88pathoffroad

Just fine, thanks. Lights are brighter, stereo's louder, heater fan blows harder, and it accelerates faster.

Owie, man. That sucks.

Sounds like it went into "limp mode". When you shut off the ignition and turn it back on again, it will reset the tranny computer and should work properly again. The Nissan auto transmission is entirely controlled by the tranny computer. From the sounds of it, someone at the mechanic's shop did something wrong. If they simply reused the stock tranny cooler, it may be clogged. That's a very common problem with Pathfinders. It's easily fixed by using an aftermarket external transmission fluid cooler and completely bypassing the stock cooler inside the radiator. By the way, it's not "4th gear" on an auto...it's simply overdrive. The torque convertor locks up to provide direct drive at higher speeds.

It should unscrew from the exhaust pipe. Rusting together is a common problem, that's why you should use anti-sieze compound when you put the new one in. Don't you have the new O2 sensor already? You could look at that to see what goes with it. The green circle should be the nut that comes out of the exhaust pipe.

I suppose it would be possible, yes. You'd have to have them machined to fit by a shop, perhaps on a mill or lathe. But why add more weight (and a piece that could rust) rather than a lightweight poly or rubber spacer that will also absorb a bit more suspension vibration/impact? I'm making some 1" thick rubber spacers for mine, look for pics on this board sometime in the garage section.

By the way, here's a whole page of pics and stuff from Dean Thayer's Pathfinder's hub install. http://groups.msn.com/xplorx4/modwarnpremiummanualhubs.msnw

Well, the question about part strength isn't the issue here, really. It's all about selectability. The stock drive flanges won't break on you, they're solid pieces of machined steel and aluminum(but I have been wrong before ). The Warn or Milemarker manual hubs are selectable so you can decide whether you want the axles engaged or not, period. Both options are good, both options are strong, and you'll definitely get better gas mileage with the manual hubs because the front axles won't have to be spinning fulltime, causing drivetrain drag from parts that aren't under power. I don't think CV boot wear will be a real issue until a while down the road(again, I have been wrong before, heh). Rubber compounds are amazingly resilient stuff, think of how many miles are put on your tires before they wear out!

Not a problem, bro. Let's see some pics of your classic Pathy!

Dual battery isolator, Optima in front, giant-arse Dynasty Broadband Service gel-cell battery in rear. No pics of the rear battery cause it's MESSY and I intend to rework the rear setup when I get a chance. Coming soon: How-To page on installing a set of these: Also some custom 1" rear spring spacers for even more rear end lift goodness. I know, I know, the BJ spacers are AC parts, but I bought them for $20 off someone that wanted to get rid of them and I figure hey, why not? They're $80 new. For CRAPPILY laser-cut 1" steel coated with zinc chromate!

Ah, you're referring to the front axle drive flanges. Right you are, they're always locked because the t-case disconnects the front diff in 2WD and that's the way they decided to build them. Good point, but I'd hope that CV boots would last longer than 30-60K even with a 2" lift, which isn't all that much if you see it up close. Mine finally ripped at about 135,000 miles, and I have every reason to believe they were original.

From what I gather, those things are a PITA. Takes a press to get the old ones out and the new ones in. Might be a good idea to buy new bushings, take the control arms off and take the whole mess to a shop and have the shop press them in and out for you.

Might be overkill, but I like the idea.

I would think that if Warn were making manual hubs for certain vehicles, changing the wheels to get the hubs to fit wouldn't be a good idea on their part. They should fit on a vehicle with factory wheels. And no, you don't HAVE to have manual hubs for a lift, but it's a good idea, much better than the stock auto's.

Mine went completely dead at Sand Lake(twice), then I put it on a 40 amp charger for two hours and it works just fine.

Hmmm...does your bracket allow for belt stretch and retensioning like the stock one? I was just trying to re-use as many stock components as possible so I wouldn't have to make something different that other people might not be able to find materials for.

Thanks, man. The above information will always be available on my website at this link: http://www.damagedreality.com/altswap.html

How-To: Swapping the stock VG30 engined Pathfinder 60 amp alternator with a Quest/Villager 110 amp alternator. This is by no means an end-all, tell-all way of doing this swap, it's just how I personally did it and what I used to do so. If you can come up with a better way of doing some part of this swap, feel free to post here and let us all know! Parts needed: Misc nuts, bolts, washers New/used/junkyard Quest/Villager 110A alternator Replacement alternator v-belt, approx 10 mm longer than stock alternator belt(17380, 17370 is the stock part #) Bicycle/small motorcycle rear wheel chain tensioner (or you can re-use the stock tensioner block and bolt) (Optional) 6' of 4 guage battery cable with ring terminals crimped on Tools needed: 4" angle grinder Metric hand tools(sockets, wrenches, pliers, etc) Large bench vise(alternatively, a BFH and a concrete floor or sidewalk) Hacksaw Bench grinder Note: A lot of hand-fabrication/modification/grinding/fitting is involved in this project, so if you don't have a grinder or means to cut and shape steel and aluminum, try to borrow a friend's garage or something. Procure a alternator from a 1993-1995 Nissan Quest minivan or Mercury Villager. Same vehicle, different name. Same alternator, a Mitsubishi 110 amp unit. I got mine for $50 at a local junkyard. It beats the auto parts store price of $172 new with a $95 core. Remove the alternator from your Pathfinder. Take both alternators in to a Schucks/Checker/Kragen or auto parts store. Have the Quest alternator tested to make sure it works OK(if used or from junkyard). Get the parts person to use an impact wrench or similar tool to unbolt the pulleys on both alternators for you. This is TONS easier than trying to loosen the bolt yourself at home! If they can't do that for you, you can do it at home with the help of a bench vise and large wrenches, but it really is a pain in the hiney. The Quest alternator pulley nut is a 24mm and the stock Pathy pulley nut is a 22mm. Clean up the new alternator(if used). Now that the pulleys have been removed, you will need either several thin washers or some shims to space the Pathfinder pulley outward on the Quest alternator. If you simply bolt the Pathy pulley on, it will press against the housing of the alternator and effectively lock up the shaft. I happened to have several such washers on hand. They measured .1" thick, .7" inside diameter by .85" outside diameter(sorry about the standard measurements, but my micrometer is graduated that way). The actual alternator shaft measures about .69", so these washers fit great. I used 3 of them to get the pulley spaced out properly. Then the Quest lock washer and nut goes back on the alternator, and you're ready for the next step. You will need to cut/grind some of the aluminum housing away on the Quest alternator case in two places. The first place to work on is the adjuster bolt tab and a bit of the case right beside that. For one thing it's positioned differently than the stock Pathy alternator, and for another thing it's too thick(sticks out too far towards the front) to work with the Pathfinder bracket/engine block. You'll need to remove about 1/2" of material from the front side of the tab, so that the tab is nearly flush with the rest of the case. Refer to the pictures here for a visual representation of what needs to be done. The clearancing I did on the case and the head of the case bolt just to the right of the adjuster tab is to allow the adjuster bracket to fit better. The second place to remove material is on top of the case on the engine block side. When the alternator is mounted from the top pivot bolts, the larger size of the case will not allow enough side-to-side movement to allow for proper tensioning/movement of the alternator. Removing material on this side of the case simply allows the alternator to swing further towards the engine, allowing easier removal of the belt. If you don't clearance the case for this, it'll only have about 1" of side-to-side movement(not much for belt adjustment...). I would also suggest grinding down the steel insert on the back side of the alternator pivot tab for inside clearance. It's a tight fit onto the pivot bracket the way it comes out of the box. The yellow box on the pic indicates the steel insert I clearanced and the green box represents the case clearancing. Remove the stock adjuster bracket from the bottom of the Pathfinder engine block. We're going to have to modify this to make it work with the new alternator. A lot. Pic of the stock adjuster hanging with the new alternator bolted up. Notice that the stock belt won't fit. http://Nissan.damagedreality.com/needsnewbelt.jpg Refer to provided pictures for modifications to the adjuster bracket. It took a lot of grinding, cutting and regrinding the bracket to get it to fit properly. You'll need to drill a new bolt hole in it to bolt it back to the engine block. I used a rear wheel chain tensioner for a 20" freestyle bicycle or small motorcycle for a belt tensioner. The stock tensioner is pretty thick/bulky, but will go back on with the new alternator and the reshaped bracket somewhat decently. Refer to pictures for a good idea of what I used. Outline of stock bracket with cut-off piece. I originally tried to get the bracket to fit by simply drilling a new hole, but there was no way it would fit like that so I used a hacksaw and cut it off. Finished bracket beside outline of original: Side view. Originally, the bracket had a couple of bends in it. I stuck the bracket in a vise and cranked it until the bracket flattened out. It basically needs to be flat when you're done with it. http://Nissan.damagedreality.com/adjuster3.jpg Another view: http://Nissan.damagedreality.com/adjuster4.jpg Finished results will vary, but should be a close match for proper fit. Bolt the new alternator onto your engine. Bolt the new bracket onto the engine. Check for fit. Route new charging cable from back of alternator up to battery. Bolt up old charging wire, new charging wire, and ground wire to new alternator. Connect other end of new charging wire to battery terminal. Reconnect the two-wire plug on the back of the alternator. Put the new belt on. Use a new bolt, nut, washers and the chain tensioner to connect the alternator to the adjuster bracket. Adjust using the chain tensioner, re-check belt tension, all bolts and connections, then reinstall the A/C belt, the P/S belt, re-tension those and you're done. Double check everything to make sure you didn't miss anything. Check with a voltmeter to make sure you're getting 14 volts or so with the engine at idle. Mine ran at about 18 volts for a few minutes, then settled down to 14.4 when it warmed up. Just make sure it doesn't run at 18 volts all the time, or you'll fry quite a few things. Having a 3" body lift makes it easier to put it on, as you can see.

That seems excessive to me too. Get a quote from somewhere else? Like Midas or Les Schwab?

If you do it yourself, it's not that expensive. If you can't do it yourself, it'd cost about the same(little more, but you'd be getting more power out of it as well) to have new headers installed with a nice new exhaust, I think. Last I checked dealership price to do ONE manifold was ~$400. A set of headers is about $350-$400.

How come you're taking the heads off to change the manifold studs, anyway? I know it's easier to drill studs on a removed head, but wow, that's a lot of work.

I fixed the adjuster bracket problem and... It's running top-notch now and I'm just crossing my fingers, hoping it lasts! Updates tomorrow, with MANY pics.

Yeah, the title "Ecu Self-Diagnostic Procedures" is kinda shady, hard to find...

Man, if you had caught me last summer, I'd have been in the area and could have helped out.

All you can get is a stock replacement. Dunno about which brand would be better than any other.

Aha! Dang things, anyway.