Now that I have an X in the family, I've been spending a bit of time searching all the Xterra forums for various ideas. I did come across a couple of posts (1 was mentioned here already) regarding replacement struts.
The guys on the Xterra forums have been told their struts are rated at 145 lbs stock, whereas one of the posts here mention speaking to a manufacturer who said the Pathfinder's struts are rated at 185. However, the abbreviated part numbers are the same, although not the whole part number. I'm guessing they will be fairly similar though.
The guys on the Xterra forums are ordering the 175 lb struts and say they work great. The rear hatch on the X really isn't that much smaller than ours, so I'm not really too confident in that 185 lb number that was mentioned, but what the hell do I know.
Here's the link to the McMaster site:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-springs/=a9w8jv
The struts in question, for the Xterra, are part #9416K28. They come in quite a range of available forces, and while it is a tad longer than the OEM, it sounds like it lifts the hatch another 3" with no problems. Here is another thread on the topic:
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6419
If someone could confirm that the specs listed for part #9416K28 will work on the Pathfinder, and also what rated force is necessary, I'll be a guinea pig and order some to try. Or, if someone could figure out which part number we would need for the Pathfinder, preferably by spending the time measuring the OEM strut and matching it to one on the McMaster site. Any takers?