Leaderboard

@G.huz don't worry buddy, i am pretty sure that the Pathfinder, as it's a very capable offroading machine, has very decent tow points, even though its built on unibody frame. Taking care of below points can definitely minimize the risks involved: 1) Inspect your OEM recovery points (not tie-down points), and see if they are still in good shape (not bent, no severe corrosion). 2) Never exceed 15-20km/h when engaging in a pull or tug. Do several smaller tugs and slowly buildup the force. 3) Using soft shackles is at least less material flying around. 4) Divide the force whenever possible with a bridle configuration. As mentioned before on Carnity, you can install the app called Wreckmaster, which is being used by professional recovery companies to assess the weight involved, based on the angle, weight of the vehicle, and surface resistance. While this gives you merely a number, it will help you to understand the difficulty rating of the recovery. Some examples from the app: * A 2 ton vehicle which is stuck on flat hard grass or gravel only takes 100 kg to tow. * A 2 ton vehicle which is stuck in flat sand with all wheels will take 2000 kg to tow. * A 2 ton vehicle which is stuck in a pocket with its wheels and needs to be pulled upwards on an angle of 20°will need 2667 kg to tow. As the 2003 Pathfinder has a theoretical towing capacity of 5000lbs, or 2267kg, this would mean that the third example is taking more stress than what the vehicle in theory is built for. Of course these are calculations, and there are safety margins on the vehicle, and the kinetic energy also comes into play, but it is imho a good indication to see how far you will need to push your vehicle to do the third scenario.

On another off-road club I remember seeing a video where they were recovering a car, they guy was clearly going too fast when pulling and one of the recovery points broke, sending it directly through the other car's window. And they were blaming the recovery points as faulty. The stucked car had the axles covered in sand and this guy was pulling too fast. 🤨 Needless to say I did not join them, they obviously did not know what they were doing.

This single point is a GOLDEN MANTRA, even if you are stuck in a situation with underrated tow points, hook or ropes. I remember giving more than 30 tugs to change the angle of Ford truck with my dinky Pajero. Out here ppl give up after 3-4 tries and go as fast as they can, but its a same logic of blip blip recovery method, if you are moving even an inch at a time, you still have a hope to recover with the same intensity by giving constant slow powered tugs.

duuuuuuuude... this is super, thank you i need to check my recovery points, and am getting this extra short rope between 2 points for sure

If somebody has a unibody they MUST install more recovery points, these need to be installed on the frame rails. During recovery we would need to be careful to recover from at least two points.

They even sell them with the bridle for the path finders. https://www.the4wdshed.com/recovery-tow-points-shackles-equaliser-strap-kit-nissan-navara-d40-roadsafe4wd?preview=y I am sure there are shops that can fabricate something like that

you've been in this sport for way longer time, and driving the Pathfinder for longer time as well, am sure if there is anything out there you would've done it. i'll check around, if i find something the made sense to me, i'll share for sure.

Actually people have ego attached to the recovery scenario that let their mind stop using the basic common sense, physics and math. Also they assume if you fail to recover in small 10 tugs then you and your 4x4 is useless, and let someone show you how to do it. Not many are bother to clear the sand around wheels and make a path or hole near the tire so that car can fall into the hole safely than jumping out and increasing the risk of flip.

Oh yes !

@Rahimdad @G.huz the second generation Pathfinder is unibody. Did you add recovery points or how do you rate the existing ones ? @shadow79 same for the Rav4.

For shackles I use bubba rope 52k pounds, buy them directly from amazon it's waaaayyy cheaper than the rip off from TORC https://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Rope-Gator-Jaw-176745PRO-Synthetic/dp/B07F489PP7/ref=sr_1_5?crid=15AIC431V0O0P&keywords=bubba+shackle&qid=1564979525&s=gateway&sprefix=bubba+shac%2Caps%2C373&sr=8-5

Currently I too have been using the recovery points that come built in with the vehicle and have had no issues at all. I too like @Gaurav bhai tend to start slow and build up the tug strength with every pull. I always engage in 4 Low for a tug so I am never over 20 KPH. Some recoveries is better to dig a bit to have lesser load on the pulling vehicle. @G.huz if you find any good solution please do share, its always better to be safe than sorry.

yes, i googled afterwards... but still, if the original ones are good, do we have to add new points?

I don't know what unibody is, I only have stock ones, I didn't add any... But why do we have to? As unibody cars? "Winter is coming" though, I better check them soon before the season starts.

The rear tow points are solid have pulled up things More then the weight of the car with that but can't say that for the front ones but they are sufficient for the weight of the car in a stuck scenario It's in some dreamy plans that if I see a good and CHEAP hook for the front I could place it in the center along with the cross support...

You can buy strap and use it as a bridle, just make sure its heavily rated. I used my strap for long time and in some rigorous uphill pulls n tugs. You can get liftek from Alico in shj.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W3P4DE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Y0WrDbQRX1D5B

Landcruiser 80 series: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j09e1suka9am09s/AAAxy8DUzah4SKyCdztz7ioha?dl=0 Landcruiser 100 series: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o4vstjkhw0bcgbj/AAAmGbd7Mv4qGrlzuQmLkQoVa?dl=0 Yeah that will always be the case with what you find on the web. If you want 100% accuracy then you'll need to go from the chassis number and get the information from official Toyota channels which will cost a bit probably.

Global tis website caters to American and Euro specs I had downloaded ecm firmware for American specs Toyotas and Lexus from there but the 6 cyl lc is only available for Mena region others have diesel or petrol v8...the later 2gr schematics are almost similar in v6 Fortuner Prado later model lc but still a hit and miss thing which makes me rewire it from beginning till end instead of tapping from here and there...

For Toyota you can subscribeo for 15USD to have access to their webportal that included service manuals. Once you have access there is a way to export all these manuals into PDF. Haven't tried it yet: https://priuschat.com/threads/toyota-tis-download-tips.149250/ I'll have a look at the others and send you some links where to download them from.

Well not from Zero, but from 50% onward again. And you will take couple of drives to get used to that new 4x4 response unlike months and years to learn offorading. I have driven 6 different 4x4 for offroading in last 12 years.

Thank you Gents! Very useful and interesting information! @desertdude I am eager to learn, in order to be strong enought to tackle higher dunes. I am also sure Patrol can show outstanding results, specially the V8 one. It is juts difficult to balance its weight and power, and I am in continuous trials to find that golden middle. Also have to fight my fear to be flipped at higher dunes. I know that I still do not fill my car 100%, but with each drive I "open" the car a. bit . @Gaurav Yes agree, the patrol specially platinum one become too fancy, and more a car fro the city and light (safari type) offroading, but not extreme level. I have 20 inch seems, that m are Offroaders more difficult. Probably the Y62 LE, with smaller seems, and less electronics is ore suitable for offroad. I am seriously thinking of buying FJ or Jeep specially for desert driver, and leave patrol for the city roads. By the way, the Marshal on FJ told me that Y61 VTEC, the new one, will not be able as well to manage the speed of FJ on dunes. And in the club I am now, I am the only one person on patrol, there is no one else on Y61 or 62, all are either jeepers or FJ, sometimes Nissan Xterra and Prado. For now, I will try to do my level best to learn more, I think if I manage to drive a heavy Patrol, the FJ or Jeep will be much easier to handle later on.

Adding to this I wonder how we deal with the lower strength of recovery points on a unibody SUV ?

That's flickering more than blinking. Looks like an electrical issue. Get your hands on an electrical wiring diagram, clean the grounds, connectors, look for any crimps or frayed wiring. If nothing then one of the oil sensors could be shorting out. Check them with a multimeter. First do a Desi test by wiggling the wires of both the sensors, see if it makes a difference. Then unplug and clean the both sides of the connectors with some electrical or brake cleaner spray. NOT WD40. So on and so forth, starting with the most easiest and cheapest fix and working your way down.

Hello Everyone! Related to the topic question. I am driving Nissan patrol platinum Y62. I am still newbie/fewbie level, so far i am ok,but i can feel that car is heavy, hence kind of difficult to handle if i am tackling the dune. Yesterday i went as a passenger on the drive, which was an inter/advance level, i was with the marshal in his FJ. He did, as i though before impossible things,climbing high dunes, riding on the bale (ridge), reaching the pick of dune and overtaking it. Crazy stuff! The guy has long time experience though. So i was wondering, can patrol do the same, considering its weight? Or this kind of extreme drive is only for Jeeps and FJs, and patrol for more relaxing, safari type of driving? Thank you in advance!

that would have be great @Rahimdad

Crossing the English channel in his second attempt.. very impressive ! https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/4/20753648/jet-powered-hoverboard-english-channel-crossing-franky-zapata-success Mr. Zapata is a big man. 😲

Very impressive

If you recently bought this, which I think you must have after your recent civic purchase, just go to the shop and complain. If it's old then DIY debugging is a good idea. Which brand is that, share some model info so we can dig into it.

@Frederic it's a plug and play device. The end connection is similar to a desktop VGA cable end, but only wider with more pins. I will try to send the diagram for you to have a look.

Theoretical yes, but when have you last seen or driven Y62 (STOCK) doing wonders....? We have had 3 patrol in 2019 and 2 broke the bumper, 3rd was intelligent matured driver and went back home with same bumper. Due to tons of electronic control, I have seen even V8 struggling and what Adel mentioned here I can totally relate to. If it was doing wonder as Y61 VTEC then why would Nissan brought back Y61 VTEC VTEC for shababs.....?

I said Armada not Patrol. That Armada weighs almost the same as the Y62 and around the same power as the V6 patrol. And the Armada was never built to be a tough offroader. So the comparison is more than valid

Can you share some details on the unit itself ? Was the wiring done properly ? I mean soldered and not just twisted into each other ? Or is this a plug and play thingy ? Maybe the unit is sending out a distorted signal (too loud) for the headunit and this input goes into safety.

Any idea where I can buy this bridle ?

Brilliant ! makes me remember my father in law who used to see me washing my car every weekend and would look at me saying “will the car go faster now ?” He drove his Ford Sierra for 20years and never washed it, the rain kept it clean. As he was keeping horses you can imagine how dirty it was. People in the town were talking negative about it cuz he was the school principal but he couldn’t care less 😂

Looking at the flickering behavior, i would say it's the sensor itself or the wiring. I think the sensor order number for a Gen2 Pajero is MD092660, but not completely sure on your model as it's a 3.5 and more rare.

Thanks a lot @Frederic. @shadow79 please download this and get ready to read it with popcorn and green tea. Don't tell me now where do you get workshop manual for $10, Fred got you one for free, so you better make use of it now.

Sorry dude, this was over 10+ year story now and you might be right at that time but not with Patrol weight. @Adel Muradov there is no doubt you have very capable 4x4 but due to its pedigree now mixed with luxury+mall crawler audience and that makes it very heavy, more electronically controlled gizmos, computers, sensors. Patrol Y62 will always find it difficult to catch up on extreme drives like the one you just mentioned. However that gap is very marginal - if you hone your offroad skills like if FJC can do 100, then your Patrol can match upto 80-90 in capable hands. So don't worry too much about that level and little gap IMHO, first focus on learning and "practicing" the basics without breaking your 4x4, rest all will follow. On the contrary, for being a good offroader you need slightly underpower 4x4 than desert toy that can take you anywhere with a touch of throttle. You won't learn real offroading that way.

He takes care of himself but not his car. His car get take care from passing to passing

Necro!!!!

Contiuing with that logic I'm guessing you don't take a bath either!!!!!!

Thanks for the lovely trip report. I, Saleem and Jaleel went on Friday evening with half working tire rod end and link rod compiled from used parts lying in saleem garage. This made it fine to exit and drive back home. Just ordered the new ones now and also the set of all rear bushing, as one of them is making little clack clack in dunes. So hopefully will get everything sorted within this week.

skWMvN0.mp4

Forced Ram Air Induction