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5 speed 4x4 advice


yeedonkey
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So i just bought a 1998 Pathfinder 3.3, 5 speed, 4x4. It is in rough shape but i got it cheap. Im looking to delete every pointless piece on it as im fixing what needs fixed. Emissions and inspections do not matter for me. So what all should i delete? Also i need rear control arm bushings is it hard to replace just the bushings as opposed to the whole arm? 

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Unless the smog gear's causing problems, all you'll get for deleting it is a few more OBDII codes, and some gasoline fumes if you decide to pull the evap can. If you decide to tear stuff out, make sure you know what you're looking at so you don't mess up something it needs to run. 

 

I haven't done the trailing arm bushings on mine yet, but they sound like a PITA. If the complete links are cheap, save yourself the hassle, especially if you don't have a press.

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No problems yet. Im just trying to free up some milage, reliablity, and power. My chevy went from 8 to 16 mpgs after i gutted the cats, deleted egr, swaped to a hogh flow muffler, and deleted the intake resonator. I have a C clamp style ball joint press not sure if it will work on them or not. Update: i ordered the bushings last night.

What does the evap can even do?

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I've done bushings only and not the arms, and if you can get the arms for cheap just do that. I ended up having to cut out my old bushings from the arms with a torch, and the bolts that hold them to the rear end. Although it ended up working really good for me, it was an absolute pain to do. If you think you can get them out easily, still buy the arms with the bushings already installed....

 

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Sounds like your Chevy had clogged cats. Unless the R50 does too, spend your time/effort elsewhere.

 

Look into manual locking hubs. Easy upgrade, supposed to give better fuel economy when you don't need 4WD (less rolling resistance). Also consider an electric fan in place of the clutch fan. Less drag on the engine, but a bit of screwing around to set up, one more thing to fail, and it may struggle to deliver enough air flow.

 

If you want reliability, focus on maintenance. Plugs, cap/rotor, fluids, filters, vacuum lines, timing belt. Clean the crap out of the throttle body/butterfly. Check for cracks in the rubber tube between the throttle body and the MAF. Check the MAF, clean it (carefully!) if it's dirty inside. If you want more power (who doesn't), do some research on cams. People who swap the VG33 into the WD21 Pathfinders often swap in the cams from their VG30, which are a little more aggressive. I think you can still get aftermarket cams for these, too. I don't remember anyone camming up a VG33 in an R50, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. If you want to go crazy with this thing, it is possible to build these engines up, and I hear they respond well to boost.

 

The evap can holds the gasoline fumes from the tank, then releases them to the intake when the engine is running. It's full of charcoal, which the gas vapor sorta sticks to until the engine sucks it back out. Basically it means the truck doesn't always smell like an open gas can. It's supposed to keep fuel vapor out of the atmosphere. I suspect it also helps the gas keep longer if the vehicle is parked for a while.

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4 hours ago, yeedonkey said:

I looked at manual hubs alittle and saw that someone said that they unlock in reverse? So do you lose 4x4 in reverse with these?

That's on the previous generation WD21's with automatic hubs.

 

Aftermarket Manual hubs for R50 Pathfinders do not have this issue

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I saw a video a while ago in which the owner removed a fair portion of his car's interior that he didn't need (pretty much everything except the driver's seat) and he got better fuel economy and performance from the weight savings.

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8 hours ago, PathyDude17 said:

That's on the previous generation WD21's with automatic hubs.

 

Aftermarket Manual hubs for R50 Pathfinders do not have this issue

 

^^What he said. Manual hubs stay locked, or unlocked, until you get out and switch them yourself. When they're locked, the 4WD will work just like it does with what you've got now. When they're unlocked, 4WD will not work, but you'll have less rolling resistance.

 

The auto hubs on the WD21s locked and unlocked themselves, which was less helpful than you'd expect. They were a little weird about reverse, but I don't remember the specifics. I got rid of mine and installed manual hubs years ago. 

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16 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

 

^^What he said. Manual hubs stay locked, or unlocked, until you get out and switch them yourself. When they're locked, the 4WD will work just like it does with what you've got now. When they're unlocked, 4WD will not work, but you'll have less rolling resistance.

 

The auto hubs on the WD21s locked and unlocked themselves, which was less helpful than you'd expect. They were a little weird about reverse, but I don't remember the specifics. I got rid of mine and installed manual hubs years ago. 

Then i am definitely going to get those. Anyone know what makes my parking brake not work? I spaced out the adjuster thinking that would fix it but now it gets tight and hard to pull but still does nothing.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/5/2023 at 12:34 PM, yeedonkey said:

Then i am definitely going to get those.

You should, you will get better gas mileage.  At least .5 mile city, 1 mile at least highway.  And they are easy to install, there is an installation primer in the stickies, still, I believe.

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21 hours ago, CALPATHY said:

You should, you will get better gas mileage.  At least .5 mile city, 1 mile at least highway.  And they are easy to install, there is an installation primer in the stickies, still, I believe.

And when i get a locker in this thing 

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Also has anyone done a conversion to make the 3 drive belts into one serpentine belt that drives everything? I would want ro do that if its possible. Btw does anyone have a good recommendation on rear airbags that go along with the springs?

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I would love to have an air bag or something so I can tow fire wood. It would be nice if I could get away with a lot more tongue weight because mine tends to sag a lot

 

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16 minutes ago, Everett said:

I would love to have an air bag or something so I can tow fire wood. It would be nice if I could get away with a lot more tongue weight because mine tends to sag a lot

 

 

I have a set of used airbags, if interested.  I'll have to check that I have everything needed for install, though.

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6 hours ago, hawairish said:

 

I have a set of used airbags, if interested.  I'll have to check that I have everything needed for install, though.

Am interested. Where u located? Could u post or pm me the specs when u figure out also

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Re: serpentine belt. I don't think it's been done. Little to no advantage considering the expense/effort.

Re: airbags. Get a set of Airlift helper bags if the rear squats too much when loaded. I had a set installed for many years until I lifted the suspension, which made the airbags redundant and ineffective.

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3 hours ago, XPLORx4 said:

Re: serpentine belt. I don't think it's been done. Little to no advantage considering the expense/effort.

Re: airbags. Get a set of Airlift helper bags if the rear squats too much when loaded. I had a set installed for many years until I lifted the suspension, which made the airbags redundant and ineffective.

It would be advantageous to me because i run mine until i cant so it would be easier to change on the side of the road with only one belt. I looked but cant find info. What do the 3.5s use? Could one swap parts off a newer engine to make it work?

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As I mentioned earlier, I have never seen this done on any R50 before. AFAIK, you would be the first person to do this, and you'd be a true pioneer. If it's a project that's worth investigating, peer into your engine bay and see if it's even possible to have one serpentine belt snake around the alternator, water pump, PS and AC pulleys. The PS pulley uses a V-belt and the AC belt is narrower than the alternator belt, so you'll need to replace the P/S pump pulley and the AC pulley at the minimum, and potentially the harmonic balancer. If you can manage to get all of the pulleys into one plane and route the belt so it doesn't rub anything, you're good. Once you've done this, be sure to post back with your results. It's always fun to see what kinds of creative solutions people come up with.

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6 hours ago, XPLORx4 said:

As I mentioned earlier, I have never seen this done on any R50 before. AFAIK, you would be the first person to do this, and you'd be a true pioneer. If it's a project that's worth investigating, peer into your engine bay and see if it's even possible to have one serpentine belt snake around the alternator, water pump, PS and AC pulleys. The PS pulley uses a V-belt and the AC belt is narrower than the alternator belt, so you'll need to replace the P/S pump pulley and the AC pulley at the minimum, and potentially the harmonic balancer. If you can manage to get all of the pulleys into one plane and route the belt so it doesn't rub anything, you're good. Once you've done this, be sure to post back with your results. It's always fun to see what kinds of creative solutions people come up with.

not gonna mess with it for a while but it might happen eventualy. i went ahead and got 3 new belts for now

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Any front lockers that i can actually afford or is welding the only option? With manual hubs full lock wont be a problem for me. Also how does the e-fan conversion work is their a place for it to be wired into the ecm or is a switch the only option?

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On 2/28/2023 at 1:29 PM, yeedonkey said:

Any front lockers that i can actually afford or is welding the only option? With manual hubs full lock wont be a problem for me. Also how does the e-fan conversion work is their a place for it to be wired into the ecm or is a switch the only option?

The lokka works great.

 

A year or so ago, they were struggling to get orders out on time... not sure if that's still the case. 

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