taff

i had oil leak right below the left valve cover and it wound up being valve cover gasket. when i took the valve cover off' the gasket was hard and broke off where it created a small gap. lucky it was the left valve cover as right side would have been a bitch with intake manifold sitting right above.

I just DIY mine with OEM and it is sooo quite, and it should last me another 120K 9years. Very easy to do if can get around the stripped bolt.

Sorry I did not made myself clear. I was refering to the V6 not sitting on as straight V, rather it is lopsided or slanted V. My Path is getting older, so I am doing lots of DIY. Last time I did so much DIY work was on a Chevy V8, so I am used to seeing the intake on the center of the engine with two value cover on each side. Thanks everyone for the response.

Does anyone know what our 3.3 liter sit on an angle? Are there any benifits to this design, like lowers the center of gravity in boxter engine. It seem like it is bitch to work on, such as changing spark plugs.

When I couldn't get the crank shaft bolt off, I drove to a local garage and had the loosen it for $20. I know it is a cop out, but the job has to get done.

spray some wd40 and leave for an hour. Get a cheater bar around 3ft and Pull!. It will come off.

I have 99 Path that was bought brand new, and it never had trans setting on the dash. I picked up a 99 Pathfinder Sales brochure back then, and one of the picture showsl the interior dash with all the indicator lights turned on, such as oil, check engin, low fuel turn on, and there is no trans light. I wish there was one.

XPLORx4 - Thank you for reading my post and sharing your view. Maybe I should have further elaborated to get my point across. Yes 3.5L is larger and more powerful engine than 3.3L, but it is only larger by 2 liter(6%). Yet, it puts out 72 more horses(43%). It puts out these additional power not because of the engine size, but because 3.5L breaths better, higher compression, advance timing, etc. There is not much size difference in pistons, rods, cylinder and crankshaft between these two engines, and they are pretty much made out of same metal. Therefore, 3.5L short block will endure higher stress when running its max at 240HP than 3.3L that can only reach 168HP. At times I come away dissatisfy with 168HP on my 1999 SE when I floor the gas, but I know this is good thing for keeping my Path for long run. If it had 240HP, I would access that power more often. I would rev harder, burn more gas, and basically beat the Path because it can take off quicker. If I were to buy a used car, I would buy one that was less beat on. If I take the example to the extreme, would you buy a 3.5L that had a supercharger and put out 500HP, while reliability is your highest priority? Even though I wish I had 3.5L, I keep saying to myself 168HP limitation is a good thing for me as I plan to keep this car forever. I know this maybe a conflicting view for some, but I just wanted to present my view.

Gas is getting mighty expensive these days. Don't forget that 1999 Path takes regular fuel while 2001 must use premium fuel. The 3.5 liter engine in 2001 would also had higher stress life as it is capable of putting out more horsepower.

Thanks everyone for your great input. I bought my Pathfinder brand new back in 1999, and I always maintain it by myself. It only went to the garage for tires, alignment, and one O2 sensor. It now has 72K miles on it and thought front bearing is due for repack. Both garages I went to had a computer hookup to somekind of network. They typed in Nissan, Year, Pathfinder, and came back showing that it was a 4.3 hr job with parts, and they wern't to eager to do the job. Being so standardized, I didn't think they were trying to jip me until I called a dealer for the same job and they only wanted $200! I guess I was kind of getting lazy by take it to a garage, but you guys got me motivated to do this by myself. Now I just have to find a hub lock wrench.

In the owners manual, it states front wheel bearing need to be repact at every 30K mile interval. I went to two mechanics(non dealer) and they wanted $ 400 for this job. They both also stated most people don't get this done because it is costly, and for little more you can get the whole bearings replace when it goes bad. Do most people here get this done? If not, how many miles can you go before it goes bad. And when it goes bad, will it give you enough warnings before a wheel falls off. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give, or let me know how many miles you have driven without this service.

What method did you used?

When I changed the timing belt on my Integra, I got a garage that broke loose the crank bolt using their impact wrench for $20. I drove short distance back home with not too tight crank bolt. For Pathfinder, I guess you will need to remove the radiator fan and the fan duct before visiting the garage.

Here are some interesting articles regarding Octane. http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?OctaneIsControlNotPower http://www.truckpulls.com/fuel_octane_faq.htm

I have a same question as hypidsr20, and nothing came up under "timing" search, except timing belt. I just changed cap and rotor and did not adjust the ignition timing. On my Integra, I would turn the rotor to adjust, but pathy rotor does not turn. Can timing adjustment be done on OBDII cars?