I am looking at a 1988 nissan Pathfinder, 2 door, 3.0 v-6, 5-speed, 4wd. I know little to nothing about them other than the obvious torsion bar IFS and a nice looking 4 link coiled rear.

However, it has 199,950 miles on it....well maintained though. I anticipate the the engine to drop out around 225-250k miles which leaves me a year to figure out an engine replacement.

I already have my lift halfway planned out (solid front conversion of course) but I am not sure of teh specifics.

so my questions are:

what are my engine choices? is anything a bolt up to the nissans bellhousing/tranny or am I looking to do an entire driveline swap? If so, will a 350 tbi fit?

What are the factory specs as far as gear ratios?

what exactly is the rear axle? How big of a tire will they run without problems?

Thats a decent truck but not the best serious wheeler/ builder. You will have trouble with the steering parts if you wheel it.

One of the guys in my club has a '95 Pathfinder. He's got an EB D44 in the front. It's a very capable wheeler. Here is a pic, sorry it is so small. http://www.allterrainers.com/members_files/images/thumbnails/ChrisJ2.small.JPG

I have a 91 Nissan King Cab and it has 316,000 miles on it with the original engine in it, and it shows no signs of getting weak. I take it to Moab several times a year and take it on 4 rated trails withe stock suspension and 31". I have 4.11 an limited slip in the rear but their is a tag on the axle or your owners manula has it in their if you have the original axle. I have found no motors that will bolt up to the tranny other than the V6 that is in it. You can through a different cam in it, 300 ZX 4 valve heads on it and the dual turbo or supercharger on it and that is one bad motor that ahs plenty of horsepower but torque is not for wheelin. I have thought about throwing a Ford 5.0 EFI in mine when the motor dies but I just may retire it to the bone yard, the front end is in terriable shape and the sterring and the suspension sucks! Get yourself a Cruiser or Jeep if you want something to wheel with!

I was planning on building my rig next summer..I was goign to use a yj frame, 4.5 inch springs SOA, dana 60 front, 70 rear, 383 stroker, nv4500 or sm465, dana 203 and 205 t-cases, cj-7 body, yj clip, full external rollcage, etc.....

but then this came along. I am curious about engine swap options.....with a full frame and fully boxed it allows a lot of room for custom fabrication (the ifs would be the first to go.) the interior is immaculate as si the body...but the engine bay seems a touch small for a 350 or 383 (same block)

I just want to research before I jump right into it.