Slartibartfast

The VG33 uses a different belt setup than the VG30 and the crank pulleys aren't interchangeable, so if you get a VG33 and want to use your existing accessories you have two options: 1) swap the crank and oil pump from the VG30 into the VG33, or 2) put Mr. 510's adapter on the end of the VG33 crank to make it accept the VG30 pulley. The adapter's a lot easier. It does mean you're running with no harmonic balancer, but these engines are apparently precise enough that this won't hurt anything. So no, you don't have to swap the crank. The reason to look for the X or Fronty engine is that the accessories are mounted in a way that'll fit the WD21 engine bay. I think a couple people on here are running the VG33 accessories. Keeping the old accessories would save the hassle of reworking the lines (P/S and A/C) and wiring. Check this out:

I found it on LC-7. Looks like there are two of them, one by the right side motor mount and one by the alternator. IIRC the lower rad hose is lower than either of these so you'll have to drain that again as well.

Fuse links? Doesn't sound like a loose connection though if it only acts up on starts. Next time it does it, check at the battery and then work as far down the line as you can to see if you can find where the current isn't getting through. I'm not sure what component would shut off all power but intermittently, but definitely check it at the fuse box if you messed with that.

From what I've read it's less work to install a VG33 from an Xterra or Frontier than from a Pathy, just because of where the accessories mount.

You might look into a trans cleaner of some type before you flush it. I've heard good things about Seafoam Transtune but I've never had occasion to try it. I wouldn't leave it in very long but it might help make the crud come out with the old fluid.

I found this in the FSM the other day. Looks like there are two types, and the VG30 one is tougher to clean out.

Magic = Big F#&king Hammer in case anyone was wondering.

When people do VG33 (gasoline R50 engine) swaps they have to keep their WD21's oil pan to clear the diff. I'm not familiar with the QD diesel so I don't know if you'd have a clearance issue, or how difficult it would be to modify. The diesel offered in the WDs is a TD rather than a QD so I doubt the pan would switch over like it does between the VG30 and VG33.

Just to get the stupid stuff out of the way: OD (on the shifter) is turned on? The 'OD off' on the dash isn't lit? Has it always done this? I looked through the FSM, looks like page AT-62 is what you're after.

Do the tail lights work? If you're getting nothing down there you might have a bad ground for the tail/brake light bulbs, which wouldn't affect the operation of the third light. Then again I'm making assumptions about how it's all wired. The FSM should have a full wiring diagram.

Probably standard rubber then. I imagine they still require grease.

If they're not black, they're poly. My strut rod bushings were Moogs IIRC. And yeah, from what I've heard ungreased poly bushings make all kinds of noise. Chances are a shop would know this. I got rid of a little squeak on mine by greasing the sway bar links, dead simple and it helped. And yeah, the T-bars aren't really a thing that can squeak.

Rechecked it with the recommended method. Temp wasn't quite all the way up but it was close. The stick read slightly low. I'm gonna call it close enough.

^^ Now that inyourface mentions vac leak (I know it was mentioned before), I remember another guy a while back who had cracks in the rubber accordion pipe (air intake) which opened up under load (the motor torqued to the side a bit and pulled the cracks open more). If the vac lines check out, check the pipe for leaks.

Mine lights up the brake lights without the key as well. So long as the lights aren't illuminating the Slenderman you're good to go.

I decided to swap the cooler lines around so that the high side is output and the low side is input. The hoses were fun (nothing like a splash of ATF to the face) but refilling the fluid was weird this time. Trans fluid level and temperature seem to be related more strongly than I would've believed was possible. What looked like a good level at 1/3 temp (roughly) was off the scale at 1/2 temp (fully heated up). Because of this I'm not sure how much fluid it actually needed and whether or not the cooler had air trapped in it. Anyway I'll recheck it tomorrow after doing the warmup like the manual suggests.

I'm not sure that's off a Pathy. Mine has big hose barbs on it and I could swear it's a bit thicker too (full rad thickness). Anybody have a buggered radiator to tear apart and verify what the guts look like?

I'd check the belt first, just to rule it out. I imagine you could get good compression numbers even if it was off a tooth, it just won't run too well.

I suspect there's a story there.

Auto or stick? Maybe the torque converter is locking and unlocking. No idea what would cause that, but IIRC the FSM has a troubleshooting section.

420k? Dayum these things last a long time. If compression is good and it's not burning coolant, IMO you can rule out the head gasket. I would take a look at that timing belt sooner rather than later in case it's walking wounded.

Thanks all. Yeah, I think this has been covered, but the only other writeup I can find is Dr. Bill's (linked below) and he took the whole front end apart. Mine is about 6" x 11" x 3/4," excluding brackets. I have no idea what it's rated at. B, I remember seeing those threads, but I can't find them now. Anyone with good search-fu want to find those? I did find these however: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/23280-replacing-the-timing-belt-adding-an-at-cooler/ http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/33650-dont-know-if-this-has-been-covered-tranny-coolers-tube-and-fin-vs-plate-style/ http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/30565-more-automatic-transmission-cooler-questions/ http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/32541-is-adding-a-tranny-filter-really-a-good-idea/ Also, can a mod correct my statement on the Ford cooler? I didn't know they were plate type.

Is this a common problem? I googled it but didn't see anything. A skid or something might help but I dunno, depending on how the body's supposed to crumple in a collision it might to more harm than good.

I installed the cooler with the little zip-post things. The posts are absurdly long, so I trimmed them to clear the radiator. The kit also came with foam vibration pads, which I applied to the cooler before slipping it in. I could only get my hand behind the condenser to put the clips on the top two posts. (You can't see the clips too well, they're in the top holes of the mounting flanges on either side.) I pulled the turn signal/fog lamp out to try and attach it from underneath, but I couldn't get my hand in under there either. It did feel quite secure however so I left it alone. Next I connected the hoses underneath. If there's excess hose, trim it off with garden pruners (unless you've got something better lying around). I stuck one to the return line from the trans and the other to the factory cooler (with the 1/4" wrench and a lot of swearing). If you aren't using the stock cooler just hook the new one to the two trans lines. Make sure those hose clamps are tight! I swapped a proper hose clamp I took off the donor Pathy for the weird wire one just so I wouldn't need two different drivers to put it all back together. If your cooler is meant to flow one way or the other, make sure you aren't plumbing it backwards! Some are apparently directional. Mine wasn't. If the hoses seem like they're going to flop around while you drive, consider zip tying them to something. Button the front end back up. To get the upper grille clips back in, unclip them from the sheet metal, hold the sheet metal end with vise grips, and put them in the grille like you removed them (twisting the head with a screwdriver). Then clip the grille back on. Replace the missing/busted ones with new zip ties, and don't forget the two screws under the grille. One last thing to do, and that's topping up the ATF. The new hoses and the cooler add space that fluid has to fill, and in my case, I'd spewed some of the fluid out onto the floor. Start the truck and let it warm up. It's probably best to just let it idle since the fluid's low, but I drove mine slowly up and down the street with no apparent ill effects. I'm sure you can at least back it out of the garage so you don't carbon monoxide poison yourself. Once it's warm, park it, cycle through the gears, and (with the engine running) check the fluid level. The dipstick's behind the passenger's valve cover, kind of buried down in there. Wipe it off very well with a clean paper towel, stuff it back in, pull it out, and yeah, mine wasn't showing fluid at all. I didn't want to pour ATF all over everything so I improvised a funnel with the top half of a plastic bottle and the left-over chunk of new hose. This plugged right into the dipstick hole and worked quite well. Pour some ATF in, idle the engine/cycle through the gears, check it again, repeat until the fluid level's somewhere in the crosshatched bit on the 'hot' side. By blind luck I got right into the middle of it after dumping about half a quart of ATF in there. Repeat the reading a few times to make sure you're reading it right, then put the dipstick back in. Make sure it's holding its fluid. Take it for a test drive, make sure it's still not leaking. I drove to the car wash and hosed off the ATF I'd spilled so that I'd be able to see any new leaks. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on the fluid for a few days to make sure it's not getting out anywhere. And that's about it! Let me know if this is helpful or if there's anything I can do to make it better.

The next thing you need to figure out is where exactly you'll mount your cooler. I put mine on the passenger's side of the condenser, in front, with the fluid ports coming out the side, mainly because this was the only place it would fit. (It would've fit the driver's side but then I would've needed longer hoses.) Trial fit it (don't mount it up yet) to make sure it'll fit how you want it to without fouling on wires/hoses/radiator support/etc. Once you know where you want it, identify where you'll route your hoses. The donor car I pulled the cooler from had both hoses routed through the headlight hole. I decided to put one line through the sheet metal beside one of the lines from the A/C tank (the cylinder bit on the passenger's side of the condenser), and push the other through the foam under the radiator. Routing is up to you, this just looked good to me. I've read that you should have the output be at the top to help the cooler purge air. I did it the other way and it seems to work fine (I can't imagine the fluid coursing through there would leave a lot of air bubbles hanging around either way). I can't think of a reason not to have the high side be the output; I just wasn't thinking when I hooked up the lines. I may swap them before I put the skid plate back on. Hook the hose to one of the cooler's ends (doesn't matter too much which, but I'd go with the harder one to get to just to get it out of the way). I had some trouble installing the lines on the cooler due to some sharp ends on the cooler tubes. I rounded off the sharp bits with a file and smoothed them with sandpaper (being careful to keep the aluminum shavings out of the pipes) and then greased up the pipe ends. Installing the hose clamps and pushing them down with vise grips finally got the hoses fully seated. Yours may be better built and put up less of a fight, but still, don't mount that cooler until you've got the pipes fit to it or your knuckles and your A/C condenser are gonna have a bad time together. Once the hose was on I threaded it through the front end and trimmed it to size. Then I pulled the hose and cooler back out and attached the piece of hose I'd just cut off to the other pipe on the cooler. My hoses ended up being about 20" on the top and 39" on the bottom, but these measurements will of course vary with hose routing and cooler size/location. Speaking of hose routing, an easy way to get the hose past the foam under the rad is to stick a big Phillips driver through from the back, wherever you want the hose to come out, sleeve the hose onto the driver, and then pull it out the back. This is from the back (the pipe end is the passenger's side of the factory cooler and the thing above it is the fan shroud): And here it is from the front after pulling it through: