Trainman

Well, now they are working again. Very weird

OK, I did a search for "Instrument Lights" and "Dash Lights" with no luck. 2002 Pathy, the gauges on the right (tach and temp) do not light up. This has been an intermittent problem for a couple of months. I took the cluster out and re-set all the bulbs, re-connected the 3 wire clips. Was fine for all of December and up till Monday. In the past it will stay out for a couple of days, then just come back on. Right now they have been out for the longest period yet, since Monday. They do not come back on or go out while driving, it is after the motor is turned off/on. Any ideas? Something must be loose or a bad ground some place I'm guessing Thanks, TMan

The logical time for checking this would be during a mandated vehicle inspection. Does Alberta require these? The RCMP will be (well they should be) too busy to be checking on lifts, so how will it be done. Hopefully though it is a fairy story anyway :Magic:

Technically, they are banned anywhere the laws prohibit modifications that are not certified by an engineer, like in BC. But it comes down to enforcement. I audit companies for legal compliance to various environmental regulations such as the transportation of dangerous goods. In Canada, a tank of 450l mounted in a truck is illegal unless it has been made to a specific standard or inspected every year. But of all the tanks I have checked, none, even the illegal ones, have ever been checked by the RCMP, federal or provincial officials. So who is going to check on lifts?

Yes, that is what I was told (I did not see them). So total of 12 screws.

Yep, apparently real easy once opened up, its getting it opened up :o

2.7 hours, no parts req. So depending on your shop rate that would set the price. For me it was $210 CDN @$78/hr. Very cheap insurance indeed. The screws are in the upper manifold, just a lot of bits and pieces to take off/put back on.

I need a special $14.00 CDN (don't ask how I know the price ) tool to tighten/untighten the lock screws that are covered by a black piece of plastic, which is also held on with lock screws. Not very user friendly thats for sure. I have never tried to completely unscrew the lock screw to see if the cross bars would then lift off rather than have to slide them off the ends.

Nothing like going in for major surgery. Best of luck and let us know what they find.

No issues with oil consumption but I will keep an eye on it. Oil and filter are changed every 5,000 km. Switched to synthetic last year. Only issue was after the change to syn was a hot oil smell for a couple of days when working hard but no obvious leaks. No smell on any change since.

The work is done, 2.7 hours (less than the quote), no missing screws :cool2: All are lokited. The mechanic and manger, once it was opened up, could see why it could be a problem. I am happy it is done

Yes.

The front skid mounts under the rad at the front, then under the cross member for the motor/suspension. The next one also bolts onto the motor cross member and then to a special bar BP supplies for the rear attachment. They can be used independently of each other but if the motor cross member is dropped, it would put the holes out of alignment and a new or modified rear bar would be needed I think, plus the bends would have to be re-done a bit. As for the front skid, maybe elongating the mounting holes might work if there is enough material.

Thats the key, what is properly cared for?

Well, here is how they lay out before mounting. The front mounts to the back and into existing cross member holes, the back mounts to a bar you add. If you are dropping the cross member the second plate may not reach the bar, so you may have to revise the bar or its mounting. Hope this helps

With most fuel injected motors (not sure about the Pathy though) if the motor floods, if you floor the pedal and HOLD it while cranking, it will trip the computer into a special mode that should get rid of the excess fuel then allow the motor to start. This happened a few time on our 1996 2.5l Mystique and the flooring thing worked on it (and it was O2 senors on it). So next time, try flooring it and holding while cranking and see if you can at least get it started. Good luck.

Maybe the 3.5 is made of tougher stuff?

Well, it would not go out as a screw but rather little tiny bits, like brass filings. Sort of look like gold dust

One other thing the dealer mentioned was that if "just" a screw falls out, good chance you will not notice. As it is brass and relatively soft, it will often just get chewed up and spat out the exhaust. It is when the valve drops out you lose the motor.

Not to sure how widespread it is but as the dealer is saying they have done quite a few, then I get a little concerned. This same issue also has turned up on other Nissans, such as the Altima (at least in Canada )

See my new topic on this here Thanks navygz19 for the heads up on this :bow: :bow: :bow:

Thanks to navygz19 for the heads up on this. i have started a new topic as I feel this is extremely important for VQ35 owners. The background is here In short, the 6 butterfly vales, held in with 2 screws each, can come loose and destroy the engine. I have done some research on this and here is what I found: The Kamloops Nissan dealer has quote "done quite a few of these" un-quote, so it is an issue. It is the screws holding the butterfly valves, in the upper manifold. Approximately 3 hours to fix. The fix? Remove each screw and loktite it. My truck is booked at my local shop for Monday to have this done, will update then if they found any loose or missing screws.

Thanks for the heads up, something I will look into on mine as it just hit the 112,000 km (70,000 mile) mark. Anyone have any idea how easy it is to check these?

Well, first off, exercising the transfer case a bit more will help in the long run, also give you practice in shifting it in/out of low. The truck needs to be stopped, with the automatic transmission in neutral or park. If it still does not go, then try just bumping the truck forward/back with the trannie (a quick shift into D or R) and see if you can get the gears to mesh a bit better. Not sure what else but try it in Park and see what happens. And maybe change the transfer case oil if you have not done so. Good luck.

The 2002 will have the AllMode system, there is no transfer case shift lever that shows in the interior photo. No real difference between the years, go with what is the best value and that looks like the 01. No known issues with the AllMode system, works very well for me. Has 2wd, 4wd High, 4wd Low and AUTO settings. The AUTO is an AWD setting that will put up to 50% of the power to the front axle. Nice thing about it is that when in AUTO, starting from a stop the system automatically splits power 50-50 front/rear until it determines there is no slippage, then starts to manage power back and forth. Most other systems (like in the CRV) will only put power to the other axle when slippage is detected. Have fun and post some pictures when you get the beast!