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Free Pathfinder?


doubletap
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So my Father in Law has had an 86.5 Pathfinder XE (I think, not sure how to tell since it has been repainted a couple times) sitting in his driveway for the last couple years and decided that he did not want it there anymore. And now it is mine.

 

143,xxx miles and a lot of issues (peeling paint, rotted weatherstripping on the driver side, disgusting inside and lots of maintenance that has been deferred) but hey free car. Amazingly even though it has been sitting or 2 years all it needed was a jump to get it started. I found a couple holes in the very odd (to me) 4 piece radiator hose system and replaced them and then made the trip home from Farmington, NM to Colorado Springs, CO... a little over 350 miles.

 

Going up Wolf Creek Pass the truck felt very down on power... it does have the VG30i but I was having a hard time getting up in 4th... part of this may be the deferred maintenance and the 10,000ft above sea level but anything specific I should look into?

 

I also discovered once it got dark that not only does my fuel gauge read funny but the dash back light does not work. I saw 88pathoffraod's faq that mentioned the first issue but what about the second? Right about this time I discovered I also need to clean out that headlight switch since they were being very erratic.

 

Finally as i pull off the interstate and go to down shift the clutch pedal heads straight to the floor.... not cool. Luckily I managed to coax it out of 5th and into 3rd which got me the rest of the way home (green lights all the way amazingly enough). I am not even sure if the WD21's have a hydraulic clutch like I am used to but somewhere between the pedal and the transmission something broke... any ideas where I should start?

 

Thanks for the tips and look forward to getting this thing in off roading shape before spring!

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sorry your having those problems . post up a pic of the beast. the headlight one is very common problem are are the crappy window and door seals. as farot he loss of power i bet if u had a quick turn up it will run alot better. its probably been sitting for a while and is due. For the dash light i would take the cluster out and check the connections to the back for the lights

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Well thanks for the ideas. I will start investigating the clutch issue this afternoon and at least get it over to my other garage with all my tools and other toys (a couple of autocross miatas) and get the real tune up/ clean out started

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Welcome to NPORA, dt.

 

LOL, a free pathy!! Hell yeah!!

And it fires right up... Congrats on the new toy. Sounds like all it really needs is some tlc. Ok, well, maybe a lot of elbow grease... :D

 

The Pathfinder does have a hydraulic clutch, possible the fluid is crap. Try replacing the fluid, and bleeding the system.

Like Simon said. Hopefully all it needs is a flush and bleeding, but I wonder if the MC or slave cylinder seals have dried out/deteriorated or maybe you have a line leak?

 

it does have the VG30i but I was having a hard time getting up in 4th... part of this may be the deferred maintenance and the 10,000ft above sea level but anything specific I should look into?

 

Just do the fluids, tune up/check and look for vacuum leaks to start. It sounds like you know what you are doing so so it won't be too much of a chore.

 

B

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Well a quick update... i bled the clutch and that sems to have been the problem. I am guessing that after a hundred miles on the interstate the 3 year old (at least) fluid in the clutch system had boiled and had approximately the hydraulic properties of cotton candy....

 

So I got the to my garage and did a quick oil change and I can see why oil filter relocation kits are popular... I had to use the old screwdriver and hammer trick to get the old filter off. Apparently the last person to change the oil was having a bad day...

 

After that I decided it was time to clean out the inside. This started by removing all the trash that had piled up... then i could see the carpet was even worse they i had thought so that was next.... of course that meant the seats and the center console had to come out.

 

Here is where it got really gross... On the plate the console and parking brake are mounted to there was literally 2-3mm of solidified cola and beer.... stuck in this mess were three crayons a pen at least 15 toothpicks and $0.45 in assorted change....

 

Then pooled in both foot wells there was more of the same cola goo gluing the insulation to the body. I did discover that a steam cleaner is a GODSEND in those situations.... just blast the goo with the steam and wipe it up before it re hardens.

 

So 3 hours later the carpets are out and floor of the body is clean and ready for whatever i decide to put on it. I am thinking some rhino lining of some kind would make a good durable east to clean interior.

 

EDIT

 

The best part of my whole adventure yesterday was finding no major rust on the entire vehicle. There is just surface rust on the underside but that is it! Gotta love dry climates.

Edited by doubletap
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hmm if i recall wolf creek pass is pretty intense (even where i'm at making a 6% grade climb in my 95 I usually have to shift to 4th to maintain 65) and a couple of places coming out west on 40 gave the truck a good bogging but was expected

 

nice score and welcome...just out of curiosity what are the last 6 or so #'s in the VIN? thats the # vehicle off the line...mine is like the 12XX

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