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My DIY - fuel filter and fluids


lee_cha_nin
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For those interested in the topic, I got a letter from Nissan Canada about my 180 000 kms service (marketing) which made me

thinking what to do beside the oil change - in the last 3 years (knock on the wood) I only did:

1. brakes (had them done)

2. spark plugs (myself, thanks to this forum)

3. oil changes

 

Fuel filter

 

Not knowing when it was changed (if ever), ordered on from autopartsway.ca for about $20

 

1. Open the hood, take the fusebox lid off and take out 15A fuel pump fuse, don't loose it

2. Start the engine, it will die in 2-3 seconds, crank it few more times so that it sucks fuel out of lines

3. Undo the fuel reservoir cap to release pressure in the tank, put the cap back like you do when you are putting gas in

4. Crawl under you Pathy, on your back, from the rear, when your head is under the rear diff, look up and left

 

(hover over the picture to activate link to see it)

post-2379-1252549233_thumb.jpg

5. Get a rug/old clothes/paper towels to contain gasoline which is going to leak out; have goggles just in case

6. Undo the bracket which holds the filter (I think 10 mm socket) and open it up

7. Undo the hose clamps; Remember the orientation of the old filter or use marker so that you put the new one in correct orientation

I tried prying with a flathead screwdriver, but no luck. Then I realized I had these Hose pliers and it only took 5 seconds with them

8. Fuel starts flowing like it will never stop, don't worry it will, just make sure no smokers are around you

9. Look at the old filter and admire your skills, mine looked like factory one

10. Check if the hoses are crimped/cracked, mine had crack where the clamp was; so I tried to see if I will be able to

cut off 1" of it and still put everything back together, the fuel hoses (mine at least) were long enough so I cut off the cracked end of it

11. Put the new filter in observing the orientation, a little bit of grease on the new filter nipples helps; tighten the clamps and the bracket screw

12. Put the fuse back

13. Start your Pathy

14. Have a beer

Edited by lee_cha_nin
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Rear diff oil

 

I got Royal Purple MaxGear 75W90 from AutoZone ($17/liter, you need 3 liters/quarts)

I got 1/2" ratcheting wrench, W-40, 2 ft of steel pipe, hand pump like this grease gun (10 bucks)

Looking from the rear, under your Pathy

 

post-2379-1252551635_thumb.jpg

 

I tried opening the fill plug with 1/2" ratchet driver, but despite all weight and muscles and even using P... a hammer

on the wrench, nothing

so

 

1. Get your oil, rugs, gloves, paper towels, oil container like when you do oil change, and get under your Pathy

2. You want to undo the fill plug first to make sure you will be able to fill the diff before you drain it

3. Get 1-2 ft of 1" steel pipe and 1/2" ratcheting wrench with an extension (also 1/2"), spray some W40

4. Put the wrench in, slide the pipe over the wrench handle, and try, try, try, slowly but steadily

5. When the plug starts moving, try without the pipe, undo it, clean it, try putting it back to check threads

6. Now, do the same with your drain plug, make sure oil container is under the plug

7. Let it drain, mine was quite clean,

8. Clean the drain plug of all metal pieces (it's magnetic), replace it

9. Suck the oil from bottle into the hand pump, put the hose into the fill hole and keep repeating it

until oil starts overflowing (I put in about 2.5 liters)

10. replace the fill plug, tighten it

11. :beer:

Edited by lee_cha_nin
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Transfer case oil

 

Bought 3 liters of Mobile 1 synthetic ATF

Tools: Same as above, for the rear diff

 

Here is your working area

post-2379-1252551775_thumb.jpg

 

Well, everything is same as for rear diff, I did both at the same time (well, one after another)

 

Power steering flush

 

I did this few days before doing other fluids, don't have picture yet but here is what I did:

Tools

- hand pump or a large syringe with 1 ft of plastic tubing attached to it

- 2 liters of ATF

- 2 liters empty bottle for old oil

- flashlight (to better see when filling/emptying fluids)

- cloths/paper towels

 

1. Have 2 lit/quarts of Nissan ATF and make sure the wheels are straight

2. Take the PS reservoir lid off (the black one, on the left when standing in front of truck)

3. Take the screen, sitting under the cap, out; I found that needle nose pliers are best for this, make sure you don't cut/damage the screen

4. Wash the screen with carb-cleaner or electronic contact cleaner, mine was dirty; Put it aside

 

5. Using the hand pump, suck the old fluid out, as much as you can

6. Fill the res with new oil, make sure the level is correct

7. Put the cap back

8. Start the engine for 3-4 seconds and shut it off (the PS pump will be sucking from the reservoir and pushing the old oil back through return line)

9. Open the lid and repeat 5-8 until you run out of 1st bottle of oil

 

I was surprised to see how bad the fluid was.

 

Now, with second bottle, do the same as when flushing with 1st bottle, just with one difference:

8. Start the engine, turn the steering wheel from one end to another (full sweep) 2-3 times, make sure that at the end the wheels are straight, otherwise your level reading will not be correct

 

You can do this 1-2 times, and do the rest of flushes as with 1st bottle (3-4 seconds and then shut-off).

 

10. After last flush, put the screen back, close the cap and adjust the level. My cap has 2 strips (for cold and for hot oil), make sure the wheels are straight, fill until oil level is almost touching "hot" mark, while "cold" is fully in oil

 

11. Tighten the cap, call your wife/gf and ask her to drive around the block - my wife , being Pathy's daily driver, was shocked to learn how easy suddenly was to turn the steering wheel. Of course, I took it for a spin before that to make sure everything was OK.

 

12. Keep checking your PS fluid level for the next few weeks

Edited by lee_cha_nin
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I bought it with 150 000 km, no records of any flushes or maintenance, so now it's about 176 000, but the diff oil looked relatively good, the trans case was not that good, but it wasn't black and dirty neither.

Planning to keep my truck for next few years, so...that was the reason.

 

Another thing I am going to do after I do the brake job is to bleed the brakes using my own pressure bleeder very similar to this one Inexpensive Pressure Bleeder

after reading this thread.

 

So, in my quest for a cap (dealers charge premiums) I found @ Autozone this Ford's cap fits Pathy's brake reservoir

Dorman Help 42046. This is just a picture Replacement cap

 

You also need a washer or an o-ring so that it seals when you pressurize the master cylinder. The only other thing I am going to do is put a lot of clothes/rugs around the cylinder, just in case if it blows-up, although I did my 2001 A4 this way and with 15 psi I was able to flush clutch and brakes (they share the same fluid) just by myself.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just did this yesterday, was pretty easy, besides the tough drain plug on the rear diff!! Only thing that was a little different, my All Mode 4x4 transfer case had the drain and fill plugs in slightly different places than pictured above. I didn't take a picture because it's pretty easy to spot them. Filling the T-Case was a bit messy, but thanks for all the tips Lee!

 

OH! And i did notice something kind of neato, on the transfer case there was a few little Kangaroos stamped into the rear casing, anyone know where that came from?

Edited by DTE
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