pathfounder

I had trouble with the wheel bearing preload. I followed the FSM to a "T" and even still, after about 300k worth of driving, it would have some play. You should confirm that the wheel bearing preload is right after having driven it awhile.

I trashed my balancer by using a strap wrench on it to turn the crank. The rubber seal broke free, and over the course of more than two months, the outer part walked forward until the belts jumped off. It's a dumb design. The small block Chevy type is way better.

Got one from a local JY for $7, twice.

This may not apply to the VQ, but on the VG, there are about 100,000 coolant lines at the back of the engine, each one ready to leak all over the engine at some point. Check the easy stuff first. Then, pressure test.

How much LSD are we talking? If it's more than about half a gram, then for $1500 you are getting the truck for free.

I'm surprised they didn't just drop the Pathfinder name. How is it distinct from the 50 other minivans SUVs Nissan makes?

It's a minivan for guys, kind of like how rap is pop for guys. It seems that all you can buy these days are big sedans, and big sedans on stilts (crossovers and minivans).

Already repaired by Nissan a month ago unfortunately.

I need to have my Pathfinder exit my life in the next 1-2 months. I'd like to weigh the options here with people that own them and know what they're worth. The vehicle is in good running shape overall. It goes faster when you press on the gas, slower when you press on the brakes, etc. There is barely anything wrong with it, other than a couple things: One of the rocker panels is gone. Gone. The front fenders are in bad shape (rust). The front left UBJ is clunking a bit and may need replaced. It is an emission test failure by a wide margin (2x limits @ 40km/h). The e-test fail is really going to hurt me when it comes time to sell it. It's not really worth it for a buyer to take their chances as it likely needs new cats, and those cost an absolute fortune. Mileage is also bad these days, despite a couple new o2 sensors and MAF. In Ontario, conditional e-test passes do not carry over to the next owner, for their protection. As bad as that is for me, I understand it and even agree with it. The way I see it, I could do one of the following: Part it out in my driveway and risk having it towed by my land lord Try to source new or used cats and attempt to find the root cause of why they failed. Sell it as-is and hope someone wants it and is willing to do what it takes to get it to pass. Keeping it is not an option unfortunately. A few more details: -4WD auto, 285 km / 178 miles. -31" tires with lots of tread -LSD I appreciate any thoughts on this. I figure it's a $1500-$1800 truck sold with an e-test pass and no safety.

Nice.

If the voltage regulator inside the alternator is bad, it will blow things up all day long.

What's funny too is that just about everything that is "wrong" with these trucks has to do with having struts up front (rot recall, hard to lift them, steering rack slipping, some other stuff I'm forgetting no doubt).

NVH is Noise, Vibration, and Harshness. Big part of designing a car. I hope your tires are at a good pressure for street use.

There are exceptions. If the ride height was wrong, then yes the springs were shot.

A low-pitched drone is going to be a u-joint, a tire or the exhaust probably. Does it change with vehicle speed, engine speed, or throttle?

Coil springs should last the life of the vehicle unless they've been f***ed with, which appears to be the case here.

Are you sure the "belt" noise isn't the water pump?

From the 1997 FSM: At idle: With vac hose connected -- 34psi With vac hose disconnected -- 43psi No idea what vac hose they are talking about.

Gutting the cats is a simple and cost effective way to make your vehicle pollute more, fail emissions, and in some cases, hurt fuel economy and performance because the ECU will be getting bad readings from the rear o2 sensors*. Most modern cats have very good flow properties -- rivaling a straight section of pipe. *: The ECU _does_ use the rear cats for fuel trim, even if only 1-5%, it will still affect performance and economy.

It's in amazing condition, from those pictures. I've never seen one like that ever, other than perhaps back when it actually was new.

Here are some pics of the repair. The "before" pics may be lost forever Strut Tower Repair Pics Click on the file name in the upper left of the thumbnail to see the full-res version.

Will it fit if you put the hubs on after putting the wheels on? It's more effort to change a flat or something, but if you can live with that, it's something to try.

Mine was about half as bad as Daddy Rim's pics there. They let us take it home while they waited for the plate and glue etc to come in, which was delayed due to Christmas. Then, I brought it in at 8AM yesterday and brought it home 4pm same day. I drove it about 300km last night, and it seems all as well. Pretty potent glue smell from that wheel well though. My plan now is to beat on this vehicle until it has nothing left to give. It is going to need $450 again in November 2012 to keep it on the road (e-test conditional pass), so it will likely get sold/parted out/donated to medical experiments at that time. No pics yet, sorry. @adamzan, yeah by all means, I'll show it to you sometime, but let's pick a warm day.

They're going to repair it. I'm stunned. The 8" by 1/4" gap didn't scare them I guess.

Gain up to 60hp on a low-compression, naturally aspirated engine which already has an efficient fuel injection system? I don't think so.