colinnwn

That's one of the old threads I was thinking of. Thanks for finding it. I don't want to get into the time and money odyssey RainGoat did right now. Based on reading the whole thread, sounds like the most straightforward would be a manual transmission 01 or 02 engine. If I can find one of those we will probably go forward. If I can't, I may play around a little in my drive doing an oil change and letting it run a bit. But the old girl will likely be off to the scrapper. My wife is getting tired of it sitting in front of our house. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Sorry I forgot the QX4 ever had the VG. I don't have that FSM and could be totally different. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Not if you put it back. Those are generally marked for 1 of 2 reasons: very negative impact on emissions, or having to adjust means something else is very wrong. I'm not in front of my FSM. I can't remember what FIC stands for. But I don't remember you saying you ran the idle relearn procedure that I am pretty sure is in the FSM. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Mine got to 265k before it succumbed to lifter death. But being a manual and liking ''spirited driving" and towing, I drove it hard . If you have clatter that lasts for more than a couple of seconds at cold start its probably coming for you. On these particular engines some of the other common causes of clatter like loose exhaust manifold and injector tick are unlikely, but still possible. Wow interesting on your cam sensor issue. I had to replace one once only. I also did one legitimate alternator replacement , the other was caused by a faulty scan tool. Two valve cover gasket replacements, one warrantied Replaced broken intake boot with filter system. Did a lift kit after my rear shocks needed replacement. Replaced broken rad clutch with electric fan system. Replaced belt idle pulley due to rattle. *forgot - replaced a starter And of course several brake pad and rotor replacements until I was more careful cleaning rotors on installation. I think that's it. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I've seen this question come up before, but I don't remember there was a solid answer, and a forum search didn't come up with anything for me. I'm looking at putting a new engine in my manual transmission Pathfinder for my father in law to use. The current engine is 2001 VQ35DE. It knocks bad when running, and it overheats. Research leans me to thinking it needs a timing chain, tensioner, guides replaced. But that is so much money to have done, my FIL suggested considering a new engine. He's found several in the $800 range, but all have been from auto transmission Pathys. Has anyone replaced a manual transmissioned Pathy engine with one from an auto trans Pathy? Do you know how much extra work is required? I know I'd have to keep my ECU, and swap over the intake tract from the old engine to the new (since the electronically controlled butterfly valves aren't used in the manual transmission). Then I'd need to swap over the throttle plate assembly if engine is later than 2001, since autos went to throttle by wire in 2002. Is it really that easy? Or is there likely more to it? Along the same lines, I assume a VQ35 from any car based Nissan would probably be too much work to be worth swapping. Is the same true for the VQ40DE from the Xterra and Frontier? I don't want a project, though I've always wanted to do something like this for fun. But I've got enough personal projects now. I want something a reasonably competent independent shop can do in average time. Thanks.

I wouldn't worry about it. Fresh fluid isn't going to fix play. When you change your rack you can put fresh fluid in and more importantly I'd put in a Magnefine magnetic filter to protect the new rack. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Several high strength magnets on the outside of a steel pan might help a little. But the Magnefine is much better. Its expensive, but I run the steel can Magnefine on my MDX, which has a crap transmission. A couple of people have had the plastic can one leak. But I think it was a fixed manufacturing defect. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

In general driving without a magnetic drain plug for several weeks to several months is fine, as long as the replacement plug isn't leaking. Most older automatic transmissions didn't have magnets at all. My Scout had no magnet and no drain plug. You had to drop the pan. I added a plug into the pan. In theory it keeps the fluid a little cleaner. It would be interesting to know if some of the newer lifetime fill transmissions with no drain plugs even have magnets in them. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I always intended to do a full writeup of installing the electric brakes. But after years of working on it, and finally getting it in, just in time for a camping trip, and my Pathfinder dying shortly after, I ran out of mental energy. Tapping into a good brake light line was one of the easier parts of putting in the trailer brakes unfortunately. I thought I addressed what ended up working for me in your PM, and the drawback for you to decide, regarding tapping at the cruise box because it was much easier to access, and have room to do a good tap. I always cut the wire I am tapping, and put in a heat shrink crimp splice, with the extra wire running out of one side of it. I never use those saddle taps you just click over a wire. They're crap. Even if you get what appears to be a good connection, a couple years later they frequently fail due to corrosion, or the tapped wire working itself up slightly from the metal splicing fork. They are extremely sensitive to having the correct gauge wire it is splicing, one gauge too big of a tap they barely connect, one gauge too small they actually reduce the current capacity of the wire it spliced. The service manual might help you if you can read circuit diagrams. It is on EL-68 in the 2001 service manual. I attached a screenshot of that page. If you spliced into the green/yellow stripe wire at the switch, and tested it for voltage when you pressed the brake pedal, and you had the battery connected, and didn't find any voltage, then you messed up somehow in your test or tap. I've done that kind of thing before like not verifying I had the test meter probe on a good ground. The first thing I'd do is verify that the brake lights are coming on, and then test again. If lights work and still no 12 v, and you used a saddle tap, replace it, or test another way with a tiny wire backprobing the connector for example, and decide if you really want to use a saddle tap. There will never be always hot around the stop lamps. The green/yellow color carries through all the way to the stop lamps and is basically a continuation of the exact same circuit. So tapping in at the stop lights as long as you use the green/yellow and not the black, will definitely work too. But if you can't get the signal at the switch, you are unlikely to find it there.

LOL not quite. I can say I was perfectly comfortable towing a 3000lb RV with a VQ. But it was a lot nicer with my FIL F150 with the 5.0. I'd have the VQ screaming in 3rd or 4th gear trying to maintain 70 or 75 (whatever the speed limit) on hilly back country roads in Texas. It would have been ugly in Colorado. Even the VQ is being left behind in power by modern SUV and truck engines. I can't even imagine living with a VG, unless I lived in the country in an area with slow speed limits and it was my puttering around vehicle. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Im in Texas, and there is a big spread of independent shop hour rates between rural and city and shady vs good shops, but I'd say $60-80/hr is a good rule of thumb here. I'll absolutely post the end result. But we are prepping for a trip, my FIL has some big expenses coming up, and this isn't urgent. So it may be a month until I get it quoted. I'm positive it will be more than I could sell it for. But it will likely be cheaper than anything we could buy in comparable good condition for him, and we know it's history. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I think my manufacturer date is 8/01 for a 01 model year, and I've got the scissor jack. Those alternatives look cool. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I think my manufacturer date is 8/01 for a 01 model year, and I've got the scissor jack. Those alternatives look cool. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I think I've seen them lifted from the receiver with a D shackle stinger. Don't know what you'd do from the front without a heavy duty brush bar/bumper (not the cheesy ones that were a Nissan accessory. Could also use from heavy duty rock sliders, again not the side steps that came on some Pathfinders. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I looked up the owner manual. It looks like a screw bottle jack instead of hydraulic. The owners manual says on the front there should be an extension adapter in the tool bag. On te rear you use it without, on a pad on the axle shaft. But the adapter doesn't look any 4 plus inches high. I'd look at the owners ma online and compare it to what you are doing. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I think I've used a bottle jack once on the Pathfinder. I can't remember what I put it under. Aside from what you did, did you know most of them you can unscrew the top pad to get more extension? Can you use the factory scissor jack under the seat? If neither are good you may have a very small bottle jack? Theoretically if you have enough wide wood, you could stack it up higher, but be careful. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Did you do it on jackstands or the wheels on the ground? I wasn't even able to get my arm far enough in, other than to barely touch the starter case. I don't remember being able to see the 2nd mounting bolt. With a ton of extensions and wobble drives I could imagine removing it. But I couldn't see how to hold the starter in, while starting the bolts, or getting the electrical connector bolted down with the rubber boot. That last part may sound stupid, but it's one of the harder aspects of doing the alternator since there is only room for one hand. My rubber boot was glued down to the cable. You couldn't slide it away, you could only hold the cup back while you placed the wrench with the same hand, and held enough tension to not let it drop as you slid again same hand back for leverage. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Mine at 240k initially, when it wasn't leaking like a sieve from the valve covers requiring a quart a week, only used abound half a quart per 3 k miles probably thru a combination of RMS leak and burning. At that point I'd see a tiny wisp of smoke from the tailpipe at idle. But other than that no symptoms of burning oil like contaminated spark plugs or burned out cats. I haven't done any major internal engine repairs, but so far I hadn't had parts availability issues - other than brake line mount isolators. I was able to buy those from Japan for cheaper than Nissan offered them here, and AC Vents I bought on Ebay. But that's a R50 age problem, not engine issue. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

The mileage is 265k. Thanks for the recommendations. If the shop I take it to for a quote doesn't have a solid recommendation I'll ask them for a quote on that. I don't think there is any way it's fuel injectors. The rattling verging on knocking is loud, not like soft ticking. And the day it progressed from just on startup, and then just on firm acceleration, to being constant when running, the temp started creeping up past 210 degrees. Then with the heater on full blast it stabilized just above 200. It never used to run that hot. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I was trying to think back to what I didn't do on the VQ. I think the only 2 items were valve cover gaskets, partly because I couldn't find the leak, and partly because I wasn't certain I could finish it in a weekend and needed the car during the week. The other item was the starter replacement. I actually bought a starter, got under there and gave up for the same reason above. It is comically wedged in there. And this is from someone who could replace a Scout starter with a 345 in 15 minutes, that was in the same area but much less buried. I was pretty certain I'd have to remove the half shaft. The garage I took it to was cagey about telling me how they did it, other than saying they didn't remove anything extra. I certainly paid extra for their expertise. Perhaps getting it on a lift made it much easier. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

It's a 2001 manual, no power screws. I did a little research last night and it sounds like these engines don't have hydraulic lifters. I could have sworn years ago I read they did. The pre - 2002.5 VQs in Pathfinders had shims that almost never go out of spec, and post that had a shimless design. Some people said to check VVT mechanism, check oil pressure, check oil flow around lifters esp at #1, some said it could be the timing chain tensioner. No clear and likely culprit. And so it's hard to judge the competency of any shop I may request a quote from. This is all interesting because it's exactly where my Mom's 1996 Maxima with the VQ was headed when she gave it away. As a first throwaway effort I may replace the oil with ATF and let it run at idle for 5 minutes. At least for one person that's all they needed. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I haven't worked on a 3.3. I did a number of things on my 3.5. It's pretty tight. A bunch of things were no fun to do, like alternator replacements. But I'd rather work on it any day than my 2006 MDX. I drove a 3.3 once. I'd never buy a 3.3 after driving a 3.5. I got 265k miles out of it. I was hoping for 300k, but still darn good. Early VQ engines had some minor oil flow issues, especially regarding the lifters and valve cover baffling. The automatics had the power valve screw issue. Other than that, it's a great engine. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I was wondering how much it should cost, or approximate shop hours? My Pathfinder developed continual lifter rattle. On its last trip before being parked a year ago, it started overheating, but did not fully overheat, as I limped it home. I figured because the exhaust lifters probably weren't closing good. There were no check engine lights as I recall. My father in law's 2011 F150 is becoming unreliable. He said he was going to buy a backup junker, and I suggested seeing how much to repair mine. I'm gonna try to limp it to a local shop, and he is going to ask around in his rural area too. But I was hoping for an idea of what to expect. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I believe halogens were standard. I certainly had them in my 2001. My headlights got cloudy. I did the buffing. That helped for about 6 months. Then I put in a $50 HID conversion kit from Amazon that I liked a lot. It had the lowest K rating I could find, possibly 4,000k. Now I have LEDs in my Acura. So far I love them. But I also replaced the whole lenses at the same time, so I don't know if LEDs have as mu power as HIDs. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

You aren't the only one who's noticed. Have you looked at the resale values? They are out of my car budget. If Nissan does bring back the Xterra, I'm hoping it pushes the value back down. I got a screaming deal on my R50 ages ago. But being a unibody it never had the love of many SUV platforms. And my manual version had gotten stranded at a Nissan dealer in rural Texas, so if I didn't buy it they were going to have to take it to auction. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk