My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[stioc]

I called ARB-USA and had to light a fire under them to ship the springs already which is holding everything up at this point. I think I have everything else now including four new control arms for the rear.



And they were a PITA to install (I had to use a ratchet strap to pull the axle closer to the front of the truck to line up the bolt holes).



Two down, two more to go on the other side, plus the springs and shocks, then the struts up front. I should get the springs next week but now I probably won't have time to work on it until next weekend oh well...there will be lots of this until then

[stioc]

The suspension and tires are done!!

I finally got the OME springs on Monday. The big pile of boxes and parts consuming my 2 car garage was starting to bug me so I decided to take Wed off work to attack the suspension and just get'er done. Let me tell you, I've been wrenching on cars for 12+ years but this was one of the toughest (only second to the clutch change in my bimmer) jobs. Not because of anything technical but every friggen suspension bolt was a pain to undo. My 260ft-lb air impact was no match. I even sheared off the male end of one of the breaker bars. I started working on it at 8am and didn't finish until 5pm (no breaks for lunch either).

My plan was to bring the struts to Pep Boys or something to have them put the new struts together because most people on the Pathfinder forums suggest that the heavier duty springs are too much for the typical consumer grade strut spring compressors. Some have had close calls with the spring compressors bending and twisting. But I was so greasy and sweaty I decided to just keep going. To make things worse I had to do three struts...well I had to remove the same strut from the truck the second time when I found the rubber bumper on the floor that I'd forgotten - I thought about quickly throwing the rubber bumper into the trash never to be thought of again but my analretentive personality couldn't do it. Every single bolt, nut, plastic rivet etc has to go back the way it came out or I won't be able to sleep.

My body aches in places I didn't know could hurt but I not only got the whole suspension in I also ran over to the tire shop at 6:00pm and got them to mount the new tires too

This is what happens when you get lazy and think that an impact wrench on one end and your finger on the other end (instead of a box wrench) of the bolt will be able to prevent the spin...FAIL! Thankfully it didn't break the finger off:


I'm usually not the type to take these sort of pics or use my 'you're no 1' finger in the normal day to day life but after a long, tiring day I just had to:


And here the final result, I'll post better pics when I get a chance:


Given the rear shocks were TOAST (I can compress them with my index finger!) and the control arms had bad bushings the ride is now amazingly smooth, quiet and tight. I really like the stance; not too high that it looks like a pen*s truck and no longer a little old lady's mall cruising SUV either. I think like the 4Runners this is how the Pathfinder should've come from the factory. The aggressive tires are the icing on the cake and make it look 'badass' according to my gf

I do think that looks wise it's missing something, not quite sure what though. Maybe a couple of offroad lights on the roof rack? A front bumper perhaps? but I'd rather do the rear locker before the bumper honestly. Anyway, I'll have to see and save up a bit first. It's at the point where I'm more comfortable taking it on the back country adventures now- that's been the goal.

[duckhunter71]

Looks awesome man! We need MORE pics!

[stioc]

OK I made a concerted effort today to take another pic with a better angle.

[drbandkgb]

Looks great man!

[mortonm]

That looks awesome! Perfect lift and tire size choice.

I really wish there was a good 2 inch lift for the Xterra. It all seems to be 3in plus

[stioc]

mortonm, duckhunter and drbandkgb- thanks for the kind words and your PMs. Dave, I'll check it out

As you might recall from a couple of posts ago I said I wasn't sure what it was missing? Well, I think I just had to get used to the new look because it looks good to me the way it's sitting now. And the missing piece might have been the roof-rack extension which I added yesterday. It's so easy to get carried away seeing some amazingly built trucks here with RTTs, ARB/Shockworks bumpers, winches etc but at this time I'm going to try and stick to my original plan i.e. a mild build with every upgrade that solves a problem or serves a real meaningful purpose.

Oh...today I added some carpeting and a couple of cargo hooks to complete the storage platform build. I've seen a lot better but for a quick and dirty job it'll have to do





Speaking of meaningful upgrades I was thinking about some off-road lights. Part of my inner geek wants me to go with a Unity police spotlight on the A-Pillar because of the flexibility of where you can aim the light vs. the fixed roof or bumper mounted lights. But then no one likes drilling holes in the A pillar (door in the case of the pathfinder) lol. And they're not cheap

[drbandkgb]

If you add that light it may kill any chance of adding a Snorkel.. Not sure if thats a option for you down the road.
Check out this option.. http://www.awdirect.com/golight-remo...d-work-lights/


They are remote controlled too

[stioc]

Dave, that's a nice alternative! Thanks.

[stioc]

I had reserved a campsite near the beach yesterday and I was eager to see how well the new storage options work. It was 2 adults, 1 kid and 1 dog, we were packed for 2 days of camping. I packed the canopy, tent, sleeping pads and chairs on the roof rack which opened up quite a bit of space.


In the back packed all the kitchen stuff in the big plastic bin, dog's stuff in the black plastic bin (room left to spare), small 16qt cooler with drinks, eggs, bread, milk, snacks, veggies etc (need a 30ishqt cooler). Several small doodads went under the storage platform. The remaining stuff went in the rear passenger seat next to my kid which included pillows, 2 dufflebags of clothes, a 2.5gal water jug and a portable battery pack (didn't like having the last two items in the passenger area).


We made it to the campsite, the views from the campsite were gorgeous:


Time to unpack:


Setting up the site...hey taking pictures is hard work too lol:






We enjoyed some time at the beach and then time for a movie on the iPad before...


...the sunset:


It got dark pretty quickly so we decided to have dinner and call it a night:


The warm sun woke us up early, only find out that the dog had an accident that night in the back of the truck (note to self, NEVER change the dog food right before the trip), ugh, what a friggn' mess and stench. The bed gets tossed in the trash, thankfully it saved the rest of the rear area. Even after the bed was gone the truck stunk all the way home.


So we packed up and headed home. As soon as I got home I removed the storage platform and found a 2" spot on the storage platform and the factory carpet underneath the storage platform that had dog poo on it Tons of Lysol (which bleached the darn factory carpet in the rear, oops!)and Fabreeze later I think the truck will be ok...yeah I brought the dog back home too


On a positive note we still had a blast (I guess the dog did too LOL) and my daughter asked me when we can go for a longer trip!