mws

Hmm. In my case, I regularly see about 2 mpg drop with steelies. Steelies: Rock Crawler with 31x10.5-15 Cooper STT Alumies: Some Ultra things with 255/70-16's A/T's. I think it is something like 15 pounds per wheel difference.

I have heard rumors there are differences between the 2-door and 4-door frames. Can anyone confirm or deny? Even if differences, can a 90 (4 dr) body be placed on an '87 frame? I know the last set of body bolts are different. I can deal with that.

I was referring to the weight factor. More rotating mass is harder to slow, working the brakes harder. They will overheat and fade sooner. Generally, the stopping distance is more related to the coefficient of friction of the rubber compound than the tire width. On performance tires, they can use more "sticky" rubber compounds on wider tires as there is more surface area to absorb the stress and dissipate the heat.

There's no seal on the output shaft of the tranny? I didn't know that. Something to be aware of when working down there. I dumped a bunch of fluid out the tail of an automatic transmission when removing it. ONCE. Gads, what a mess.

30 years ago, a 9.5" would have been considered a "super wide" off road tire!

Wider tires tend to "float" better or ride on the surface. Good on loose sand and really deep snow or any other surface you do not want to sink down into. Narrow tires tend to cut down deeper and dig in. Other benes to wide: Higher load capacities, can generally run lower pressures, the typical off roader thinks they look "cooler". Other benes to narrow: Weigh less (which leads to better ride, less suspension wear and tear, better fuel economy, better acceleration and braking performance). They also tend to cost less and provide less interference.

I've thought about it, and then concluded switching to the MPFI was a far better (and potentially easier) option.

Yes, absolutely ATF is slightly lower viscosity which provides an incremental increase in fuel economy. The more gears and bearings involved, the larger the increase. In our simple little TC, I'd guess at least 0.0728 mpg!

I also like to soak the fins with Simple Green or a similar cleaner to dissolve the guts and get the fins really clean. Rinse well, soak with cleaner, grab a barley pop. Keep misting to keep damp. When barley pop timer goes off, do final rinse. Another tip: Spray with air to dry it, and then mist with some kind of silicone based goo - armour all or the like. This will leave a film of silicone behind, which will make future cleanings much, much easier as stuff will slide right off.

The manual says gear oil for the early years, and I usually have respect for and support the original design engineers. But my education and research makes me 99% confident the ATF will be equally appropriate for this transfer case. They are bot excellent lubricants. The ATF is a little thinner, but not much. I have yet to find indicators that anything was changed between the early and late models (where ATF was specified for the case). My THEORY is the change to ATF was a manufacturing convenience and cost decision. In the later years, most pathy's were equipped with A/T's, so Nissan was buying it by the railroad car, whereas m/t's were rare and not much fluid was purchased. Based on volumes, the ATF fluid would cost less, so why not use it?

Well, a guy's gotta ask.... What would a rear smittybuilt be worth to ya? One of the reasons I bought little black is that she has one. No dents, just a little faded. It is a twin tube design with a 2" receiver. Comes complete with Sacramento Kings sticker.... I was planning to use on little red, but I would just as soon make a custom one to match the custom front I will be adding someday (THOMAS!!!!). The custom front will be a plate style, so a custom plate rear would match better.... then again, I don't much care about how good it looks so I was fine with the smitty in the rear. Only reason to swap from stock is to get the hitch up. The class 3 receiver hangs down lower than I want. The smitty moves it up several inches. So if you really wanted it, I could be talked into parting with it...

I did some experiments in Frankenvan, and I verified it did happen. I have the biggest B&M plate style in there, and the only place it fit nicely was having it with both fittings down. After a couple thousand miles, about 3/4 of it was full of air. To test, I started her cold and laid my hand on the cooler. After a few minutes, I could feel the bottom 1/4 or so warming up due to fluid in it, but the top did not. I drilled a hole in the top and installed a fitting with a plug. Fired up again, cracked the fitting and could hear air escaping. Replaced the plug with a new outlet fitting and plugged the old outlet.

Whoa... your other post said the belt was just 2 teeth off, now this one says broken cam? Maybe you ought to take a minute and do some root cause analysis and find out what really happened. With time, you will find that the pathfinder is actually one of the toughest, most reliable vehicles ever made. Almost as durable as old 4-banger Toyota PU's but with a lot more power, comfort, and better handling.

No need to bother! The belt being off by 2 teeth will do everything you described. Get it reset and make sure the tensioner is properly adjusted (and then properly torqued so it stays there) and you should be golden (and VERY lucky!). My experience is that valves don't start tapping pistons until the belt is three teeth off. After that, damage begins.

With regards to WD21's: Although I don't think anyone has found an official "okey-dokey" notice from Nissan, there does seem to be pretty general consensus that towing with 2, or even 4, down is very low risk IF the transfer case is in neutral. I know several here have, as have I, with no problems. The key is that the TC is in neutral so the output shaft (and attached innards) of the transmission is not being driven by the wheels. This is especially true with automatics as the lubrication system is pressurized by a pump - and that pump operates only when the transmission is being driven by the engine. If an automatic trans, I would argue it could be better to leave the transmission in Park when towing to assure the transmission output shaft can not turn. Of course, the downside to that is that if for some reason the TC slipped out of neutral, it could be dramatic.

Absolutely. I have been using Redline for years and have not been disappointed yet!

Good on you for easing it's misery. I'm not sure how many people actually care enough, and are sincere enough, about wildlife to do that anymore. People talk a good story, but seem to be getting rather, well, pathetically wimpy.

Just re-read this and proceed with the instructions about how to install the belt. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12828 As long as there are the correct number of teeth between the crank and both cam pulleys, things are set correctly.

What? You forgot to torque the cam bolt? Wasn't there some other dork around here who did that? Resetting is not a problem. If you're real lucky, you bought one of the belts with the lines already on it. If you don't have marks, it only takes a second to put marks on with a paint pen or liquid paper after counting teeth. The crankshaft has a mark on it as well. Line that one up first and then line up the other two from there. RECOUNT after torquing the tensioner AND both cam pulleys.

'Cuz all the cool kids are doin' it!

Yeah, tightening that bolt was on his list, but as the "master" on the project, I still feel responsibility. I should have made up a checklist and double checked ALL of the critical ones.

One fact that is commonly ignored by ethanol proponents: It takes a lot of energy to produce ethanol. Many studies show it takes more energy to produce than it contains. And since most energy in the US is still generated from burning fossil fuels, it is not really a renewable energy source. It also means the cost of producing ethanol is closely linked to the cost of fossil fuels (including oil) and ethanol prices WILL be rising very soon - unless it is heavily subsidized in your area. If GW's vision comes to be and we start building a bunch of nukes, then it gets more attractive. That is Brazil's model (and it is working) - use nuclear power to power the production of ethanol out of sugar cane. Since corn is less efficient than sugar cane, we will need to build more nukes. That's right, there is still no free lunch....

Ummm... what about my dignity you just threw out in the NPORA trail to be run over and mutilated? Do you have any idea what it is like to be a mechanical engineer and have that happen? Crikey, that little oversight has cost me BIG time.

Dohhh! Texas, maybe?

Where are you? I have a spare set, as I'm sure several others do (like slick).... Not really worth shipping them.