cdq109

Is it possible to purchase the winch mount kits anymore? Those things look awesome!

Any special tools/tricks to get access to the locking arm that engages the star wheel on the drum brake adjusters? My passenger side star wheel I was able to use one screwdriver to pry the advancing bar that hits the start wheel away and back the star wheel off, so that the shoes were not longer hanging up on the lip wore into the original Nissan drums. (That was after two hours or so...probably bending a screwdriver right at the tip would allow me to get around the cylinder portion of the brake adjuster, that's the problem, the locking bar is on the far side, so you can't good a good angle on it with a straight flat head screwdriver.). The driver side was a nighmare...much cursing, drilling, and the sacrifice of an otherwise working wheel cylinder to the brake gods...again after several hours I was only able to occasionally get everything just right so that I could back it off. But my hands would cramp, I'd lose the exact postion, and then not be able to get it back on. I did try bending one cheap screwdriver, but it just snapped... If there is an existing tool that works with the specific angles of our brake adjusters, that'd be great to know. Otherwise I guess it'll be more trial and error. If the locking bar extended down just a little further I'd be able to hit it with a flathead screwdriver. I've seen several repair kits including the star wheel and both shafts and the locking bar, but none for the R50 Pathfinder. Does a generic brake spoon work like magic for this, or just meh? Another general random question, if the drums are worn down enough to have the shoes "hang up" on them preventing them from being removed, is that indicating the drums need to be turned or replaced, or is that just how they run? Seems like I used to think if they were groved that deeply they needed to be turned/replaced. Anyway I replaced the stock original drums today after 225,000 (I think, North of that for sure), but before I get them tightened up with the new shoes, kinda wanted to know how to back them off. Thank you, Chirs

Thanks Pathfinder1990. Unfortunately in the Great Repulik of Kaliforniastan, the SMOG data gets uploaded directly to the State Smog system at the end of the test (can't even get a printout without the data being reported). So the technician has no say in it, all automated. Yeah it is killing me because the truck runs GREAT! Down in San Diego county it was (then) a regular smog area, and it usually passed (maybe with a quick timing adjustment, a new gas cap, plugs or something simple like that) as it was just a two idle speed test. In the San Francisco Bay area, we are deemed an "enhanced" area, and this requires a dyno simulated acceleration test (putting the engine and whole locomotive system under stress) at 15 mph a 50% engine load and at 25 mph at a 15% Engine load. The MOST annoying (and criminal) thing is that the state keeps changing the rules (thus the "enhanced") and making the emissions limits MORE STRINGENT THAN WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED (i.e. brand new, right off the factory assembly line). It is a thinly veiled ploy to get old-often paid off vehicles off the roads (But the politicians and Enviro-Geniuses don't give a damn about fiscal stewardship and sure as hell don't care about any individual citizens personal economics). I'm all for common sense environmental protection, but 50 parts per million for unburnt hydrocarbons?!? Seriously? With all the warnings they make McDonald's put on their restaurants about cancer causing agents (when you brown potatoes, the acrylamide I believe it is, is made, and is one of the thousands of compounds "known to the State of California (because California knows so much more than everyone else) to be a potential carcinogen....I am surprise they have not declared Environmental War on Bean Burritos and Bean products due to the unnecessary increase release of Methane (unburned hydrocarbons) as a result of eating said food. Oh sure, they'll pay some folks up to a $1,000 to "Retire" their old (i.e. paid off) car, and they penalize you by making the emissions standards nearly impossible to meet with out replacing parts every two years, that IF they left the cut values where they were, would only need replaced every decade or so, at worse (catalytic converters especially). It is a total racket. Meanwhile I've driven like 1500 miles now, just driving the test patterns after resetting the ECM. I refuse to send my truck to the graveyard, it runs great and I've put a lot of blood sweat and tears thus far--I ain't giving up. BTW I did reset the ECM and just now found the answer to my question in the FSM. I was up looking for that for hours and hours, but the PDF FSM is not test searchable, so just happened to stumble on it tonight. I'm worried now that I need a valve job or something more substantial (not that I REALLY need a valve job, but rather just to get the stupid emissions with in specs, the new specs, not the old specs. I'd like to see a Federal Class Action Lawsuit against the California Bureau of Automotive Repair and the California Clean Air Resources Board for making the requirements MORE stringent then they were at date of manufacture of the vehicle. Total and absolute BS in my opinion, and a violation of ownership rights of citizens. Behavior modification at it's worst. Grrrr....

Ok, so if you look at page EC-54 of the FSM it states that in asterisk note *2 "MIL will go off after vehicle is drivien 3 times (pattern without any malfunctions. Also *4 states "The DTC and the freeze frame data will not be displayed any longer after the vehicle is driven 40 times (pattern A) without the same malfunction (The DTC and freeze frame data still remain in ECM)".

Hello, Does anyone know how many trips the ECM requires before it will self-clear a P0156 error code, after the O2 sensor is replaced? I do not want to reset the ECM, as I don't want to drive the test pattern, for quite literally at least the 10th time in the last few months. I've put like 1,300 miles on the damned thing, mostly just driving the test pattern. Moved from the San Diego are to the San Francisco Bay area, and am now in an "enhanced" testing area. It has been like playing a nightmare version of "whack-a-mole". Fix one code another pops up. So far the following items have been replaced (some only after various vague codes only intermittently came on and multiple relearn trips had to be performed) just to get the OBD-II ready paramaters set such that my MIL light was off, and all the required test patterns had passed without any codes being thrown (oh and like 7 Smog re-tests done, none "gross poluters" and hte last one only failing by 1 part per million for Hydrocarbons for the ASM 25 MPH test, everything else was FINE: Distributor (Crank position sensor died after ~180,000 miles. Word to the wise NAPA or OEM ONLY! Richporter NS-60 gave me two BAD parts) Driver Side Exhaust Manifold (was cracked) Driver Side Catalytic Converter (honeycomb was melted, found after cracks in manifold, replacing various 02 sensors--extra O2 from cracks, and extra fuel from ECM dumping more fuel to compensate for a false lean condition = super heated cats and melted substrate for bank 2 (Doh!!!!) Driver Upstream O2 Passenger Upstream O2 Passenger Downstream O2 Knock Sensor New Plugs New Plug Wires Tightened Ground Screws in Speedometer Head Unit (after getting a code for that early on) 195 Degree Thermostat Installed Ignition Timing Set, tweaked, re-set, re-tweaked etc... MAF sensor cleaned (CRC MAF cleaner) So today I finally did the Seafoam into the break booster vacuum line treatment. After that cleared, took it on a road test. 50 miles later the Driver Side Downs Stream O2 Sensor (the only one I had not replaced yet) threw a code and my MIL check engine light came on. So anyway I am 1 ppm away from passing the damned smog on this thing (CRC Garunteed to Pass tried way before the crack in exhaust manfold was found, so fuel system should be good). So tomorrow I dutifully plan on replacing that sensor (I don't doubt that the Seafoam treatment is tied to the code being thrown, but only because the O2 sensor was in need of replacement anyway and had reported borderline passing voltages previously). It's is ANCIENT (bought the truck in like 2001 and I don't think I've had to replace O2 sensors until 2016, so I can't complain there...) But the thought of me having to reset the ECM for it to learn the fuel/air trims again and go through all the test patterns, well it's enough to make me want to start drinking....HEAVILY...(kidding, mostly...a guy can only take so much...). The only thing worse than resetting the ECM and having to drive the test pattern again (2x) would be to not reset it, only to learn that the ECM has to go through like 200 full trips before it will self clear the code. I know the FSM says the "Two Trip Logic" requires that the same code be present during two consecutive trips, but it does not say how many consecutive trips might allow the ECM to clear itself of the code. I know the normal process is for people to just reset the codes on the ECM via scantool, I just can't bare the thought of doing that again. www.lyberty.com/car/Maxima_A32_docs/NTB98-018c.pdf

Well it was the cheap crappy distributor. Lesson learned. OEM or NAPA parts only for critical components. Since using NAPA Distributor I have not had a problem with the hot engine no start. Since then I've failed the "Enhanced" California SMOG like 10 times. (bastards keep making emissions standards MORE stringent, AFTER the vehicle was manufactured, and as the vehicle gets OLD. Total, and Absolute BS!!!!. This thing usually passes the normal Smog tests fine. Put it on the dyno and they lug it in 3rd gear at 25 mph and ~1900 rpm. This last time my hydrocarbons were out by only 1 part in a million over the max, and that was the only thing that failed. I was at 51 ppm and the limit is 50 Grrrr.... Things replaced so far: Distributor Driver Side Exhaust Manifold (several substantial cracks) Driver Side Catalytic Converter (CA approved, SMH) Right Side Downstream Oxygen Sensor Right Side Upstream Oxygen Sensor Left side Upstream Oxygen Sensor Knock Sensor New Plugs (gapped, good Bosch or NGK Platinums) New Plug wires (good NGK OEM equiv's)

Hello, Does anyone know at which temperature the fan clutch kicks in on a 1997 Pathfinder with a VG33E engine? I don't see it listed in the service manual anywhere. I see it lists a 180 degree thermostat as the OEM recommended temp. Due to Left Coast SMOG issues, I was going to bump mine up to a 195 (was running a 170, 10 degrees cooler than manual calls for), and hope that helps lower HC emmissions (after replacing 3 of 4 O2 sensors, a catalytic converter, a cracked exhaust manifold, and a distributor...). Keeps barely failing HC on CA Smog. Would have passed if they did not keep making the emissions criteria EVEN MORE stringent after the the car was manufactured (that should be illegal in my opinion...). If the fan clutch is going to kick in at 195 or so, then that'll take more power off the engine and be more apt to cause it to be even more luggish (they have to go to 3rd gear already to keep the RPM just under 2000 at 25 MPH, and that is kind of low in the power band of the engine already....), and more apt to increase my HC count. However a hotter engine, all things else being equal, is supposed to burn a little cleaner. Last time everything passed except HC, and I was only like 7 ppm over the limit (ARGH!!!! If it was just a cool day and humid I'm sure it would have passed). Only thing left is the Left Side Upstream O2 sensor (and the old one looked quite beat up, so I am hoping just replacing that (which will be #3 for me in the last month), that hotter thermostat, and plug wires (resistance on old wires were fine, but they are ANCIENT, normally I'd run'em until they gave me a code or failed resistance checks). I'm curious to see how hot she runs with a 195 stat and if the fan works harder. That's the other thing that annoys me about the CA dyno test, it's fake in that the fan has to do all the work, as you don't have the benefit of a 25mph wind blowing through the radiator...

Ok, so I pulled off all the panels inside the cab to access the PCM in order to put it "diagnostic mode" in order to set the ignition timing, in accordance with the instructions in the Haynes manual. Nothing changed. I am going to try changing out my fuel filter and if that does not work, my fuel pump. I tried the fuel pump relay, replaced it, same exact problem. ALWAYS starts RIGHT up when the coolant temperature is cool. After I've driven it for a bit, you have a 50/50 chance if it not starting, and once it fails to start, it REFUSES to start. I cleaned out all the ground connections. No improvement.

Also this guy did an excellent work up, not so much of the issue of not starting when engine is warmed, but in general, and may be useful too: http://easyautodiagnostics.com/nissan/3.0L-3.3L-3.5L/how-to-test-the-ignition-system-1

Howdy Guys, Well I am glad someone has blazed this path for me...a Pathfinder. Seriously though I am having the EXACT same issue. Mine started after I was getting an intermittent failure from a bad distributor, after about 180,000 miles, I believe the code was for the crank position sensor. At low RPM signal was good, but at higher RPM, under high load, it would just cut power. A great local garage diagnosed all that, said I needed new distributor. I ended up getting one on my own and installed it. First one was bad (Amazon, SMH), as it would not fire at all (and checked it being 180 degrees off, it was not). Popped the old bad one back in, and VROOM (but still had the issue at high RPM where the signal from the crank sensor would cut out, and power would cut out because of it). Second one I finally got to start. Two things. 1.) PCM Diagnostic Mode when timing is set. (PCM control of timing must be disabled when setting timing baseline adjustment). 2.) MAF sensor programming. 1.) According to my Hayne's manual the timing is supposed to be set with the PCM control disabled. I did not do this. I was just happy to get the dumb thing firing at all, after the first distributor was crap from the factory. I wonder if perhaps the original poster had someone work on his, and did a tune up without putting the PCM in this mode, and adjusted the timing. I am guessing if the timing is already being dynamically tweaked by the computer when you are adjusting it, there are just too many damned variables, so you really aren't setting the basline timing, but "fighting" a computer that is trying to set timing advance based upon the bazillion of sensor feedbacks, and when you do get it lined up, it might not be so much the baseline being set right, but the computer setting it right, under THOSE conditions. Soon as those conditions are no longer there (i.e. HOT engine after prolonged running) the computer adjustment for the ignition advance is off, and thus the hard/no start. I am going to try this next (setting timing with PCM in disabled or "maintenance mode". By the pictures and trying to find the blame thing, it is not an easy task. I've seen several "shortcut" suggestions to doing this, but I hope to "do it by the book" and report back and see if I have any luck. 2.) MAF programming. Haynes manual has a separate procedure for this. For me I don't see how it could have been corrupted, but then again if computer gets reset everytime you have a dead battery for long...just tossing it out there. Oh, a third thing. My Haynes manual also mentions making sure the ground connections for the PCM are clean and corrosion free. I know my old beater has bad negative/ground connection issues, as my stereo always has a terrible "whine" feedback that changes if you hit the door lock button...gonna try cleaning out my electrical connections. Way back when I was diagnosing the bad distributor from the factory I had an oscilloscope hooked up to check for the PCM fuel pump triggering signal, the distributor's power transistor to operate the coil, the signal from the fuel injection computer portions of the ECM has to be detected at the distributor wire at 6-8 Hz. Anyway if you have a noisy electircal connection, I would imagine that 6-8 Hertz signal is apt to get garbled too, and confuse the circuits that are trying to detect it. I did get some venting when loosening the gas cap just today, but I think it was from positive pressure built up not a vacuum. All great ideas.