Towncivilian

Well, the filter is designed to be installed with flow going one direction, but Ford has tested it installed backwards for thousands of hours (IIRC) without issues, and I read that someone on BITOG had one installed backwards by a shop and it still filtered stuff properly, but I'm not sure if the bypass valve would function correctly should it be needed. I'm 99% sure I installed the cooler and filter on the return line from the stock cooler, otherwise I wouldn't have a bunch of pressurized transmission fluid spraying out into a drain pan after disconnecting the hose on the passenger side hard line.

I don't think it matters where you ground it as long as it's actually grounded, but you likely know this already. And I don't know the original location of that ground, sorry.

I verified the lines before running any hoses and after running the final hoses, I'm sure I got them correct I'm sure bad things would have happened by now.

I ran the hoses today. I used the included band clamps for all the hoses, and everything turned out OK. I got an additional 5ft of hose (I asked for 4, the guy at the auto parts store was generous to give me 5ft for the price of 4 since only the 5ft was left, and a 1ft piece of hose would not sell ) for the aux cooler input line. Both of the hoses were too long, but I'd rather have some slack than for them to be too short by like 2 inches. The band clamps all looked like this. Perhaps I'll eventually replace them all with fuel line clamps from the junkyard. I didn't tighten the clamp around the stock cooler's output enough at first and it leaked. After tightening that, I tested thoroughly before actually driving by revving up to around 1500-2000rpm in all the gears and there were no more leaks. On the drive back though, the trans was acting a bit funny, seems like it was hunting for gears or something, but maybe I just was iffy with the throttle or something... since it was raining and dark I didn't check for leaks when I arrived home, but will check in the morning. I didn't lose very much fluid, maybe 300mL, and strangely the fluid level still remained in the middle of the "HOT" mark, so I did not need to add any more fluid. I was expecting to add at least some due to the additional capacity of the cooler and the in-line filter... I'll have to check the fluid again. The stock cooler's output line is on the passenger side as indicated by TSB NTB00-056b "1988 AND LATER NISSAN VEHICLES AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER CLEANING". I secured the hoses using a few zip-ties. I'll need to see if the stock undercover will still fit properly; the only thing that might interfere with it is the bottoms of the cooler's mounting hardware. I will post some pictures of how I routed the hoses tomorrow. Overall it was a very easy install, didn't take more than an hour total to mount the cooler and run the hoses.

Here is how I mounted the trans cooler: I'm going to see if any of the included mounting hardware will rust within a few days before running the hoses. Anybody see any problems with this set up? I'll be running the hose into the lower bumper near the windshield washer fluid reservoir, I think that'll provide plenty of clearance and shouldn't interfere with the stock undercover. I will get some fuel line clamps and 4ft of more hose and I should be set for the hoses. The cooler return line is indeed on the passenger side, correct? That's what it is according to a TSB. These clamps ok?

I'll be using this filter:

I meant these: Spring clamps. I've just heard of them referred to as Jesus clamps, so... For whatever reason, Magnefine recommends filtering after the transmission cooler on vehicles that aren't brand new. Don't know exactly why. These will do fine, though? Should I use two on each end and orient them 180 degrees from each other?

I know I posted OBD2 the first time. Anyway, today I mounted my trans cooler, but didn't run the hoses. I'll need to get some extra hose to run from the aux cooler to the return hard line, since I'll be adding an in-line filter too. Should I buy and use some "Jesus clamps" (the type found on vacuum hoses, etc), two on each end oriented 180 degrees from each other for best connection? Should I worry about where I put the filter, or should debris be a non-issue after running with the filter for a while? I think I'll just install it at the final connection to the return hard line.

Nearly all vehicles today have trans coolers built-in to the radiator, and our Pathfinders do too. Some earlier R50s had external transmission coolers, but they are very small:

Synthetic fluid should help lower temperatures and resist oxidation better, and help with your winter slippage when the fluid is cold. I don't know what the fine mist of fluid is - what did it smell like? If you tow frequently, an auxiliary transmission cooler and an in-line filter would be a good idea. In the city, I can easily stay under 2000 rpms if I drive like a granny. But that don't matter, if I drive the Pathfinder like I stole it I still get roughly the same MPG.

Man, I should've taken the 1994 owners manual I found in a junkyard Pathfinder.

I've been having intermittent starting issues lately. When I start to crank, nothing happens - no click or other sound. If I try cranking again, it might do nothing again or start up. The security LED is not lit when this happens, so it is not a problem with NVIS. Battery terminals are tight and free of corrosion, and battery voltage with ignition off is 12.63 volts. Battery is 7-8 months old, starter and alternator OEM. I have 124.5k miles. I'll try cleaning the battery terminals again (perhaps both ends if the other ends are easily accessible), and maybe swap the ignition relay with the blower motor relay in case the relay is flaking out. I will also have Nissan test my battery and maybe alternator if they'd do that for free. Where is the starter located? I'd like to verify connections there. Any other suggestions?

I think an in-line filter before entering the stock cooler is a very good addition to prevent a WD21 stock cooler from clogging (as somebody mentioned above), if one chooses to plumb them in-line like this.

I do very infrequent light towing, maybe once a year, generally not even that. I assume the combination of stock & aux coolers can deal with it, and I would check the fluid condition after towing and do a drain & fill if required.

According to MA-11, it can take either ATF or GL-4 gear oil. 2 & 3/8 quarts.

Oh, sorry. Courtesy Parts lists it as an overdrive switch, so I went with that.

EC-292 says idle speed for both auto and manual trans is 800 +/- 50.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overdrive_(mechanics) The output (driveshaft?) spins faster than the engine so the engine does less work. I turn overdrive off when going up and down bridges, it provides more power going up and when going down I can just coast, maintaining my speed and not having to brake at the end of the bridge.

overdrive on/off

Today I cleaned some of the engine bay using Pledge (orange) and some paper towels. Sorry for the poorly-lit pictures. Obviously, I missed a few spots, but whatever... the engine's gonna get dirty again anyway. Now I just need to brush off the rat poop atop the upper intake manifold.

Throw some Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner or Gumout w/ Regane in your tank ($5-6 at Wal-Mart), that might help your fuel gauge - there might be some sediment or sulfur build up on the fuel level sending unit (or whatever the ball thing that floats in the tank is called).

I got a 13k BTU B&M cooler for my R50 and a Magnefine in-line filter, still need to install though. I'll be putting it in-line with the stock cooler, plus my Pathfinder stays on pavement (heh, caR50) so I shouldn't have any issues with this small-ish cooler, right? I'm not sure how hot my trans runs around town, gotta have a buddy ride shotgun with a laptop to read the temp sensor thru ODB2 for that.

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=21 Looks like the pictures are dead though.

How did Nissan solve the stock cooler issues with the R50? I've read somewhere that all they did was make the inner passages of the cooler larger to avoid debris clogging. See here for Precise1's trans temp gauge install.

Make sure you scrape off the old sticker using a razor blade. I had like 3 or 4 stickers piled on top of each other and all but the bottom layer peeled off perfectly, so it would've been easy to steal. The bottom layer flaked off until I used a gasket scraper.