PathFound

Below is a pic of the fixed shock bolt. Finally, my truck drives normal! Thanks for all the above replies.

Just reviving this old thread. Turns out the possible cause of my suspension problem is the bolt that holds the bottom of the shock to whatever part it sits on is broken. It's causing a squeeking sound too. The shop I took it to said a body shop will need to weld a new portion of the bracket. I'll let you know how it goes after I get this fixed. I hope this is the problem and it would make sense that an improperly mounted shock would vibrate badly. Here's a pic of the broken shock mount. I hope it doesn't cost too much too fix.

The Grand Prix was a '95, and I the accident happened in '98. The car was mint and had only about 60k on the odo. It was repaired very well and one could not tell that it was ever in an accident. It was sold not long after with depriciation though.

Hey, nice 240! The interior design looks much more modern than 1990. Looks great. Too bad it's automatic. Did the previous owner crash that car on the 99? I may have seen it before because I drive the highway everyday. I nearly wiped out a couple times from black ice too. I had 2 vehicles for a while, but the insurance cost was killing me. Now I only have the Pathy, but the fuel cost is killing me!

That exact model and color of Honda Accord landed on my brother's Grand Prix a long time ago. Drunk driver hit a big snow bank, the Accord flew through the air and landed on the rear quarter of the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix was fixed and put back on the road with over $6k in repairs.

Anyone know what the fuel economy is on one of these?

It is a little much, but Pathy's in Canada are more money than what you're used to in the U.S. The same could be said for any vehicle. Still though, it's low mileage at 97k.

Link: http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/311621332.html Located in Burnaby, BC. Or basically Vancouver. Looks too good to be true with just 97000 km. I guess this is from Japan as it's right-hand drive. I know there's some places in Vancouver that are importing vehicles into Canada that are over 15 yrs old. I wonder how well the 2.7 L turbo deisel performs.

My 1991 ran real rough when I started it after having not driven in over a week. It idled badly for about 5-10 seconds then was smooth again. I must admit I was worried when I started it and it ran like @!*%. I try to drive it every weekend to make sure it doesn't sit too long.

Yes, that's what I did. The tires are non-directional. I'll inspect the front suspension more to see of there's any unusually loose parts. Thanks for all the replies though.

I switched around the wheels (cross-ways) and the vibration is still there. Again, it's not there when I start cold, but comes in about 10 minutes of driving. Also, it goes away after a few minutes. I'm by baffled what this could be? It's not brake pulsation because the vibration is there during acceleration, constant speed, and while braking, as well as both turning left & right. It's more noticeable at higher speeds obviously because the vibration's freqency is more pronounced. There's no sound - no whining, buzzing, thumping, etc. If there was a slight sound it would be impossible to hear at highway speed. It's not too cold where I live. Usually around zero celsius. Little to no snow on the ground. I suppose my next step is too have the wheels balanced. How hard is it to change wheel bearings on these trucks? Front and Rear? Thanks.

Hmm, that could be it. The one time I was stuck in the mud the truck sat overnight in mud & water. That was 4 months ago however, and I haven't really driven the truck off-road since then. But I will try your suggestion tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Thanks. Edit: Just to note, the truck has alluminum rims, so maybe mud could get stuck in there easier?

I'm wondering if some of the folks here can help me. My '91 Pathfinder has developed a problem with the front suspension shaking/shuddering on smooth pavement. From a cold start I drive on the highway for about 10 minutes then something in the front suspension causes severe vibration that is felt through the steering wheel, and pretty much the whole truck. After about a few minutes it goes away and drives smoothly. I've tested this on 3 separate occasions and the vibrations always comes back. It will come and go over hours of driving. The best way to describe what the vibration feels like is when a tire starts to go flat, you feel a wobble in the steering wheel - a sort of up and down motion. When it was vibrating, I stopped, then restarted and it was gone. The vibration in is sync with how fast I'm going. So at 100 km/h it's a certain frequency, at 60 km/h it's slower but still noticeable. I checked: the wheel lug nuts to make sure they're tight, the tire air pressure, the wheel balancing weights, and it's all good. The tires on the truck are in good shape too, no uneven wear. I jacked up the front and inspected the suspension components. Everything visually appears intact. When I wiggle a front wheel side to side there's movement, but I'm not sure how much movement there's supposed to be? It just feels like some play in the steering. I'm starting to think the vibration is because of worn parts that have reached they're limit because I haven't experienced this problem until now. Could it be ball joints? Or wheel bearings? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I've got the same Pet Barrier as Trainman for my '91. Recently paid $100 at Petcetera.

Huh? Maybe you are running on 4 cylinders only. I find the gas mileage terrible, and I drive slow. Many people mentioned the lack of GL-4 availability. I'm in Canada and found it for sale nearly everywhere. But another thing I noticed is some of these gear oils say it "Meets or exceeds GL-4 AND GL-5 standards..." What does that mean? Is it good to use in the Pathfinder gearbox?

I have a dumb question for a suspension newbie. Will replacing shocks solve the problem of suspension shudder over rough asphalt? Sometimes it feels like the front end of my Pathfinder is going to fall apart over rough road. Through the steering wheel, the front wheels can be felt bouncing uncontrollably over rough pavement. I've been told that the front ball joints will need to be replaced soon. I have the electronic suspension and it shudders in 'sport' and 'touring' mode, but perhaps less in touring - the whole truck just bounces more in touring. Otherwise, on good asphalt, the truck rides pretty smooth. The steering is straight and true on good pavement too (no pulling to the side). Thanks.

I voted Automobile. Why? To me there is no greater fusion of art, design & engineering than the automobile. It represents the most 'time put in' to any machine ever created. And because the auto industry is so young (say, just over 100 yrs.) the amount of progress made is monumental. The amount of people employed by the auto industry is high, and deep-rooted into the economy. I love cars. Now how come there was no vote option for '87-'95 Pathfinders? Just kidding. Are automobiles mankinds greatest achievement? Or inevitable downfall? For me though, Led Zeppelin/ACDC would be a close second.

Another very important thing I forgot to mention is that when changing the gear oil in the tranny, you NEED to get 5 litres of oil in there. The recommendation is 3.5 L, but it's wrong. The casing will only hold 3.5 L, so you need to park the truck on an angle or jack up the passenger side to fit get more oil in the tranny case. Search around this forum and you will find some info about that. Last time I changed mine I got about 4.5 L in there. Also, check the amount of metal filaments that are on the magnetic drain plug of the tranny case. That can give you an idea of how much wear there is in the gears. Mine had some metal filaments, but it was probably below average.

I'm no expert, but I think a lot will depend on how the transmission was used over the course of its life. A lot of gear grinding will definately wear it down faster. Changing the oil more frequently could prolong its life. I've heard lately that regular gear oil, meaning NOT synthetic, is better to use than synthetic gear oil. I put synthetic blend last time I changed mine, but I think next time I will use regular gear oil. My truck has over 250,000 km and an original 5-speed. It works smooth, but sometimes it's hard to push into 1st gear. I rarely grind gears. The biggest thing I notice with this gearbox is temperature. When cold, it is harder to run through the gears. When fully warmed, it's smooth as butter (well, smooth for an old truck). My gearbox needs atleast 20 minutes before it's fully warm. Yikes! So on a short trip to the store or something the gears are harder to run through, but never difficult or tempermental. For comparision, my Mazda3's gearbox is really, really smooth pretty much right from a cold start: newer car, better technology. I'm hoping to get 400,000 km out of my truck without changing the gearbox. I will change the gear fluid every summer.

Rumor has it that the VE Commodore is coming to North America as a rebadged Pontiac Grand Prix. I think that is a good thing because the current front-wheel-drive Grand Prix is not great. A new V-8, rear-wheel-drive performance sedan is what GM needs to compete against the imports. As long as they keep the price reasonable and don't mess up the styling too bad, it could be successful.

My hood used to vibrate because of wind pressure. I fixed it by turning the rubber hood stops. Now it's tight.

I see what your saying. I would do the work myself if I had somebody that had a little knowledge about these things with me. The only person I know is my dad, but he is 4000 km away. The cost of the tools is nothing. I already have most of them. I don't know any mechanics (well, aside from my dad). I've always had newer cars that didn't need anything major replaced or was fixed under warranty. I bought the Pathfinder partly to learn more about fixing cars. I did a lot of work helping friends out when I was younger (suspension, brakes, gas tank fun, tune-ups, body work). I really, really want to do the job myself, but I'm running into the dillema that if I change the T-belt myself, seal the engine back up and start it I will have messed up and there goes my engine. Atleast if a mechanic does it and the engine get messed they will have to repair it for improperly installing the belt. I could wait until my dad comes out this summer to help me change the belt. But I live in fear of it breaking because I don't know when it was last changed. Plus the water pump is leaking. I'd hate to be 100 km from nowhere and be left stranded. Also, I checked at the Nissan dealership yesterday: Timing Belt: $61 (good for 100,000 km) Water Pump: $109 That's more than I expected - especially for the belt. Are you guys putting Nissan T-belts and water pumps, or aftermarket brands? I assume aftermarket brands are cheaper.

Yikes. Posts like this one makes me just want to bring my truck to a mechanic to get the T-belt and waterpump changed. I know I'd screw something up. Plus I don't have all the tools. Good luck.

"the easy fix for your shock is a replacement. I doubt your electro sus. works. seems that 99% dont. I know that 4 of the 5 paths my fams had, none of them worked. the 5th one didnt have electro so it doesnt count." I guess my Pathfinder is the 1% then? Really though, I pretty drive it most of the time in "Sport" mode. The "Touring mode bounces too much.

I got a key copy cut at Walmart because my Pathfinder came with only 1 key (good idea to have a spare). First couple days with the new key was "tight", but works fine otherwise. I spray silicone lube on all door locks and various parts that need to be lubed.