail at the outer joint, and with it being full time 4wd I had to lock the center diff to limp it home...slowly. 2 weeks later the wheel bearing on that side went out. Way way easier to replace on an R50, I hate how it's splined and clipped inside the diff on Toyota's. In the last month I've had the check engine light come on 3 times for P0430 which is "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold, Bank 2" so I guess at this point I have to admit there really is something wrong. Might swap out the downstream O2 sensor on that side just in case, but I suspect it really is a cat. It needs manifolds anyways, really hoping I can push it off until sometime next summer. Pretty happy headers and high flow cats are cheaper than stock though, makes it hurt a bit less to spend money on something other than offroad stuff again.

 

Oh, and also there's a drivetrain clunk that I haven't been able to find as well as a steering wheel shake, both have been intermittent for about the last 9-10 months but seem to be more regular now. May have to let a pro look into those, although IDK how I wouldn't have noticed something when it was all apart.

 

So other than basically everything being broken, it's been awesome lol. Rolled over 190k last week too, not a bad start.

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  • 4 months later...

Been a while since an update, but it drives good now! Not that I've driven it a lot in the past few weeks...thanks Corona. :deadhorse:

 

New rotors all around solved all of the shaking issues from what I can tell, and a rebuild on the parking brake made it work; some bits were entirely missing, and the rest was well worn. Also have some DuroBump bumpstops up front, which has the suspension at a point that I'm happy with for the time being. Put a radio out of a 2007 Scion TC in to replace the Jensen head unit, as it was buggy and didn't match the rest of the interior very well. Also put on a new passenger front wheel bearing and ProComp Series 69 wheels after I had a tire fall off during some New Year's wheeling. Done a few other odds and ends since, but mostly been trying to just keep it in good shape and enjoy it.

 

Also has a 1" body lift and a full factory exhaust now.

 

WZePvON.jpg

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