transmission?!? HELP!

[dirtroadpathy1987]

Last weekend I replaced my cracked vacuum hoses. I also replaced brake booster Vac line. Check valve worked properly. I replace the fuel filter cannister and I cleaned my TB due to large carbon amounts or a layer of oil. I replaced pcv valve and then found that the hose from Ai tube to drivers side valve cover is crack pretty bad but no oil leak at the crack?! I still have to replace the hose but now my transmission has started shifting late with harsh downshifting so my focus has changed. A/t fluid isnt low or burnt. Have I missed a big step somewhere or is the tranny unrelated? Any solutions? Cost effective if possible.

 

Thanks!

-dirtroadpathy

[Slartibartfast]

Sounds to me like either you bumped the TPS out of alignment when you cleaned the intake or you accidentally put it in power mode. If it's the TPS it's just a matter of fooling with it (there's probably an FSM procedure for this).

 

And I wouldn't expect oil leaks on the breather, it should act as a vac leak and suck air in... so oil can't get out. You might get a little more power out of the motor once the leaks are patched up.

 

And welcome to the forum.

[Alkorahil]

I agree with the above. Are you in power mode? Check that first.

Read the FSM if you messed with the Throttle Position Sensor. It can be a little tricky to reset if you need to.

[dirtroadpathy1987]

Thanks! I adjusted the tps and she returned to her normal self... Within the past week though, she was drinking oil pretty quick. Watched for smoke and saw none. I had to investigate. Well I pulled the upper air intake mani and my oh my! Found my oil. Nice and coated on all sides with crystal looking grit. The icing on this cake though, I also found a ton of crack hoses under the Ai that I hadn't changed, mostly all small channels in Ai were between partly and mostly clogged. Mostly clogged or stuck emissions equip. I live in al, wish I knew how to bypass as much as poss. Vc's were almost loose enough to get a full turn by hand before grabbing a tool. Also notice the passenger side exhaust mani looks and seems a good bit hotter than drivers. Idea? Was intake so restricted to pull air from open vc's through FAI and pcv lines?? Tightened vc's, cleaned metal lines and channels with intake spray. Replaced Almost all Ai hoses except two FAI elbows bc I ran out of hose. I also regapped plugs, they were were around .040 but looked pretty good all things considered. Carbon canister has highly reduced airflow, almost stopped. Ideas on that one? Also found the pass ground strap tied around ps hose. Tried to put it back but no heat shield and busted hs bolts didn't allow so I went body to main ground by ps pump. Bad idea? Two blackened harnesses going to the alternator and appears to be an empty relay by the battery. I have no clue what it goes to. I redid the 1 wire plug to dizzy. Cleaned the points on the cap. Noticed 5 and 6 have angled swipes and the rest are perpindicular to the radius at points. When I finished all this crap and cranked her, she idles a little smoother but there seems to be less high end power. I had retarded the timing during the process but I want to know the change I will see in the system being too advanced or too retarded. I guess there is still a Vac leak too bc repeditive break pumping choked her up. I'm really leaning towards a little tps adj, timing, seafoam, and emmisions work/bypassing. What's your thoughts? Are any of these related? Sorry for it being a novel but I've lived under the hood for 3 days and saw some questionable stuff.

-npora is mylifeline, if you can't tell

Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts!

[Trogdor636]

Empty relay or empty inline fuse holder?

[Slartibartfast]

Was the oil in the intake fresh? There's usually a little buildup in there from oil vapor that gets through the PCV. All I can think of (and it doesn't explain the grit) is that the PCV wasn't working right with the cracked lines, and got gummed up inside to where it's not filtering the oil properly out of the blow-by gasses. You might try taking the valve cover off, see if it's sludged up, and clean it up if it has. Also there's a bristle brush looking thing that's supposed to be in one of the PCV lines to catch oil vapor, make sure that's still clean/there.

 

Can you think of anywhere you've been that the grit could've come from? Wheeling in sand maybe? If it's abrasive and it's been entering the engine, you may be in for bigger problems.

 

The factory service manual (http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pathfinder/1995_Pathfinder/ if you don't have it already) has a procedure to test the carbon canister, and should also tell you what should be in the open relay spot. Mine has a couple open spots in it too. These were made with pretty much one wiring harness for all the possible options; Manual vs Automatic have a few different bits, the Canadian models have a DRL module, I'm sure there are more. I think I've got an empty relay plug near my battery too, now that I think about it.

 

The ground is probably good, or at least better than wrapping it around the hose!

 

No idea on the dizzy/timing, sorry, but that's another thing the factory manual goes over. It also covers test procedures for the EGR system, so you can test that. I pulled out my EGR-BPT valve a while back, discovered it was stuck open, and got it working by cleaning it out. I also found a small hose underneath it, which looked fine, but had rotted clear through where I couldn't see. The EGR valve itself looks like a PITA to remove, but it can probably be cleaned out as well. A few guys have removed the whole EGR system, but IIRC it'll hurt the gas mileage a little.

 

You can test for other vacuum leaks with a cigar or something. Blow a little smoke at the hoses and watch where it goes. You can also do this with an unlit propane torch (the idle should speed up when you get near the leak).

 

After doing all this, unhook the battery for a few minutes to reset the ECU. It adjusts its settings based on how the engine is performing, and now that you've changed a few things, it'll be running on old info.