Slartibartfast

After trying to dig my truck out of the snow with a dustpan the other day, I added a shovel to my traveling tool kit. Never again!

It's your gas tank check valve. Pressure builds up, then it vents through that valve to the carbon canister. Sometimes vibration (shutting a door) rattles it enough to make it open, sometimes it opens on its own. Mine got really loud (sounded like the drone of a Honda with a fart can exhaust when it went off) so I replaced it. I tracked it down by pulling one of the lines off the carbon canister and either blowing air in or sucking it out. I don't remember which but I remember it tasted horrible and it made the noise. If you do decide to replace it, make sure you get the Pathfinder one, the Hardbody one mounts differently. (Yeah, I ordered the wrong one.) It's a PITA to get to as well. My new one makes noise now and then, but it's more of a hum now. Doesn't bother me, I know what causes it and it's not hurting anything. Also, I really don't want to try and get to it again!

Sounds like they only patched in the front amp turn-on wire. There's another for the rears, and I think they're separate in the harness. But +1 on pulling the amps. Best thing I've done for my stereo, and the rear amp made the core of a pretty decent shop stereo! The front one will too when I get around to it.

Now you can pretend it's a racing car!

A year or so back I tried to take a nap after an all-nighter and woke up so confused that I couldn't quite work out how many limbs I had or where they were attached. I don't do naps anymore! Thanks for the tips on the Duratracs. When finances permit (and when I've sorted out a few other issues) I'll look into those.

^^ Also make sure you're not downwind of the tail pipe. I was and got enveloped in a thick white fog that smelled like glue and gave me a headache. I got mine stuck at the bottom of my (fairly long) driveway today. We got about a foot of snow, and then thermometer hit 50°, so I guess I should've expected the resulting layer of slush cause problems. I aired down, tried to dig it out, stuffed sagebrush and sticks around the tires, nothing doing. Finally some guy in a Toyota took pity on me and pulled the Pathy out onto the pavement where I could back up and take a run at it. Low range, foot to the floor, steering back and forth as fast as I could trying to keep it out of the sagebrush... I enjoyed the hell out of that part, especially after the hour I'd spent trying to dig it out with a dustpan. Made it back up to the house somehow, and didn't break anything, so today was a good day. I've gotta find some chains for this thing...

The steering shaft might give you trouble. It's got a splined bit that's supposed to slide apart easily, but given the corrosion elsewhere on yours, it's probably seized. Start soaking it in penetrating oil ASAP.

Mine almost holds it on a slope since I adjusted the cable. (Dunno if it just needs more adjustment or if 19 years of people driving off with it set have knackered the pads.) My brakes have been a little spongy since swapping the MC... I might give this gravity bleed thing a go. Also, Kingman, you drove over a fence?

Mine's iced solid, so no worries here. Good to know though.

Shovels + plasma cutter = profit?

You might try cleaning the contacts inside the remote as well. If the current battery (or a previous one) leaked, the crud left over will continue to corrode the contacts for quite a while. Wipe a little oil on the contacts after cleaning them to make sure they stay clean. I have a flashlight that the batteries leaked into once, and it seemed like every time I picked it up the contacts would be inoperative, no matter how many times I'd cleaned it out. I cleaned it again and put some motor oil on the connection that was giving me trouble and it's worked without a hiccup since.

I can't imagine what it would take to put a rod through the head. But yeah, chances are your valves are shot.

It shouldn't be running that low on a cold start. Sounds to me like the IACV isn't opening, and the engine isn't terribly happy about going into gear cold and at low RPM. Does it do this once it's warmed up?

Sorry I junked my templates, hopefully someone can hook you up. K9sar's method might work better anyway. I remember someone saying that the weld-in kit was pretty thin metal, and given what you have to work with, I don't think that's gonna cut it. +1 about not driving it in that condition. Hopefully there's something solid left for you to weld to. Go at it with a hammer and see if you can find any place that doesn't deform when you hit it. That'll give you some idea of how much you have to replace... based on the pics, I don't think you're looking at a simple patch job. K9sar, you have to redo yours yearly? Does it rot that fast?

Snow and mud at the same time Gonna go back for the Pacifica in the spring?

Here's a walkthrough on checking for codes: The computer doesn't always know what's up, but if you can get a code from it, it can give you a good idea of where to start. I've never gotten anything useful from mine. Good luck with the ignition components, hopefully it's something simple.

I don't have much to compare them to but I haven't been terribly impressed. I've also noticed that the tread blocks in the middle rows have little rubber caps on them with a little bit of tread molded into them... not sure what that's about.

I don't know of any safety cutoffs on the WD, or any way it would know that the gasket was blown. Is the CEL on? Codes? If the headgasket had blown, and the engine was hydrolocked, it wouldn't crank. Since yours cranks, I'm inclined to say it's not the gasket. I've heard that coolant is bad for timing belts, but I assume that's over time, not all at once. You can take the distributor cap off and hit the starter to make sure the belt's working (the rotor should spin with the motor). If the belt is knackered, it won't spin, you'll have no spark, and it won't have any compression. You said it sounded like it wanted to start, which makes me suspect that the belt isn't the problem. I'd check the connections on the coil and distributor, including the camshaft position sensor. I don't know if an overheat would knacker any of these, but if your mechanic forgot to plug the temp sender back in, maybe he left one of them loose as well. Speaking of the mechanic, you might call him up and tell him the pump failed, and see if he'll stand behind his work.

^From another thread. And no, you don't have to drop the diff to get to the starter.

My understanding is that the starter relay mod fixes a weakness on auto trans Pathfinders, but ones with the five-speed already have a relay there. It sounds to me like a wiring issue (or a dead ignition switch, but it sounds like you replaced that?). I would pull out the starter relay, figure out which pins do what, and then jumper the two pins that are supposed to connect. If it cranks, then you know the relay isn't getting a signal, and the problem is between the relay and the ignition switch. If it doesn't, remove the jumper and check for voltage across those two pins. If there's voltage, the starter relay isn't hooked up to the starter, and if there's not, well, there's your problem.

LOL yeah, I used a rubber mallet for most of it, but it's fairly large and I couldn't get it in beside the flanges too well. I picked up the framing hammer and thought, well, this'll take care of that little high spot there... I took it for a shakedown run today, tried to turn around on the shoulder, and got stuck. On the plus side, the front end feels about the same. PHR, that makes sense, working in a black engine bay somewhere hot must be a PITA. And it doesn't show from the outside, so you're still in stealth mode.

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/27714-stickersdecals-sale-2-for-1-on-overstock/

I finished patching mine up tonight. Thanks for the tip Adamzan, I had no idea those bolts were in there! Made putting the bumper back in a hell of a lot easier. BFH work on the fender was technically a success (all the holes line up and it doesn't foul on anything), but I won't be using a framing hammer next time... I think I gave my Pathy cellulite. Oh well, it's not a piano. Congrats PHR, must be nice to have it running again! I'm not sure what to make of the engine colors, but I've got Bill Murray's face stenciled on my hood insulation, so I don't think I get to say anything.

It's on the room lamp circuit IIRC, but that also does the clock and the radio. From what I've heard, the sensor in the rear hatch often causes similar issues. But if yours is wired like mine, it would be making the cargo light come on, not the main dome light. With a Phillips driver and a few minutes you could simply remove the driver's rear switch, unplug it from the harness, and chuck it in your glove box in case you decide later you want to fix it. If that is in fact the switch causing trouble, removing it should do the trick.