Earth1

I am having some major issues getting the damn AT converter bearing off. I've broken 3 puller tools, 2 different kinds. I've beat the crap out of it to the point that it's a little deformed with no luck. In the process of swinging away with the hammer, I've struck the back of the crankshaft or whatever the flywheel bolts to. I can't find that piece in the manual, and don't even know if it can be removed. Could a couple of knicks throw the balance of that thing off? Can it be replaced easily? Any more ideas how to get the pilot adapter out? I really don't want to order a special Nissan tool, but I don't know what else to do. :furious: I want my truck back!

Amen AK. I'm sure Lee and Phil aren't willing to give up details on their design, but with some research you could come up with something that will work for a good CL. Honestly, it kinda sounds like a project to do just because you can. Nothing wrong with that, but by the time you invest the time of design & testing and cost of materials etc, you could be up rollin with some new Calmini or LP steering and fixing your broken tie rods on the trail with the rest of us. The weak link on those systems are probably still the TRs. CVs would make sense as the next, and that isn't too good. If a bent TR will reduce the likelyhood of a broken CV or ripped boot, maybe it's better that way. I've had a basic suspension lift with Calmini UCAs for almost 2 years now and luckily no CV problems. I'm sure it will happen sometime though. Let us know how your turd polishes up.

I agree with V6 about the pitman arm. You'll be fine with the stock piece. I think you may be missing someting with the CL/TR issue. The tie rods are weak, no doubt. If you come up with a decent soultion that's time/cost effective and durable I'll be right on your tail. I'd love to get some better TRs. That being said, the balljoint in the stock CL is a typical BJ and can only flex so far, then the TRs start to take the flex. Bent TRs are likely due to the stock CL design, along with weak TRs. The LP CL doesn't use BJs, they mount a round joint-like teflon lined ball bearing in their new end peices, and the BJ stud is replaced with a solid bolt and nut all the way through the new bearing and CL/ TR ends. The end swivel is greater with the LP setup. I think they may also reinforce the length of the CL with a weld bead, I could be wrong. I'm not trying to push their product on you, I just wanted to make sure you understand what the design is since I have some experience with it. If you have access to a decent machine shop, you could probably design your own CL, like a hybrid between Calmini and LP, along with those new TRs. Something to consider, suppose you fab some kick az steering setup with indestructible TRs. What is going to replace the TR as the weakeset link to the system? I dunnow? With the TRs as the weak point, they are an easy part to get to and change in case of a mishap on the trail. Good luck man.

Thank you Slick. Mine looks more like your new one than the old one. I think I'll wait until my tranny takes a dump until I replace that. I think it's possible I broke the bearing pulling out the engine. I spent a huge part of the day screwing with that !@#$ ATM bearing adapter. The first puller I rented broke. The second had been repaired at some time with 2 different puller arms and wouldn't line up straight so it wouldn't work. The third was a completely different type and the teeth were too blunt to catch the groove. I'm working on this thing out in the sticks, so everytime I leave it's a huge PITA. Today was pretty much a huge waste of time. I'm at the end of my rope tonight. Tomorrow I'll be resorting to the BFH. Should be cathartic. At least I got the new spark plugs on today. I'm trying the NGK Irridiums this time, I used NGK BRK6ey's last change. That #6 is actually the easiest to change when the engine is out, kinda weird to be able to see it. Cleaned up the plug wells and used some anti-seize and boot protector, which I've never done before. Should make the next change a little easier. And I found my #6 plug on my old motor had a crack in the insulator, likely the cause of the weird misfireish problem I had. If I can get the clutch up on the new one I'm ready to install. Just pluggin and tweakin after that.

Clutch issues: What is a normal clutch plate supposed to look like? Mine has a bunch of cross-hatched scores on the pads, and it might be pretty worn. I just had the clutch rebuilt a year ago. The manual says the pad limit is 3 mm from the rivets. I measured it as best as I could and it's pretty close to that. Is the tolerance a super finite measurement, or shoud it be considerably more than 3 mm? The pilot is cracked (several small pieces came out) and two of the plate springs have a knick on them. My clutch has been tricky for a while, but I thought it was just my 32s. I'm starting to think now that they took me on the clutch repair, and somehow just tightened it up to make it feel better. There is also a slight groove on the flywheel plate. None of this seems like signs of a year old clutch job. I'm gonna look at a new plate to compare and decide from there what to do with the mechanic that did my clutch. Should have done it myself.

Here's the one I wanted. www.nissanoffroad.net

edit: Please use this thread to post links to other forums and clubs (pathfinder, nissan, or offroad related) That other members may find useful. Could I have a link to Nissan Wheelers of Colorado pinned? If so I'll start another thread for it, and this can be deleted. I was on NPORA for quite a while B4 I found NWC, might be helpful esp for noobs.

I've already picked up some standard mounts with a 1 yr warranty which I guess will have to do for now. I had ordered some "nismo" mounts (only got one) and it wouldn't fit, so I sent it back. IIRC the box said NISMO. I was looking for poly but couln't find any. I'll check some other sources for nismo mounts against nismoparts.com to see if the part# is dif, but that may be the only nismo mount being sold. Define highly modded. I have new cams and headers. Or are you talking superchager or 350. I do tend to wheel hard and have already snapped one stock one. Granted it was like 13 years old, but I really hope to not have to get in there with the headers in the way. Or trying to fish another ratchet strap around the hot headers on the trail if I do break one. Guess I'll keep working on a my idea for a flex limiter on those buggers. I just found this on N4W, exactly what I was thinking of. Apparently it's no new idea. I may give it a shot but with a little more room for movement. Maybe 3 shorter links or 2 bigger.

Thanks. I'm just about ready to put the new one in. As soon as I have some extra hands we'll drop it in, tonight hopefully. I went a little crazy with the electical tape, I guess I'd rather be safe than sorry. Some of the old harnesses had some decent dirt and were brittle where the wires are exposed going to the connector. I taped the ends of all the connectors from clip to wire with the only tape I had left, which just happened to be grey. It actually looks kinda cool. For the wire stuff I had to swap from the old engine I used some twist type splicers, with a screw-in cap on both sides. They worked great I hope, guess I'll see soon enough. I had to rig the clip on the front of the power steering pump. My old one snapped a wire right at the connector, and the grey plastic clip broke on the new one. I looked everywhere for some tiny square end spades that would fit into the clip, and no one had them. I ended up using some audio connectors with a similar profile, but rounded a little. As soon as I find some proper ends, I'll replace them. That may be something I'll have to get from Nissan. The temps dont really "click" into the clips like the originals but they're tight enough they won't fall out anytime soon. With the new engine mounts should I tighten the mounts to the frame first before getting the engine in there, or would it be a better idea to wait until the engine is close to being in place? Those will be a major PITA to replace if I break another in the future with the headers in the way. Hopefully it won't be a prob, but I'm anticipating they'll break eventually. Any thoughts on static engine mounts? How important is the flexiblity of those? If they were solid I suppose the engine and tranny would take some of the shock and play if anything were to flex. I'm guessing vibrations while off road might not be too good for the motor with a static mount. One more thing. I'm considering relocating the oil filter, and I've read probably all the discussions here about it but I have a dumb question. How do I know how much more oil it will take? I could see how much liquid the new line section holds, or just check the oil level on the dipstick, right?

It's worth the cost. I have an LP CL and love it. Those ends are completely new with a new busing (not a ball joint) that allows a lot more movement without binding. That binding is probably what has caused your tie rods to bend outta whack. Those 33's don't help much either but that CL should help some. I think there aren't any beefy tie rods because it's a Nissan. I've wondered why there aren't any too. Some guys have tried fabbing them up a little stronger, not sure about the results though. Maybe I'm wrong here but won't a SAS change a lot of your steering alltogether? Maybe not, I really don't know much about the axle conversions. If your decide to do it good luck.

Another question. Is the rubber tube coming out of the starter just a breather, or is it some kind of vacuum line? Does it connect to something besides the starter?It came out somewhere along the way and I just stuck it back in the hole.

I haven't actually put it in yet. I'm woking on putting a new engine in and I'll start using it when the new engine is ready. The glue is probably more important than the actual material. I'm using some glue I found at Home Depot that was for higher heat purposes, can't remember the name. The heat in that area isn't terrible, even at its hottest. I suppose it would take some pretty decent heat to damage the rubber and the foam I'm using. I looked all over for some high temp seal with no luck. Let us know if you come up with anything but if you don't I'd bet whatever you use will work OK.

I think we all feel your pain. I guess you'll have to decide for yourself if the extra cost is worth it. I just heard gas will be up 25 cents for the summer. I use mine to haul around ladders and tools during the week, and buddys and mountain gear most weekends so I can justify the cost of gas. I'm all over the place and usually have a long commute like you and I know it sucks. What about an old bike for a part time commuter to help? Late 70s early 80s are pretty cheap, but motorcycles aren't for everyone.

Could it be that the cruise control cruise was stuck? Happened to me once, but it was in neutral.

Yup I've never seen a WD21 like that. It looks like an R50 color. Mine is blueish like Slick's. I'm trading work for a paint job soon and I'll probably go with a neutral light grey. Something original but simple. With all the black trim on our Pathys I really like the contast of lighter colors, especially with dark tint.

Hey man I used some sheet galvinized, 22 gauge I think. I started with a cardboard temp. I have some thin rubber c-channel I'll be gluing around the sides and bottom. I'm experimenting with foam backer rod and/or garage door weatherseal strip for a seal at the top. I'm using some tie brackets bent to the fender shape to mount it. My first design has a hole for the intake that would go around the rubber lip of the intake, protected with a strip of that c-channel around the hole. If I were to make another I would design it to bolt in between the maf adapter and the mating plate. It sounds janky, but it's actually looking pretty good. I'll get some pics up when I get it in. You might be able to just buy one from AC or somewhere, but if you like little projects it's a quick deal. Hope that gives you some ideas. Even if the performance is marginal, we still need a way to mount a cone filter, so it's not pointless.

Cool! I have pulled my first engine. I had some help tonight finally and we got it out. It really wasn't too bad at all. It took a little coaxing with a jack under the transmission, stands under the differential xmember, some patient wiggling of the hoist, and a little muscle. Once we realized the oil pan was catching on the xmember so it couldn't move forward, it came off pretty easily. It seems like getting the new motor to slide in and putting everything together will be one of the harder parts, but I'm over the halfway point now. Hopefully my labels and cataloging and pics will make it go smooth. I'll spend tomorrow night cleaning the engine bay and parts and start swapping the stuff I need over to the new eng. I'm debating whether or not to mess with fixing a couple of electrical connectors. Will I be able to find spades that will fit into some of the clips at an auto parts or RadioShack easily? Is the best way to splice a wire to solder it and wrap it with shrink tube and tape? Some other questions. What is a good degreaser for soaking the engine bay for cleaning? Cleaning parts? Is there anything that I shouldn't get wet while power washing the bay? Are the aluminum plates on the engine mounts just heat shields? I left my windows down. Any way to get em up manually? Is there anyway to "quickly" check the clutch for problems while the engine is out? Any tips for getting the engine to slide on the tranny spline? I think I could be up and running by the end of the week, but I've pretty much given up on a time line by now.

The engine came from Japan, looks like maybe they don't use them there. The ASCD and related wires/vacuum isn't crucial to the engine running is it? It's just for cruise control right? What if I use the new motor's throttle body (sans ASCD cable) and chucked the pump and stuff? I've never even used the cc. Might be a good place to put the oil filter.

This weekend I disconnected everything from the old engine. Lines and wire harnesses off, tranny bolts out, diff/crossmember dropped, engine mounts loose, exhaust off. The engine should be ready to pull. I couldn't wait for help anymore so I did most of it by myself. A couple of wire connectors are in bad shape so I'll try to fix them, but they look like they aren't really reuseable. The engine mounts are a PITA, and I may have done some unnecessary work by loosening the center bolts through the engine mounts. The exhaust was harder to get to than I expected, probably even tighter once the headers are in place. One weird little issue I came across this weekend. The new motor only has the throttle assembly (the half circle that swings open the valve) on the intake. It looks like there never was an ASCD "thing" beside it. The throttle bolt through the intake valve simply stops at the throttle. Just a shorter bolt there with a nut on the end. What is the ASCD and what is the "cannister" that it goes to? I'm just gonna use the throttle body off the old motor, unless someone here says otherwise. I do have some pics of what I'm talking about, but my camera is elsewhere. On a side note; What was Nissan thinking when they put the starter right under the oil filter? God that thing was dirty when I got it out. Gunked up with years of old dripped oil and dirt. I will be seriously considering moving the filter, or at least rigging up a drain sheild for now.

You can check the ecu codes yourself. If you're paying to have it done you might want to consider buying a reader. It might cost less than having someone else do it once.

Does it run ok?

Try calling all the ricer racer shops in your area. That's where I ended up getting one. It wasn't a perfect fit on the bolt holes, but an easy fix like GrimGreg said with the Maxima adapter. I just mentioned this in another post, but be sure that the intake shape is exactly like yours with an off-center intake hole. I ordered one from ebay that was listed for my year Pathfinder and the hole was in the middle of the square. I installed it and the truck would not run. That little bit of space makes a huge difference in airflow to the sensor.

I was debating whether or not to do it. They have already been bolted up with RTV on the gaskets... but I put the damn studs on backwards. I'm gonna have a hell of a time getting them out without damage to the threads. I guess I'll wrap something around them and use some vice grips. Think I should just pull them off, or since the gaskets are already gooped on there maybe I should try to wrap 'em with somthing to protect during install. I should have some folks around to watch out for hangups. I'm getting impatient. I can't wait to get this thing in.

If the bolt is broken flush you'll need a bolt extractor (EZ out or the likes). I had it easy because the engine was on a stand.

Here it is Saturday morning 10:15. I was wanting to get started at like 6 or 7 this morning and my helpers are all "busy". Jerks. I need to get this thing done and have to do it over a weekend or as close to over a weekend as possible so I'm not without my truck for work for too long. It's looking more and more lke I'll have to put it off till next weekend. But.. my shiny new Thorley headers look sweet on the new engine.