grie78

the rest of the truck is in varying degrees of dissarray. after talking to a few of the other machinists here at work, the general consensus is that it'll make the 8 mile drive home, but after that: FUBAR. the pics can't show a whole lot, but there isn't much frame to weld to. now that both sides broke, they have left a much larger gap in the frame than I thought I had. it's been a fun ride, and one of my favorites (considering this is vehicle #14 since my first in '97 - only 3 were lost to accidents). should the fates be so kind, I will definitely buy another Pathy down the road. I GREATLY appreciate all the assistance from the members here, over the last year. I couldn't have asked for more helpful and knowledgeable ideas from people that truly care about their vehicles. Eric

my frame snapped this morning on my way into work, pulling out of a parking spot. both sides. here's pics of the damage. it's been suggested, since I don't have $$ for a replacement, to have the frame welded at a shop. my question for you all is: is it worth it at this point? both pics are angled for best shot, and are at the front of both rear wheels. driver side. pass. side.

I have to replace both of mine, but the only dealership near me wants $85/ea. side. unfortunately, I can't order parts by phone or website, (no credit cards or accounts - long story) so I'm kinda screwed as far as where I can get parts.

o-kay, here goes. while I was on the ground, about to change the front stabilizer connecting rods, I noticed something else that had broken on my truck. what is the purpose of the compression rod that attaches to the back side of the control arm? from appearances, the one on the driver's side has been busted for much longer than the year and a half I've owned my Pathy. the one on the passenger side, however, is not busted, but instead the frame (where the end bolts through) is cracked. now, I'm sure it is an important part, but how is it that I went so long and didn't feel anything major in the suspension? up until Mon. everything was fine. then the pass. side conn. rod snapped off, and my steering controls (only when going around a curve to the left at speeds of 45mph+) all went to sh|t. if the compression rod has been busted for this long, what are the possible repurcussions of leaving it alone. I'd like to replace them, if they're bad, but with the frame's stability in question as far as making it another couple of years, I don't know if I even want to keep putting money into this truck. it's just discouraging to have yet another vehicle I like to "nickel and dime" me to death. I'd welcome any opinions on this matter, or even words of encouragement. Eric

first, what's the difference between synthetic and regular motor oil? if it was worth it, and I wanted to switch from one to the other, how do I go about it? second, (provided the pictures show up) what is the part name for theses covers on a 4wd truck? where can I go to get new ones? as you can see, mine are perforated from rust, and are leaking my wheel bearing grease. this is the pass. side front and this is the driver's side. appreciate the help

the check engine light does come on, but it's intermittent. it's off when the truck is running rough, but once it starts running smoothly, the light comes on, and then back off when it starts to sputter again. I don't really get it, but I will have to check the codes to be sure.

my truck is still having trouble running, so I checked out the egr valve yesterday. I noticed that the line that comes out of the bottom end of the valve going into the tbi(?) wasn't screwed in at all, and was caked with carbon. I cleaned it up a little and screwed it back in. unfortunately, I was wrong to hope that was the problem all along, since it ran just as bad this morning on my way into work. some days it starts out fine when the engine is cold, then 1/2 mile down the road, it would start to sputter and the tach. would drop about 1500-2000 rpms, only to kick back in and take off throughout the first 4 miles to work (then it'd run fine for the last 4 miles). other days it's just the opposite. if the problem leads to my egr valve (as it seems), is there a way to clean it out? I work in a machine shop, so I have access to a lot of different tools and chemicals (if needed), or will I simply have to replace it? I called the local Pepboys and they said there's two types: one for $90, and the other for $160. I just have to give them the oem # to match whichever part I'd need.

couldn't work on it yesterday, had to buy new wrenches, the ones I had were too small. then did work around my grandparents' place. if it's not the o2 sensor, like gxl90rx7 said, what could be the malfunctioning part?

I've had the new one for about 3 weeks, I just haven't had the time or motivation to replace it. it did come with the wiring, so I at least have everything I should need (including a nice supply of pb blaster). thanks for the help. again. I'll work on it this weekend and let you know how much of a pita it is or isn't.

what's it take to swap out an o2 sensor? mine's completely fubar'd, and my truck runs like it's about out of gas until it warms up. I've never changed one before, and the new one looks pretty basic, but I wasn't sure. I figured at the very least, my main problem will be getting the old one out, since everything else on the truck I've tried to replace has fought me every step of the way.

no air bags in mine, either. that sucks, glad you're ok. good luck, hope it works out in your favor.

agreed. if I had noticed the fist-sized rust holes in the frame before I bought mine, I probably would've looked for a different vehicle.

there wasn't much I could do about the price. most of the deal was done by my grandfather while I was at work.

just turned over 140,000 last week.

sorry for the delay, I had some unexpected trouble with the internet. I just wanted to thank everybody again for the assistance. I was able to get the starter off, but due to a lack of room, even after jacking up pass. side of the engine, I couldn't get it out. I ended up having it towed to a local mechanic to work on. I'm glad I did, since the used starter I was gonna put in, decided not to work when the mechanic got it installed. After technically changing out the starter twice, replacing it with a new one, and giving me an oil change, the final bill was $300 ($260 for the new starter). definitely not a deal I could've done on my own, my grandfather knew the mechanic. Next on the list is a new O2 sensor, and then a new exhaust.

thank you for all the help and advice, I really appreciate it. I'll be working on it after work, and let you know how things turn out. too bad it's not as easy as the '79 TransAm I had. it only required two bolts, two connections, and about ten minutes to change the starter on that.

I've never done any voltage testing on any of my vehicles. what should I use to test it, and what should I be looking for when I do? if nothing else works, my stepdad said he'd come over Sat. to give me a hand changing the starter since, everybody I've spoken with that knows the truck say it's a royal PITA to swap.

I had some trouble getting my truck to start in mid-October around the same time as the bad snow storm we (Buffalo) got. the truck would act as though the battery was about dead when I'd try to start it, and when it wouldn't start, I could bang on the starter, and it'd fire right up. eventually, I had turned off the dome light because my door sometimes wouldn't shut all the way, and after a short time, it would open enough to trigger the dome light. I figured this would at least help the battery, but instead it caused the end of my starter problems. I'm still not sure how. a couple weeks ago, it started acting up again; turning over very slowly, so I bought a new battery. problem solved. then yesterday, it wouldn't start at all. I tried banging on the starter while the key was turned, but it wouldn't go. I hooked up a battery charger to my battery, so that after trying to start the truck, it would recharge immediately. after a few hours, the only thing i got, was about a 1/4 turn from the flywheel, but not enough to fire up my truck. I though that since we had sub-zero temps the night before, maybe it needed to warm up a little, but with it being about 40 degrees this morning when I went to start it to leave for work, it still wouldn't start. I tried to knock lightly on the solenoid also, but it didn't help. instead I saw a couple sparks. I can hear the solenoid clicking when I try to start it, but that's it. I have a feeling the starter is completely fried, but I'm not sure. any advice would be appreciated. thanks for your help, Eric

I've heard of people shifting "on the fly" into 4wd, but with this being my first truck AND first 4X4, paranoia has kept me from trying it. with all the snow we've received since the weekend, I haven't had to worry about taking it in and out of 4wd. I had to switch to 4L on sunday, just to go to the store. the only thing I had noticed was, that in 4L, when I got close to 30mph, it acted as though I had the tranny in 1st. I'm assuming it's because of the way the gears are set up in the front end. the response time it takes to get out of some rough spots has been incredible. where I live, we now have just over 3' of snow. the 4wd has been a blessing.

reminds me of the '79 TransAm I had. it kept dying, and I couldn't figure out why. eventually determined there was a bad short somewhere. ran through the entire wiring schematics, with no luck. turned out the starter cables were too close to each other and worn down a little, they'd arc and kill the motor. made for a long week.

got it. thanks for the heads up.

my frame isn't quite that bad, I don't have any rust holes in the bottom of the frame larger than a golf ball, but on the outer side (on both driver and pass. sides) there are a couple holes about the size of a grapefruit. I hope you don't run into too much trouble replacing/repairing yours. I think the work needed on mine will have to wait until I get all the mechanical/electronic quirks fixed.

finally had the chance to finish my tune-up (except for #6 plug/wire). I'm pretty sure the dis cap and rotor were original, since the Nissan stamp was on both parts. all the posts on the inside of the dis. were burned down so much they were rounded, and the rotor was about 1/8" shorter than the new one and had buildup on the end of it. the truck still runs like crap when it's cold, but once it's had a chance to warm up, everything's fine. I'm missing something here, but I'm not sure what it is. the engine light has been on since the day I bought the truck, back in May '06, but the problems I currently have, didn't start until about a month ago. the only thing I can think of, is that there is an additional problem that would have caused the engine light to come on, but since it had been on from the beginning, I wouldn't have noticed until the performance issues started. thanks everyone for the assistance and suggestions, I did have to use a hammer while turning the screws on the distributor to get them to break loose. Eric

the dis cap screws are Philips, but I still have a little left on them, so I think I'll try a larger screwdriver. PB Blaster is awesome. I have two cans in the truck, next to the tub of Fast Orange. I'm headed to Sears after work for some more tools (esp. longer needle-nose pliers). between working on this truck, and the sh|tload of work I did on my Toyota Tercel last year, I should end up with pretty much all the tools I'll need for any other repair work on both vehicles. I'll take better care of the truck than I did the Tercel. I changed the a-frame, both front axles, radiator, had a new exhaust put on, and swapped out my e-brake cables on the Tercel, only to hydroplane into guardrail (ripping half the rear axle off) because I waited too long to rotate my tires. BTW, where do I find any grease fittings on the truck (if there are any)? I bought a grease gun two years ago, and have yet to use it.

thanks everyone. I'll be working on it again this weekend, in case I need an extra day. I had no idea there was a tool kit under the rear seats. I'll have to look for it tonight. it should be there, I had a feeling the family that owned it before me didn't do much to the truck, aside from leaving dents in every body panel. it seems all the general maintenance jobs I've done to my vehicles are turning into bigger problems with this poor truck. I really like my pathy, but I'd like a break from the repairs for a while, at least until I get the exhaust fixed and the frame patched.