rjorgens

Thanks everyone, for all the encouragement! I've done the engine rep[lacement thing from foreign engines before with an old Honda Civic and it worked great - cost me ~$1500 by the time I was done (did it myself) but I got carried away replacing things. Thing ran for another 50K before I sold it... I was talking to a mechanic who said the engine is kind of tired, but a set of used heads would probably let me get a lot more miles out of her. he also said that don't put on new or remanufactured heads, because the bottom end is old and it will just blow out the rings.....any truth to that?

Hi everyone, I've really enjoyed this forum. Here's my plight..... Hope I can get some good advice. I inherited my wife's 1994 Pathy a couple years ago, when she upgraded to a 1997 QX4. She bought it brand new, and we both love the car. It needs a little work but I've fixed a lot of the bad problems, we did starter, timing belt, exhaust manifold studs, rear main seal... etc...It's a really great car, and the best snow car I've ever had. The car has 230K on it and runs like a top. Just before Christmas this year I passed someone and later realized I heard a bad knocking from the top end - I thought to myself "Oh, lifter stuck". Well after oil changes and Rislone I decided to take it in. I've had it to 2 different mechanics and both have given me the "this car is not worth fixing". the second guy I trust pretty well - he actually took the valve covers off and inspected. Seems the rockers, lifter and even the cam lobes have a LOT of wear. Even worse is he found metal shavings sitting in the oil on top of the heads and says it's probably through the engine by now. So I can get rebuilt heads for a good price from National cylinder Heads - (http://www.aluminumc...sample_list.htm). I'd like to rstore this car. Is it worth replacing the heads and motoring on? I can't afford $3-4K to put in a whole engine... i also need to replace the front wheel berings and get the leather seats re-sewn (stitching disappeared in the sun). i believe what happened was I had gas in the oil for a while before I discovered the vacuum hose had fallen off the fuel pressure regulator and it was running very rich for a while - I did frequent oil changes during that phase. I may have put a lot of miles on her there... She's not burning oil or leaking anything.. Thanks for your thoughts,

No. There is a clear plastic drain tube that comes down from the sunroof. As far as I can tell it's supposed to drain into the fender. But mine was routed through the kick panel, and under a big bundle of wires. This never caused a problem until the car got old enough so the sunroof gaskets didn't completely seal. Then, after a big rain, I would have a wet passenger side rug. I looked cleaned and sealed EVERYTHING I could think of - still leaked. Finally found it after about a year of looking. I had taken out the carpet and kick panel - I could see the water was coming from there in the corner, under a big bundle of wires. So I thought it was coming down the wire bundle and sealed that up where it came through the firewall (but couldn't figure out how water got there with the hood closed). I waited until the next BIG rain storm (get them often in Seattle). I climbed in down on the floor and just watched. After a while here comes a trickle of water - dang! (not what I said). I was so frustrated I pulled the big bundle up from the floor - and there it was , a little clear tube coming out of the kick panel (from inside the fender) - and water coming out of it. I finally tracked down where the tube came from - up the windshield pillar - I think it was just mis-routed in the factory, it should have just been emptying in the fender...also it is just back up and doesn't drain water if the sunroof seals well.... Mystery solved.

I'm really glad that reporting my problem, asking for help, and following up with what I found helped someone else. Reply here if you want to hear my story about the passenger side rug getting wet after a rain, and the really weird solution I found....that one took me a year to figure out. Also, I would be interested in hearing more about how to mount 6x9 speakers in this rig. The 4x6s I found to replace the fronts, and the 5 1/4" I have mounted in the back roof (even though they are Boston Acoustics) just aren't cutting it for me. I have a set of BA 6x9's I'm dying to put in here.... Thanks!

So after re-attaching the vacuum line from the fuel pressure regulator to the intake manifold, everything seems to be back to normal again. She's running much nicer, no decelerating stumble, gas smell is gone except right at cold startup, transmission shifting normally again. I changed the oil again because it was already black, with a gas smell. I think I've done it. I'll keep my new parts until I check the O2 sensor to make sure its OK. Thank you everyone for you support!

Ah, but having no vacuum could throw all those engine sensors into confusion? We'll see - haven't done the test drive yet. May be separate problems..

Alright - follow up - I ordered a fuel pressure regulator and O2 sensor from Rock Auto. Couldn't find the fuel pressure regulator at first. Had to get the shop manual out, found a picture of where it was (after searching for 15 minutes). Put my hand down there in the back of the engine behind the intake manifold and viola! There was no vacuum line hooked to the back of the intake manifold. I dug around and found it. The end that hooked to the manifold was a little hard, and cracked. I cut it off an re-attached it. How did that come off? I don't know - maybe when I was trying to replace that horrible back spark plug a long time ago? Maybe a mouse? (I've had them chew my wires a couple of times). I'm going to drive her and see how she does. Maybe I can get my $150 back from Rock Auto. Goes to show you should check for the obvious first. Thank you everyone. It was the vacuum/fuel pressure regulator (tranny shifting high) comment from James that got me going down the right path. I had no vacuum. Its a wonder it ran so well. Will let you know how she runs.

OK, I can clean the MAF, and I'll check the o2 resistance. (I'm an EE). I'm going to postpone my mechanic visit and see if you guys acn lead me through to a fix. How do I check for a leaking/stuck injector? How do I check for a plugged CAT? R

I don't know, she seems pretty peppy still. I just had a whole new exhaust system put on about 20K ago, with a high flow aftermarket cat.... I doubt its that - but I am suspecting the O2 sensor, I've heard it can be bad and not throw a code.

Hi, I just joined here because my normally reliable 1994 Pathfinder SE has started acting out. She has 220K miles and always runs great, until now. Here we go: About a month or so ago, I noticed a strong smell of unburned gas when I started her up. Then I noticed my gas mileage was getting bad. It's been getting worse. A couple weeks ago I saw what I thought was gas dripping out the tailpipe when idling, the smell was bad. So I checked my oil and it was black, and more full than I thought it should be. I changed the oil (it smelled like gas to me, too), and then I checked the ECU for codes, all I have was "55". No check engine light. At this point the car was still running fine. Then I noticed that my transmission was shifting at a higher rev, and harder, like I had pushed the "power" switch. I double checked that it was set to "auto". Since I have no code, I don't really know where to start. And just a couple days ago, she started trying to stall when I brake to a stop (IAC valve?). This only happens when its hot outside. I have parked her because I'm afraid that gas is diluting the oil and I might burn a ring. So, stuck injector? Bad fuel pressure regulator? Bad O2 sensor? Bad Idle air control vale? Why would any of this affect the tranny shift point? Does the computer have me in an open loop mode? I need this car for commuting to work. I've made an appointment with a mechanic I can trust, but if I could fix it myself I would love to, money is tight. Any thoughts, ideas, would be appreciated. Thanks!

A little north of Greenbank Farms...raising alpaca!

Hi everyone! I'm very new here, and joined because I need some help. I live on Whidbey Island, WA - north of Seattle. I have a 1994 Pathfinder with all the options, my wife bought it years ago. She upgraded to an Infiniti QX4, and I inherited Pathy. Can I post my questions and problem description here, or should I go over to the garage forum? My Pathfinder has 220K miles, and has been very reliable. Either I or my trusted mechanic have fixed most of the common problems, exhaust studs, rear main seal, bushings, etc.