Assistance with tires and maintenance

[SgtOgre]

Hey everyone, first post here. I have been a silent reader for a while and finally need some assistance. So thanks in advance for anything you can provide!

I have a 98 pathfinder that i bought about 8 months ago with 152k miles on it. It ran well but had that horrible death wobble. I researched the fix and found out it was the control arms. Ok, time to replace those. While i was under there i also replaced the shocks and struts for good measure. Cool, thats done.

Then i tackled the fact that the trim on the back 2 windows was old and leaking air. It made the cabin quite loud. I found some of those at a junk yard, worked great considering they are over $100 new. Cool, thats done.

Also replace brake booster, bled the brake system, replaced the air filter, oil change, changed the ATF fluid and filter, Replaced the battery, and replaced the lift supports on the back hatch and window. Cool, those are done.

I am almost ready to take it offroad, that is the end goal of this vehicle, camping and off roading. Now i need to buy some new tires, change the differential fluid, and change the transfer case fluid.

My questions start here:

1. Any advice on tires? I have no lift and currently have 235/75r15's on there, but i want to go as big as possible without a lift. I have heard 31s are possible but i was wondering if anyone had some advice on that. I do want some All Terrain tires for sure.

2. Is there anything i need to grease with a grease gun? I have heard the driveshaft needs it, where is that located and are there any other places that need it?

3. I am going to change the read differential fluid (i have a limited slip diff YAY) do i also need to change the front? Is it the same process? And any advice on the transfer case fluid change?

I guess that about it. Sorry about the long post, just eager to get this thing in the MUD!

[barnaclebob]

Diff's and T-case are straight forward drain and fills aside from the possibility of stuck drain plugs. Some people advocate for doing multiple drains and fills with a little driving in between on the t-case to get more of the old fluid out but personally I think its a waste. Basic advice that must be said is to always undo the fill plug first so you aren't left with drained diff and stuck fill plug. I used Valvoline 80w-90 that said it was for LSD's and my car is still running. Haven't verified that the lsd is actually not slipping though. Valvoline ATF in the t-case for me.

The front drive shaft has a zirc fitting on it and you are supposed to give it a squeeze or two of grease ever other oil change or something like that. The location can be found in the FSM.

Also you may want to give the front wheel bearings a cleaning and regreasing. The manual says you need a special tool to tighten down the retainer nut but I think you can modify a standard wheel bearing nut tool to do the same thing by grinding off two of the knobs. You'll also need a set of bearing seals because its just about impossible to remove the old ones without damaging them.

[SgtOgre]

Thanks for the reply. I tried to take out the rear diff fill bolt and it is stuck tight. Nothing i tried would get it out. I ended up calling a local shop and they offered to crack them for me so i can drive home and do it myself. Going to give that a shot on Friday. I am just going to ask them to loosen the drain and fill plugs on both diffs as well as the transfer case.

Any advice on max tire size with stock lift?

[barnaclebob]

I have no idea about tires, Im on the stock size. I had to take a propane torch to some of my plugs but they eventually loosened when using a breaker bar.

[atraudes]

BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 is the gold standard for A/T tires. If you can swing the cost, they're probably your best bet. I went with the Firestone Destinations because the BFGs weren't available in the factory tire size (or anything close) when I was in the market, and the Destinations ranked #2 behind them in Tirerack's consumer ratings chart. The fact they were several hundred dollars cheaper didn't hurt either. They got great reviews everywhere I looked.

[SgtOgre]

Awesome. I will look into those, i have a cousin that works for Firestone so maybe i can get a discount. Any idea on max tire size? I was looking to go up to a 31" tire for some extra clearence since i cant do a lift on it.