sewebster

Hehe, yeah, as I said above, the problem was not the oil. The lifters were just too big (defective parts). Haven't solved the valve problem yet. I figured this was a good thread for posting random nonsense!

By the way, my post above was intended to be entirely sarcastic

I just bought set of parking brake cables from Rock Auto. So I may be able to report on whether or not they fit my (rear disc) setup sometime soonish.

I just rebuilt my engine. I used Royal Purple break in oil. First my new lifters seized and ruined my camshafts. Oversized lifters, or Royal Purple? Now my valves are sticking. Royal Purple? You decide!

I have a brochure from 1991 that seems to indicate that you can get a Nissan winch to put on the factory brush guard? 4000 lb I think it said? I can imagine this not being a very good idea though.

He has 2wd.

Basically all the big problems I end up seeing with vehicles seem to originate with them being run with no oil in them. My vote is for oil. Oil is good for engines.

Having the engine on a stand makes everything so much nicer

Yeah clearly the one cylinder has a different level of badness, but in general you would expect carbon deposits in a used engine, so I wouldn't get too worked up about there being "black everywhere." I don't know what your plan is now. Are you looking for input from us based on the photos? It seems like you would likely need to do some work on the #1 valves at least, because they likely won't close properly like that. You should also be figuring out what is going on with the #1 piston and rings. Can you detect a large ridge at the top of the #1 cylinder? If there is little or no ridge you may be able to pull the piston out and put it back without ring damage (the putting it back being more scary if you replace the piston/rings). Otherwise you'd need to get it reamed or bored (you could probably ream it yourself, but the tool will be like $100 or something, maybe less). With the piston out you can measure the ring side clearance (how much larger the groove in the piston is than it should be), see if any are stuck or broken, take them off and put them in the cylinder to measure the end gap etc.

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=21

If you can lock the rear (yes, rear only) then it sounds like your ABS isn't working. Odd that the light isn't on... It's possibly that you were only low on fluid because of the drop in level due to pad wear...

Any trouble codes stored in the ECU?

Is there any redundancy in the pathy braking systems (maybe all cars have this). Lets say one of your lines just explodes, do you lose all brakes instantly (other than e-brake) or can you still brake a few times with the others before you pump all the fluid out?

If the hub was installed wrong, then the axle would spin but the wheel would not, right? Railman, can you confirm that NEITHER axle turns when you spin the driveshaft?

Did you ever figure out what was actually wrong with your original unit? The pictures seem to just show the plastic caps being insulators for feedthroughs (the wires just start up again inside).

Yeah, leak down test sounds like a decent idea. I guess if the leak down is good, and I can get all the valves moving properly while cranking as you describe, then things "should" be ok... I need to remove the plenum to get at the left head... do you think there are any complications with cranking things over to watch for sticking valves with some of that electrical stuff disconnected? Presumably not, it will just turn the starter...

Ok, I read the OP again. It seems quite weird to me to have the axles move with the driveshaft sometimes and not other times. You're saying that by hand everything spins together, but when you use the engine only the driveshaft moves? As far as I know the differential should be a pretty simple standard differential. Of course, only one axle needs to move, that's the point of the differential right...

I know there is a lengthy ABS diagnostic section in the factory service manual...

The hubs lock the wheels to the CV joints. So if they are engaged, then the wheels will turn with the CVs and if not, they won't. But that doesn't change the fact that the CVs should rotate when the driveshaft rotates.

From memory: -jack and support the front of the vehicle -loosen the locknut on the top of the long adjustment bolt at the back -completely lower (loosen) the bars -slide the dust covers away from the ends (front and back) -mark where the bar goes into the torque arm at the front so you can put it back in the same place -remove the anchor bolt at the back entirely, keeping track of where are the pieces go with orientation -remove the snap ring at the rear that prevents the bar from sliding back -slide the bar back -if it doesn't come out at the front, you might need to try harder, or possibly loosen/remove the torque arm (which is the small plate held on by three bolts). This could be annoying.

I am not really an expert, but if the front driveshaft is rotating and the CV joints are not, well, that sounds bad.

You can replace the head gaskets with the engine in the car. It's not a small job, but if you know what you are doing and have the tools, it isn't such a big deal either. If there was nothing else wrong, I would say it could be done in a day for basically the costs of the gaskets (heads, intake, plenum, exhaust pipes, at least). I guess thats about $100 in gaskets, maybe a bit less. I'd prepare yourself to spend at least a big more for stuff you find that you need to fix though. But when you take the heads off, there is lots of stuff you could discover that is wrong that you might want to deal with, (or not, because the costs can add up fast). You probably want to change the timing belt while you have it off etc. It could also take way longer than a day if you have problems, lack tools or experience etc.

Can't be too bend since when I tapped it with a hammer it popped back up... if it's bent I think I'll just put another new valve in. I guess my real questions are: Do I absolutely have to remove the heads? (I think so, but one could imagine looking though the manifolds or plug holes to try to check things out) Should I do any tests before I tear things down? (things that would be impossible once the heads are off) I'm wondering if some other valves have possibly been occasionally sticking, and just weren't stuck when I looked. Engine has only been run for a few minutes or less, so hopefully things aren't too boned on this totally rebuilt engine! Could the engine machine shop that cut my valve seats and lapped the valves have screwed something up? Could the botched ignition timing have caused this?

So, trying to fire up my rebuilt engine (VG30E) and it's not so happy. Initially I had the ignition timing totally wrong, but once I got that closer, it was idling too high, then used a light to get it to 15 deg BTDC and it was approximately the right rpm, but running super rough and then it stalled out. Poking around I removed the right side valve cover and unfortunately an exhaust valve was stuck down. It's a new valve, so I don't see how it could be sticking due to buildup. Possibly the cylinders firing at the totally wrong time when I had the timing screwed (edit: note only ignition timing was messed, timing belt is on correctly) initially didn't help, but I'm not sure I'd expect this. Anyway, now what? I tapped it with a hammer and it popped back up, but who knows what has happened. I guess I need to pull the plenum and look in the other valve cover to see if any are sticking over there... but I guess I need to pull the heads to see what if any damage has occured to the pistons, and figure out what is up with the valve(s). Is there anything I should do before I pull it apart? Compression test? Sigh. I don't have time for this! I've had the worst luck with this rebuild. Any thoughts on causes, tests or fixes appreaciated.

You have a 97 right? I'd get the Felpro SS72629. It's $21.89 and has the 6 intake and 6 exhaust seals you need... On a WD21 the steps are something like this: -drain radiator -remove air filter -remove spark plug wires -disconnect all electrical and fluid connections to the upper intake plenum -remove upper intake plenum (supposed to replace gasket for this) -remove valve covers (could need new gaskets too) -remove rocker arm shafts with arms -remove valve lifters with guides -determine how you will prevent valves from falling into combustion chambers, either by removing the plugs and using compressed air to keep the valves shut, or by systematically rotating the engine around so that the cylinder you are working on it at TDC so the valve cannot fall down very far -get valve spring compressor that will work -compress valve springs and remove keepers, then remove springs -use pliers or tool to remove old seals -using plastic tubes (provided with seal kits) over the valves, install new seals with appropriate tool (I used a socket), taking care that they go on straight and all the way down (specs in FSM) -reverse above steps to reassemble