PsychoPath

Try Calmini. On an unrelated note, have you seen their site? It looks as though they'll be offering an SAS kit for Pathfinders soon.

the factory manual says that it detects fluctualtions in RPM. WHy does it do that and where does it send the information? Is it just what runs your tach?

well, i found the CAS and got it off. there's just enough room for your hand and a 10mm wrench to get up there. the problem is that you can't see it so bolting it back down is going to be difficult. I'll take some pictures of it and where it mounts when I actually drop the transmission down in a little while. As far as replacing the whole unit goes, I don't know if there's access to it with the tranny in place. I asked earlier if you could do damage without it and the more I think about it... I dunno... Could it throw your timing off?

Well, I just looked it up and it's a $50 part from NAPA... I can't even find the thing. Can you do any damage by running without it?

That's really helpful, actually... I'll keep feeling around up there... To OR99: What do you mean about the trans case? I figure it's just on the ass end of the tranny, it'll come down with it, right? Am I missing somehting here? All I care about is getting to the clutch, and that's up forward. As far as my progress: I got disgusted today when I couldn't get my rear driveshaft down. I sprayed it all down with weasel piss (PB) and will go back at it later... I'll tell you... I love this thing when it's running, but the japanese jam everything in there so tight, I hate working on it.... Maybe that's why the dealers arre so expensive... I'm just to cheap to pay for any work, I guess....

thanks for that... much better illustrations than in Haynes...

I have a 96 R50 with a 5spd. The throwout bearing is going on me so I'm going in there and putting a new clutch and everthing in while I'm at it. I've done some searches on the process, but haven't had much luck finding anything. At any rate, does anyone have any input? My first roadblock is that I can't find my crankkshaft position sensor. My manual says look on the bellhousing? I'm just gonna keep going, maybe it'll show itself when I start pulling other @!*% apart. I'll be taking pictures and trying to document this as well as I can, maybe it'll help someone else out. Thanks for any information you may have...

This is all great information, and I really appreciate it. I'm away on business for the next week, so I have a little time to decide what to do about it. I'm leaning towards fixing it though, now. I have a pretty decent garage so maybe it isn't such a huge deal. Anyways, I'll post when I figure it out. Thanks, again, All.

Hmmm... thanks, Slick. I've talked to a couple of guys I know and basically got the same feedback... I'm out of town on business so I have about a week and a half to figure out what I want to do... there's is no way I'm dropping 6 or 700 bucks on it right before I try to sell, though, and it sounds like that's what it would run me in a garage.

My 96 has a five speed. For a while now it's been intermitently making a high-pitched whine when I depress the clutch pedal. Usually this only occurs when it is cold. Once I spin it through a few gear shifts it stops. I am told this is the pilot bearing. Upon seaching the forums I found someone call it a throwout bearing problem. What's the difference? While we're at it: Has anyone dropped the tranny on one of these? Done this actualy project? I'm big on DIY but I'd like to know what I'd be getting into. To be honest, the thing is for sale, so I might do better to find a sucker and forget about it. Thanks for any input.

Larimer: I don't know the specs, to be perfectly honest. I went by part number through my dealer. He had to special order them and I'm hoping to have them this afternoon. I will say this: If he wants $80 you should talk to the manager of parts or someone higher up because that is bull. I don't remember the actual prices, but $36 is about the cost of all the bolts and nuts for upper AND lower control arms. Unfortunately each nut and bolt is sold separately. When I get my new ones I'll post the specs on them for you.

Oh yeah, I forgot: Can anyone tell me why the ends of those bolts are splined?

It's a hell of a job... Once you get the sequence down it isn't so bad, I guess, but nothing happens fast or easy. kmgar99 has the right idea. I didn't know about that inner sleeve until I got the first arm out. A sawzall is the best option as far as I can tell, just be careful not to score the inside of the actual bush housing. That said, don't worry too much about cleaning all the rubber out, beacuse that whole inner sleeve comes out anyway. (Mine is a 96... I don't know if all years had that sleeve inside). The poly bushings won't fit with it in. After making a couple of cuts with a sawzall I used a torch to heat them then pounded them out with a punch like kmgar99. One end actually popped out by just hitting it with a hammer. This little torch is worth its weight in gold, too. I found a MAPP/Oxygen torch ay Home Depot for about fifty bucks. The O2 bottles don't go very far, but it's a really useful tool for heating frozen parts and burning the old rubber bushings out of their housings. Also: kmgar99 used a bench vise to press his in. I rented a ball joint press from NAPA. Getting everything lined up so that they go in straight is the hard part, but once you do they squeeze in fairly easily. I've heard someone say you need a hydraulic press but that's not really true. The ball joint press looks like a big c-clamp, and NAPA rents for free, more or less. You buy it and return it whenever you're done... No daily charge, just a big deposit, basically. The only other wall I hit was finding new grade 8 bolts for the arms. Ended up going to Nissan for those. The uppers are actually a little bit longer, so I supposed it's good that I did, or else I wouldn't have realized that. They aren't cheaps... The uppers are over 3 bucks apiece.The lowers were under 2 I think. Nissan had to special order them, I should have them today. I'll try to get some pictures up somewhere for anyone that's interested. Oh and RowOSU: If I had someone to do it for 120 bucks I would absolutely take them up on it. Is that for the uppers and lowers?

I know this is a well worn topic but I've been searching and haven't found the information that I really need. I'm replacing the old control arm bushings (upper and lower) on my 96. I have one of the lowers out now. I'm using the poly bushings available from AC. I'm using a ball joint press but I'm finding that the bushing is just compressing itself on it's lip, and not sliding into it's housing. Is is absolutely necessary to remove the inner liner from the bush housing? If there is anyone out there that has actually done this work themselves, I'd like to hear your experiences. Thanks

When I bought mine the woman who owned it last told me that the arms needed replacing and the quote from the dealer was over a grand. I got underneath and the arms are fine, but the bushings are rotten. No biggie, I thought, I'll replace them. Well, I had the same issue as Larimer. The dealer in my area won't sell the bushings alone and all the parts (before labor) came out to over 500 bucks. Moral of the story: even if you think you are just buying a truck from some dumb chick, there may be some merit to what she has told you about necessary repairs. In the end, I'd just as soon pay a little extra and go for the poly ones anyway... Now if AC can just get me my darn parts... It's been a month now and counting...

You've replaced them three times? Rubber or poly? I'm surprised to hear that you've had that much trouble with them. I was hoping that once I put my new bushings in they'd outlast the truck at this point. I've ordered poly bushings for my upper and lowers but I'm leaving everything else alone.

Thanks for the feedback, fellows

Yeah, I know, I know... It just caught my eye because it's cheap.

Jeez, that sounds like a story... It has the four cylinder. I don't really know how well they do off road to be honest. I know that they are rugged little trucks, but they are tall, definitely look a little tippy. It might be a little big for me... I have to go look it over, hopefully in the next couple of days. I did notice that lift on Calmini. Does anyone have any experience with them? All I know is from their website but it seems like a pretty professional looking operation. I like what they've done with those little Samurais, too. That might be a good little truck to beat on on the trails. I understand they are pretty capable off the road. I'll look at that fan clutch, though... Thanks for that tip...

I know it's not a Pathy but I'm looking for a little feedback. I found this 88 Trooper for 200 bucks on ebay and as it turns out it's really close to my home. I'm going to try and go look at it. He says it has an overheating problem, and that it runs fine, but when it gets to temp, it just keeps going up. REplaced the water pump, thermostat and did a coolant flush but none of it helped. Somebody told him that it might be the head, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me... I dunno, can anyone think of anything besides him being a goofball and putting in his thermostat backwards or something? what kind of problem could be lurking in there? And for 200 bucks is it worth it? Other than that it's clean, little rust, etc...

Yeah man, I feel like R50s get a poor rap. To be honest, the more research I do I'm starting to lean towards keeping it stock and buying something else as my trail rig. As it is, this is my daily driver anyway. It's a great truck, but your options are very limited when it comes to mods and getting it a little higher off the ground. We'll see, but an older Pathfinder or hardbody is starting to look pretty good. Another reason is Maine's stupid inspection laws. It's pretty hard to have a street legal truck that you can do much with off road. The current law bars you from doing a thing to any vehicle with ABS, so if I even touch my suspension I can't sticker it.

Hey thanks for the links and tips. I love ebay but haven't used it for finding parts yet, it's something I'll have to do.

Hi Everyone, I joined the other day. Bought a 96 a few months ago and started digging into little projects on it recently. Does Nissan or anyone else make the real factory shop manuals available? I hate Haynes, they are all but worthless, and I haven't gotten a Chilton for it yet, but my experience with them is only marginally better. I'm also in the middle of a crummy experience with Automotive Customizers. Any recommendations on where to get aftermarket parts besides them? This seems like a great forum and I'm excited to be in on it with other Pathfinder enthusiasts. Thanks for any info.

Greetings, all, I am new to the forum and this caught my eye. I bought a 96 a few months ago and had been planning on getting it up this spring. After learning more about these I think I'm going to keep it stock and find a pre-95 to build a straight trail rig with. It's a great truck, I'm just limited in what I can do. As an aside... Anyone know of any good sources for parts besides AC? I'm not impressed with them at all. I'm still waiting on parts I ordered three weeks ago. I've called them twice and each time they tell me they'll ship monday. Now the question is: which monday?