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1995 Pathfinder LE Slow Acceleration & Bad Gas Mileage


Steve95Pathy
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Hi All-

 

I am new here and looked for similar topics but got lost trying to find a similar post.  Just got a 95 LE with 162,500 +/- miles. Starts right up, had terrible acceleration and mileage. Drove it for a week before I did anything. 

 

This past weekend I did the following hoping for better performance:

New NGK plugs and wires gapped correctly. 

New Distributor cap and rotor

New high mileage oil, oil stabilizer, and filter

New PCV valve

New Fuel Filter

New Air filter

 

It started right up after a few cranks and seems to run well. Some black exhaust smells somewhat strong. 

 

It seems to have better pickup but its still slow 0-30. Is this normal? 

Also, I will drive it for a week and see how to mileage goes but before I did all that I went almost a full tank and only got 125-130 miles out of it, given I was driving it hard to see what it would do and try to get it to pick up faster. 

 

My next fix I can handle is a O2 sensor, is this is good idea? 

 

Any other things I should focus on? 

 

Thanks from South Jersey!

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These aren't powerhouses or hypermilers at the best of times, but mine will usually manage double that on a tank. Sounds like yours is running pig rich. I'm guessing the old plugs were black as hell?

 

Oxygen sensor sounds likely. I had a hell of a time getting the sensor out of my '95; I've read that doing it with the exhaust hot helps. I'd also check the coolant temp sensor and its connector. There are two temp sensors on the coolant neck that the upper rad hose connects to. The one-wire sensor goes to the cluster, the two-wire goes to the computer. If the computer thinks it's cold as hell outside, it makes the engine run richer. The EF&EC section of the '95 service manual should have the info you need to check the sensor with a multimeter. For the plug, just check and see if it's wiggly or corroded.

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Hi All-


Thanks for the input. I will hopefully get a chance to change the 02 sensor this weekend and let you know how it responds.  I will also look for the coolant temp sensor and see how that looks as well and let you know. 

 

I did some research and found that the 0-50 time on this truck new was 8.5 seconds and 0-60 is 11.5 seconds, not exactly going to push you into your seat. I am reluctant to floor it though as I want to get as much out of the tank as possible this week so I can scale the difference in mileage. But what I am getting at is this isn't a fast truck to begin with and since I was recently driving an 04 Crossfire I may just have to get used to the difference in vehicles. 

 

My brother who is a mechanic but lives in another state wonders if the 4wd is stuck but I do not think it is. When i engage it I believe I can feel a difference in the drive. 

 

Yes the old plugs were pretty used up as did the PCV valve. I think the distributor cap and wires were original as well. 

 

One quick correction, it's actually an SE not an LE. Attached are a few pics. It needs a new front bumper and grill which I plan to do after I get it running better. Anyone ever buy one of those ebay bumpers, are they any good? 

 

Thanks again, 

 

20180923_183828-A.jpg

20180923_183858-A.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

 

Since the tune up I got 206 miles on a tank till it showed E but before the light came on. A nice improvement. 

 

But when I filled it up I noticed it only took 15.88 gallons. This means the gauge is off and if you do the math to a full tank (20.4) gallons I coulda got another 48 miles out of it. 

 

So 254 miles to a tank is decent. But the O2 sensor is super rusted in and I'm nervous to mess with it. There's tons of rust under the truck. I may try to torch it out this weekend though. 

 

Oh and also the tachometer spazze's out when the car is at running temp. Pretty funny to see, gotta love old quirky cars! 

 

 

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16 gallons from empty sounds about right. The tank's bigger than that, but the pump will suck air long before the tank is empty.
 

IIRC the tacho spazzing can often be cleared up by cleaning/tightening the brass screws that hold the instrument panel together. Haven't had that one crop up yet on mine.

 

Good luck with the oxygen sensor.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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