Silverfox03 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Right now i am sort of in a dilemma, i am about to start my first semester of college and i have just inherited a 2003 Pathy se with 166k miles on the original tranny and motor (it has been babied). I would love to lift it and do some other minor mods to make a kick ass offroad/ expedition vehicle. So to make a long story short i am going to be on a tight budget and i was wondering if it was wort it to dump around 2k in parts on a pathy that may be nearing the end of its life, so how many miles you got on your pathy? you think mine will hold out for another 50k or 70k before i have to replace the motor and tranny? Feel free to elaborate on any major mechanical repairs you guys had to make at certain mileages. I know it varies greatly on how the pathfinder has been driven all of its life but i would just like to get an idea of when major drive train parts go out on the R50's? Thanks Guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) I knew a guy in high school that had a 97 pathfinder with over 400,000kms on it. Not the same motor as yours but the rest of the truck is pretty well the same. And he beat the living snot out of it! Edited August 4, 2011 by adamzan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmons Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I have a 1998 R50 with 189K and the engine is going strong. These engines are built to last and the tranny is still strong also. Downfall is the gas mileage. Have fun with that lift. you can get the parts at www.4x4parts.com Read the pinned topics on this forum and you will learn what most of us have done on lifts for the R50. Basically the do's and dont's on buying parts and how to install the lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Welcome to NPORA! Only thing I'd be worried about is the power valve screws possibly coming loose (rare, but still possible; read here and here) and the condition of the transmission (if it's been serviced regularly - drain & fills, etc). To check your transmission fluid level and condition: 1. Drive around for 10 minutes. 2. Park on a level surface, apply parking brake. 3. Starting from P (Park), select all the gears and then return to P. 4. Pull the transmission fluid dipstick, wipe clean, and reinsert. 5. Pull the transmission fluid dipstick again and read level on "HOT" side. It should be within the notched marks. If low, add slowly until you're at the proper level. Check for color and smell (should be pink and not smell burnt) and for contaminants (small metal flakes, which is clutch material). If brown, or smelling burnt, do a drain & fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 2003 Pathfinder nearing the end of it's life? YOU SHUT YOUR DIRTY MOUTH!!! My 99.5 has around the same mileage, I am sure it's still a baby compared to some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I put waaay more than $2k into a 91... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 "End of life"... 166k miles is nowhere near that. I have 168K miles on my '97, and I don't see any signs of it nearing "end of life". There will always be some unplanned maintenance costs as vehicles age, but your new-to-you '03 still has lots of life left in her. I live in California, where fortunately, rust and corrosion are virtually non-existent. The engine and auto tranny still run strong, despite hundreds of miles of severe off-road use, overheating to over 250°F, and driving with a completely cracked open radiator for 50 rough, unpaved miles in Death Valley NP. The only way my Pathfinder is going to "die" is if it's wrecked or if it develops random unexplainable electrical issues. If the engine dies, I'll replace it. If the tranny dies, I'll replace it. Either of those two options will be less costly than building up another vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fukinitupagain Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 My tranny just died at 226K miles & for the last 150K I've wore the hell out of it offroading & dogging the piss out of it. If you take care of it theres not reason you can't get another 100k or more out of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddfildvaynes Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I just watched my odometer hit 177,777 miles yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 VQ power sucks, trade it in for a VG powered one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmons Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I just watched my odometer hit 177,777 miles yesterday Middle age huh? 177K no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I'm going to chime in this thread at 166,000. Runs strong as hell. Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der_Vier Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 (edited) These people are just being nice. R50's have more problems than a pedo on a playground. They suck, you should get a Toyota. in all seriousness, the R50 is very capable and more than generous for moving into/out of ocllege dorms (speaking form first hand experience here). Make sure belts and all otehr common sense work has been done (it sounds like it, if it has been babied) and aside from obscene gas prices, you have nothing to worry about. Just don't expect to 0-60 anyone very quick (maybe an fj60) or make it work like a dually f250 and you should be fine and dandy. I am at 142k on my 98 5-speed, so it's just getting wet behind the ears. So long as I can afford gas for it, there is no reason to get rid of it. I hope to take it to 250k Edited August 7, 2011 by Der_Vier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazman Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Yeah... definately make sure the maintance has been done regularly... mine just hit 170k miles the manual tranny has got a serious whine (death whine), the thing overheats if I run the a/c for longer than 5 minutes, struts are blown in the front, the clutch is slipping. So I am contimplating cubing it because I don't know if it's worth the $1500 in parts I know I need to get it fixed to run another 100k miles. But that being said, if it has been taken care of these things are beasts. Even with these problems it did better this last weekend pulling an open top 6x12 trailer packed full of probably 3k lbs of dressers, fridges, and the such than my brothers newish jeep comander pulling a 4x6 puny trailer with maybe 500 lbs of stuff. So I am not here to discourange anyone from the R50's becasue they are a good vehicle, just don't buy a car off your parents who were the origanal owners that didn't do much beyond change the oil every 3k miles then let my wanna be nascar style big city driver of a brother borrow it for a couple of years and not maintain and abuse it. Most of the stuff going bad I can attribute to his crappy driving and not to the pathfinder being a crappy SUV since the clutch and struts were both replaces less than 40k miles ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 For your overheating issue, it is the radiator. I have seen this on 3 r50s personally now. It starts with the a/c then it will do it when driving on the highway because the rad gets clogged. Flushing didn't seem to work either. Also one thing to remember don't use cheap parts on your truck if you want it to last. Shop at napa or rockauto instead of advanced or autozone they seem to sell crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfox03 Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 thanks for the input guys, it looks like ill be keeping it for awhile, might as well drive it into the ground lol. One more question, does anyone have any mysterious problems with your pathfinder running a few quarts low on oil and loosing power untill the oil is changed or more oil is added. Mine has been doing that after i put about 2.5k miles on an oil change, i must be burning oil and i know that is a common problem with nissans in general but why is it drastically loosing power, id hope that isnt from friction in the motor from lack of oil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 It is well known for the vq to burn oil there is a solution somewhere, I just can't find the link ATM the problem is a clogged oil return or something. And no burning oil is not a common problem with nissans in general. I know plenty of people with nissans of all types and they don't have any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giddyuppony Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Yeah... definately make sure the maintance has been done regularly... mine just hit 170k miles the manual tranny has got a serious whine (death whine), the thing overheats if I run the a/c for longer than 5 minutes, struts are blown in the front, the clutch is slipping. So I am contimplating cubing it because I don't know if it's worth the $1500 in parts I know I need to get it fixed to run another 100k miles. But that being said, if it has been taken care of these things are beasts. Even with these problems it did better this last weekend pulling an open top 6x12 trailer packed full of probably 3k lbs of dressers, fridges, and the such than my brothers newish jeep comander pulling a 4x6 puny trailer with maybe 500 lbs of stuff. So I am not here to discourange anyone from the R50's becasue they are a good vehicle, just don't buy a car off your parents who were the origanal owners that didn't do much beyond change the oil every 3k miles then let my wanna be nascar style big city driver of a brother borrow it for a couple of years and not maintain and abuse it. Most of the stuff going bad I can attribute to his crappy driving and not to the pathfinder being a crappy SUV since the clutch and struts were both replaces less than 40k miles ago... You speak of the "death whine" I was hoping you might be able to elaborate on that. As it would appear that my path 98 is doing some whining of its own. But only when the clutch is dis-engaged ( foot off the clutch, neutral or ingear) I have had the clutch re done and the whine is still there so I think its the tranny and would like to know how to remidy it ( as in alternative to getting a new tranny). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazman Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 It's the main gear in the transmission... if you don't have enough oil in there or don't change your oil and loose the proper lubrication you scortch (I know that's not the right word) the gear and it whines. The only fix is a complete rebuild including the gear or just finding a nice used one which I'm looking at doing because it's cheaper than rebuilding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petespath Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 241,000 kms. no engine or tranny problem, truck will rust out before the engine or tran. will die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychopathy Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 My 03 Pathy SE has 136,000 miles on her.....she's a pit bull! No issues with mine...I tow 2 ATVs regularly...I use Mobil 1 oil and I live in West Virginia where they salt the road when it frosts! I don't run a lift but I do run bigger tires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbaFL Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Right now i am sort of in a dilemma, i am about to start my first semester of college and i have just inherited a 2003 Pathy se with 166k miles on the original tranny and motor (it has been babied). I would love to lift it and do some other minor mods to make a kick ass offroad/ expedition vehicle. I hate to be a party pooper, but... first semester in college, money is tight, and you want to spend two grand lifting and modding a truck? You inherited a paid-off car in good condition, you're better off than most folks headed to college. Put the cash in the bank, or take out smaller student loans, or use it to pay for a few extra courses that loans / financial aid won't cover to graduate half a semester early. Get through college and into your chosen profession as quick as you can, so you can make "the big bucks", get your loans paid off, and then buy whatever kick-ass offroad vehicle you want. Just my two cents, having been there and done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Leave it stock till you graduate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Freck college! Lift the Pathy and have fun now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tad Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Freck college! Lift the Pathy and have fun now!! Not trying to be a dick here but I hope you are just kidding with your silly smilie. Finish school, nail down something that will be of value 10 years from now (or more if you can). This is not the economy to fart around with and think your dreams will come true, they won't. I've been there and built many rigs, there will always be another rig. Important stuff come first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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