Towncivilian

Upload them to www.imgur.com What is your typical oil change interval? What oil & filter do you use? Is the air intake secure without any leaks or possible dirt entry points? Air filter present?

Anything will make noise with low or no lube. If you don't know the last time the diff fluid was changed, just change it. Many fluids already have LS additive in them already. If you live near Advance Auto Parts, you can get Mobil 1 75W-90 for cheap if you order online using discount codes (Google for them).

You can run MT-90 in the transfer case, it specifies ATF or GL-4 (but you can't mix the two). Redline's gear oils (i.e. normal 75W-90) are great too, perhaps you could use those in the diffs too. Unless you plan on off-roading and have a chance of potential water entry, then I'd suggest using a cheaper conventional gear lube and changing it out more frequently and whenever there was a chance of water entry.

Lucas Oil Stabailizer is monograde gear lube without any additives, so all it does is thicken the lube and dilute the additive package. I can't see how things would become "dry" after extended periods of sitting, oil still clings pretty well all on its own... in a diff or manual trans I guess it's okay to use, but I would never use it in an engine.

No, all this does is add a resistor to the intake air temperature sensor. All it does is lighten your wallet.

Lucas gear oil is garbage. Based on this white paper and Advance Auto's great discount codes, I would use Mobil 1 75W-90 as it resulted in the best score behind Amsoil SVG 75W-90 and the only "failure" of M1 75W-90 was shearing just barely under spec after some use. Maybe buy a fluid pump too to help fill the diffs. For the transfer case, use any synthetic ATF claiming to meet Dexron III specifications. AAP discontinued use of discount codes for most of the ATFs they stock, unfortunately. Valvoline MaxLife should be a good option, it has a beefy additive package compared to many other ATFs; see this table. Castrol HM is nothing special I think, they have mediocre metallic additive packages similar to Valvoline's and is overpriced for what you get IMO. I guess they have more marketing to pay for. See here for a virgin oil analysis of Castrol HM (albeit it's 10W-30 but the additives should be almost identical between the two). You can see a table of several conventional oils' virgin analyses here, but I wouldn't overthink it as any API SN oil will easily be capable of going at least 5k miles in a clean, mechanically sound engine. I would use Mobil Super 5000 5W-30 to save the $5 or whatever the price difference is. NAPA Gold filters are excellent, no need to change that. Amazon has Redline MT90 as well, it might be cheaper than your NAPA. Thought about changing your brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, fuel filter, PCV valve?

They are twist bases I think.

Welcome!

Go for it, you can run it year-round if you want. It should work fine. I would run it out to at least 6k miles to get your money's worth.

Cleaning the throttle body and MAF sensor may help with your acceleration issue. Have you verified the fuel filter hose clamps are secure? When filling your gas tank, do you stop at the first (auto-shut off) click or do you continue to top off? Topping off your gas tank allows excess raw fuel to enter the charcoal canister and permanently damages it.

There is no recommended interval; the FSM states that it should be replaced "when the vehicle speed cannot be increased as the driver wishes" - i.e. when the thing is completely clogged. I feel that 2 years is a reasonable interval for a $10-15 filter.

Follow the diagnosis procedure described on page EC-254 of the factory service manual. Replace your fuel filter if it hasn't been changed within the past two years. Your gas smell could be coming from the fuel filter clamps if they've loosened a bit. There is a good DIY guide here on NICOclub if you're unfamiliar with the replacement procedure.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/1995_Pathfinder/

See page EC-464 of the factory service manual for possible causes. Rule out intake air leaks first as that's the simplest.

Relax dude, the OP had some valid questions. The owner's manual says nothing about replacing the crush washer or prefilling the oil filter or even removing the engine undercover to access the oil filter.

Yep, I said that already Rob. Just another case of auto parts employees being clueless. The OP ordered a Bluetooth code reader to pull codes so we can help diagnose the actual issue.

No, you don't need to change the drain plug unless it's leaking. I change the crush washer every time because a 10 pack of crush washers is cheap, and I don't want to deal with the hassle of a drip if a reused crush washer fails. The FSM also says to change it every time. The oil capacity of the VQ35DE is 5.25 quarts for an oil and filter change, my mistake. However, I've always dumped in 5 quarts (plus whatever I prefill the filter with) and it's at the full mark of the dipstick.

The service manual does not say exactly how to adjust rear drum shoes, it just says to "adjust" them. I don't know the adjustment procedure, I've heard different things about it. I think the most accepted procedure is to tighten the shoes, then back them off a bit until there is a very slight drag.

Prefilling the oil filter isn't necessary, but it does seem to lower the time that the oil pressure warning light is on for the first start after an oil change. Think about it, that air in the oil filter has to go somewhere before the filter fills with oil. It's certainly not required, but it doesn't hurt either. On the VQ35DE, the oil filter is at an angle that allows one to fill the filter about halfway full before screwing it on. The filter's quite small, so be careful when filling it to avoid spilling much. I usually pour some in and let it soak into the media, then repeat until it's about half full, then install the filter. VQ35DE engines have a 5 quart oil capacity. Which oil and filter did you use?

He has an LSV. 2001 4WD Pathfinders have LSVs.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/View.ashx?d=1&z=1&sku=1995-Nissan-Pathfinder_OM

The rear oxygen sensor only determines efficacy of the cat. It has no effect on MPG. A new direct fit Bosch sensor shouldn't be too expensive from AAP, I'll find it a bit later.

OEM struts and shocks are KYB manufactured and may not be cheaper than aftermarket options. KYB Excel-Gs (formerly named GR-2s) struts and Gas-A-Just rear shocks (which are actually an upgrade; there is a cheaper, less stiff "OEM equivalent" KYB shock too), plus new OEM strut mounts and fasteners is a better purchase in my opinion. RockAuto should be the best place to purchase the shocks and struts (be sure to Google for a 5% discount code), then Rob can hook you up with the necessary OEM strut mount parts and fasteners in this thread. For strut replacement, you will need a spring compressor. Other than that, nothing special except a torque wrench and maybe a breaker bar and some penetrating lubricant to loosen any stubborn fasteners. Welcome to NPORA.

I hate the Bose system. You need a line-output converter between your head unit and the vehicle wiring harness to properly retain the stock Bose speaker system. Do you have one?

No it doesn't. I'll link to the Bluetooth dongle I bought later once I'm off my phone.