Newb from Newcastle

[firebug]

Hi all,

Been lurking around your forum for a short while. I was in the market for an STX 550 as my daily and towing duties but alas I discovered it was a touch too long to fit in my garage. So I settled on and R51 Pathfinder Ti 550. Very pleased with it and keen to do some mods as the need arises.

Thanks for having me, great forum too by the way...

Bill

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome aboard!

I'm absolutely jealous of you. See, when I load up 53 bags (that's the limit) of chicken manure in the back of my Navara, I can't smell a bloody thing. You don't have that shortcoming at all!

With 300mm shorter wheelbase, and a shorter rear-axle-to-towball distance, the Pathy makes a good tow vehicle. Not quite as stable as the Navara (the longer the better) but coil suspension allows you to pop in airbags without worrying about chassis issues. Doesn't mean a heavy haul doesn't need a WDH, but the effects are greatly reduced because of the shorter overhang from the rear axle.

 

[firebug]

Just realised I've had the Tizzo for 2 years now with no updates. However there have been no issues to speak of (until recently) so that's probably why. I bought her for a comfortable daily driver that will cart the family around with no dramas and tow the racecar to/from the track. Happy to say it has done everything I have asked of it with ease. 2013 model with 93k on the clock to date.

Pics just after I got her home:

 

[firebug]

One thing I noticed was the lack of reversing light the Pathfinder came with from factory. Only one on the left side. I replaced the bulb with the largest LED replacement I could find. This improved things only a little. So I made some brackets up and mounted a couple of LED work lights under the rear. Problem solved...

 

[firebug]

So a few months went by and I was thinking I had lost my rechargeable LED work light. I didn't think it was stolen, just misplaced but I couldn't remember where I used it last. It wasn't until I replaced the steel spare with a matching alloy wheel when I realised where I left it. I was using it while mounting the reverse lights. Its battery had gone flat but the magnet had held on behind the rear wheel well for around 3000kms... Phew!

 

[firebug]

A recent service at Nissan highlighted a split intercooler that I already knew about. The service was to cost $350, they called me at home to tell me the front ball joints had excessive play and needed replacing, +$650, and the IC was split, +$4100... So potentially a $5100 service. Got the ball joints done and told them I'll sort the IC.
Many internet research hours later had me ordering a new IC, hot and cold side pipes and a catch can from Forefront.

I had organised a dyno tune from Tuneworks Newcastle so I got them to fit up the IC, piping and catch can while they were at it. A couple of days before I decided to mount the catch can myself to save myself some shop time. The V9X pretty much fills the engine bay and the area in front of the airbox was about the only place left to put it.

I made a bracket that bolts to the upright beside the radiator. Kinda looks like a 4. Captive bolts allows for easy remove/replace.

 

[Old.Tony]

Nice stuff. Yeah there isn't a lot of space in the V6 engine bay.


I hadn't thought about the light in reverse, because I had a low-light colour camera installed and the view from that in all conditions is pretty good. Small LED work lights are a great idea, and if the wattage is low you wouldn't even need a relay to operate them.