ntwrkguy1

Pezzy, I did search on a few of them, and most of them revolved around winches, 1000 watt amps, etc so I figured Optimas must be the battery of choice for the 'upgraded' set. Given the fact that the $50 battery that was in the Pathfinder lasted 4 years, I'll take my chances (and save some money) with something similar. Thanks, DavidM

The 4 yr old battery in my '97 Pathfinder died tonight. The vehicle is bone stock ( no performance upgrades, no huge amps, no winch, stock ignition, etc), and sees virtually no off-roading Is it worth the money for an Optima battery? They start at about $110, and I can buy a 'regular' battery from Sam's/Costco for half of that.

I'm changing the plug wires in my '97, and was wondering if it is worth the extra $ for 8mm wires? I can't imagine that the factory shipped 8mm's, but you never know. The plugs are the non-Iridium NGK's (new), and the cap/rotor has been changed as well. The coil is still the factory unit. I figured the 8mm's might not have a huge impact on what is essentially a stock ignition system.

Yep, it was right there under the seat. I'll give it to the mechanic (along with a copy of this thread!) Thanks for the info!

Good to know that the aftermarket stuff is ok, since it's $30 cheaper! Ordinarily, I probably would do this myself....but I'm trading the mechanic a 'detail job for mechanical repair', so both of us are happy!

I'm doing a tune-up (err....I should say my mechanic is!) on my son's '97 Nissan Pathfinder, and was debating on whether I should replace the original cap and rotor. Should I buy these parts from the dealer, or will pieces from AutoZone/Carquest/etc. suffice? The dealer wants $60 for both, and AZ wants $31. Even better, AZ has the stuff in stock!

I did a couple of searches, and see that Nissan put a spark plug tool into our Pathys. Is the one on my '97 Pathy located under the back seat, or in the spare tire 'well' behind the back seat? My mechanic was losing his mind :furious: trying to get that #6 plug out, and he couldn't find the spark plug tool in the vehicle! I looked in the well, and it wasn't there. Does the back seat lift up? Just like everyone said, the first 5 took about 2 minutes each....and then he got to #6!

You must have gotten a bargain at AutoZone, because when I checked last week, they were quoting $11 for each plug! Since there's only 6 plugs, that's still not bad. I'm correct in assuming that the OEM plugs are NOT platinum, right?

My '97 needs plugs, but I noticed the owner's manual calls for 30,000 mile change intervals on plugs. If I go with NGK Iridiums, can those be changed at 100k intervals? From using the search function, I see that some of us are using Iridiums. Not sure if they truly do make a difference, or whether it's just $11 worth of marketing for each plug. I figured since my mechanic was going to have such a tough time changing those plugs, I might as well find some long-term plugs to put in!

ROFLMAO!! Good stuff on the colored wires....I guess the neon green ones I bought will have to go back! j/k, of course! The wires on the '97 are the original ones, so I figured it probably is time to replace them. I'll hook myself up with some NGK wires and plugs, and call it a day!

Time to change the plug wires on the '97 SE.....has anyone here used Magnecore's? I'm not sure if they are worth the extra money, though a friend of mine had decent results using a set on a performcance small-block Chevy he had. If not Magnecore's, any other recommendations?

That's the way my wife's Suburban is....the privacy glass is actually just dark, colored glass. Tinting that makes it seriously dark, which is a cool effect on a black Suburban.

Wheelman, Can you actually scrape the mirrored stuff off? I looked at the windows the other day, but couldn't find an edge to the tint. That DEFINITELY would be the way to go, since it would get rid of the mirrored effect, which I don't like anyway! Thanks, Ntwrkguy1

My son's '97 SE has the factory privacy glass (the kind that has a 'mirrored' appearance to it). What happens if you put darker tint (30% or so) on these windows? Does it change the mirrored appearance drastically? His '97 is black, and would look much better with dark windows!

I did a quick search on this topic, and think I have the answer, but I just wanted to confirm a couple of questions I have on tuning up a '97 3.3 SE. I noticed that Edmunds calls for new plugs every 30k, so I'm assuming there's no platinum plug option? My son's '97 needs to have the plugs changed out, but is there anything else other than plugs that constitute a 'tune-up'? The plug wires seem fine, but if the price is right, it might be worth the money to throw a new set on. Also, I found a couple of posts that said the fuel filter was ' a pain ' to remove. Where exactly is it located? I appreciate all the help everyone has provided -- this forum is great!

My son's '97 SE has the fake woodgrain trim on the area surrounding the stereo/air conditioning controls. Unfortunately, it's discolored, and I'd like to remove it. The previous owner said it was there when he bought the Pathy in 2000, so I'm assuming this must have been a factory 'option'. What's the easiest way to remove this fake trim? I've tried to gently pry it up, but it seems like it's on there pretty good.

Unccpathfinder -- I'm in Cary, over by Raleigh. mzextreme -- the beaches here are nice.....but not as nice as the beaches in FL where I grew up. I'm originally from Clearwater, FL, and the beaches on the Gulf Coast of FL are beautiful. The sand is as fine as sugar!

So.....I picked up the black '97 SE 5-speed (102k miles) for my son today. The good news is that the previous owner recently replaced the clutch, as well as the timing belt/water pump (along with the coolant flush). The bad news is that the rear differential fluid and the transmission fluid haven't been changed for quite some time (at least 50,000 miles). The previous owner never used the 4wd, which I'm not sure is a good or a bad thing. Since he never used it, he never saw fit to change the diff fluid. My first question on this is: Should I change that fluid immediately, and if so, is there any particular brand of fluid recommended? Also, what other 'service' should be done to the 4wd? Any particular brand of transmission fluid? Since I'm not the ace mechanic, I'm going to leave this all up to my mechanic. If there any other gotchas that I should be aware of (to tell him), I'd greatly appreciate hearing about them. I figured it was best if I started my son out with a completely prepped Pathy!l Thanks in advance, Ntwrkguy1

He really did use the scratchy pad to get the bugs off......and then proceeded to ask me "Do you know how to get those scratches out?" I made him throw the pads out, then spent the next 90 minutes working on his hood. He actually would do better never washing his car, because then he wouldn't see any of the defects!

Thanks for the welcomes! The good news is that it's a 5-speed.....the bad news is my son has never driven a manual transmission! No beers for him, but I'll undoubtedly need a few after teaching him how to drive with a clutch! Slick -- detailing is definitely whatever you want it to be For example, my neighbor defines detailing as 'cleaning the bugs off the paint with one of those green scratchy pads I use in the kitchen'. When he told me that, I almost fell over!!

Hi all, Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a newbie to the world of Pathfinders -- actually buying a black '97 SE tomorrow for my 16 yr old son. He's excited, since it's his first car, and I'm excited, since I get to learn about another car. I'm a huge fan of Internet forums, since I believe the 'knowledge of the parts is greater than the whole', so to speak. I look forward to browsing the boards for hours, looking for tips/tricks on the '97. And yes, I promise to keep the "ask question first, search second" episodes to a minimum! I'm not ALL that mechanically inclined, but I do bring 20 years of automotive detailing experience to the table. So hopefully I can share my expertise while everyone else shares theirs! Thanks, Ntwrkguy1