stioc
Expedition Leader
Stioc's 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build
NOTE: If you're unable to see the pics, download a web browser extension that gets around the Photobucket's ransom demands. For Chrome I use this: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/...bedded-imag/ogipgokcopooepeipngiikdkpmcpkaon?
Trails and trips completed:
Orange County:
Main Divide Rd
Holy Jim trail
Mojave National Preserve:
Mojave Road
Colosseum Mine
Riley's Camp
Joshua Tree:
Berdoo Canyon
Pinkham
Old Dale Rd
Jeep trail
SBNF:
RattleSnake Canyon
Big Bear self guided discovery trail
Cleghorn
Jacoby Canyon
Horsetheif
Yuam, AZ:
Picacho Peak
Death Valley:
Agueberry point
Titus Canyon
Racetrack
LippinCott
Warm Springs
Steel Pass
Eureka Dunes
Trona
Pleasant Canyon
Goler Wash
Mengel Pass
Lower Hot Springs
Chloride City/Cliffs
Darwin Falls to China Garden Springs to Darwin city
Cerro Gordo
Eastern Sierras:
Monache Meadows
Sherman pass jeep trail
Moab:
Klondike Bluffs
Tower Arch
Fins-n-things
Baby Lion's Back
Fisher Towers
Long Canyon
Gemini Bridges
Colorado:
Yankee Boy Basin
Imogene Pass
Last Dollar Rd
Animas Fork
Engineer Pass to Lake City
Mesa Verde SP
------------------------------------
Upgrades and modifications
Exterior:
OME 2" springs (MD) - removed (See page 85 for why)
AC 2" lift springs
KYB struts
Bilstein 5100 shocks
WARN manual hubs
New OEM rear trailing arms and bolt kit
Home made control arm cross brace aka Missing Link
R200A 4.636
H233B 4.636 w/ ARB locker
Goodyear Duratracs 235/85/16 - removed (sidewalls not strong enough for heavy use in rocks)
BFG AT 235/85/16 - removed (loved loved loved these tires but wanted the tougher looks of the MTs)
BFG MT KM2s 265/75/16
Rola vortex roof-rack on Thule loadbars with custom feet
ARB 6.5ft awning
DieHard Platinum Group 34 battery
IPF 968 dual range driving lights with HID conversion
Philips XtremePower headlight bulbs
Gold fog light bulbs
BlitzPro LED flood light (rear)
Armor:
RockyRoad Super Sliders
DIY skid-plate (page 30)
Transfer case skid plate - Nissan Part# 30409-33G00
DIY rear bumper with swing out tire/gas/hi-lift carrier (page 105)
Brakes:
EBC high perf SUV brake pads - removed (they sucked!)
Hawk LTS Truck/SUV pads
Duralast rotors
SpeedBleeders
Goodrich stainless steel braided lines
4x4parts extra long braided SS line in the rear
Interior:
JWT Popcharger intake with a DIY CAI airbox
DIY storage platform
DIY cargo barrier
43qt IndelB fridge
UV5R HAM
Midland CB with Wilson 5000 magmount (mostly sits at home, I used HAM or FRS mostly)
ScanGuage II
Seat bracket iPad mount (used for GPS app)
Headrest iPad mount (movies/games for the younger co-pilot)
LED dome/trunk lights
Nissan heavy duty all weather floor mats
Recovery/expedition gear:
Q Industries MV50 air compressor
ARB tire repair kit
ARB deflator
ARB yank strap
ARB D rings
Tow hitch D-ring adapter (HarborFreight )
Keeper tow strap
HiLift 48" with Lift Mate
Small Cold Steel Special Forces shovel
Fiskar chopping axe
5gal Scepter water can
5gal Nato Jerry can - Removed
Two 3gal RotoPax fuel cans- total 27gals of fuel
Keeper roof-top canvas bag
Total weight (as weighed at a truck scale) loaded with 2 passengers for a 4-day DV trip: 5260lbs - not including extra gas. With the full family and extra gas approx 5400lbs. GVWR is 5300lbs.
Now the background info...
Why a Pathfinder:
Short answer? I prefer the roads less traveled. Long answer, not long ago when I set out to find a 4x4 for my needs (daily-driver/weekend explorer) with a budget of under $7k I considered just about everything in both the domestic and foreign flavors. In the end I settled on a 2001 Pathfinder SE 4x4- unibody and all. There was very little info about these trucks for offroad use and only a couple of documented Pathfinders were modified for ExPo like activities. As I said earlier I prefer the roads less traveled especially coming from a Honda Ridgeline which BTW hung with the big boys and went where ever I pointed it But really the size of the Pathfinder (not too huge but (almost) enough room for a family of 3 or 4 if you count our 60-65lbs dog), the creature comfort features, a larger gas tank (21gals) than others in class, and the awesome VQ35DE engine sold me on it. This particular one was a one-owner, low mileage car and I felt for me this was an excellent alternative to the venerable but overpriced 4Runners. I knew it being a unibody (unlike the older WD21s or the newer R51s) would have the (perceived?) limitations offroad but the type of offroading I'll be doing I'm not worried about it at all. While the aftermarket is not hugely supportive of this platform you can still find the ARB bumpers and lockers for it if you so choose.
Pathfinder factory specs (stock):
2001 Pathfinder SE 4x4, leather, sunroof, a/c, power etc
Mileage: 125k by the orignal owner
Engine: 3.5L V6 VQ
Horsepower: 250 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 240 ft-lbs. @ 3200 rpm
Curb weight: 3940 lbs
Ground clearance: 8.3 in
Tires: P255/65/16
Diff (F/R): Open
Final drive: 4.34
4x4: Part-time with 4-Lo
Wheel base: 106.3 in.
EPA mileage est. (cty/hwy): 15/18 mpg
Fuel tank capacity: 21.1 gal.
Range in miles (cty/hwy): approx 300 mi.
The subject:
NOTE: If you're unable to see the pics, download a web browser extension that gets around the Photobucket's ransom demands. For Chrome I use this: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/...bedded-imag/ogipgokcopooepeipngiikdkpmcpkaon?
Trails and trips completed:
Orange County:
Main Divide Rd
Holy Jim trail
Mojave National Preserve:
Mojave Road
Colosseum Mine
Riley's Camp
Joshua Tree:
Berdoo Canyon
Pinkham
Old Dale Rd
Jeep trail
SBNF:
RattleSnake Canyon
Big Bear self guided discovery trail
Cleghorn
Jacoby Canyon
Horsetheif
Yuam, AZ:
Picacho Peak
Death Valley:
Agueberry point
Titus Canyon
Racetrack
LippinCott
Warm Springs
Steel Pass
Eureka Dunes
Trona
Pleasant Canyon
Goler Wash
Mengel Pass
Lower Hot Springs
Chloride City/Cliffs
Darwin Falls to China Garden Springs to Darwin city
Cerro Gordo
Eastern Sierras:
Monache Meadows
Sherman pass jeep trail
Moab:
Klondike Bluffs
Tower Arch
Fins-n-things
Baby Lion's Back
Fisher Towers
Long Canyon
Gemini Bridges
Colorado:
Yankee Boy Basin
Imogene Pass
Last Dollar Rd
Animas Fork
Engineer Pass to Lake City
Mesa Verde SP
------------------------------------
Upgrades and modifications
Exterior:
OME 2" springs (MD) - removed (See page 85 for why)
AC 2" lift springs
KYB struts
Bilstein 5100 shocks
WARN manual hubs
New OEM rear trailing arms and bolt kit
Home made control arm cross brace aka Missing Link
R200A 4.636
H233B 4.636 w/ ARB locker
Goodyear Duratracs 235/85/16 - removed (sidewalls not strong enough for heavy use in rocks)
BFG AT 235/85/16 - removed (loved loved loved these tires but wanted the tougher looks of the MTs)
BFG MT KM2s 265/75/16
Rola vortex roof-rack on Thule loadbars with custom feet
ARB 6.5ft awning
DieHard Platinum Group 34 battery
IPF 968 dual range driving lights with HID conversion
Philips XtremePower headlight bulbs
Gold fog light bulbs
BlitzPro LED flood light (rear)
Armor:
RockyRoad Super Sliders
DIY skid-plate (page 30)
Transfer case skid plate - Nissan Part# 30409-33G00
DIY rear bumper with swing out tire/gas/hi-lift carrier (page 105)
Brakes:
EBC high perf SUV brake pads - removed (they sucked!)
Hawk LTS Truck/SUV pads
Duralast rotors
SpeedBleeders
Goodrich stainless steel braided lines
4x4parts extra long braided SS line in the rear
Interior:
JWT Popcharger intake with a DIY CAI airbox
DIY storage platform
DIY cargo barrier
43qt IndelB fridge
UV5R HAM
Midland CB with Wilson 5000 magmount (mostly sits at home, I used HAM or FRS mostly)
ScanGuage II
Seat bracket iPad mount (used for GPS app)
Headrest iPad mount (movies/games for the younger co-pilot)
LED dome/trunk lights
Nissan heavy duty all weather floor mats
Recovery/expedition gear:
Q Industries MV50 air compressor
ARB tire repair kit
ARB deflator
ARB yank strap
ARB D rings
Tow hitch D-ring adapter (HarborFreight )
Keeper tow strap
HiLift 48" with Lift Mate
Small Cold Steel Special Forces shovel
Fiskar chopping axe
5gal Scepter water can
5gal Nato Jerry can - Removed
Two 3gal RotoPax fuel cans- total 27gals of fuel
Keeper roof-top canvas bag
Total weight (as weighed at a truck scale) loaded with 2 passengers for a 4-day DV trip: 5260lbs - not including extra gas. With the full family and extra gas approx 5400lbs. GVWR is 5300lbs.
Now the background info...
Why a Pathfinder:
Short answer? I prefer the roads less traveled. Long answer, not long ago when I set out to find a 4x4 for my needs (daily-driver/weekend explorer) with a budget of under $7k I considered just about everything in both the domestic and foreign flavors. In the end I settled on a 2001 Pathfinder SE 4x4- unibody and all. There was very little info about these trucks for offroad use and only a couple of documented Pathfinders were modified for ExPo like activities. As I said earlier I prefer the roads less traveled especially coming from a Honda Ridgeline which BTW hung with the big boys and went where ever I pointed it But really the size of the Pathfinder (not too huge but (almost) enough room for a family of 3 or 4 if you count our 60-65lbs dog), the creature comfort features, a larger gas tank (21gals) than others in class, and the awesome VQ35DE engine sold me on it. This particular one was a one-owner, low mileage car and I felt for me this was an excellent alternative to the venerable but overpriced 4Runners. I knew it being a unibody (unlike the older WD21s or the newer R51s) would have the (perceived?) limitations offroad but the type of offroading I'll be doing I'm not worried about it at all. While the aftermarket is not hugely supportive of this platform you can still find the ARB bumpers and lockers for it if you so choose.
Pathfinder factory specs (stock):
2001 Pathfinder SE 4x4, leather, sunroof, a/c, power etc
Mileage: 125k by the orignal owner
Engine: 3.5L V6 VQ
Horsepower: 250 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 240 ft-lbs. @ 3200 rpm
Curb weight: 3940 lbs
Ground clearance: 8.3 in
Tires: P255/65/16
Diff (F/R): Open
Final drive: 4.34
4x4: Part-time with 4-Lo
Wheel base: 106.3 in.
EPA mileage est. (cty/hwy): 15/18 mpg
Fuel tank capacity: 21.1 gal.
Range in miles (cty/hwy): approx 300 mi.
The subject:
Last edited: