RJSquirrel

Completed the frame rust repair on the passenger side frame rail. Rusted out all the way from the front upper suspension mount to past the front door! I need to rebuild the 2nd passenger side body mount and prep it all for paint before I put it all back together, and rotate the whole mess around so I can work on the drivers side next. I need a new bottle of Argon! Ospho and Hammerite are my bestest buddies these days...

How is the value of 2.2 hp arrived at? That seems low given that v-belts are used on commercial lawnmowers, and also, older automotive A/C compressors use a lot more power than 2 hp and they are powered by a single v-belt. That doesn't seem right, of course if it is, it wouldn't be the first time I've ever been wrong... Any feedback from those who have installed Quest/Villager or Mean Green alternators (and actually load them) regarding issues with belt slippage?

Not really. Belts aren't like chains that get slack and noisy before they finally let go. Sometimes you'll get lucky and get a warning with the belt skipping/losing a tooth, and it will run so poorly that it won't be drivable without a belt change. Most of the time, they just break, and then its rebuild/swap time. Timing belt changes are not that bad, but they do take a while. There are several writeups on the subject on here. Consider a timing belt swap as a preemptive strike for longevity. On your engine, timing belts are only good for 60k miles anyways. If you are shooting for 400k, you'll do this job a few times.

If you don't know when the belt was changed, get it done ASAP. Most VG engines meet their death from a broken timing belt than from being worn out.

Frame rust repair. Cancer all cut out, and first 2(of ?) patches installed.

Well, call me a liar, then! I did not know it had a bypass. Cool.

I actually installed a Magnefine in the return line of my P/S system in my old Dakota. I installed it after a complete P/S flush. I disconnected the return line from the reservoir, jacked up the front of the truck and cycled the steering back and forth and put about 4 quarts of fresh fluid through the system until it came out of the rack the same color it came out of the bottle. The truck only had about 70k on it at the time, and i couldn't believe all the black funky goo that came out. If I recall correctly, Magnefine recommends a filter interval of 30k miles as it does not have a bypass valve.

Its the cooler clogging. There is supposedly a TSB on how to perform this job, but I've never seen it. The stock transmission cooler is in the radiator, so just disconnect the transmission cooler lines, and hook up a piece of tubing to the inlet and outlet. Put the outlet into a collection pan, and lift the inlet tube up so you can attach a funnel and pour kerosene or mineral spirits through it. If you have access to an air compressor with a nozzle, you'll want it to blow the crud and solvent all out. If you don't, run solvent through the cooler, and once it comes out clean, pour transmission fluid in on top to displace the solvent before you hook it back up to the transmission. It may take multiple cycles of soaking(block the outlet), and maybe even reversing the flush direction to make sure anything lodged in the bends comes out. I'm not sure if the aforementioned method will clean the cooler, but it's how I'd do the job. Get a Magnefine filter (3/8") and put it on the return line back to the transmission from the cooler before you reconnect the "clean" cooler. It would be a shame to kill your transmission with a loosened chunk of crud with no means to stop it.

Does that Sanden unit have its own oil supply for the compressor? That's the reason the York's are so popular because they don't need oil in the lines for lubrication.

The gas will be in pretty bad shape. Disconnect the fuel rail from the line, and use the in-tank pump to pump it out into a separate container. You may have to hot-wire the fuel pump relay to get it to run continuously to run the tank dry. Feed the old gas to a lawnmower you don't like. Clean your battery terminals. Replace the air filter and inspect the intake in case the air intake has become a mouse nest. Clean your heater plenum to get out any leaves/seeds/mice out so you don't set the truck on fire from the fan resistor. The oil/filter should be changed, as with the brake fluid. Your distributor cap and rotor will likely be corroded, and will need to be cleaned/replaced. Transmission fluid should be changed, but probably is ok until after you get the truck moving. I'd consider dropping the tranny pan and removing any sludge, replace the filter, and top it off before you start the engine turning. Do a complete flush as soon as practical. Before you try to turn the engine over, remove the plugs and put some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders, and try to turn the engine over by hand, using a breaker bar on the crank bolt. Wiggle it back and forth if it doesn't move smoothly. Multiple applications of oil/torque may be required over several days to free it if necessary. Run it through a few rotations before you put the plugs back in. Spray in more oil as you rotate the engine. Your biggest issue will be if one of the piston rings has seized in its cylinder, and will destroy itself if its rusted in there when the engine is started. Dry rot in tires is probably more dependent on ozone/sun exposure than outright age, so I'd put the truck up on jackstands and inspect the tires before you plan on moving very far/fast. Brake rotors/drums will likely be rusted, but unless they are pitted badly, should smooth out just by working the brakes. Be careful with stopping as the rust coming off will make braking distances huge compared to what solid metal will provide. I'd inspect all the rubber lines and decide if they need replacement(brake and coolant hoses too!) Heat, sunlight, and ozone is what destroys rubber, so they might be ok to get things moving, but plan to replace them soon, since they are probably 21 years old now. Also, the timing belt has probably taken a set, and should also be replaced as soon as practical. If you are facing storing the truck, fill the gas tank up to the top, drive the truck around until its good and hot(boil all the water out of the exhaust. Put stabil in the gas(or pump the tank empty as described above), and once its cooled, pull the plugs and spray fogging oil into the cylinders. Replace the plugs, and the seal the intake and exhaust with plastic to keep humidity(rust) out. Flush the brake fluid so it has clean fresh fluid to hold it over for a while. If you have the means, put a battery tender on the battery so it doesn't go dead. Jack the truck up on stands supported on the frame, and let the wheels hang in the air, it will keep the tires from flat-spotting, and the suspension from taking a set, from being parked for so long.

All, I recently obtained a D21 extended cab, and am thinking about converting it into an overlanding rig. Does anyone have any idea if a 21 gallon Pathfinder tank would fit in the spare tire area under the bed? That, and the 21 gallon hardbody tank would yield 42 gallons of capacity, and with a few jerry cans, and combined with the relatively good fuel economy of a ka24e, It should have a range about 800 miles. Any thoughts/ideas/comments are welcome.

It needs to be torqued on properly to set the races, then backed off. The factory manuals are pinned on the forums.

Sorry to hear, but running your transmission out of fluid burned it up. No two ways about it. You'll need a new/rebuilt transmission, either a new auto, or a swapped-in manual. I can't speak to the "shift shock", but now it probably doesn't matter. You've got a big job or a big bill in front of you. Good luck.

Impact wrenches(at least the ones most people can afford) are only to be used to remove fasteners. Tighten them with an air/manual ratchet, and then use a torque wrench and the correct pattern & setting for whatever you are tightening down. People watching pit crews in NASCAR don't realize the impact wrenches being used to change tires are precision-calibrated units that cost about $2000 each. Impact wrenches will over-tighten fasteners, and can warp hubs and brake rotors and damage wheel bearings because the clamping forces are uneven. I do use an impact wrench occasionally for speed, when tightening fasteners, but I have the impact gun set to its very lowest setting so it will stop as soon as it hits any resistance at all, so I don't damage anything. Even with this, I need to start all the fasteners by hand so nothing gets cross-threaded. Impact wrenches are just part of the toolkit. If you are limited on funds, and trade in your impact wrench on a torque wrench, remember to buy a breaker bar for loosening things. A torque wrench is only meant for tightening.

Both the pieces for the 4 door pathfinder and D21 truck are outers only. The inners are relatively simple stampings and you should be able to just weld in sheet 16g for patch(es) if they are not too far gone. A trip to the junkyard with a battery powered drill and sawzall might get you a patch section you can use for the inners if one of the ribs is gone.

67 3/8" is the overall length. If you only have rust in the front, you could probably get away with buying the rocker for the D21 pickup, and sectioning it in. I happen to have a pair of those, too. They are 35 1/2" between the lap weld flanges, and 38" overall length.

Must be a rare factory VH45-powered J-spec model. For a unicorn, its even white!

Flushing the transmission is not the same thing as just dropping the pan and replacing 5 qts of fluid. Flushing the transmission fluid (without special equipment) requires filling the transmission through the filler and running the engine to pump out the old fluid through the cooler outlet line. To flush 97% of the old fluid out, it takes about 5 gallons of ATF. Dexron III is a suitable, inexpensive flushing fluid. Napa sells 5 gallon container of Dexron III fluid (part# NOL75203) for about $65USD. Only after you've dropped the pan, cleaned it, replaced the filter, and performed the flush, should you install the inline filter. If you get a second bucket to pump the old fluid into, you should be pretty close at not over/under-filling the transmission. Make sure you attach the outlet hose securely to the drain bucket as the fluid comes out with quite a bit of force and makes a huge mess *fast* if not directed properly. Ask me how I know. If you really want to do a thorough job, jack up the rear axle(use stands, and chock the front wheels) and cycle the transmission lever through all the different gears while you are doing the flush, so all the passages get flushed out. That will probably take two people, one to pour the fresh fluid in, and the other to cycle the transmission through all the gears. Putting the truck on jackstands and dropping/cleaning the pan and replacing the filter takes longer than the rest of the flushing process. The hardest part of the job is balancing a 5 gallon bucket of transmission fluid over the filler funnel without spilling. 5 gallons of fluid will go through the transmission in just a few minutes. Take the old fluid to a transmission shop or proper hazardous waste disposal center. Alaska has about the last clean water on the planet, so keep it that way for the next generation! Good luck.

The 4 door pieces should work on a 2 door if trimmed appropriately. The 2 and 4 door pathfinders have the same wheelbase so the length should be fine.

VSS == vehicle speed sensor. It provides the electrical signal to the speedometer/odometer. It attaches to the transfer case. Any issues with the speedometer/odometer reading properly? The sensors have plastic gears on them that can be replaced. The plastic pieces are known to fail from time-to-time, causing issues even if the sensor itself is still good.

wheel spacers are never a very good idea, even when they are well made. Well-made spacers would likely cost more than a set of decent wheels, and even then, they can radically accelerate wheel bearing wear, increase loading forces(wear) on the steering linkage, and increase the scrub radius of the front suspension(tire wear), adversely affect handling , and increases turning radius. The only use that makes any sense would be in racing where one is trying to fit the very largest tires possible without concern for the durability of any of the aforementioned components. :thumbsdown: on spacers, especially on daily drivers.

Are you sure about that? The rebuild bulletin I found sometime ago showed that all 2001+ transmissions were uprated. The bulkpart transmission rebuild kits only go to 2000. I don't imagine Nissan would maintain 2 separate part numbers for that. Given the old transmission design had so many failures, I would expect it to be a design revision for the entire line. Can anyone definitively confirm/deny this? Alkorahil: Any chance you can look into this and settle this myth once and for all?

If you have a completely misfiring cylinder (bad plug/wire/cap) you'd be dumping raw fuel and air into the exhaust, which would cause the computer to see a lean condition, and richen the others to compensate. Since it cant compensate for all the unburnt fuel, it might think the O2 sensor is out of range. The computer would eventually go into failsafe, and this would explain your smoke and lack of power.

I have heard of a bristle brush. Don't know about the other two, though. Is it possible the distributor wasn't tightened down and has moved? Severely retarded timing would cause black smoke too. Have you replaced the O2 sensor per the code reading? Did you lose a tooth on the timing belt? You did install a new one before you installed the new engine, right?

Here's the thread I posted a few weeks back... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=31274 This same outfit sells rocker panels for hardbody pickups. Between the two part offerings, you should be able to get something working for a 2 door pathfinder. Somebody should probably pin this so it doesn't get lost. I bought a pair for my rig.