Guest YamaDad Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I found a 87 2 door with the four cylinder and 5 speed here in San Diego. I'm thinking of buying it for $1700 as is (needs tranny/clutch rebuild), or $2500 with tranny/clutch rebuilt. It's condition is: Body=Good, no rust, 2.4 engine fresh rebuld. A/C rebuilt/converted to R-134, New altinator, wheels/tire have been swapped for 265's (too big?). Will this make a good off roader/desert beater? This would be my second Pathy for mostly off road action. Next summer I'm planning a off road trip from Mexico to Canada, 3100 miles on trails. Will the 2.4 be enough? Thanks for your comments. :help: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armelius1 Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 No. I wouldn't buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harbinger Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I wouldn't. Many of us think our 3.0 V6 doesn't have enough power, I can't imagine the 4 banger. In short it would be a good truck, but I wouldn't count on going anywhere quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbecktold Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 (edited) Depends on what you want to do with it. It sounds like a good deal, but may not be exactly what you're looking for. I drive a 4banger '86.5 hardbody. It's slow and notices every little bit of weight, but it's been uber-dependable (226k-all hard miles) and I like it fine. If you are doing the MX/CA trip with a lot of gear or extra people or something, I might reconsider and find one with a V6. I doubt you can find a V6 one with that many "extras" (newer engine, new clutch etc) for that price but you never know. I did some research on the Z24i Pathys, was thinking about buying one from a friend awhile back, but here is what I found out: '87 Pathfinders were the only year in the U.S. to come with the 4banger, in the E model. The 2 I've seen have both had 4.6 gears. Being the 4banger model, they also come with the smaller (weaker) r180/c200 combo, and the only traction aid for either of those, short of welding, is to buy a limited slip from AC, Calmini, or Nismo, or to find one out of a Z. Edited October 11, 2005 by tbecktold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 The Z24 motor is ultrareliable and has the power output somewhere between an electric toothbrush and Dremel. I drove 1 for 10 years in a 720 Kingcab 4x4 and that was slow. If it is your off road rig, the Z24 should work out just fine. I prefer finess anyway. Just don't plan on winning any races or pulling people out of ravines... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YamaDad Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 So... no air lockers etc. for those axles? I feel how under powered my 90 SE V6 is now, but, the KA24 power plant as a trail crawler should be fine? What about engine hop ups? Anything come to mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 (edited) right, i will chime in now i pretty sure that pathys didnt come with ka24's but Z24's. my reasoning is Z24's are carby fed and ka's are fuel injected. i could be wrong about if they came with ka's but ive never heard of it. i have seen a pathy here locally were the motor had been butchered and a ka head had been slapped on, it wasnt pretty. my pathy started as a Z24 4 banger carby fed 5 speed. tbecktold is right on the money. ultra reliable but you will feel every little bit of wieght you put in it. he is also spot on about the diffs. c200 rear (dont need to worry about that tho, tough as nuts) and a r180 at the front - its smaller and weaker than the r200 front diff in the v6 pathys. all that being said i done a fair bit of wheeling now and i havent heard boo from my front diff or cv's. it is up to the task which ever way you look at it, as far as im concered anyway. before the engine swap i was running around on 31" mud tyres, 2.5" suspension & 2" bodylift and it was my daily driver. so its not as if the z24 wont pull you round, just if youve gotta over take some one make sure theres plenty of clear road ahead. theres a chance the diff ratio's may be 4.6 OR 4.8. i have 4.8. the way to tell is to look on the id plate at the trans axle number. the last four digits wil be hg46 or hg48. hg46 being 4.6 ratios and hg48 being 4.8 ratios. as for diff locks i have a nice little arb air locker in mine, so yes diff locks are available. hope this helps out. Edited October 12, 2005 by sw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbecktold Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Yep, forgot an ARB was available for the C200, I'm pretty sure it's the same one used in the R200 diff. That Pathy should have the Z24i, which is throttle-body injected. Also, the axle code shouldn't be hg46 but ca46, (HG denotes H233b/R200, CA=C200/R180). Also, the 4.8 gears are EXTREMELY rare in the U.S. in the (W)D21 vehicles; I have heard of ONE Hardbody here in the States with the 4.8 gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 Can't vouch on the Pathy application, but I drove a 1985 720 Kingcab like Precise1's for 3 years. That thing was low on power for sure, and with 31's under chopped fenders I got around 200 miles per tank. YIKES! But for reliable, unstopable motor, it couldn't be beat. in 255K miles under my grandfather for a decade, my brother for a couple years, then me, the only things it ever had done were a starter, tranny rebuild, plus normal brakes, maintenance, etc. since brand new. It doesn't really get better than that for durability, and I drive hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 not meaning to argue but i can assure you my transaxle number is hg....... no worries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 not meaning to argue but i can assure you my transaxle number is hg....... no worries I can assure that HG has nothing to do with a transaxel -thnkboutit- Its the differential/pinion gear code Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 4cyl Pathies are sh!t but so are the V6's. Both are heavy on the gogo juice because they are both underpowered. If I had been getting 200 miles to a tank I would have burnt the bloody thing. I was getting at least 201! Yep, the Z2.4 is a strong donk. With the beating mine used to take, all that let go was a head gasket. That was enough for me to throw the thing away though. Once your in low range though, a motor is a motor, as long your not pulling someone up a hill you will be able to traverse the same terrain as everyone else. I used to get mine to the point of cooking on really long steep climbs in the summer. I don't know if anyone else had this happen with their Z24s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabod7 Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 The Z24 motor is ultrareliable and has the power output somewhere between an electric toothbrush and Dremel. haha i cant stop laughing when i read that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 I used to get mine to the point of cooking on really long steep climbs in the summer. I don't know if anyone else had this happen with their Z24s. My Z24 NEVER ran hot, even in the desert in sand. I'm thinking you had a worn out fan clutch or scaled up radiator or sticking thermostat or something... Thanks gabod7, glad you enjoyed it. Too bad it is true, I owned one for 11 years... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 My Z24 NEVER ran hot, even in the desert in sand. I'm thinking you had a worn out fan clutch or scaled up radiator or sticking thermostat or something... B Everthing was fine cooling system wise. It just seemed to dislike revving flat out in (low) 1st gear on very steep climbs for five minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Cant say I've done that V6, but it's not very different from 4xHi in the sand, moving at 3 mph.... That old truck never over heated. *taps on the gauge* *remembers he's in the Pathy now* *wishes he had gauges* *plans to install them* B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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