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If you have an automatic transmission, you don't need to drill any holes through the firewall. You can remove the diamond-shaped plate that covers the place where the clutch pedal would mount on a manual transmission. Inside the cabin, the AT computer is bolted to a bracket at this location. I used a dremel tool to notch out an opening on the diamond plate to route all of my wires from the engine bay to the cabin. It's much easier than what you've proposed. On the other hand, if you have a manual transmission, your strategy is probably just as good. The fender liner attaches to the inner fender using plastic clips and is screwed to the mudflap and outer fender in various places. It should be pretty straightforward to see where it's attached as you remove the various fasteners. There is also a vertically oriented screw or clip beneath the mudflap that is accessible from the bottom of the vehicle (after the mudflap is removed).

The washer reservoir is between the front right wheel well and the front bumper (sorta behind the fog light and a little higher).

The VSS signal starts from the VSS, then first goes to the instrument cluster (speedometer). The speedometer then outputs the VSS signal to the engine computer. If your speedometer works, but you're getting the P0500 error code and your ultra gauge (which reads from the OBDII) is not displaying the speed, then there is something amiss between your instrument cluster and the engine computer. Check the connections on the IC and the wiring harnesses. It is possible that your IC may have a loose connection.

For what it's worth, I am running 16x8 Ultra 175 Rogue wheels (10mm offset) and 265/75R16 BFG KM2 tires on my 2" lifted Pathfinder, and the tires fit.

The alternator may be waterproof, but it doesn't work really well if mud gets into the stator and the bearings.

You would need to check the timing with a timing light while the TPS is disconnected. Timing should be 15°BTDC.

It's easy to extend the rear differential breather using a longer replacement length of vacuum hose. Optionally, you can place a small fuel filter over the open end. The only components that are particularly sensitive to water are the computers, and those are inside the cabin under the dashboard. Unless you plan on driving through water deeper than your doors, you don't really need to waterproof anything. The engine bay is already largely waterproof. If you drive through extremely muddy deep water, you'll probably fry your alternator before you damage anything that might need waterproofing. Lining the airbag with duct tape isn't really helpful, either. It's already air-tight.

If your diff says "Use VLSD oil only" I'd like to see that. I used to have a sticker on mine that just said "Use LSD oil only"

All of the aftermarket head units I have purchased had stripped wire ends which I then soldered and heat-shrinked to the Metra vehicle-specific adapter. So, you don't need a HU-specific adapter if you know how to solder. If you don't know how to solder, you can use crimp-connectors and electrical tape, but they're not usually as reliable.

Yes, a double-din HU will fit in a '97. I have a Pioneer NEX8000 installed in my '97 LE and it's fantastic. You'll need this, too: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120707550/Metra-70-7550-Receiver-Wiring-Harness.html?tp=2977

I'd actually prefer air speed, since that's what's keeping the AC condenser cool. As for ground speed (measured by the Vehicle Speed Sensor), my model/year Pathfinder actually doesn't have anything that gets triggered by the body-control module at a certain speed (such as door auto-lock), or I'd surely have found a way to use that output. That's why it seems easier to modify a small fan to become a generator.

Sure, it could be wired to come on at x° temp, but: A.) it's harder and more costly to add a thermostatic sensor for this purpose B.) it doesn't cover much of the radiator, and covers less than 1/2 of the AC condenser anyway. C.) when it's hot enough to need the fan, the AC is likely going to be on, too. The stock belt-driven fan is plenty powerful enough to keep the engine cool at idle, but it sometimes does not pull enough air to cool the AC condenser AND the radiator, so the AC may blow not-so-cold air at idle on very hot days. This is why I installed the fan in the first place. What I would like more than turning the fan ON at x° temp is to turn it OFF at x° temp or speed, regardless if the AC compressor is running. The fan doesn't really need to run when the car is moving, but I haven't really devoted much research into how to make that happen. The best I came up with is modifying a small PC or USB fan to become a generator so that at a certain speed, air movement spins it fast enough to generate enough power to trigger a micro-relay which breaks the circuit between the compressor and main fan relay.

No diodes needed; the fan is controlled by an automotive relay. Terminal #30: battery + Terminal #87: fan + Terminal #85: feed from A/C compressor Terminal #86: ground When the relay isn't engaged (no power between 85 and 86, ie. when AC compressor is off), the circuit between the fan (87) and the battery (30) is open, so no current flows either direction.

Push... literally. If you mount a fan in front of the AC condenser, it needs to PUSH air, not pull it. Sometimes depending on the fan design, you can just reverse the positive and negative leads so the motor runs backwards. However, some fans have blades designed to move air only in one direction. This is actually how I have my Pathy configured. I have the stock belt-driven fan and clutch, and a 12" pusher mounted in front of the AC condenser. It runs only when the AC compressor is on.

Welcome to the slippery slope of vehicle modifications! I would install the probe in a part of the radiator that experiences air flow from the fans if you really want to have the fans cycle on/off properly at a particular temperature. It should be located as close to the upper radiator hose as possible. OR.... you could just give up and not be too concerned that the fans don't cycle on/off with the hood closed, and as long as the ECT is stable, don't worry about the fans staying on at idle. They do turn off when you're moving, right?

Cool, keep us posted with your project status. I guess you know what's needed now to solve your issue: Full radiator coverage Shroud Fan(s) with adequate CFM Properly-positioned temperature probe

Yeah, such as this: https://www.summitra...16927/overview/ which does both

If e-fans is something you really want to do, you would probably get better performance installing a single 16" fan in your original shroud than what you have now. But ultimately, you would get the most reliable results with something like this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-16927/overview/ You'd need to check the clearance between the radiator and the steering box, however. When I had my Flex-a-Lite #295 installed, there wasn't enough clearance there and I had to trim off some of the fan shroud to fit it. You'll probably notice that the original fan shroud is flatter in the lower left corner for the same reason.

Yeah, that setup is not going to work. First, you have reduced the cooling efficiency of the radiator to only 52%, since nearly half of it has no forced-air cooling when the vehicle is not traveling fast enough to push air through the radiator. The radiator dimensions are 19x27 (give or take) or 513 sq in. Your fans cover only 267 sq in. [(14/2)^2 * 3.14] + [(12/2)^2 * 3.14] 267/513 = 52% Second, your temperature sensor is not located in the airflow of any of the fans. As I suspected, cool air being drawn through the radiator in by the fans is heated, then being partially exhausted forward out of the radiator where the fans have no coverage. You really need to get a shroud for those fans if you expect to have any hope of them keeping your engine cool in the summer. The shroud must be fashioned in such a way that there is negative air pressure on the entire radiator when the fans are on. That means you'll have to mount the fans to the back of the shroud, not directly against the radiator as you have them installed now.

Under "normal" driving conditions, the fans worked, but in the summer (100°F+), when climbing long grades or idling, engine temps would go up to about 216° unless I turned off the A/C. 214°F is still within "normal" operating temperature, but I (and my passengers) didn't much appreciate having to turn off the A/C. My alternator died while off-roading in the desert (2+ hours from the nearest town) forcing me to rely solely on the battery for engine cooling (as well as engine ignition, etc.) while driving in 4LO (producing minimal unassisted air movement through the radiator). The e-fan I was using could draw nearly 30 amps. After that, I decided that it is too risky to rely only on the electrical system for engine cooling on a vehicle whose main use is for driving off-road.

One last comment: note that the temperature probe (if you have it inserted in the metal cooling fins of the radiator) is not going to be measuring the coolant temperature. It measures the temperature of the metal fins adjacent to its location. Coolant flows from the top tank of the radiator through each of the vertical coolant passages to the bottom tank. Now, let's say you run an experiment where you place a fan that blows freezing cold air on 1/2 of the radiator and nothing on the other half. And now, let's modify the air flow so that air drawn through the radiator is forced to exhaust back through the other half of the radiator. If you place you temp probe on the half of the radiator covered by the fan, it will measure a different temperature than if you place it on the other half, neither of which will be close to the actual coolant temp. That being said, when I had a Flex-a-lite electric fan installed, its temperature probe actually inserted into the upper radiator hose, measuring the actual coolant temperature, not the radiator cooling fins. The location of the probe may be another source of the problem.

Do you have a pic of the installation? It could have a lot to do with the way the fans are shrouded. Inadequately shrouded fans not only fail to pull air through the entire radiator, but they can also exhaust hot air back through the radiator instead of behind/below the engine bay, especially if there is a lot of back pressure.

So, whenever the hood is closed, if you set the fans to come on at a much higher temp (e.g 210), do they fail to reduce the coolant temperature? If that's so, then I am very suspicious that the back pressure is definitely affecting the fans' efficiency and ability to exhaust the hot air.

I suspect there is more back pressure in the engine bay when the fans are on with the hood closed and fans become less efficient at drawing air through the radiator. If you want to get super geeky about this, you could buy one of these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/General-Tools-Mini-Digital-Airflow-Meter-DAF800/202074524?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CTHD%7CG%7C0%7CG-BASE-PLA-D25T-HandTools%7C&gclid=CjwKEAiA0fnFBRC6g8rgmICvrw0SJADx1_zAO1JGPfWpUv2kEdDALDAjNkl7Vg2YfkYAAAiaFtnMwRoCBtXw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

What happens if you set the fans to come on at a higher temp (eg 195°)?