johnm

Though it's the more expensive option, I would save up and get the new OEM control arms w/ bushings. That's what I'm doing, after my mechanic wasn't able to source new bushings. Yes, I know I could get poly bushings, but suspension work is beyond my DIY skills and tools.

Well, then, if you have the know-how, tools and time to replace an entire engine, you can do the cam-seals for the $50, or whatever they cost, yourself and you wouldn't have to spend $500 for a new engine, or $1400 for shop labor, would you? But that's completely beside the point, the OP asked what it would cost to have the cam-seals replaced (presumably by a shop).

where are you going to get an engine and get it installed for $500?

LOL, around here for 500, you get scrap metal. Shoot, I've been looking for a car with better mpg for my wife. For $1500 these are the kind of cars I find: 92 Saturn, blown head gasket 99 Civic, transmission blown 88 Accord, no reverse, needs tires, suspension, crash damage repair, and they don't have a title 04 Ford Minivan, bring your own wheels and tires cuz it don't have any, no 2nd gear, no lights, odometer broken Sorry to get off topic.

Put in another what for 500? Auto parts and labor must be really cheap in Canada.

Had a leak in the same place on my 99. It turned out to the be the cam seals (the other choice was the head gasket). It was around $1400 for labor and parts. Basically, it's a timing belt change with the cam seals. My cost was probably a little higher than average, but I have a good mechanic that I trust, which is worth the extra cost to me.

The TSB will show you how to construct the harness and how to route it in the engine bay. You can pull it up here. The bolts that go in the head are special ones, you need to order them from the dealer, they are 7.5x1 metric. The bolts on the intake manifold are 6x1 metric. When you are buying parts, make sure to get the right size eye connectors. The wire is just wire, I used 16 gauge. I built the harness with the larger eyelets on one end and left it longer than it needed to be, and cut to length after it was routed. I didn't measure the wires after install. I'd guess it was 30" long?

I'd fix it, unless there is something else wrong with the truck and this is the "last straw" to a trade in decision. As a side note. Blended oils that have a viscosity range may differ from brand to brand and type to type. This is a result of the blend of oil and additives to give a particular viscosity "curve" over the desired temperature range and is usually a proprietary formula. Pick up 2 random bottles of engine oil and you are very likely to see a viscosity difference between them at room temperature. That one is "thicker" doesn't necessarily make it "better".

Other results need not suggest that the 2000 data is in error. It's not unheard of for the one model year to be significantly better in reliability than other model years. Particularly the last model year right before a major change, in this case, the 2001 models got a different engine. Though the 1996-2004 Pathfinders are grouped together, the 2001-2004 model years have differences from the preceding models.

Check out what this guy has to say: http://rivermud.blogspot.com/2011/06/gear-review-cooper-discoverer-at3-tires.html He seems to like them pretty well.

When I bought my 99 SE a couple years ago, it did the same thing into reverse and the 1st to 2nd shift while driving. The tranny fluid was low. Getting to the proper level helped but still had "hard" shifts, though not jolting. A full flush of the tranny made it better still. There are several TSB's issued by Nissan for the R50 transmissions and transaxle regarding hard shifts, shift flare, and noise. They issued one TSB advising to only use a specific type of tranny fluid. Anyway, my advice would be to check the fluid level and if you decide to buy it, get the tranny flushed before you start thinking about U-Joints and other drive train components.

Yep, I installed the harness yesterday. Reading a little about the O2 feedback sensor, fuel trim, ECM, OBDII, loop...not necessarily just on Nissan, though. It appears that an O2 sensor that had a slow failure (over time v. acute failure) can make the fuel trim learning adjust to the out of limits O2 voltage readings, so that even when the new O2 sensors go in, the fuel trim will still be off and will still trip the ECM fault. Though nothing I read indicated this, I wonder if disconnecting the battery for such a long time reset the ECM and the fuel trim at the same time, which "fixed" the fault. I'm also not sure this is the same thing as the TSB problem of poor grounding of the ECM. All speculation on my part, of course. The bottom line for me is that the truck is running well, I have no SES light, and my gas mileage has improved a few 1/10ths. Getting 17 mpg combined city highway, and 21 mpg on a recent highway trip.

Just so this is out there for future searches: The nissan bolt that goes into the right cylinder head is special. It's an M7.5x1, but 5-6mm of the bolt end has the threads stripped off and the bolt comes with an aluminum compression washer. So just bite the bullet and order it from the dealer. They cost like $1.36 each.

Just to add another mystery twist to the intermittent "you'll never understand why I'm lit" SES light on my dash. Earlier this week, I built the harness and when installing it (without the mystery size bolt) disconnected the battery. While I'm still waiting for the bolts to arrive from Dallas, the SES light is off and has stayed off. So apparently, leaving the battery disconnected for an hour changed something? Who knows. Maybe some retired engineer at Nissan in Japan? I'm still planning on installing the TSB grounding harness when the bolts come in, but it sure would be nice to understand the system a little better.

OK, so what size bolt is between 7mm and 8mm? I picked up some M7x1 bolts today, the thread pitch is right but the diameter is wrong. Is there such a thing as a 7.5mm bolt? Well, it doesn't matter, I have no idea where to get such an odd-ball thing anyway. Guess I'll have to get the official nissan bolt.