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2 issues with my 96 Pathy


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I have a 96 Pathfinder and have a 500/5klb towing hitch installed on the truck.  I was towing my wifes little Chevy Spark on a full auto trailer and a front wheel only trailer(her car broke down twice).  With the full auto transport trailer, I was squatting pretty good.  Any dips I hit, I am dragging the trailer and hitch.  But when I towed her car on a front wheel only trailer, I had no sag and towed like it didnt exist.

 

Now, to give further insight to the issue, even when I dont have a trailer hooked up, I get my big 6'1" tall ass and my 350lb weight on the hitch and bounce ever so slightly, I can bottom it out.  I only got maybe 25lbs of stuff in the cargo area.  And my spare is on a rack in the back, not under the truck.

 

Only thing I have done to the rear is replace the shocks.  Both of the originals when I bought the truck off a private party, were blown.  Had no springback at all.  Before I replaced them, no matter what bump I hit I would bottom out.  But since replacing the shocks, I dont bottom out unless under load.  And thats just by myself.

 

If I load up with the family, we are basically dragging butt.  350, 140, 130, 110.  730 lbs estimated total person weight if we are loaded up(no trailer) in my truck for a family day.  But since my wife got herself a new suv, we use hers on outtings.  She doesnt want me to hook up a hitch to her suv(which would only hold a small bicycle rack hitch 1 1/4".) if we were to put one on.  And in her suv(2020 Chevy Trax), we dont bottom out at all.

 

I have new springs to put in...but couldnt get them changed due to not being able to get enough room when I dropped the axle to replace the springs.  I also didnt have any springs compressors either.  I am in no super hurry to get the springs changed, but am having doubts that the new springs will make any difference.  The new springs I have are MOOG 81113 spring set.

 

I do want to solve the squatting issue as soon as I can though, just incase another towing situation comes up...soo, hopefully someone has a better suggestion than airbags...I've seen those and I honestly dont trust them albiet that others have used them for years...jist my preference.

 

 

 

The second issue I am having is the vent selector switch.  When I first got the truck, I had no issues with the selectors, easy to turn, no stickiness at all.  But then one day it started getting stuck at the middle of the rotation as if there was something blocking the flapper.  At first it wasnt as bad.  But then about 2 or more weeks ago, I was trying to go back to regular vent instead of windshield vents and somehow it snapped.

 

Not sure if its the cable inside the controller, or if its at the flapper.  I dont even know whwre to start.  I tried finding the flapper area, but seems like its inside the dash and I would have to remove the whple dash to gain access.  I tried using google to find a way to check it, but I couldnt find anything concrete.  Soo, am hoping someone has insight on this as well.

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To replace the springs, jack up the axle high enough so you can place jack stands under the rear trailing arm mounts on the chassis. Remove the tires and lower the axke. Then, you need to remove the lower shock bolts and the sway bar mounts from the axle. also loosen the rear brake manifold so you don’t overstretch the brake line. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to drop it low enough to replace the springs. To replace the left spring, put the floor jack under the right shock mount and raise it to flex the axle. The left spring will basically fall out. To replace the right spring, jack under the left shock mount.  

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1 hour ago, XPLORx4 said:

To replace the springs, jack up the axle high enough so you can place jack stands under the rear trailing arm mounts on the chassis. Remove the tires and lower the axke. Then, you need to remove the lower shock bolts and the sway bar mounts from the axle. also loosen the rear brake manifold so you don’t overstretch the brake line. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to drop it low enough to replace the springs. To replace the left spring, put the floor jack under the right shock mount and raise it to flex the axle. The left spring will basically fall out. To replace the right spring, jack under the left shock mount.  

 

I am gonna attempt to do it again sometime soon.  I did those exact things you mentioned, but didn't remove the sway bar from the axel.  I removed the bolt at the end of the bar, but not at the axel itself...I gotta look into that.  But I can say that when I was able to get it where I was able to hand spin the spring, but not remove it due to the posts, I checked the measurement of the old springs vs the new.  Am looking at about 1.5" more overall height of the new spring decompressed.  Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

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Oh, I just realized that there are actually 3 issues...but 2 of the 3 are part of the climate control bits anyhow lol.  Anyways, so the mode switch is one issue on the climate controls, the other has to do with the blender (hot/cold) switch.  So, when I have the fans running, I have to have it all the way over on cold (red arrow) just to have it blow room temp air.  But if I go about 2 clicks over(it does have some kind of dimple thing inside and can feel it as you turn)(Green Arrow), it starts to blow full hellish heat.  its odd how it does that as its still on the cold side of the controls.

Control Issue.png

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  • 2 years later...

Alrighty then...been a long while since I've been on this forum...forgot about it in a way honestly until recently.  Anyhow, I wanna get back to having control of my HVAC system.  Right now its purely stuck on defrost mode...went under the dash on driver side and pushed the rod to where it would defrost in the winter time so I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to deice the windshield in the morning.  The last couple of summers have been brutal cause i still am trying to figure this thing out.  And no..I still haven't fixed my a/c yet either...been trying to deal with this first.  Anyways, can anyone show me where the cable diagram is???  I've been looking for the past hour, I keep getting closer to what I want...but only being shown electric actuator versions.  And to recap, if I was on Face or Face/Floor and wanted to go to one of the other 3 modes, I would be fine...but during the process of passing Face/Floor to Floor, you would hear a thud or click. Then you'd be able to freely use the last 3 modes.  But once you try to go back to Face, right between Face/floor and Floor, it'd jam up and don't want to let it go into it freely.  It used to with no issues...but like i mentioned, it suddenly came out of no where and started to get worse.  Then suddenly as i was trying to force it back to face, it popped and haven't been able to use properly since.   Would have to crawl into the driver footwell and use a flathead screwdriver to move the rod to what I wanted it to be.  But ever since, I was like screw it, let me find defrost and leave it there until I can figure out how to fix the problem and have it back to normal again.

 

Once I get that problem fixed, then the next one I wanna tackle is the Hot/Cold selector.  There is a photo showing where my selector functions...and its honestly stupid.  Gotta keep it on full cold in order for it to blow room temp and/or outside temp air.  Otherwise, a slight twist up...it goes full nuclear hot.  Warm doesn't even exist.  Am hoping this is an easy fix...if not, I'd like to know what to look for and what to test, if anything.

 

Am hoping a few of you gearheads can point me in the right direction so I can have normal HVAC controls.  Thanks for your time.

HVAC Controls.png

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Try the HA section in the service manual. Free download from Nicoclub and worth having anyway. I had a look at the '97 manual (because that's what's on my hard drive) and there's a bit about the cables on HA-52. There's a lot of troubleshooting in there, most of it electrical/aircon related, but there is a section for the manual HVAC.

 

The vent direction sounds like something's mechanically busted. Hopefully the head unit, or the cable's come off, though the tight spot could be something that's fallen down a defrost vent and bound up the mechanism. If nothing jumps out at you, I'd remove the cable from the HVAC head and see if pushing and pulling the cable manually makes the vents work. If it does, it's the head. If it doesn't, either it's come off the blend door, or the blend door is buggered.

 

The temp is an odd one. Again, hopefully a fault in the head/cable and not a blend door. There's a valve that's supposed to shut off the coolant to the heater core when it's set to fresh air, doesn't sound like that's working.

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I thank you Slartibartfast, that PDF file is exactly what I needed. And I think you meant to say HA-51, which is exactly the diagram and info I needed to know what to look for and how to adjust it and such...now I gotta figure out if I can get my big meat mits in there to make the adjustments without having to mess with anything else lol.

 

And yeah, the temp control is the odd one in the bucket.  Just a slight turn and its already 100% hot, shouldn't even be like that at all.  But now that I got the diagram on where it is and what cables to look at, I should be able to figure out the issue.  The other door for recirc and fresh air is good, no issues there.  Just the temp and vent.

 

Thanks again, now its time to dive into this thing and see if I can fix this thing once and for all.

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Ok...well...found that the problem doesn't look like its below where the end of the cable links to the controls...I think its within the control box itself.  I didn't take apart the dash one bit.  Just reached under where the control bars are.  I managed to move it to face mode easily.  But when I use the control on the dash, rotating it to defrost, it works fine and the control bar below moves with it.  But the moment I try going back to face...its like it isn't connected at all and the bar below stays put.  I suspect that the cable end is still connected to the bar below...am gonna get my camera in there to confirm in a bit.  But if it really is inside the control box, is there a way to open it up and check??? or is it external on the box???

 

As for the temp, I haven't gone near it yet, needed my screw driver...which I forgot to bring out with me.  Have it now and am about to go back out and get the radio and controls out of the dash so I can see behind it all.  Hopefully there isn't anything major I find wrong.

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Alrighty then...that was quick to find...geez.  Soo, to start...cable is still connected at both ends...my issue lies at the sheathing.  There is supposedly supposed to be a clamp shim where the sheathing meets the control...its missing. Plus, the end of the sheathing looks to be cut off...yet I don't see any small pieces on the cable itself.  Soo, my guess is either it wore itself off and fell after the break...or one never existed and whatever was holding the sheathing in place loosened up and will not hold it anymore.  Soo, while I had it out, I was tinkering with it and looking for ways to make it work...only thing I can come up with is either using a zip tie...which I would probably be replacing often if and when it breaks...or use a hose clamp big enough to wrap around this pipe I see and the cable.  Just to hold it in place where the cable can freely move, and wont be kinked.  Now, the only thing about this though is it makes me worry about the inside of the sheathing wearing down faster(based on if I use the modes heavily...which honestly is almost rarely.  Have it on face during hot summer months to cool down(still no a/c...just regular air lol), and my feet and windshield during cool winter months to keep my feet toasty and the windshield fog free. All other times, the windows are down and circulating the interior with fresh air lol.

 

And talk about the temp itself...I had thought I had a cable control for this...there is mounting spots for one if it was installed...but my R50 does not...its electric.  Soo, am guessing the resistor bar is either faulty...or something else is the issue.  In the picture here, its the long silver bar with pc board parallel to the control bar if it was cabled.  Was thinking of pulling out my multimeter...but that right now is MIA...I think I put it in storage...cant find it in my home.  Was gonna test it and see what resistance I get across the board.  But for right now, am just solely focused on the vent cable...this temp thing can be done later since winter isn't fully here yet, and i have my vents on face right now instead of defrost.  But do want to get insight if anyone ever had to test it and/or replace it.

 

s-l1600.jpg

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Well...I tried editing a photo and posting...but seems the capacity is super small and wont allow me to post it...soo, am doing a link to the part online instead and without circling the spot i want to show.  But am confident you guys can see what I mean.  Slot for cable, the adjustment bar itself, and the crevice where the shim would go to lock the cable sheathing in place between the 2.  It has a slot where the cable can go down, then you would need to slide the sheathing inwards, then the shim would cut into the sheathing and hold it in place.

 

s-l1600.jpg

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Ah!!! I found a better shot with a cable installed...cut by a recycle center probably...smh...anyhow, its the best representation of what I mean.  In this picture, you can see the cable installed and on one side is a metal shim of sorts holding the cable in place...I don't have that stuck in my unit...soo either it didn't have one or it fell out.

 

s-l1600.jpg

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Ah, so the clip's missing and the cable sheath is moving around. If you can't find it in the carpet, NissanPartsDeal shows (what I assume is) the correct part as 0922-50410 (snap ring). Not available there, looks like these guys have it though. Neither has an actual photo of it, but from the description, I'll bet an E clip with an ID a little smaller than the cable sheath's OD, thin enough to slide into that groove in the housing, would do the job (or that's exactly what the OE part is, just marked up). Worst case I guess you could just JB Weld the sheath in place with the bite marks lined up to the groove and hope you never have to take it apart again.

 

Looking into it further, looks like the non-aircon models had the cable, and the aircon models had the pot/servo arrangement. And yeah, that pot is where I'd start too, assuming the mechanism checks out (slider goes from end to end when you turn the knob). I'd check those solder joints on the off chance one's cracked, and shoot some contact cleaner into the pot and work it around in case it's just got some trash in it that's preventing a wiper from making contact. (And, yeah, check it with the meter to make sure the resistance rises and falls smoothly and the trace isn't broken.) If the pot is buggered, you might get lucky and track down a new pot using the part numbers stamped into the case, though that's probably a long shot. I guess if you don't mind channeling Red Green, you could work out what its resistance is supposed to be (hopefully its resistance is labelled, or you can find a datasheet from the other numbers on the case), gut the mechanism, and install a standard rotary pot through the face plate.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the cable wearing through the sheath. It shouldn't have much load on it. Wouldn't hurt to shoot some silicone spray down the sheath while it's apart, though.

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Bruh, you hella saved my bucket on this with that link lol.  I see the clip, but I also see the resistance PTC that is for the temp slide...course its out of stock/discontinued on that page, but managed to find it on a different site for about $25.  Gonna test it first and see if it functions properly, but also check the solder points too as you mentioned.  If its bad and I need it, Imma buy both on the other site.  Thanks again.

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