br2an

That switch opens the back hatch window. It won't operate unless the rear wiper switch is turned off. Brian

I have to agree with SW there. My box started leaking from the seal around the main shaft this summer. I replaced the seal but the leak is still there, just not quite as bad. The shaft was noticeably pitted and rusted. Instead of having the shaft re-hardchromed, I am planning to intall an "easy sleeve" (not sure if that is the proper name). It is a very thin sleeve that fits over the shaft and then gives the seal a smooth surface to seal tightly. I hope to be able to install it without removing or dismantling the steering box. Brian

For me it hasn't been anything really serious but they are at times frustrating. One of my headlights occasionally goes out and then comes back on. It is supposedly a common problem where the switch make bad contact. I have cleaned it and improved somewhat but problem is still there. I have a gremlin under the bonnet that occasionally limits the engine revs to 2000 rpm and under. It comes and goes, sometimes months apart and sometimes weeks. It clears up on its own but I have absolutely no clue as to why. A common elec problem I have heard about (but not experienced) is vehicles not turning over even with a new starter installed. Oh, and power locks that lock on their own when you slam the door. This one I have. Never leave your keys in the vehicle as they may "lock themselves in". Having said all this, I still think the pathy was a better buy for me than a Toyota. Oh, and the wife's old Camry that I praised very highly did have problems. One electric window wouldn't go down (a broken wire) and the rear wiper stoppped working (a timer/switch gave out). Brian

Like most here I was looking for a 4-Runner but mainly because of the Toyota name. We had an old Camry for over a decade and it never gave trouble and never quit. That one car sold me on Toyota and Japanese in general. When I found my 93 Pathfinder it was in good shape, had super low mileage (50k miles), a low price and was a fully loaded SE with a 5-speed. For the same price (or more) a 4-runner for me would have been a plain Jane 4-cyl with significant rust. After 3 years with the pathy and comparing it to my friends 4-runners I can say that the pathy a) rides better (but rear suspension is way more complicated) b ) the v-6 nissan is more reliable (change the timing belt!) c) looks better (no-one here will disagree I'm sure) Performance and ability seem to be about equal (we're all stock but my posi rear gives me a traction advantage) The only weakness in the Nissan is their electrical. But then my friends Toyotas are so plain that I don't believe one of them even has a cig lighter so they have a lot less electrical to worry about. My opinion: The Pathfinder won't dissapoint you.

There is a very short hose between the two fuel injector racks, right at the front of the engine. For some reason this is a very common place to leak fuel when cold. Check there and tighten or replace the clamps if that is the problem. Good luck. Brian

I know this isn't much help but the same thing happened to me about 5 months ago. I hate trying to troubleshoot intermittent problems, especially electrical, so I left it. It still hasn't reoccured. If (when?) it comes back and stays for a while, I will try checking the voltage at the starter with ign on. If that is good then off comes the starter. Brian

Sell the tempo (for scrap if necessary) and buy new tires. You say the crappy tire ice traks make the tempo "stick like glue". Well, a similar type tire (siped, soft rubber compound, winter and ice designation) will make your Pathfinder stick too. I have winter duellers on mine and I hardly ever use 4 wheel drive. My only worry about stopping is the guy behind me not being able to. note: Find a set of used rims to put the winters on and then you can change them yourself each fall/spring to save money. Brian

I don't think the pressure plate has anything to do with it. Sounds like a bad bearing or worn third gear. The gears are not making full contact (because of worn bearing or gear itself) and when you put a lot of pressure on them they "pop out". I've had this happen with an old GMC pick-up but in first gear. I just babied it along for the 3 years I had it and it didn't seem to get any worse. The only fix was a tranny rebuild but the truck wasn't worth it. Brian

Dave My Chilton manual has a wiring schematic for your vehicle (p. 6-31) Sorry I don't have a scanner, I could send you a copy. Maybe somebody else here can? It looks like the turn-signal switch and the emergency flasher tie into the same wires (gry/red - RH side; gry/blu - LH ). Try disconecting the switches one at a time to see if you can narrow the problem down. The LH and RH only share at the switches so my (uneducated) guess is that's where your problem lies. One thing you have in your favor is that your lights are dead all the time. That usually makes tracing the problem easier than when the problem comes and goes. Hope this helps and good luck. Brian

I use the engine for braking all the time. I find it is a lot more fun to drive that way. I was europe one summer where 99% of the vehicles were standard and 99% of the drivers used engine braking. (My made up numbers but that's what it seemed like.) So we are not alone in the world! Only problem I ever heard from this was the rear engine bearing ??? (thrust bearing??) comes under a lot strain and can wear faster. Never saw it happen but read it somewhere on this same topic. Brian

I bought an aftermarket front bumper (two end caps plus the center) for around $120 CA from a local parts store and the quality was BAD! It fit ok but started to rust the first month I put it on (January). I know our winters out here on the east coast are hard on vehicles because of the salt and all but I still was not impressed. I also bought a rear endcap from the dealer for around $50 CA. It didn't look any better than the aftermarket when they were in the box but now it still looks new, no surface rust at all. I guess you do get what you pay for.

I had the same problem with my 93 two years ago when it was "new". I drilled and tapped for a 5/16" course thread and used stainless steel bolts (1/2 - 3/4" long). They never rust and you can buy them at almost any hardware store. Brian

RoughTrailRider, is it going yet? What was the problem?

That doesn't sound right. If it is getting too much gas, the last thing that will make it fire up is pouring more gas down the intake. If you are positive that fuel is getting to the cylinders (and it fires up when gas is poured in the intake), then the fuel is contaminated or something. Do the spark plugs look wet (fuel soaked)? If it is getting too much gas, it can wash down the cylinders and cause a loss of compression. (usually older, high mileage engines) Also the extra gas can contaminate the engine oil. Brian

It won't start because it is not getting fuel into the cylinders, yet you can smell gas like it is flooded? Check for a fuel leak. Brian

And the Quest I would have if I could find one within a 100 mile radius. The Taurus I expect to find in abundance. (so fords do have a use after all!) Brian

I take it you removed the distributer without marking where the rotor was pointing?? If so, try this. -Remove the spark plug from no 1 cyl. (front pass side) -Ball up a piece of tissue paper and push over the plug hole (enough tissue that it won't fit into the cylinder) -Have a friend touch the ignition key ever so slightly so as to crank the engine 1/4 turn or less. (When the tissue pops out away from the plug hole, you are coming up on TDC of compression stroke.) -You should be watching the direction the crank pulley is turning and then align the timing marks as jmcardamone suggests. When you install the distributer, make sure the rotor is pointing towards the location of the #1 plug wire on the dist cap. (note: if you just bring up to TDC on crank pulley without tissue etc. you have a 50/50 chance of being on compression stroke versus exhaust) Brian

jj big shoe; Thanks for the link, that is a good article. One thing they mention is that the Taurus fan has two fan speeds. They didn't test the current draw at the lower speed but it should be less than 40 Amps. I won't have any problems useing the low setting during the winter ( our temps are below zero for too many months here). I may order a rebuilt alternator for a Villager (120 A ?) and install it this spring. If the low setting on the fan is not pushing enough air I can just switch to the higher setting. Off to the local scrapyard this weekend. Brian

Cuong Nguyen: The Taurus would be great. (lots of them in our scrapyards) I would like to take you up on your Quest fan but shipping would be a bitch. (I think Newfoundland - California is about the same distance as California - Japan edit: Oops! I was off by 2000 miles. That Pacific is one big ocean.) Thanks just the same. Brian

I am planning to remove the fan from my 93 SE this fall and replace it with an electric one. (I am also installing a grill cover when it arrives) My goal is to improve gas mileage during the winter by having the engine reach operating temperature as quickly as possible. I know that the fan & shrould from a Nissan Quest will fit with very little modification (from another post that I can't seem to find??) but I need to know if there are any other vehicles that can be used. There are very few Nissans in my neck of the woods and I can't find a Quest anywhere. (Lots of Chev/Ford/Dodge types in our scrapyards but no Nissans.) Question: Has anyone converted to electric fan using the shroud/fan from a Ford Taurus? (K-car?) or other common NA brand? (Year, make and model would be great.) Thanks Brian

Well, I finally checked the codes and it is a 55 (normal). I tried what was sugggested and here are the results. for reido and k9sar: I have checked the connections on the mass air flow (MAF) sensor and the throttle position sensor (TPS). Disconnected them, visually checked , sprayed with WD-40 and reconnected. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. (wriggled them as well) I even tried disconnecting the TPS and starting without it to see if I could get the symptoms to reoccur. It ran normal (unfortunately), easily revved up to 3-4000 rpm and didn't miss or anything. I didn't drive it like this but it seems the TPS on a pathy is not as crucial (for just getting home) as it is on a Toyota. 87pathy: No vaccuum leaks that I can find. And anytime I've had one in the past, it usually showed itself as a fluctuating or high idle and was hardly noticeable at high rpms. Never saw a vaccuum leak act as a rev limiter. jmcardamone: My oil pressure light goes out immediately after startup. I have no lifter noise (as you might hear with low oil pressure) and just today I had it pulling strong up to 5500 rpm in 3rd gear. As I mentioned earlier, when it occurs, it is like having a rev limiter on my engine. Anyone who has tried to see how fast a late model GM vehicle will go (at least here in Canada) knows what I am describing. My 99 Sierra would pull strong up to about 160 km/hr and then it was like somebody turned off the key. When it happens to the pathy it is exactly at 2000 rpm, whether it is in any gear, moving or not. This usually occurs after a cold start and then goes away in a minute or two. SomePunkKid: ?????? Conclusion: Right now the vehicle is working great (3 days in a row). If the problem reappears I will try a reset on the ECU and go from there. (I may even be forced to live with this little "gremlin" under the hood.) Thanks again everyone. Brian

I'll save that as a very last resort (seeing as my vehicle is a 5-speed manual).

Reido Your explanation makes perfect sense. I had thought a bad TPS would not allow engine rpm above current idle, not the max idle. Now I think the intermittancy could simply be a bad/loose connection at the TPS. I believe this might even be weather related. I remember it was raining for a few days when I first noticed the problem. But today it was not raining and everything was ok. We are supposed to get a downpour tonight and tomorrow so I will see if it reoccurs. When I get time to look at it this weekend the TPS and MAF (suggestion from k9sar) connections are high on my list of suspects. Thanks again guys. Brian

Check engine light doesn't come on. (still haven't checked for codes, this weekend I will have the time) Throttle position sensor problems are usually noticeable when you go past idle. I'm guessing your friends Toyota would start and idle ok but die as soon as he pressed on the gas pedal. Mine responds well to any part throttle or full throttle pressure. It just dies at exactly 2000 rpm. I am more worried that this is an intermittant problem (now seems like just after the occasional cold start, lasts for a minute or so and clears up). I find these types of problems are very difficult to diagnose. Thanks Brian

(note: I've posted this on another site but thought I would try here as well.) Just wondering if anyone has come across this before. 1993 SE v-6 Pathfinder, 105,000 km (60,000 miles) It has worked fine for quite some time but recently it would not rev past 2000 rpm. As soon as the engine reached this speed it would die, drop to around 1500 rpm then pick up again. Rev up to 2000 and die again. (same with load/no load) There is no missing, no hesitation, no backfires, nothing else out of the ordinary. It was like this the whole day until I unplugged the ecu (reset) and the problem seemed solved. Recently it began again but only for 1-2 minutes after startup and then is ok. This has happened a few of times (not consistently) over the past 2 days and lasts for a minute or two at most. I am thinking ecu (because reset solved it first time) but am wondering if this could be learned behavior by ecu from bad input? (say bad connections or sensors??) By the way, I did some arc welding on it recently (just before this problem) and I didn't disconnect the ecu. Again, has anyone else had a similar experience (rev limited to 2000 ) or weird problems after welding? (last confession: haven't checked for codes yet but will this weekend) Thanks for reading, Brian