[turn singnals]

Change out headlight switch on 95 pathfinder. Have headlights(HI AND LOW),emergency flasher work, all bulbs good, changed flasher unit. Now when go to use turn singal all I get is a buzz from the turn signal flasher pod. New light switch did same thing. Tried new flasher, same thing. Fuses good. Need help in this.

[A Mechanics Tips and Tricks]

I was given a very good suggestion by andreus009 about starting a category of "Tips and Tricks" that we know/use in mechanics, electrical, hydraulic, etc. I can see this becomming its own category, but to get it rolling lets just use posts for now. Please just submit on topic and keep commentary constructive, parallel or expansive. Details, photos, etc much appreciated.

 

I'll start with removing broken bolts/studs.

 

1) Soak the offender with penetrating oil; This never hurts ! Give it a sharp rap or two with a hammer for good luck (it can actually help).

2) If possible, grind, mill, file, etc the top flat. This makes starting MUCH easier.

3) Use a spot drill or center drill to start the hole you are about to drill in the CENTER of the broken bolt. Make sure you are on center and parallel to the bolt. THIS IS IMPORTANT !! Rig up a guide with a piece of wood and C clamps or something if it helps. (if the item is removable, this is much easier to do on a mill or drill press !) Make the spot hole is slightly larger than the drill size.

4) Selecting drills: this has many nuances so bear with me. Always use quality drills: they work better, last longer and are less prone to breaking. Use left hand (counter clockwise) drills when ever possible. Sometimes due to heat and vibration they will break the bolt loose and unscrew it mid process !! You can use standard right hand (clockwise) drills but they can actually torque the bolt in tighter sometimes. Cobalt drills are harder and may be required for high grade bolts, but dont flex as well as HSS (High Speed Steel) drills so are less forgiving and more likely to break. Standard 118 degree web drills work fine if you spot the hole although they take a little more force and drill hotter. 135 degree split points start and cut much better with little or no spot hole. I make my own 140 degree carbide ccw spade drills that work wonders. I won't explain as if you don't know what this is, you wont have access to them.

5) Drill size is important ! OK, you are trying to remove a 1/4-20 bolt. Minor thread diameter is .196-.207". I like to keep .02" clearance incase you drilling crooked or off center. This means a good drill size for a 1/4-20 bolt would be about .16". It's well worth doing a little homework before you dive in. If you are reading this, you can find the info on the web EASILY.

6) Drilling the hole. USE OIL ! Thicker the better. If you don't have actual 'cutting oil' use gear oil, motor oil, household oil in that order. WD-40 or silicone spray is better than dry, but not much. Hand held drill speed should be 250-700 RPM, the bigger the drill, the slower you go. Pressure should be firm, but 'feel' it. Often you can tell there is a problem before the drill breaks. Dont drill too deep ! If you dont know how deep you can go, play it safe ! You can always drill a little more later. There may be a an oil channel or water jacket nearby ! If you are drilling deeper than 3x the drill diameter, 'clear' the chips by taking the drill out and restarting. The chips can load up the flutes and sieze the drill which=broken drill if you are not used to it.

Ok, you have drilled the hole and the bolt did not break free or back out. You have 2 basic options now.

7) Bolt extractors. EZ-out (spiral ccw bolt extractors) is popular with some, but I dont like them. Too brittle and weak; I have broken a lot of them and I do this stuff for a living. I like the square style, much more durable and if you bell mouth the hole and it doesn't bite any longer, you still have options. You insert them into the hole, tap them in with moderate force then put a wrench on (recommend tap wrench) and unscrew. Hopefully this works. Use feel and sounds to tell whats going on; when in doubt, back off a bit. DO NOT SNAP IT OFF IN THE HOLE !! This means starting over with a x10 dificulty level. Makes for a bad day folks !

Ok, the bolt extractor wont get the bolt out, feels like it will break or bell mouthed the hole and wont grab any longer.

8) Redrilling: If the hole is well centered and you have the #'s for the bolt diameters and a good drill selection, pick a drill much closer to the thread minor diameter and redrill the hole. Repeat if necessary. I have literally drilled out the entire core of bolts and all thats left is just the thread its self. This comes out easy like a helicoil, or you just grab it with needle nose pliers and unwind it out of the hole.

 

Good luck, and just be patient. Odds are, you wont need to get to the last step. In case everything fails, my next write up will be tapping and thread chasing. Enough for today.

 

mws, there was a specific request for your grease/piston blind hole bushing removal method writeup. Feel free to cut and paste or elaborate if you wish.

 

B

 

Right on with the left hand drill bits. Everyone who needs to remove exhaust studs broken off need to go buy some. Yes they do exist and the counter rotation of bits with help remove the bolt or stud.

[Turn signals]

shoulda unpluged your battery! now you need a new swich.

 

Ok when you get this sorted out may I recomend that you run a relay for your headlights using 14ga wire from the battery to the realy and from the relay to the lights and a 12ga ground from the lights to the chasis. This will 1 increase the life of your new swich 2 prolong the life of the stock 16~18ga stock wires(now being used to trigger the realay) and 3 impove light brightness because the current does not need to travel thru 15ft of undersized wire before it gets to the light.

 

I guess I did not make it clear. The light switch is good. New one did same thing and tested in another vehicle and it worked fine. All lights(dash,stop,tail, interior and flashers work fine), just no turn signal. The quest goes on.

[Turn signals]

OK here is problem. Nissan headlight switch went bad(the old lose one low beam light). Change out switch and all goes to working. Then go to use turn signal and get just a buzz from the flash unit. Replace flasher. Still buzz and no turn signal. Try new signal unit and still same result. Now I have headlights(high and low), have emergency flasher(work fine) but no turn signal(just buzz when you try them). Have traced wires with factory schematic and can find no problem. Called Nissan dealers(Ha) we never heard of this one, but for $90.00 we will look it over and see if we can find problem. Call asian repair guy, he said I mess things up because I change switch without unhooking battery. Call me shade tree mechnic. Guess what, he wanted $90.00 to fix my problem. Told him thats ok, I will stich arm out window before he gets any money.

 

The end is has anyone run into this problem and send help. Getting older everyday.

[Hello]

Just to say hello from down south. Have been driving nissans for a loooooooooooong time. 1ST nissan was a 82" kingcab with 4cy and loved it. Drove it for I guess 300,000 before a friend begged me to sell it to him. He sold it 2 weeks later to another guy. Still see it from time to time. Have had a 88'path and dove it for about 300,000 also. Sold to college kid who drove to school for 4 years. To make it short. All my nissans have been great runners. If one does have a problem, they are either small or big headaches, with easy fixes. If like any of them, treat them right, keep fluids right and they will last.

ken