r0x

1998 Nissan Pathfinder... 200,456 miles... Any suggestions about an easy way to deal with that rotten plastic coolant reservoir? It looks like a lot of stuff would have to be disturbed to get the old one out and put a new one in. Thanks in advance for replies. P.S. Noticed that temperature gauge was running a little high. Inspection revealed the gaping hole in the tank. Fortunately the bottom half is pretty much intact. I taped it up as much as I could with waterproofing tape (silvery duct-tape) and topped off the coolant with 3/4 of a gallon of Prestone. Apparently I've been losing coolant for a while. OK for now but it's just a matter of time before the plastic splits open where it counts.

I took it back to the place... Twice! The first time the tech just verified operation of the idle control valve with his MODIS. I watched as he adjusted the signal going to the IACV and the corresponding changes in the idle speed. He then asked me to go out and buy a bottle of NOS-brand octane booster and add it to a tank of premium gas. The old truck runs great on this good stuff but the idle speed was still to high when all was said and done so the computer threw out a DTC P0505 again within 1/2 an hour of leaving the shop. This morning they re-verified the timing, cleaned out the throttle body, "ghetto blasted" the IACV-AAC (see previous post for an explanation), and adjusted the neutral idle speed to about 900 RPM. (He didn't want to go any lower because the truck idles at 750 RPM in gear. I have no idea how he was able to reach the idle adjust screw.) All is good for now - so far no DTC P0505. Hopefully this is the end of the story. Thanks to all for advice and replies.

I needed to have the distributor assembly replaced and now I'm getting SES with DTC P0505 (IACV-AAC Valve does not operate properly). I did not have this problem before the ignition system failure. I thought that perhaps the ECM somehow got into a weird state and that resetting would force it to relearn, among other things, the idle control valve operation and clear the problem. As it turned out this did not work... The truck idles high when I first start it up at about 1500 RPM at Neutral and about 1200~1300 RPM in Drive. This is probably what's triggering the error code. Once the truck has warmed up idle goes down to about 1000 RPM at Neutral and about 750~800 RPM in Drive. The moderator on NissanHelp.com suggested that the symptoms and DTC P0505 is due to incorrect timing setting with the new distributor rather than a problem with the idle control valve. I haven't been able to get a hold of the repair technician to follow up on that. Another possibility is that the idle control valve really is bad, which would really suck because the freakin' thing is on the back of the engine facing the firewall. My local Nissan dealer wants $200 for a new valve and $550 for labor, which is why I posted a question about the "ghetto idle control valve cleaning method" on another thread: I found these "urban" IAVC-AAC cleaning instructions on another forum: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=251133 QUOTE Ghetto way to clean iavc is. step 1. start car step 2. while having a friend rev engine, partially remove the 2ND (bigger of the 2 hoses) right beside eachother on your intake(stock - going from engine to airbox) step 3. if you have managed to keep car running while pulling it PARTIALLY OFF then continue if not restart step 4. spray a **** load of throttle body cleaner in there and reatach hose while keeping engine running. repeat as needed I am toying with the idea of trying this because the idle control valve is virtually impossible to get to on a Pathfinder without taking half of the engine apart. Any comments appreciated.

I found these "urban" IAVC-AAC cleaning instructions on another forum: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=251133 I am toying with the idea of trying this because the idle control valve is virtually impossible to get to on a Pathfinder without taking half of the engine apart. Any comments appreciated.

I would like to do a "hard reset" of the Engine Control Module (ECM) on my 1998 Pathfinder 3.3 V6 in order to force it to purge old data and return to factory defaults. How do you do that? Is it sufficient to disconnect the battery for 15 minutes or is there more to it than that? Thanks, r0x.

UPDATE: I discovered that the idle control valve is inconveniently located behind and under the EGR valve and that it faces the firewall. It's just about the most inaccessible part of the engine. My local Nissan dealer says that repair is by replacement. They want ~$200 for a new valve and ~$550 for labor, which involves removing the exhaust manifold in order to be able to get to the freakin' thing. The only good thing is that in my case the idle control valve is stuck in a somewhat open position. The practical effect is that I get high RPM's, about 1500, only when the engine is cold. Idle goes down to about 750 RPM when the engine is warmed up and in gear, which is normal. So in my case I can live with the bad valve and the SES light. Perhaps if there is another reason to remove the exhaust manifold I'll have the idle control valve replaced at the same time. The bottom line is that it's a bad design - there's no reason for the valve to be there when it could have been up front near the throttle body.

Re: P0505 "Idle Air Control System" IACV-AAC OK, here's my story... My 1998 Pathfinder stalled on I-95 this past Thursday @ 187,200 miles. The repair shop's diagnosis was a complete ignition system failure. They replaced the distributor assembly + cables + all 6 plugs. (There was an obvious crack in the ignition coil and a couple of burn-throughs on the cables.) All was good until the "Service Engine Soon" light came on within blocks of the shop. I returned right away and they took an error code reading ("EGR"-related? I'm not sure...) that prompted them to clean the air intake on the fuel throttle body, which was indeed dirty. (The fuel throttle body assembly had been replaced within the past couple of years.) I drove around for a while on city streets and all seemed to be good again. I then got on I-95 and things were still good. About 30 minutes later the "Service Engine Soon" light came on again just after I had exited the highway, at which point I was on city streets in slower traffic. Other than the "Service Engine Soon" light being on there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the truck. Later that evening I decided to buy an OBD-II reader and it returned P0505. When I erased the code it comes back almost right away and the "Service Engine Soon" turned on again soon thereafter. Questions: - Is the P0505 error related in any way to the distributor failure and subsequent repair? - Where is the IACV-AAC idle control valve located? I can't find the thing for the life of me... Is it really somewhere close to the firewall next to plug #6? (A photo would be very helpful if somebody happens to have one handy...) - What is the usual repair? Replacement? - The truck starts right away, runs fine, and idles at about 750 to 1000 RPM when stopped and in gear. Is there any urgency to getting this repaired? I just spent $640 on a brand new ignition system... Thanks, r0x

Thanks to all for replies. The one I have is the manual control type with the cables coming out of the back. This problem came up after I had already replaced the blower motor resistor and the blower motor itself due to failures of those components. What I wound up doing is buying an entire new HVAC control panel from my local NISSAN dealer. ($170. I know that they're available on ebay but those are likely to be just as worn out as the one I had.) After swapping out the old one I realized that I could have replaced only the 3 speed fan motor switch. You can see in the enclosed photo that some of it is completely melted, apparently the melted portion is the part that carries power for the highest fan speed setting. (The photo is of the back of the blower motor swtich after removing it from the HVAC control panel assembly. It snaps out after the control knob is removed from the front.) This is the second time I've replaced the HVAC control panel for the same reason. (The first replacement came from an ebay seller a couple of years ago.) The back of the new fan swtich gets quite hot when the fan is set at the highest speed so I expect another meltdown at some point in the future. Another problem is that part of the plastic around the harness connector that plugs into the back of the switch has melted and evaporated away! Fortunately enough of it was intact to be able to plug into the new panel but I don't expect to be so lucky next time. (EDIT: I feel that the switch and the wiring harness are WAY underdesigned for the current they have to carry. I wouldn't be surprised if there were incidents of electrical fires due to this failure.) So my question is... Does anyone know of a source for just the wiring harness plug? As far as I can tell you have to buy the whole harness assembly from NISSAN if you want just that one connector. Thanks, r0x (riding in air conditioned comfort! ;-) P.S. The HVAC control panel assembly, NISSAN p/n 27510-0W011, comes with the cables already molded into it. There was NO WAY I was going to take the whole dashboard apart to get to where the other ends of those cables go. What I wound up doing is "breaking" the new one just enough to rip out the cables and snaps while still leaving enough plastic in place. The existing control cables in the truck snapped into their proper positions in the new control panel with some coaxing and everything works OK.

The A/C fan motor switch is becoming intermittent. The A/C and fan will cut out and the (temporary) fix is to rotate the switch back and forth. Seems to happen only on the "III" (fastest) setting. BTW, the blower motor is brand new. I've already had the control panel replaced once about 2 years ago and at the time I paid somebody to do it because of the cable control. (Replacement panel was an ebay purchase...) How hard is it to disconnect and reconnect that cable on your own? Thanks, r0x

I bought them from a store called "The Driver's Seat". I don't recall the brand name but I do remember that they were a special order and that they were quite spendy... http://www.thedriversseat.com Contacts in the switch are becoming intermittent. At the moment it's only on the fastest speed ("III") - the fan and A/C cut out suddenly once in a while and I have to turn the switch back and forth to get the fan and the A/C to come back on. BTW, the blower motor is brand new... P.S. The volume control on the radio just quit on me today... Fortunately it's stuck on a usable level.

My '98 Pathfinder has 167,000 miles and I'm on the fence, too, about whether I should keep it or sell / trade it in. I am the original owner. I've done all of the requisite maintenance (timing belt / water pump / plugs / wires / etc. etc. etc.) to mine, except that it could also use a new set of shocks / struts and it will need a new set of tires soon. I've also put in a new fuel throttle body and a new AC compressor within the past year. I figure that one more major component failure would put me in the red, meaning that within 12 months I will have spent more than the truck is worth to keep it running. I had the same problem you have with the driver side upholstry. I found an automotive / marine upholstry shop (a guy with a big sewing machine and lots of big tattoos...) that was able to sew the torn seam. On top of that I bought a set of semi-custom seat slips for the front driver and passenger side seats - they match the gray interior and look really sharp, too. Other than that I have the same issues with deteriorating rubber and plastics. Junkyard / recycled replacements are fine per other posters' suggestions except that they're likely to be just as old as what you have. For example, I replaced the HVAC control panel with one I bought through ebay and now it is beginning to develop the same fan motor switch problem that the original one had. Bottom line - you can keep it running but expect these annoyances to continue to pop up. --r0x P.S. If NE1 in S.E. Florida is interested in my truck please PM through the board.

Can anyone confirm for me that this one on ebay is the correct one? The one in my truck looks the same but I can't find a part number on it. Link below... Thanks, r0x http://tinyurl.com/y8rp3k http://preview.tinyurl.com/y8rp3k

It turned out to be a gear oil leak out of the ABS sensor seal. The shop tech pulled off the break drum and showed me that the seal and breaks are bone dry. He replaced a washer, tightened things up, and sprayed off all of the caked on oil - you can in the enclosed see how nice and clean it is now! ;-) (View is from the front of the driver side, rear wheel looking toward the back.) The leak was minimal - the tech verified that there is enough gear fluid in the LSD axle body. Thanks again for all replies and Happy New Year! r0x

The leaking fluid feels like motor oil. Break fluid level is fine. No, this truck hasn't been in any serious mud recently. I had the axle seal replaced on that side back in September. The receipt from the shop reads as follows: REMOVE AND REPLACE WHEEL BEARING, WHEEL, ONE SIDE $106.60 BEARING AXLE AXLE SEAL $34.88 7003161 AXLE BEARING $127.31 Needless to say, I'll be paying those jokers a visit tomorrow morning - just what I need... :-0 Thanks again for all replies! r0x

I don't think it's grease... It you look closely you can see a drop of brown fluid just under / to the left of that shiny nut in the upper middle part of the picture. Note the stains on the hub and the wheel... The passenger side is bone dry. Thanks for reply! r0x