XPLORx4

Uh, yeah, it looks like the IACV is buried near the back of the intake. This diagram from the service manual shows the BACK of the engine, as viewed from the firewall.

Here's another "how-to" of sorts.

Doesn't sound abnormal to me. You're basically going from open-throttle, then immediately slamming the throttle plate closed. The drivetrain is just reacting to this instantaneous change in power delivery.

You do realize that the torque converter unlocks under certain conditions, right? When the torque converter is unlocked, it will seem like each gear is "slipping", especially when accelerating uphill in overdrive. Usually, when the torque converter is unlocked, the RPM difference in a given gear will be 400-600rpm. Also, the TC does not lock until the ATF reaches operating temperature. Obviously in colder weather, it will take longer to reach operating temperature. On my truck, this can be as many as 5 miles at freeway speeds. Are you sure you're noticing something totally different than normal TC locking/unlocking? For example, accelerate and hold speed at 60mph. Turn off Overdrive. Note RPM. It will probably be somewhere around 3000. (The exact RPM's may be inaccurate. This is only an example, but your results should be somewhat similar.) Accelerate moderately (about 1/2-throttle) up to 70 and hold, and at the same time you start accelerating, turn on Overdrive (the light on the dash should go out). You should immediately notice that the RPM jumps up to about 3400, then a moment later, down to about 2800, and then down again to about 2500. Here's the tranny state at each RPM in the above example: 3000rpm @ 60mph, overdrive Off: 3rd gear, torque converter locked 3400rpm @ >60mph, overdrive On: 3rd gear, torque converter UNlocked 2800rpm @ >60mph, overdrive On: 4th gear, torque converter UNlocked 2500rpm @ 70mph, overdrive On: 4th gear, torque converter locked If this isn't what your transmission is doing, you'll have to give more details if you want better advice. Any chance you can post that video online anywhere?

Haha. Yeah, there's plenty I don't have! (Just go look at the topics I don't post pictures in.)

Good point about iron particles collecting on the sensor. That could be it. The rear sensors are protected, inside the axle. The front sensors are sort of exposed, though. To get to them for cleaning you'll have to remove the front hubs. In the photo below, the ABS sensor is a small protrusion located at about 2 o'clock just inside the smaller ring of the dust shield.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn't mean that the weight would decrease your approach angle. It looks to me like the fairlead is the lowest thing on the bumper now, which decreases your approach angle. That's why I recommended the hawse fairlead; it doesn't stick out so much. Either way, nice work.

Well, yeah, it is. I never said it would be cheap! The wire cable+fairlead probably weighs about 50 pounds. But, as I'm sure you're aware, there are a lot of other advantages to synthetic besides weight.

Very nice! Where did you mount the control box? BTW, you should consider replacing the steel wire cable with synthetic, and use a billet aluminum hawse fairlead. This will reduce the weight on your front suspension and increase your approach angle.

Plus they cost about the same, unless you're getting huge discounts on the new OEM parts.

Yeah, it's plastic trim that was only offered on the LE's until 99. It still gouges and scratches, though.

Good call! Yes, there is. I read about it on the edmunds.com forums. From nissanhelp.com: Service Bulletin Num : 00084 Date of Bulletin: OCT 16, 2000 View Document Component: POWER TRAIN: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION: CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) Summary: CUSTOMER MAY COMMENT THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLARES ON THE 1-2 SHIFT WHEN ACCELERATING HARD FROM A STOP AND THEN BACKING OFF ON THE THROTTLE. From edmunds.com's Pathfinder forums: Service Bulletin Number: NTB00084 Bulletin Sequence Number: 187 Date of Bulletin: 0010 NHTSA Item Number: SB618803 Make: NISSAN Model: PATHFINDER Year: 2001 Component: POWER TRAIN:TRANSMISSION:AUTOMATIC:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) Summary: CUSTOMER MAY COMMENT THAT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLARES ON THE 1-2 SHIFT WHEN ACCELERATING HARD FROM A STOP AND THEN BACKING OFF ON THE THROTTLE. *TT Another post: Transmission: I also noticed my auto-tranny pausing or flaring while shifting between 1st-to-2nd gear. There is a Service Bulletin on this complaint also. They checked it out and said they needed to order a part: Part # 31036-4W001

I've been watching this discussion to see what comes up, but I think the observations made are not normal. What is normal is this: Shifter in "D". OD on. Start from stop, accelerate normally to 65mph and then cruise on a level surface. Here's what the tranny should do: Starts in 1st gear, TC unlocked. Shifts to 2nd gear, TC unlocked. Shifts to 3rd gear, TC unlocked. Shifts to 4th gear, TC unlocked. TC locks. Now, if try to lightly accelerate to 75mph, the TC may unlock, then depending on the engine load, will relock again when you are cruising. If you reduce speed to 65, then disable OD, then the tranny will downshift to 3rd gear, and lock the TC. If you reenable OD, the TC will first unlock in 3rd gear, then shift to 4th, then lock again. Now, if you slow to 52mph and shift to "2", then the tranny will shift to 2nd gear and lock the TC. Below 50, the TC will unlock again. The unlocked TC makes it feel like the tranny is slipping, which of course, it is. That's why you don't want to drive too long with the TC unlocked. It could overheat the ATF. Whenever the TC unlocks, the RPMs usually increase by about 400-600, then drop back down when the TC locks up again.

I actually had to articulate the rear axle a bit to get the wheel to stuff so I could use the baseball bat. (Put opposiing corners on ramps.) There's too much room between the tire and the fender otherwise.

Yeah, that's it. Except I used a baseball bat (much cheaper) to roll my fenders.

There are aftermarket pre-cats available for MUCH less than the dealer prices. I wish I could remember the source I got mine at. I had trouble passing emissions last year, and the cause was melted cats and a bad distributor (coil). After making several calls to the California Air Resources Board, they provided me with some aftermarket cat mfr's, and I bought new cats for about $200 each.

You might also need to remove your front mudflaps and roll the upper lip of the rear fender.

:cool2: Great link Pezzy!

Funny, on my truck (1997), it only has "pre-cats" that bolt to the manifolds. There are no "post-cats" anywhere on my exhaust system.

Do you still have catalytic converters installed with those headers? The pic makes it look like you don't have any cat's.

The long tube in the OEM toolbag is for plugs 1-5. The shorter bar that has a narrower end with 4 holes in it is for plug #6. I've done plugs 3 times using the OEM tools. I've found that accessing #6 is easiest when the engine is cool, so you can place some pillows, blanket, or other padding on top of the engine and lie down on top of the engine while you reach for that last plug. (This is especially useful if you're not that tall and your truck is lifted.)

It won't put "too many volts" to the distributor, but you may set a check-engine light. I think the ECU shuts off power to the coil under certain conditions.

You want to take off the doors, but still have power windows and locks? Uh, am I missing something here? Dude, just cut the wires, wrap 'em in electrical tape and stuff them into the holes they came from!

How much did it run you to get the cams installed? Where did you get new lifters from?

How do you know your other car's speedometer is accurate? Maybe yours is 2.5mph off, and the other is 2.5mph off in the other direction. Also, note that the error isn't a fixed mph value, it's a percentage of your current speed. If your speedometer is off 5mph at 50mph, then it will be 2.5mph off at 25mph, and 10mph off at 100mph. Increasing or decreasing tire size as appropriate will partially mitigate the error.