Riderman

Did the OP ever find the problem?

That is typically called "morning sickness." I swapped my valve body with a $50.00 junk yard one and it bought me a year or so until I got a rebuilt transmission.

Yes it is possible. I did it last June in a 98 SE.

My hat is off to your mechanic! I pride myself in being a decent mechanic, that one would have taken me a while...OK, a long while to find! LOL I wonder how many people would have replaced the tranny before finding this issue?

If the frame is OK, just go to a JY and purchase a front clip and bolt in on. You can straighten the inner fender parts Close enough to bolt the new metal on using scissor/bottle jacks and a piece of wood 4x4. We have done it many times. Yup, when you pop the hood you can look at the inner fender and tell it's been wrecked before, but NOT from the outside. Just did this for a neighbors PU truck a while back.

I have used both in the past. Black RTV by itself and a gasket with permatex gasket sealer. Both worked well, no leaks.

Do you have access to a scan toll to read any codes? For example, to see if the Crank Shaft Position Sensor is working or not.

Hope this helps somebody. We just put a "new" JDM motor/Trans/front differential/Xfer case in my daughters 98 pathfinder a few weeks ago. I replaced all seals, gaskets, etc in each piece. I replaced both Idler pulleys and the fan clutch with new ones I then decided to replace her AC comp/ Expansion valve, dryer, etc. I recharged her AC by wieghing in the exact charge. Her AC was OK driving around town, not bad, not great @ around 80-90 degrees. I purchased some 1/2" rubber HVAC pipe insulation from Lowes for less than $6.00. It comes in 6 foot lengths. I cut it in half, right down the center so I had two 6' pieces. I installed/stuffed it around the outer edge/gap between the radiator and condenser, the top, and both sides. This directs more air thru the condenser at low rpm's, like when it's needed while driving around town. I wish I measured the before/after evaporator temp when I did this, but by seat of the pants feelings, it is MUCH better. My daughter said, "MY AC is Kicking." She told me tonight that her friend stated, "your AC is colder, did you do something to it?" I'll let you know how it works around town in the upper nineties.

About $35.00-$40.00 for the entire dash with the airbag attached from Foss or Pick N pull. I go to both all of the time.

I just purchased the dash out of a R50 with air bag at Pick N Pull here in VA.

I had this same issue. I pulled the cat and soaked it in purple power and water from Advance Auto overnight. It's been 3 days and no code/CEL.

It Fits! The 04 Xterra transmission was Plug and play into my 98 pathfinder.. The only "issue" was the Xterra's transmission wiring harness was a few inches shorter than the pathfinders. I could have easily swapped harnesses but I chose to just move my pathfinders chassis wiring a little and tie wrapped/zip tied them to the speed sensor cable. My pathfinder TX10 transfer case bolted right up to this transmission. I'll make a separate post with a few more details soon.

The Junk Yards I "peruse" in VA and OH will NOT sell used Cat's.

I'll let you all know in a few weeks how things fit together. I bought a rebuilt transmission from a 04 Xterra on Ebay. I purchased a front differential and transfer case with 45K miles from a 96 pathfinder, I purchased a JDM 3.3L engine as well, all from Ebay. My daughter's 98 pathfinder SE has 258K miles on it. I want it to last a LONG time. I'm purchasing from Rock Auto all gaskets, seals including the water pump/timing belt kit and will replace all drive belts/fluids. I already replaced her entire interior, except the dash with one from a near cherry 2001 Pathfinder, and I painted it two years ago. She already has new tires/brakes, rear differential, etc. A coworker has a Buick V6 car with over 200K miles. He just paid a shop in N.C. about 2 thousand dollars to replace ONE head, a used JY head at that, all lifters and labor including labor to trouble shoot his problem. I'm going to have about that much $$ in everything I just purchased, including shipping and tax. Now....I just gatta do the work...:)

OK, thank you for the response. Last question, the transmission is out of a 03 Xterra that had a 3.3 like mine. I'm sure the Transmission will bolt up to my pathy. Based on what you two have said, my manual xfer case should bolt up to my transmission with no issues correct? When you look up the interchange between the 98 pathfinder and 03 Xterra it states the transmissions are incompatible. If it will work I'm going to pull the trigger and purchase it.

Hello, I have a 98 pathfinder SE 4x4. I can get deal on a low miles JDM transmission with transfer case. The problem is the JDM transfer case has the automatic shift option. Will this work in my pathfinder? Does it have to be electrically connected or anything. I'm going to guess worst case I can pull the automatic shift transfer case and install mine if required. Any information about this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Just did this repair again tonight to another 98 Pathfinder SE. It had the stuck in first and would not shift to second while cold issue. It took about 10-15 minutes of idle time plus driving slow for about 5-10 minutes before it would shift properly. Even when warm it had a slight flare shifting from second to third. Went to Pick N Pull today, (40% off sale) I got a valve body and all 4 accumulator pistons and springs for $37.00 out of a 2004 front end wrecked Xterra. I know it was running when it was wrecked The pathfinder shifts like a new one, and the 2-3 shift flare is gone! This pathfinder had about 250 K miles on it. I didn't check the Xterra miles. So, a valve body, two gallons of fluid, a filter/gasket kit, and two hours of my time and this pathy is running like a champ. My question is...What the heck is in these valve bodies to cause this "morning Sickness" problem? I took the old valve body apart and did not see any issues or any O rings even. I re-used the solenoid pack from the pathfinder as it was less than a year old and they were like new clean. That eliminates them. No TCM codes either, and the trans fluid was like new clean. (only a year old with 4K miles on it.) Just to let you know, A transmission shop ( Insert name here) AGAIN quoted about 3 thousand dollars to rebuild this Transmission..."IF" the valve body was good. That was my hint! ( I told him it shifted normally when warm, no slippage) The man probably knew this cold shift issue with the RE4R01A transmissions and after my transmission was removed/torn apart, he would have soaked me for another $800.00 for a new valve body on top the $3K rebuild charge!!!!

I know, OLLLDD POST...I'm going through this with my daughters 98 pathfinder. Hall Nissan in Virginia Beach just ordered both front seat belts and they will be replaced under warranty. They said the warranty expires in 2048. If I didn't come to this forum, I never would have known about this issue.

Mine was the rear seal of the oil pan. You cannot be sure until you remove the tranny. I replaced the RMS while in there. It was a PITA. If I knew I was going to replace the oil pan gasket, I may have just pulled the engine.

I always do the flush on a vehicle that I didn't buy new. If what you people say is true, so be it. I want to know now, not on a 200 mile trip 3 months later if so called sludge is keeping my tranny together. I have never had a problem with a flush. All flushes were on vehicles with over 140K, one with about 200K and had burnt fluid, and not one issue.

Thanks for the response. How did you install the electric fan? I like how your vent temps improved at low speed/idle. Did you leave the mechanical fan and clutch installed? I have the same issue with my daughters pathfinder. New compressor and near perfect charge. On 94-104 days here it doesn't like to work well at idle or in traffic. I'm thinking of installing a electric fan mounted on the outside of the condenser that engages when I turn the AC on. Easy to do with a relay tied into the compressor hot wire. I will leave the mechanical fan installed.

I had the same issue. One of my rear driveshaft pinion yokes was bad. The driveshaft shop cut off and replaced the yoke, and balanced the shaft for $80.00

I highly recommend you replace the crank/camshaft oil seals while you are in there. I didn't and one leaked about 2 months later. As adamzan stated, it took about 2-3 hours the second time.

My understanding is yes, it will work, just change the rear bell housing if it's from a 3.3L, the front bell housing is the same, I was going to do this swap, but the valve body fixed my issue.