Grumpy

Thanks for the replies. A night's sleep helped clear the fog of where to start. I dropped the access panel below the washer reservoir, then used the braille method to figure out which pump services the windshield. My daughter actuated the windshield washers, and the buzzing pump was the one. That narrowed it down to two hoses. The hose nearest the vehicle front was the only outbound fluid source off of the buzzing pump, and so the culprit was found. From there I inserted a dual male hose barb between the new & old hose, and wrapped the union in electrical tape, which allowed me to use the old hose as a chase. I was able to pull the new hose into place without dropping the inner fender. The second hose at the windshield pump is apparently an air inlet hose that was taped to the fluid-out hose upstream. My yanking of the hose pulled the tape apart, and so I shoved the air hose back up hill so it would not act as a siphon. Had the ambient temperatures been a might warmer than 26 F, I probably would have taped the air hose into it's proper location. A heat gun allowed the tiny 1/8 hose to relax enough to push it home onto the mounting barbs, and all is now well with the world.

My daughter's 97 Pathfinder has a hole in the washer fluid hose that supplies the pair of nozzles that service the windshield. Washer fluid is leaking out behind the front wheel This is the hose that runs from the rear of the hood down behind the inner fender, then to the pump / reservoir located behind the ditch side headlight I pulled a fender screw at the reservoir area and was able to see 3 outbound washer fluid hoses. Ouch... As it's 12 F with a wind chill of minus something or other with 17 new inches of snow here, it sure would be dandy to know which of the three hoses needs to be replaced without pulling the ice / salt/ & sand encrusted inner fender. (Did I mention I have no garage?) Thanks

:cool2:

Her friend's father owns a garage. He is going to fix it when exams are over this week. As far as I can tell, the muffler seperated from the pipe and is still hanging on it's brackets and hangers. Thanks to all for the help.

My daughter's '97 Pathfinder apparently needs a muffler from the cat back. She is away at school, 1,000 miles from home. Midas quoted her $450. I got a retail price of around $330 for parts alone from a local CT supplier, without my usual fleet discount. I would rather use an independent garage, and have no experience whatsoever with Midas. If push comes to shove, what is Midas all about? Can anyone recommend a good and reasonable garage in the West Ashley / Charleston, SC area? If she were home, I'd do it myself, but I'm at the mercy of her distance. Thanks

The higher the better. I mounted mine on the roof at the center near the windshield, and stuffed the wire behind the rubber. It was easier to bury the wire from the windshield area than from the rear of the vehicle. You might consider one of these http://www.lashen.com/vendors/panavise/cel...limline2000.asp to mount the radio on. Four short 3/8" long black screws will secure the panavise to most plastic dash / console surfaces. If at a future date, you decide to remove the mount to sell the vehicle, put the screws back into the holes and all is well. I would go so far as to reccomend this one 717-09SF SLIMLINE 2000 MOUNT - 9in. RISE - KNOB ADJUST - SMALL FOOT as the foot is small, and it's a bit longer, offering more flexibility in mounting. Panavise also makes goose neck mounts if you prefer. http://www.lashen.com/vendors/panavise/cellular/uniflex.asp If you decide to go with a panavise, the styles with the knob adjust may be preferable to the styles requiring an allen wrench to tighten.

I agree - 100%. Do the rear main seal too. http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/bf100372.htm

Good read from a petroleum engineer http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article105.html "For those reasons, it is vitally important that you operate your car in a variety of driving styles during this high-friction break-in period to ensure that the internals are fully worn-in, or seated by the time equilibrium sets in. If the parts are not fully worn-in by that time, then the new-found brittleness will cause an excess of wear and tear, shortening the engine's life. For that reason, it is a good idea to stick with regular 'dino' for the break-in period, so that you will have enough friction to wear in the parts, but not so much that you are damaging the engine. Since there is so much friction, and therefore much more microscopic (but still damaging!) particulate matter present in the oil, I would recommend changing it at the first 200 miles, then at 500 miles, and then every 1,000-1,500 miles until you have reached about 12K. At this point, you have done everything possible to help your engine reach as near a perfect state of equilibrium as possible, and no more break-in is necessary. That means that now you want to have as little internal friction as possible. At this point, switch to a good full synthetic." Mobil talks synthetic http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...tics/Myths.aspx "One of the myths that surrounds synthetic oils is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. The fact is, current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design the high-performance cars listed above, Mobil 1 can be used starting the day you drive the car off the showroom floor."

I took my daughter's 94 to one of the chain stores, and did the change while the engine is running deals, to hopefully replace almost all the fluid, including the torque convertor. I don't remember what it cost, but the pan was kind of time consuming to get to, and we were on a tight schedule. To the best of my knowlege, (we sold the vehicle to her friend) the tranny is doing fine, 20,000 miles later, although I did add a tranny cooler when I bought it. As far as the axles go, call around to the parts stores, and get prices for both complete front axles. That should give you a ball park on what the parts cost. Off the top of my head, the price you posted doesn't seem too out of whack if it includes parts & labor to do both front axles.

Let me know if you need to borrow my multi-purpose adapt - a - matic tool

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Word to the wise - get the insurance company's responses in writing if possible, via either email or fax. State Farm told me and the body shop owner that they were going to total my daughter's '94, and that 3 days after they settled, they would stop paying for her rental car. As she is 1,000 miles from home, I beat feet to get her a replacement vehicle. After I bought another Pathfinder for her, State farm then decided to fix her damage. They then told me tough luck, we never gave it to you in writing. I managed to sell the '94 for a decent price, but it taught me a lesson about insurance claims. NADA is valuing that vehicle on the east coast at $5000 to $7000. http://www.nadaguides.com/uv/selectmodeltr...30&yr=1998&da=0

Big wheels & tires = high unsprung weight = ball joint wear & tear. I'd check them.

I changed all the factory speakers on my daughter's '94. If I recall, a die grinder here & there made the grills fit right. A little silicone caulk or gasket material may have been deployed here & there as well. I don't recall now. I do recall that it appeared as if it all fit when I was done - kinda - mostly - she never noticed anyway A panel tool is a great investment for DIY audio installs. Most decent parts stores sell them. It's the best $6 I ever spent on car audio, and saved me a few hundred cuss words. http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/review...ngdoorpanel.jpg

What they do best is allow the inventor to laugh heartily while he sips Mai Tais on his yacht. If we installed every fuel saving gee gaw that has come down the pike, at 5 % fuel savings here, 10 % there, theoretically, we would have fuel bubbling out the gas filler necks.

I bought two Dual heads from Crutchfield. They're low budget $120 models, but a year later, so far so good. They aren't high end, but they work very well, with MP3 capability, and a very sensitive FM unit. I'm running a Roady XM2 in my Mustang. Love it. Chanel 150 is great.