Options when lifting a ‘88 pathfinder?

[daylan_97]

Hello, I was recently gifted a 1988 Nissan Pathfinder, 5 speed manual, 4x4 by my grandpa. Bought some 15x10 wheels and am on the look out for some 32 inch or 31 inch tires. But first I’m looking to lift it at least 2 inches up front. But I cannot seem to find any threads regarding lift options for the 1988 models. So please I’d appreciate every single opinion!

[Mr_Reverse]

Welcome.

 

Your Pathfinder is going to hate those wheels I am sorry to say. I had some 10's on mine for a few years, and wound up going through a couple thousand dollars in front end parts and alignments. Also had tire rub in the front even with the 32x11.50's and it got worse when I went to 33x12.50's. that was with a 3" suspension and 3" body lifts. Did look good though. You can get away with 31's and some trimming after cranking up the front a bit. I strongly recommend that you don't go too much with the suspension and go with a body lift if your goal is to run larger tires and wider wheels. I have 15x8's now and still get a bit of rub in the front at times with my 33x12.50's. 

 

For suspension lift, up to 3", your looking at aftermarket upper control arms and reindexing the torsion bars. There has been a lot of talk on that, just have to spend sometime reading old threads. You will want to upgrade the steering if you go that route. The modified centerlink and idler arm braces help a lot. Your torsion bars are probably sagging after all this time. If the front is more than an inch lower than the rear, then they definitely need to be turned up a bit. Your truck was offered new with 31x10.50 tires as an option with the same suspension as the base 235/75's. The only things Nissan did to make them fit was using 7" wheels with just under 5” of back spacing and adjusting the steering stops out a little. 

 

Hope this helps.

[daylan_97]

Thanks a ton for the reply, man! I’ll probably go with a 2 or 3 inch body lift and crank the torsion bars a bit. I don’t do a lot of wheeling and when I do it’s just small patches of mud around my property. Thanks again for the reply and your 2 cents. I don’t know anything about these little trucks really.