colinnwn

I was going to get the fan from Amazon for $329. But when I decided to take Monday off and try to get it done, I started calling around to all the local distributors on the Flex-A-Lite page hoping to find one with it in stock. None had it available or knew what I was talking about until I got to the very last one. It was C&D Automotive in Fort Worth https://www.facebook.com/pages/CDs-Performance-Automotive/152463154904312. The lady at the desk, maybe Cindy..., was very nice and helpful. She found them for me at a new warehouse in Flower Mound and arranged for me to do a customer pickup, so I could get it the same day. And they were only $10 more than Amazon. I'll try to get some pics this week if the weather cooperates. I was going to do it today, but I spent the whole day rewiring my stereo, and messing with my A/C to figure out why the temp control knob quit working. The plastic bracket that holds the cable broke off, and I broke the air control cable bracket removing that one, and the back frame has another crack in it. So I'm just going to suck it up and pay the $144 for a new one from Courtesy Nissan.

My fan clutch had worn out and had too much friction, and my fan had a bunch of cracks in the plastic hub. When I saw Nissan wanted $250 for the 2 parts, I decided it was time to do the electric radiator fan conversion. Unfortunately I started this on a Sunday afternoon half way through another car project, so I was hurrying and didn't have the time to track down all the best parts to do it. For speed I went with a Flex-A-Lite Black Magic Xtreme kit with thermostat - part #180, even though it was very expensive for what it is. I was hoping the mounting system would speed the install, but it was completely useless for installing on the VQ radiator. I ended up using flexible metal straps across the shroud mounting points on the radiator, to hug the fan to the radiator. The fan itself is very high quality and has a good sound. It has a nice shroud around it with door seal type material on the edges to protect your radiator fins. I think it would have worked better if they gave you the riv-nut kit to install where you want on the plastic shroud, instead of preinstalling them. But I know they set them to use with the included brackets, that I wasn't able to use other than to mount the thermostatic controller. The instructions are utterly worthless, except for the basic wiring schematic. I could go through them again to itemize the stupidity but I don't want to re-live it. The issue that immediately comes to mind is it says to push the fan against the radiator until you've compressed the seal 50%, and have a friend hold it there while you tighten it down. There is no way you are going to compress that door seal material even 25% without pushing it right through your radiator core. It is tough stuff. Though there is really no need to try to compress it. Just having the fan firmly against the radiator seals plenty good. It comes with a simple sealed single-speed single-fan controller with adjustable temp, and the ability to turn the fan on manually or when the A/C compressor engages. At first I wanted a variable speed controller to prevent power surges on fan startup. After using it for a while that isn't necessary, it doesn't pull down the electric system on startup like I was afraid. Alternatively now I really wish I had a variable speed controller for better temperature control of the engine. I was very disappointed at this price point that it didn't come with a variable speed controller. You can't even replace the relay in this single-speed controller if it fries out. You have to replace the whole controller. Pros The engine is much smoother at all RPMs The engine is so quiet now that I sometimes can't tell it is still running when I coast up to a stop Throttle response is substantially improved Power also seems better, especially at higher RPMs When the fan turns on, it cools the engine down fast Only a couple inches on the top and sides of the radiator are not covered by the shroud which should give it good low speed performance and A/C performance Neutral I'd estimate from watching my ScanGauge for years before, and after the conversion, that I'm getting about 2 mpg better than right before the change. But I had notice my MPG had fallen recently. I'd bet 50% of that improvement would have been from a new fan clutch no matter what. The engine seems to run about 5 degrees warmer at freeway speeds. It used to sit at about 177 in the fall. Now it is running about 182. Still well within acceptable. The hottest I used to see was during summer sitting at a light it would get to 188. Hopefully this fan will keep it below 200 in August and I'll still consider it acceptable. Cons The thermostatic controller with the radiator fin temp sensor is inconsistent. I tried to set it to come on at 185. Sometimes it comes on at 182, sometimes at 190, sometimes at 195. If it comes on at 182 it runs for a second and turns off about 180. When it comes on at 195, it runs for about 30 seconds and turns off around 190. My opinion, I'd do the conversion again in a heartbeat, but I would not use the Flex-A-Lite. I feel like the substantial extra cost isn't reflected in extra value, for the VQ install at least. I think getting a Taurus 3.8L fan, some door gasket material from JC Whitney, and a nice variable speed fan controller with a coolant temp sensor, would be cheaper and overall higher quality, if you have time to do it piecemeal.

I was getting belt squeal starting up in the morning that would go away within about 15 seconds. I hadn't changed the belts in over 6 years so I figured it was time. I put in new Nissan belts (in addition to an electric radiator fan conversion that I'll do a separate writeup on). Man if you don't have the fan in the way, belt changes on these engines are stupid easy. I don't have a measuring tool to figure out the correct tension. I've read on here it should be pretty tight, but I also didn't want to ruin any of my accessory bearings. I believe the FSM says the A/C belt should flex no more than 9 mm with 22lbs of pressure between pulleys, and the main belt 5 mm. I tried to gauge this by finger and sight. I thought I had the belts overly tight and it turns out I had at least the main belt way loose. For the A/C belt which I haven't been able to test yet, I just used a socket wrench extension and turned the adjusting bolt as much as I could by hand with only the extension. For the main belt I did the same, and then I put the wrench on the extension and gave the adjusting bolt one additional full turn. The first day I had no squeal, the 2nd I had a chirp, the 3rd it was a couple seconds long. I tried putting a few drops of dish soap on the belt on the inside and out. The 4th day it squealed a few seconds longer. So I gave the adjusting bolt a half turn more. For the next 2 days I had very small chirps. I just gave it another half turn, for a total of 2 turns past hand tight, and it looks like that's going to be the perfect tension. Just thought this might help someone

Hi, I've got a couple questions on my radiator fan. It is about 60 degrees F here today, and I tried spinning my radiator fan. I only ran the truck for a few minutes several hours before. The fan would only rotate about 1 inch after flicking the fan blade. That seems too stiff for it being this cool out. Does anyone know if this is about right? Or is my fan clutch possibly engaging at too cool of a temperature and needs replacing? Also, on the fan I noticed some big cracks on the plastic hub. So I need to replace the fan, and maybe the clutch pending a decision on the above. Has anyone done this, and feel like it was easy/hard, or have any tips? Looks like I'll need to pull the upper radiator hose off, and pull the shroud off, and after that I'll have pretty easy access. Thanks.

Has anyone installed an electric trailer brake controller on a R50? I don't think there is wiring in place for the controller, so I'll have to wire into the brake lights under the dash, and run wiring for the brakes from the dash back to the hitch. Wondering how much of a pain this is going to be. Thanks.

Well this was a no-go, and reflects poorly on the FSM for not spelling out the R/I procedure for a common service item. Specifically for a 2001 with a VQ engine and manual tranny, the front diff wasn't a problem, it is on the other side from the starter. The bottom mounting bolt is easy to get at, the top mounting bolt would be hard but not impossible. I think I could yoga the starter out by going down and straight back while rotating it, but i'm not certain. What is completely unreasonable to get at is the positive terminal. There is no access or removable splash guard panel behind the wheel. From directly underneath there is no room around the engine mount to get any kind of wrench on there. Moving forward from underneath the A member is in the way. If you had the hand and arms of a 5 year old except 18 inches long, you could get at it from the front of the truck behind the front splash guard, due to the inflexible power steering hose. I think the method must be to remove the entire power steering rack, and possibly the alternator too. Though honestly if a mechanic told me he had to drop the entire front suspension and drivetrain, after trying to figure it out myself, I'd believe him. It is times like these I tell myself I'll never buy another Nissan. But really they've mostly been affordable and reliable. I hope I can get out of the mechanic's shop for less than $500, which is obscene for anything less than a luxury car starter.

Getting to the 2 bolts will be easy even with 4wd. Getting the starter out and the new one in looks like it may be the hard part. At a minimum I'll have to remove the wheel and inner fender splash guard. The A arm may be in the way as well and I might have to remove the axle half shaft. I was really disappointed in the FSM not even calling out what needs to be removed for a starter replacement on vehicle, it is usually better than that. There is no way you can do it without removing anything like you can in a Scout. I've read a bunch of posts on what a pain a starter replacement is on a VG, but I've only found one post about doing it on a VQ. The person that replied said it is pretty straightforward, but he didn't specifically say he had done it. I'll probably start in on it in the next hour. We shall see.

Has anyone done a starter replacement on a 2001-2004 Pathfinder with the VQ engine? I can't find anything about the removal and installation in the FSM. It looks tight, a lot harder than replacing the starter in my old Scout. I've found a few references online for replacing the starter in older Pathfinders, and they supposedly required a lot of work like removing the half shaft, or unbolting the motor and jacking it up. I'm hoping I don't have to do this and I can replace the starter myself this Sunday. But if it is a bear, I don't want to get into it. Thanks.

And from someone who actually tried to engage their 4wd on a wet asphalt street (pretty slick stuff) and turn into my mud driveway towing a boat, it didn't work too well. The tires started scrubbing early into the turn, and it got hard to turn the steering wheel. I coasted back, straightened the wheels to relieve the drivetrain tension, and disengaged 4wd until I got on my driveway. I knew that wouldn't work well, but I was hoping I'd luck out. You can drive with 4wd on high traction surfaces and not damage anything, if the most turning you have to do is a lane change. But if you have to make any actual turns, you can't have 4wd on.

Here is my personal opinion on it http://colinnwn.blogspot.com/2007/12/installing-suspension-lift-on-my-2001.html All 2001-2004 Pathfinders are almost identical as far as lift kit considerations go. You only need to second guess putting on manual hubs if you have automatic 4x4. I've been happy enough with my AC lift springs, but if I had it to do over again, I'd probably use the Old Man Emu 1.5 inch lift springs instead. The AC lift springs are very stiff, and really at the limit of how much suspension lift you can do. Don't use Rancho RS5000 shocks. Personally I'm not picky on brands, but don't use anything that the manufacturer doesn't say is compatible with your car. Rancho says RS5000 don't work for Pathfinders. I've been very happy with my GR2's, but I've heard you can find them for about $20 less each at tirerack or sometimes locally. There are at least 2 versions being sold for this truck, one with a captive nut bracket, and another with a fork bracket in the same place. The fork bracket holds the ABS sensor wire. Not sure what the captive nut bracket holds. They are somewhat interchangeable if you need the fork, you can cut it off your old one, and use a bolt to bolt it to the captive nut on a new strut. That's what I had to do. Not sure how you can ensure you get the right one from the start. I didn't replace my upper strut mounts, and to this point I don't regret that. But I can also fairly easily change them myself. If you have any amount of clunking or strange sounds from your suspension, replace the mounts with only Nissan OEM mounts. Last I heard, AC sold aftermarket mounts that aren't reliable. There is no need to change your wheels to 3.75 backspace unless you are actually going to put 31" or 265/75 tires on your truck. You do need 2 camber alignment kits. When I bought them, I found them for half that price at Summit Racing. I have no idea how much it would cost to have the lift kit installed in a shop, but I'll E-WAG it at about 6 hours of shop time or around $500.

The next time your SES light sets, you could take it to Autozone. They read them for free. Also, have you ever had to replace your coil packs? I forgot that a lot of them from 2001 were defective and had to be replaced. Maybe yours are going out.

I don't really know how to describe valvetrain noise if you haven't heard it and known what it is. It maybe (but probably not) could be poor engine oil pump output not supplying enough pressure to the hydraulic lifters at low engine speeds. I'm pretty sure 1997 and 1999 used the same engine. Look down to solution 1 to verify your spark plugs are wired correctly. http://www.fixya.com/cars/t4523930-1999_nissan_pathfinder_3_3l_4wd_start I'd call Courtesy Nissan Parts Desk and check the part number of NGK you should be using. If you are already at the recommended plug, you might ask them about going one step colder. If you are already one step hotter, go down to normal. To determine if yours is an early or late model 1997 to figure out the right plug, you may need your VIN available to give them. Don't trust parts stores to tell you the right plug when you have a split year car. Always go with the owner's manual or Nissan parts desk. http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-parts-r50-1996-2004/maintenance/ignition/-c-4700_7668_9113.html It could also maybe be a little bit of roughness caused by an intake/vacuum hose leak, that shows up when you are at high engine vacuum. Look around in your engine compartment for a hose with a hole or not connected.

As Kingman said, in my case it is valve lash from the hydraulic lifters being dry at startup. It clears at worst within 10 seconds of starting the car. Our family has had 2 VGs in a 1990 Maxima that got to 270k before someone hit-and-run rear-ended it, and a 1991 Maxima that got to 190k before a drunk driver side swiped it on the highway. We always used Nissan OEM filters in those and they never had a significant startup valve lash. We've owned my mother's 1995 Maxima since new. It is the one with a significant startup valve lash, especially on OEM filters. Other than that, it is running strong at 200k miles. I've heard this first year of VQ engines are known for having undersized oil galleries that cause oil flow problems. But before we switched to synthetic, my absent minded father let it get to 25k miles between one oil change. Since switching to synthetic, and especially after switching to M1 oil filters, the startup valve lash is mostly gone. I bought my 2001 Pathfinder with 135k miles on it. It had minor startup valve lash. It also had a crappy Fram oil filter on it at the time, and the first oil change it got an OEM filter. Since I switched it to synthetic and M1 oil filters, the lash is gone, and I'm at 180k miles.

The struts on my truck were OEM, and the little rubber boot around the ABS sensor wire was very clearly designed to fit into the strut fork bracket that I cut off and used on the GR2s. As far as piste saying GR2s are much higher at AC than other places, when I bought them about 3 years ago, as I recall they weren't more than $20 for the pair over tirerack or any other place I found online through google product search. I didn't bother trying to source them locally to compare.

I can tell you when I switched to M1 oil filters from Nissan OEM, the rather severe startup valve tick in my 1995 Maxima, and the light startup tick in my 2001 Pathfinder greatly reduced for the entire service life of the filter. When I used OEM, it would tick for a longer time, and it would get dramatically worse over the life of the filter. M1 filters virtually eliminated that. The implication is the oil drainback valve in the M1 is much better and longer lasting than Nissan OEM. The link that edwinsyip posted, which I had previously used, as I recall showed Bosch being pretty mediocre, and Wix being high quality but not quite as good as M1 or the Pure One. One of the newer links off the oil pages edwinsyip posted, showed where someone cut open a current Bosch, and it looked like they had switched from a Fram manufactured crappy design circa 2000, to a better Champion design circa 2008.

Are you sure at low engine speeds, it isn't valvetrain noise? I've heard of some cars running ok with the sparkplugs miswired to where only 2 of 6 or 8 cylinders were firing at the wrong time. It ran fine at low and medium engine speeds, but caused a big reduction in power at high engine speeds. If you can still comfortably merge onto the highway, the sparkplugs are probably wired correctly.

Wow, thanks for the information on Mobil 1 oil. I am currently running it with 20k mile oil changes and 10k filter changes. Last time I investigated oils was in 2000. At the time, M1 was thought to be (and probably was until 2006) a group IV PAO, and Castrol's betrayal of the full synthetic name with their switch to group III was still fresh knowledge in the car/oil enthusiast community. Since then, I've wondered if cost cutting (especially after Exxon's purchase) had ever affected the quality of M1. Apparently it finally did. After reading your oil links, I'm going to try to find, and switch to the German Castrol SynTec 0w-30. I found that oil filter teardown site at the same time I was looking at oil 10 years ago. Ever sense I've been running only Mobil 1 or Pure One filters. I wonder if their quality has changed? Looks like he quit updating the site in 2000.

An engineer would tell your it is lb/ft (pound feet) as it refers to torque (a vector). The alternate ft/lb (foot pounds) refers to a unit of work (a scalar). In practice they are frequently used interchangeably.

If you look at yours and mine again, you'll notice your old strut is exactly like my new GR2 (have a captive nut on the bracket), which are not like my old strut that has a bent ear and fork to hold the ABS sensor wire. Your captive nut bracket looks like it is holding another brake line instead of ABS wiring. Do you have ABS? Is that your power steering line, or is it a visual trick and it really is the ABS sensor wires? I got my 2 inch lift springs, GR2s, and RS5000's all at the same time from Automotive Customizers. And I told them I have a 2001.5 Pathfinder SE. I checked my invoice and the part numbers looked right. I didn't try to check part numbers on the part. I don't think they asked if I had ABS or not, so if they gave me the wrong struts for the application, it was their fault. Though they also advertised the RS5000's as fitting this application, and that is very incorrect information. So it wouldn't surprise me if they sent me the wrong part.

Does sound like safe mode. What did you clean your MAF with? They are easy to damage. Also you could check that there are absolutely no air leaks after the MAF (from reinstalling your intake components) and that the MAF plug is fully seated and the pins aren't bent. Safe mode can also be caused by a shorted cell in your battery, or a dying alternator causing the voltage to be too low for the proper operation of the ECU and coils at higher RPM. This has happened to me twice in my old Altima and Maxima.

Except they aren't an exact fit. They are missing the bracket to hold the ABS sensor wire out of the way. But they do have a captive nut on an ear in the same area. I had to cut the sensor wire holder off my original struts and drill a hole to mount it on the GR2's. See last pic http://colinnwn.blogspot.com/2007/12/installing-suspension-lift-on-my-2001.html

I don't have my service manual available this week to see if it has the screw on the side of the ECU to get into the diagnostic service mode. But if it is 2001, I'd just go buy a cheap OBD-2 code reader from AutoBone or Ebay for like $20-$30. Edit - Here's how to do it without going to a Mech. and without a code reader http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=10072

That does look good. And it looks like there are manual hubs tucked up in the front. Does anyone know if that requires machining, or is it like the Pathfinder plastic hub cover, and the center is just cut out? I went ahead and bought a replacement wheel from a "junkyard" Friday, actually from LKQ which seems to be trying to move up in the world to a reconditioning shop. I was quoted $75 two different times on the phone, which I thought was reasonable given it is a shop and not a private person trying to get rid of their old wheels. When I got there, the guy asked me where my old wheel was. I said, ummm... on my car. He laughed and said I'll have to charge you $35 refundable core. I told him $35 isn't worth a trip back to Hutchins TX, that I could have repaired my old wheel for almost the same cost, and neither person on the phone mentioned this. I scowled and looked around for a little while trying to decide whether to leave on principle or get it, and he whispered that he'd waive it. I said thanks and went on about my way. But who in the heck has ever heard of a core charge at a junkyard! I'm gonna keep an eye out for those SC wheels on Craigslist. They are 16" so any new tires I get will fit those wheels also right? They look like 16".

The OEM wheels are 16 x 7 with 4" backspacing, yes? Unfortunately it is cold and rainy here, so I can't take a wheel off to check the backspacing. "the second pic will look good on your truck." Summit has the Cragar Soft 8s with the round cutouts for $62, and US Wheel series 84 with D cutouts for $66. I was kinda leaning towards the D cutouts, but I can't picture it in my head good. You think the round cutouts would look better? "Steel wheels are much stronger than aluminum ones, and are alot cheaper." I knew they are stronger and flexible, compared to aluminum being brittle. Since I unfortunately live in the city, and 99% of my driving is onroad, if I was giving up handling and fuel economy for the rare instance of damage, I was thinking of sticking with aluminum. I bet I could get a good deal on OEM wheels from someone on Craigslist. How many people really want an entire set of OEM wheels? Usually they are going the other way.

I've got the ugly 2001 OEM aluminum wheels on my Pathfinder like these http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/pathfinder/2001/index.html I've been wanting to replace them with something better looking, like maybe black steel wheels. Yesterday I managed to chip the bead of one of my wheels, so now it is time to look for replacements. I've heard that steel wheels are generally heavier and can negatively affect handling and fuel economy. Has anyone who has gone from aluminum to steel noticed this? Anyone have thoughts on the best looking and most affordable option for black steelies? I've also thought about some other aluminum options. A guy near me is selling the 4 spoke Xterra aluminum wheels, top right pic. http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/pts/1617788995.html Has anyone put these on a Pathfinder, and how did you think they look? I also have manual hubs, so I was going to ask the guy to measure the center hole to be sure the hub would fit through it. Thanks.