Tell me about Nissan...
- Thread starter Laxaholic
- Start date
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
X1,000,000... Buy an older Toyota up to 95 (either SFA 83-85, or T-bar IFS from 86-95 - I belive) and swap in a 3.4L V-6...you end up with a VASTLY stouter truck and a great power/milage combo... I just don't see the attraction to Nissans in N.America... Now a Patrol Ute maybe, but N.American Nissans...see ya later.
Cheers
Dave
fishy_frontier
Adventurer
Don't count out the GT-R, it has AWD:victory:
I find the toyota people putting way more input into these nissan threads and rarely find the nissan people commenting on "tell me about toyota threads". Just saying, driving a nissan makes you a bit more chill, kidding:ylsmoke: I like the fact that the modified frontier and xterra are a rare breed here in the states. I honestly see a lifted tacoma every other day. Not saying that either truck is better but I prefer what I bought, and built. I've beat the poo out of my frontier for the last 4 years or so. She has almost 100k on the clock of day in day out commuting, hauling *****, hitting deer and small animals, towing, running trails and saltwater environment operation. I have had no major issues to speak of, no rust, etc. She has no problem being loaded up with fishing gear and a boat for the day then unloading and following my friends Audi to dinner on back roads at 100mph. I'm a firm believer in a fully boxed frame. Reliability is not a question for nissan in my honest opinion.
I find the toyota people putting way more input into these nissan threads and rarely find the nissan people commenting on "tell me about toyota threads". Just saying, driving a nissan makes you a bit more chill, kidding:ylsmoke: I like the fact that the modified frontier and xterra are a rare breed here in the states. I honestly see a lifted tacoma every other day. Not saying that either truck is better but I prefer what I bought, and built. I've beat the poo out of my frontier for the last 4 years or so. She has almost 100k on the clock of day in day out commuting, hauling *****, hitting deer and small animals, towing, running trails and saltwater environment operation. I have had no major issues to speak of, no rust, etc. She has no problem being loaded up with fishing gear and a boat for the day then unloading and following my friends Audi to dinner on back roads at 100mph. I'm a firm believer in a fully boxed frame. Reliability is not a question for nissan in my honest opinion.
I currently own two Nissan's and love them both. My 88 Hardbody has 362,000km on the original engine and tranny it and still runs great. I did some body work and new paint job on it in the fall but other than that it is a great truck and still will be running for many more years.
My 01 pathy is a really great truck as well. Very comfortable to drive and extremely capable off road with little to no mods. I ran it off road stock through mud holes that got a jacked up and heavily modified dodge ram stuck several times. My truck also has a huge amount of power with the 3.5L, which works great on the trail as well as on the way to the trails.
Only problem with Nissan is that there isn't as much after market support as some of the other brands, but I don't mind that much. While everyone is buying an off the shelf component for the other trucks and the only real work done is bolting it on the truck. Most of us fab our own, which gives you a lot more satisfaction in the end. Though I have found that just over the last couple of years there are more and more aftermarket parts available for our trucks, which I sure won't complain about.
In the end it is all up to the person and what they are going to do with the truck. You can spend $100K on a truck and it doesn't work at all for you. Then you can have $5K on a truck and it brings you everywhere without a hitch.
Toyota makes a fine truck, but I fell in love with the Nissan's and that love ain't going away any time soon. I have two friends that went to Jeep and both highly regret it and are already looking at going back. Toyota's in this area are expensive (even the old ones). And the money you can save buying a Nissan can be put into making it a really great, while for the same money you get just a basic stock Toyota.
To each their own, but go Nissan!
My 01 pathy is a really great truck as well. Very comfortable to drive and extremely capable off road with little to no mods. I ran it off road stock through mud holes that got a jacked up and heavily modified dodge ram stuck several times. My truck also has a huge amount of power with the 3.5L, which works great on the trail as well as on the way to the trails.
Only problem with Nissan is that there isn't as much after market support as some of the other brands, but I don't mind that much. While everyone is buying an off the shelf component for the other trucks and the only real work done is bolting it on the truck. Most of us fab our own, which gives you a lot more satisfaction in the end. Though I have found that just over the last couple of years there are more and more aftermarket parts available for our trucks, which I sure won't complain about.
In the end it is all up to the person and what they are going to do with the truck. You can spend $100K on a truck and it doesn't work at all for you. Then you can have $5K on a truck and it brings you everywhere without a hitch.
Toyota makes a fine truck, but I fell in love with the Nissan's and that love ain't going away any time soon. I have two friends that went to Jeep and both highly regret it and are already looking at going back. Toyota's in this area are expensive (even the old ones). And the money you can save buying a Nissan can be put into making it a really great, while for the same money you get just a basic stock Toyota.
To each their own, but go Nissan!
I've had my X for a little over three years now and I love it. I go off-roading about every couple of months or so, sometimes little weekend trips with one longer one (and MOAB's this spring!). I find it to be incredibly capable and able to do what I want. Depending on what you're doing, all vehicles will have weaknesses. For the X, here's what I've noticed:
All of these problems, however, are relatively easy to overcome. The aftermarket is growing steadily - Hefty Fabworks, Shrock, Calmini, ARB, PRG Products, Xoskel, Gobi, Skid Row, and others all have dedicated products for different Nissans. You can get replacement bumpers, suspension upgrades, armor, roof racks, and the like pretty easily. Due to the design of the cargo area, it's very useful for camping and if you're under 6' tall you can even sleep in the back with the hatch closed.
If something bad were to happen to my X, would I buy another? In a heartbeat.
- The front diff can blow up. This tends to happen more frequently to those who get significant wheelspin and then suddenly get traction.
- The battery from the factory doesn't seem to last long if you go off-road. It's not horrible, but three years seems to be normal.
- If you live somewhere with lots of salt you should pull off any bolts you'll ever want to remove and coat them with antiseize. Ones to focus on with great care are skid plate bolts, bumper bolts, and the like. If you don't the bolts will break inside the nuts (skids) or the welds will break off inside the frame (bumpers, skids). This is no fun to repair.
All of these problems, however, are relatively easy to overcome. The aftermarket is growing steadily - Hefty Fabworks, Shrock, Calmini, ARB, PRG Products, Xoskel, Gobi, Skid Row, and others all have dedicated products for different Nissans. You can get replacement bumpers, suspension upgrades, armor, roof racks, and the like pretty easily. Due to the design of the cargo area, it's very useful for camping and if you're under 6' tall you can even sleep in the back with the hatch closed.
If something bad were to happen to my X, would I buy another? In a heartbeat.
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
That's awesome... Original motor, no re-build??? I see SO MANY of those old Hard-body's running around here in Portland and other then the typical rust (what was it with Japanese trucks of that era and rusting out body panels) they clearly run forever. What motor is on these little buggers??? An old College room mate had one years back but it was a V-6, don't remember what the motor was, but it went down the road really well. What I always liked about the Hard-body is that Nissan nailed it right off the bat and sold ALOT of them with a real "Xtra-cab" cause those mini-trucks with a reg cab can get pretty cramped eh.
I sure wish Nissan and Toyota hell ANYONE would get back into making a small truck like that... Imagine with all the technology and the materials available what they could make these days... A modern Hardbody or Toy. Mini-Truck with a modern DI 4cyl could pull what and 80's 1-ton could and get great milage...
They say that vehicles "evolve" to follow thier users as they grow up and their needs change so what does that say about the current selection of vehicles... Do they not want to sell the the young beginning buyer anymore??? The Frontier and Taco are nearly TWICE the size of what they started out as so what replaces them???
Cheers
Dave
Yup no rebuild. All original. When I bought it from the previous owner, he has just driven it from Victoria B.C to Ottawa Ontario, without a hitch.
I have the original manual and warranty book with the maintenance records. Even has the name/address of the original owner back in 1988
Mine is the 3L VG30I V6.
But some also came with the 2.4L.
Same engines as the pathfinders. Nice thing about it is that you can swap a later model engine from a pathfinder without a problem.
This is her with the new paint beside one of the other expo rigs. The old ugly box cover is just for the winter to keep the snow out.
Yeah they do seem to get bigger over time. Same thing happened with the pathfinder. It became huge once it hit the R51 series. It is now almost as big as a damn Suburban.
I have the original manual and warranty book with the maintenance records. Even has the name/address of the original owner back in 1988
Mine is the 3L VG30I V6.
But some also came with the 2.4L.
Same engines as the pathfinders. Nice thing about it is that you can swap a later model engine from a pathfinder without a problem.
This is her with the new paint beside one of the other expo rigs. The old ugly box cover is just for the winter to keep the snow out.
Yeah they do seem to get bigger over time. Same thing happened with the pathfinder. It became huge once it hit the R51 series. It is now almost as big as a damn Suburban.
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
Sweet, did I read somehwere that you re-painted it??? I'm assuming being out east that you get salt damage, but that truck looks PRISTINE eh.
I guess I did know they went back to Body on frame, I forgot that they built a Pathy on the Titan frame... IMO that's a Pathfinder in name only. You're spot on, it IS the size of a Suburban... N.America needs a true MINI-Truck again... and we poor saps in the US need diesel engine options too.
Cheers
Dave
I guess I did know they went back to Body on frame, I forgot that they built a Pathy on the Titan frame... IMO that's a Pathfinder in name only. You're spot on, it IS the size of a Suburban... N.America needs a true MINI-Truck again... and we poor saps in the US need diesel engine options too.
Cheers
Dave
Yes I repainted it. It was from the west coast, but the salt here started eating it right away once it arrived. This is what it looked like when I got it.
Looks fine from a-far, but had some rust.
Sadly you are not going to see any good small diesel trucks any time soon. The problem is that the general public in the US think that all diesel engines are big, dirty, noisy, hard to find fuel for and expensive to maintain. Yes it isn't true, but that is the image. For instance, here in Canada we had the diesel Smart-Car's from Mercedes several years before they were introduced into the US. Well the first year they were introduced in the US we were told there would be no more diesel versions available anymore as the US dealers refused to take any of them, so they would only import gas versions from now on (as the US is a bigger market and they all come off one boat). Because of that, a 2 year old diesel Smart-Car was worth the same thing as a brand new one. Sad but true.
Looks fine from a-far, but had some rust.
Sadly you are not going to see any good small diesel trucks any time soon. The problem is that the general public in the US think that all diesel engines are big, dirty, noisy, hard to find fuel for and expensive to maintain. Yes it isn't true, but that is the image. For instance, here in Canada we had the diesel Smart-Car's from Mercedes several years before they were introduced into the US. Well the first year they were introduced in the US we were told there would be no more diesel versions available anymore as the US dealers refused to take any of them, so they would only import gas versions from now on (as the US is a bigger market and they all come off one boat). Because of that, a 2 year old diesel Smart-Car was worth the same thing as a brand new one. Sad but true.
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
Yes I repainted it. It was from the west coast, but the salt here started eating it right away once it arrived. This is what it looked like when I got it.
Looks fine from a-far, but had some rust.
Sadly you are not going to see any good small diesel trucks any time soon. The problem is that the general public in the US think that all diesel engines are big, dirty, noisy, hard to find fuel for and expensive to maintain. Yes it isn't true, but that is the image. For instance, here in Canada we had the diesel Smart-Car's from Mercedes several years before they were introduced into the US. Well the first year they were introduced in the US we were told there would be no more diesel versions available anymore as the US dealers refused to take any of them, so they would only import gas versions from now on (as the US is a bigger market and they all come off one boat). Because of that, a 2 year old diesel Smart-Car was worth the same thing as a brand new one. Sad but true.
Wow, it DID have some rust eh. Good on you for restoring/saving an old truck...
Unfortunately I'm all to aware of the reality and "reasoning" behind N.Aerica's No-Diesel Fate (I actually did my senior Project for my Fire SCience degree on Diesel engines and Bio-haul/Bio-Diesel production) The Merc. Volvo and VW diesel's of the 80's pretty much solidified the views of most passenger car owners to belive Diesel's to be as you said "Loud, Smoky and SLOW" all of which modern diesel's are NOT... But then that's a debate/convo for another thread. Sorry to muddy up this one with the OT talk eh.
Abck to your sweet old truck, great job mate, she looks great. Did you do anything to prevent future salt destruction??? Seems like all old Japanese trucks that will live out east should at the very least be POR-15'd on any exposed medal aside from the brake rotors and I'd think that a nice coat of Bed-liner (Rhino-liner or the like) wouldn't hurt either. I'm lucky with my 89 4Runner, it has NO typical rust problems and I'm getting close to ready to do the bottom "belt line" and below with bed-liner for stone protection and sound deadning.
I seem to recall that the V-6 in the Nissans were quite a bit more peppy and les HG worrysome then the Toy 3.Slow of the same Era. Was it a 3.0L as well??? Like I said before Nissan really did folks a solid by making a proper "X-tra Cab" for the Hardbody.Much better use of room then the Toyota of the era in that I recall my mates had PLENTY of room for a passenger in a pinch and lot more gear storage (my buddies old Toyota Regular cab used to be REAL fun to try to keep our gear safe in while out rafting... Imagine 4 guy's worth of Dry-bags etc. crammed in the cab so we could lock the gear up and keep it from getting stolen while we run whatever day-float... It really sucked. he had a canopy, but no rear window so we could let the oars hang out the back on the shuttle up.) Good idea on having a topper for the winter so your bed doesn't fill up with snow. I've seen a few Canadian winters (alot of family from Brandon Manitoba) and while a little weight in the back end of a pick-up's never a bad thing in teh snow, hauling 10 tons of it back there will kill a set of leaf spring pretty quick eh.
Another question for you being a Nissan knowing fellow: Did the true First gen Path-Finders have rear leaves and did the 2nd gen keep them or go coils/control arms??? next, when you say the "2nd gen W21 was the body still pretty much the same??? Like the Hard-body but just a little diff. and a diff. "rounded" interior as you put it (I have to peak around to see what you mean by this)??? I've gotta go look on Wikipedia to get a feel for what series goes with which body eh. Another Mate had I belive an R50 series (rounder sleeker body and uni-body I think???) and it was a great rig for hauling the DH bikes up to the top of the trails but it got hit by a teenage texter and well... it didn't fare to well and got written off... Felt bad for my mate, Koji LOVED that truck and it was pretty slick looking with it's little skinny mudders on it.
Despite what I may have led others to belive in other threads I'm not a total Nissan hater. I LOVE Patrols and the older Hard-bodys, I just prefer Toyotas for various reasons like many in this section of the board love their Nissans eh
You got a thread on the Big 1,000,000 ton Mil. Spec. truck that's seen with your Hardbody??? EDIT: OH and is that an M38-A1 I spie tro the right (picture left) of the HB???
Cheers and sorry for the rambling post
Dave
alexrex20
Explorer
Not so true.
Most diesels do not meet our emissions requirements.
All '04+ Titan/Armada/QX56 and '05+ Xterra/Frontier/Pathfinder are built on the F-Alpha platform. The platform was conceived by Nissan North America with the intention of competing with the "big 3" 1/2ton trucks. They are big because Americans want big trucks.
The Pathfinder has a 112in wheelbase, compared to 130in with the Suburban. They are nowhere near the same size. Even the Armada falls short of the Suburban, with a wheelbase of only 123in.
Frankspinz
Adventurer
The original poster seems MIA ! I'll still add my 2 cents ! (I'm biased) a 2000-2004 Xterra you can buy cheap cheap ... And drive into the woods stock.
ALL trucks have issues (even Toyotas) especialy if wheeled hard. All the fixes are well known. Join a Forum or Club for a wealth of information.
All the best !
87FoRunner
Adventurer
I as well think Hardbodys were the perfect size for a small truck.
Yes. I covered the frame with rocker-guard as well as giving the bottom 10 inches of the body a good coat before paint.
I can't compare it to a Toyota, as I have never owned one, but the 3.0L in this one is very peppy. Room inside is pretty decent for its age. I wouldn't fill it with a football team, but it gets a few people around pretty well
No. The pathfinders always had coils front and back. Only the Hardbody's stayed with the leaf-springs due to it being a pickup and needing to take the extra weight in the back.
The first and second generation pathfinders (WD21 series) kept the same body panels. Like the Hardbody's, the only real difference on the outside was the front grill.
You can easily tell the different between the first generation pathfinders(WD21 series)/Hardbodys(D21 series) and the second generation due to the different dash.
The first gen's had a very square-ish dash assembly.
Where the second gen's had a more modern round/smooth style dash.
I prefer the older square dashes
Despite what I may have led others to belive in other threads I'm not a total Nissan hater. I LOVE Patrols and the older Hard-bodys, I just prefer Toyotas for various reasons like many in this section of the board love their Nissans eh
You got a thread on the Big 1,000,000 ton Mil. Spec. truck that's seen with your Hardbody??? EDIT: OH and is that an M38-A1 I spie to the right (picture left) of the HB???
Cheers and sorry for the rambling post
Dave
Like I said before, Toyota's are great trucks too. Use what works for you. To each their own.
You can read about the M109 conversion at the link in my signature.
Yes that is an M38A1. Is actually back in the shop right now getting fixed up again after finding more horrible work we found that was done by the previous owner.