Towncivilian

Verify fuses are good? If they were bad I'd figure the switch lights wouldn't come on, but you never know...

Well, that's a strange one. As for the electrical issues, are the battery terminals free of corrosion and secured tightly? What's the condition and level of the transmission fluid? 1. Drive around for 10 minutes in the city after the transmission is at operating temperature. 2. Park on level surface and apply parking brake. 3. With P selected, shift through every gear and return to P. 4. Pull transmission dipstick with engine idling, wipe clean, reinsert completely, and read level. It must be within the notched areas labeled "HOT". Check for fluid contamination after wiping on a paper towel.

Updated my first post with a new engine air filter (Wix 46116 - cheaper than OEM and double the pleats! see here) and cabin air filter: Nissan OEM part 999M1-VP003 (but use B7200-00004 if you really want OEM, as the former part # comes with instructions, a new clip, a replacement sticker, and a caution label - all useless, IMO) - read my NAPA Gold vs. OEM filter comparison. I'd say get the NAPA Gold 4863 instead for cheaper. And yes, I can't sleep.

Bump! I'll be going down under the lower intake manifold this time to swap out the PCV valve... annoying cost to eat in gaskets and the valve itself (about $68 total?), not to mention the time wasted to access the damn thing. My local dealer somehow had all the gaskets I needed plus a rubber grommet thing that goes around the PCV, but not the valve itself, so I'm waiting on that. I'll probably tackle it this weekend. Does anybody want pictures of anything specific while I have it all disassembled? I'd say the original post has it down damn good. I'll list the part numbers for all the gaskets & PCV valve I got from the dealer later. I'll definitely report how my power valve screws look, but it's only been a bit less than two months (did them on August 2nd, 2011) and about 1,500 miles since I put red threadlocker on them.

Change fuel filter if not recent, and throw in a bottle of Chevron Techron or Gumout Regane (both PEA-based fuel system cleaners) and see if it clears up. Failing that, maybe clean the MAF sensor?

How severe of a vibration? Why is your idle at 1000 RPM other than at a cold start? No vibration in drive @ 1000 RPM?

There is a hairline crack in that housing, you can see it at the top corner of the orange siding, it looks like scratches. I am only able to feel it with my nail so I wasn't sure what to make of it. A Nissan OEM part is $63 - f that. Various manufacturer brands are less than $10 on RockAuto. The TYC brand one looks correct, as the plastic or whatever surrounding the assembly is black as mine is - others seem unpainted from the extremely grainy pictures. But first I'll try to leak test the assembly by removing the bulbs, filling it with water and applying silicone wherever there may be a leak. So the main headlamp aiming screw also controls the combination lamp? Makes sense - I'll have to try to aim them against my garage door or some wall at some point.

The driver's side front combination lamp housing aiming seems to be off. See picture: Which side is correct? The passenger side has a new bulb in it. I don't see a way to adjust aiming. I know it hardly matters, but it irks me. Also, today I noticed the front driver's side combination lamp housing has what seems to me an excessive amount of condensation build up. The passenger side was free of condensation, as were the headlights. Does this look normal?

Drove it home from the shop! Check out my old rear main seal.

I just had the rear main seal replaced by AAMCO for $1,169.30. This seal was in use for 126,106 miles exactly. This is the second RMS that has been in my Pathfinder. The first was replaced at 1,720 miles by a Nissan dealership under warranty. This seal then leaked somewhere between 90k and 105k miles. Pictures of the damaged side of the seal: And the undamaged side: It is obvious that no high-mileage or thicker oil would have ever stopped this seal from leaking. Slow it? Quite a possibility, but who knows. AAMCO claimed to have found no defects on the mating surfaces of the seal, but they did find two missing bolts on the bellhousing and replaced those free of charge. The seal was replaced with a Fel-Pro BS 40631. I have read that Fel-Pro makes high quality gaskets/seals and try their best to remove OE defects and try to improve the design. I did not see this seal, but if I were really curious I could purchase one for $35, photograph it, post pictures here, and then return the seal. The job took about 6 hours to complete, but the shop kept the PF overnight to ensure there were no issues. I certainly hope this third RMS will not leak for another 100k at least. The shop did not lose any fluids other than a very small amount of automatic transmission fluid when disconnecting the transmission cooler lines. I retained my engine oil and filter (as they were recently changed within the past 2000 miles) and all engine coolant. The work seems to be satisfactorily performed, and I am happy with the shop. I have a 90-day warranty on parts and labor. I'll likely be a return customer if the need arises. I will check tomorrow to ensure there are no more oil drips around the bellhousing.

Dropped the PF off at AAMCO to replace my rear main seal. They had it done by like 3PM, I had dropped it off at 9:30. They used a Fel-Pro rear main seal. I have the old OEM seal that was in use for about 126,080 miles, and it's obvious why it was leaking. I will have some pictures for you guys within the next couple days. I hope this seal fares better!

Don't use Lucas Oil Stabilizer, all it is is 140wt gear oil and contains no useful additives. All it does is thicken your oil to mask problems. Put in some thicker oil if you desire it, instead of a quart of nothing.

I think so too, it's some fault with the design. I wonder if the blower motors were revised to correct the problem after the TSB was issued, one would assume so. The TSB does not state WD21 year Pathfinders, but maybe the cover will fit anyway? Can you snap a picture of what the blower motor looks like in a WD21?

YES! See here.

So I called AAMCO and they said they shouldn't need to replace the coolant. I told them that this is the second RMS leak, and they'll examine the mating surfaces. I'll be dropping the PF off at AAMCO tomorrow at 9 AM. I got the ST filter, gotta spin it on tomorrow morning before leaving.

Very well. I shall do that, thanks for pointing that out. So basically, I should inform them to use the coolant provided on the passenger seat, that portions of the FSM are on the seat if required, that this is the second time the RMS is leaking, and to examine the mating surfaces for damage?

Yeah well, how am I supposed to do that, be there for however long they're working to watch them like a hawk? I'd hope they would tell me if a mating surface is bad, although I wouldn't be sure how to proceed if it is damaged.

Well, maybe, I don't really know... isn't a seal a seal, pretty much? If it leaks again at like what, 250k, I think that's okay and at that point the whole vehicle doesn't owe me anything anyway, wouldn't you think? Or am I wrong in my assumptions? I really don't know the entire service history of this vehicle even though it's a family car and was leased new. Maybe some oil changes were accidentally skipped and caused issues, potentially causing the leak to spring again (I know the VQ35DE is hard on oil). I dunno. I think I'll definitely swap out the PCV valve in the coming weeks too, even though it's a PITA to get to.

Well, per the FSM they gotta hoist the engine up (which involves disconnecting a bunch of other @!*%, and apparently draining the engine oil & coolant) so that's more labor right there. Their Alldata printout says 11.5 hours of labor (wtf, Nissan dealer said 18 I think?). The seal itself is like $40something according to the guy, I sure hope they use an OEM seal. I'll ask when dropping it off I guess.

Alright well, I'm gonna drop the PF off at AAMCO Friday morning most likely (gotta call tomorrow to confirm price and set up appointment). I'll provide them with printouts of the relevant sections from the FSM (removal/installation of oil pan & auto trans) and a gallon of Nissan OEM coolant with "FULL STRENGTH" Sharpied on (don't want them using all makes/all models Dexclone crap) on the passenger seat. I've only ran this M1 HM 10W-40/M1-110 EP filter combo for 1800 miles now, so I'll buy a $2.50 SuperTech ST7317 filter and spin it on before dropping it off, no use in wasting a still usable $10 filter. I'll run whatever oil/filter the shop throws in for 3,750 miles I guess. Anything else I should suggest or do?

Many people on Bob Is The Oil Guy recommend using 303 Aerospace Protectant. I've got a spray bottle of it, and have applied it to my weather stripping and some of my interior trim. It hasn't cured the stickiness of the stripping, but perhaps I didn't apply it properly or more likely, it just needs reapplication every few weeks. It's expensive stuff at $14 for a 16 oz. spray bottle, and it also stained my instrument cluster plastic and clock display with small spots (from overspray) that don't go away. I'm not exactly sold on it yet. I've read of using plain silicone spray as well. But my weather stripping, aside from sticking, has survived Florida sun and heat for nearly 11 years now... why bother with putting stuff on it?

AAMCO wants $1041 or so, another local trans shop wants about $980. I don't think I'll be able to get it much cheaper than that. Should I just jump on one of these offers?

If I recall correctly, the R50s came with two possible ratios: 4.363:1 or 4.636:1. The former was on LE/XE models, and the latter on SE models. I have an SE, so I have 4.636. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!

I was also wondering if one could swap an LSD axle in... my R50 has an open diff. Of course, the challenge will be finding an identical geared LSD diff and then getting it out of a junkyard. Would there really be any benefits? I never go offroad (2WD, open diff, highway tires, worn suspension... bad combo), and the worst weather I drive in is rain.

Yeah, it looks from your sig pic that part of your bumper is metal/chrome; mine is all plastic.