2002 LE Pathfinder Locking Hub Fit

[Amagician]

Howdy,

I recently purchased a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder LE. I previously drove my 1996 and I installed Warn hubs on it and had hopes of moving them to the newer Pathy; however, it doesn't look like my current wheels will allow it without modification or replacement.



I've searched for a while but cannot seem to find definitive answers to this, but if someone else has installed manual hubs with this wheel:

1) Did you modify the wheel so the hubs would fit? If so, how?

2) Is there a different manual hub that will fit with the current wheels?

3) If you swapped wheels, which did you go with?

I highly doubt I'll ever off-road with the car but I am looking to have a little better MPG (I can't get above 240 miles to the tank and that's after multiple fuel treatments, new fuel filter, spark plugs, Spectre air filter, etc.) and less wear on the axles. The tires are size P245/65R17.

Thanks for any tips and suggestions!

[R50JR]

https://www.amazon.com/Rugged-Ridge-150 ... B001FANSJO

[Mike W.]

No help on your question, but nice looking wheels, I like them a lot better than the 3 spokers on my QX4 whose only advantage seems to be they're easy to clean.

I do have a question though, how much did the locking hubs improve mileage on the '96?

240 seems a little low per tank, but not that far off. I don't drive mine a whole lot, but get typically get 16-18 MPG. And I drive it fairly conservatively as it's a truck to me, not a car. While the gas gauge is uncommonly accurate, I find I don't push it much, 16.7 is the most I've put in and I was sweatin' bullets then, but it's listed as as having almost a 21 gallon capacity, you might be able to stretch fillups a little longer if you're filling up as early as I tend to. Also, what fuel are you using? Many seem to say using premium pays for itself in improved MPG although I only use midrange myself, so if you're using regular especially, that could be a contributor.

[Amagician]

@Mike W.:

The MPG was drastically improved on my '96 with the locking hubs. The noticeable difference in lack of drag was also great. I went from around 270-290 up to 320-330 range per tank with Regular fuel.

I have tried Premium and Regular fuel in the '02 and I haven't seen any performance improvements nor MPG increases with the Premium and I've put multiple tanks in since I got the car in December. I guess one perk to having to fill up once a week was that I could test the two fuels to see which was better. In the '96, I definitely noticed added improvement as well with the Premium fuel which surprised me when I didn't notice it with the '02... something just seems to be off with the car. I'm hoping the hubs help with something; otherwise, I think I will look at selling it. The '96 has a rear main seal leak and I thought it was time to invest in something "newer", but I love that '96 and don't think I'll ever part with it. Still rides and drives wonderfully. I appreciate the observations and tips!

@Astrorami
Thanks for the link and tip! I'll check them out.

[Mike W.]

@Mike W.:

The MPG was drastically improved on my '96 with the locking hubs. The noticeable difference in lack of drag was also great. I went from around 270-290 up to 320-330 range per tank with Regular fuel.

Wow, that's like 15%. I'm a skeptic and a pragmatist but that could pay for itself. While power isn't a problem, the 240HP seems very optimistic, but maybe not if it's chewing up 15% in drivetrain losses above and beyond the normal 15%.

[Nifty50]

https://www.amazon.com/Rugged-Ridge-150 ... B001FANSJO

Did these fit without spacers? I have the same rims. I'd like to do this, but I'm seeing different info on if they fit without modifications.

TY

Aaron

[mdmellott]

No modifications or wheel spacers needed on those wheels for those manual locking hubs. The wheels I have on my '02 SE did require a cutout modification to the hub/nut cover. I went with Warn 29091 hubs on my '02, which are a bit larger than the Rugged Ridge hubs so they probably wouldn't fit those wheels on the '02 LE. With a careful cutout in the plastic cover, salvaging the Nissan badge in the center and sticking onto the Warn hub with heavy-duty mounting tape, the look of it came out very nice.
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